I kinda recommend getting M&B: Warband first. It has a better tutorial, more freedom, and no guns.
Guns are cool and all, but they tend to be one-hit-kills on pretty much anything. A single lucky shot can incapacitate you.
That is the reason I like WFaS over Warband! WFaS is a lot more exciting due to lethal bullets and it is not completely dominated by player skills in melee. Being shot in the back can take you down, no matter how epic fighter the player is. That is awesome. It brings in true atmosphere of a mass battle. Plus it opens more options regarding fighting; there are many fighting styles available, without any of them being inherently superior. Teamwork matters more as well; it is awesome to see firing lines, pike squads and stuff like that.
The ONLY reason I'm preferring WF&S over WB is because of Teamwork. I have yet in a game (CURSE YOU UBIQUITOUS, PERPETUALLY INCOMPETENT CHUCKLEFUCKS) to see teamwork such as that. I'd love to see a cavalry charge of great skill, only to be stopped by an even grander archer barrage.
But Warband, being based on the same engine and made by the same developers, has exactly the same thing
It's slightly more possible to solo armies in Warband, but using teamwork is still the way to win.
Keep in mind, there's only teamwork if you use in-battle commands. Otherwise, everyone rushes in willy-nilly and it's a clusterfrag.
Not really a death, but I was unable to pay the next installment of my mortgage. A fairy kicked me out of the house, and I was forced to live in a cardboard box for the rest of my days. </on-topic>