"Bannerlord: Companion Roles, Recruitment, and Oaths"

Companions in Bannerlord are the backbone of your warband. Read on to learn the different types, how to recruit the right ones, and more!

Companions Matter In Bannerlord

Why You Can’t Conquer Calradia Alone

In Bannerlord, it quickly becomes clear that conquering Calradia single-handedly is an impossible feat. Starting as a lone wanderer, your ambitions soon demand more than one person can manage. Enter companions: Bannerlord's versatile system for delegation, specialization, and growth. These aren't just generic recruits; they are unique characters with distinct stats, skills, and backgrounds. Unlike typical party members in other RPGs, companions can function independently as governors, warband leaders, or key officers in your clan.

At first glance, companions might seem like enhanced party members with superior stats. However, they form the structural foundation of your operations. They fight alongside you, heal the wounded, manage resources, lead warbands, govern towns, and even serve as emissaries or bandit lords. Their value transcends raw combat power, enabling you to delegate tasks and focus on strategic endeavors. Whether you need someone to manage food stocks, govern a castle, or lead armies across Calradia, companions bridge the gap between your early scrappy phase and the complex realm management of mid-to-late game. Without them, every logistical and strategic move falls on your shoulders, making the game more stressful than satisfying. With them, you can envision the emergence of a real clan and eventually a dynasty.

Companions also add a rich roleplay element. Each has a randomly generated name and moniker—"The Healer," "The Accursed," "Of the Hills"—hinting at their skills, specialties, and origins. These details allow you to craft narratives around them, enhancing your campaign's depth. Some players even theme their entire warband around concepts like a noble house of tacticians, a rogue’s gallery of desert raiders, or a fictional mercenary guild.

In a world where your clan's name is your banner and your companions are your most trusted agents, who you travel with is as crucial as your destination. They are more than just armored bodies—they are the pillars supporting your ascent to power.

Understanding Companion Types

Common Companion Party Roles

While Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord doesn’t officially categorize companions, the community has developed a gameplay-driven approach to sorting them based on their dominant skill sets and roles. These "types" are not rigid but provide a useful framework for understanding how companions can best support your empire.

Bannerlord allows you to assign roles in your party such as Quartermaster, Surgeon, Scout, and Engineer. Each role is tied directly to a specific skill.

Quartermaster

The Quartermaster manages your party's food, morale, and cohesion. A high Steward skill increases your party size cap, boosts morale with food variety, and slows cohesion decay in armies.

Best for:

• Long campaigns with large armies
• Maintaining high morale during sieges or deep enemy incursions
• Supporting growth when leading multiple warbands

Best Titles:

• The Spicevendor – High Steward and Trade, ideal for food variety bonuses
• Willowbark – Often comes with strong Steward and Medicine
• The Wainwright – Steward + Engineering; versatile for garrison or party

Surgeon

Your Surgeon is crucial for preventing permanent deaths among your heroes. A high Medicine skill significantly reduces the chance of companion death, increases healing rate, and helps preserve veteran troops.

Best for:

• Preventing permanent companion deaths
• Keeping elite troops alive after major battles
• Supporting continuous fighting with minimal downtime

Best Titles:

• The Surgeon – Dedicated healer
• Willowbark – Often has the highest Medicine of any companion
• The Healer – Balanced between Medicine, Steward, and Charm
• Bitterdraught – Good secondary option with solid Medicine and Trade

Scout

The Scout enhances your party's ability to detect enemies, avoid ambushes, and exploit terrain advantages. A high Scouting skill increases party speed, expands your vision radius, and aids in auto-resolved battles.

Best for:

• Raiding campaigns or avoiding larger armies
• Keeping tabs on enemy patrols
• Triggering ambushes during field battles

Best Titles:

• Of The Wastes – Typically has high Scouting
• The Grey Falcon – Often balanced between Scouting and Tactics
• The Ragged / The Fish – Reliable lower-tier scouts

Engineer

Engineering governs siege speed, equipment durability, and construction on both offense and defense. A high Engineering skill determines how quickly you can break or build walls.

Best for:

• Quickly sieging enemy towns
• Reducing construction time for siege engines
• Improving fortifications in your own settlements

Best Titles:

• The Engineer – Obvious and effective
• The Scholar – Often a hybrid of Medicine and Engineering
• The Wainwright – Cross-trained for both Engineering and Steward
• The Knowing – High intellect companions with useful governor potential
• The Accursed – Sometimes come with good Engineering and Tactics

Common Companion Titles

Companions are often identified by their titles, which are procedurally generated but hint at their skill focus. Here is a quick-reference list of common companion titles and their specialties:

• The Accursed – Roguery, Two-Handed
• The Black – Roguery, Two-Handed, Bow
• The Boar – Tactics, Polearm
• The Bull – Tactics, Two-Handed, Polearm
• The Butcher – Roguery, One-Handed
• The Engineer – Engineering, Crossbow
• The Golden – Tactics
• The Healer – Medicine
• The Ragged – Bow, Scouting
• The Red – Two-Handed
• The Scholar – Medicine, Steward
• The Shieldmaiden – One-Handed, Athletics
• The Smith – Smithing, Two-Handed
• The Spicevendor – Trade, Crossbow
• The Swordsman – Two-Handed, Polearm
• The Swift – Roguery, Trade, Steward
• The Wanderer – Polearm, One-Handed
• Of the Hills – Scouting, Crossbow
• Of the Wastes – Scouting, Bow

Note: Companion availability and skill levels can vary between playthroughs. Always check individual stats before recruitment.

Beyond the Core Roles

Clan Managers and Governors

Not all companions fit neatly into the party roles of Quartermaster, Surgeon, Scout, or Engineer. Many serve broader purposes, becoming essential for combat strategy, economic expansion, or settlement management. These roles provide the muscle and personality to your faction.

As your ambitions expand beyond roaming warbands, you'll need companions to govern your conquered territories. Assigning a companion as a governor leverages their skills to enhance the settlement's prosperity, loyalty, construction speed, and defenses.

Useful skills for governors include:

• Steward: Boosts food production, population stability, and general prosperity.
• Charm and Leadership: Aid with loyalty and influence gain.
• Engineering: Speeds up construction and fortification projects.
• Tactics and Roguery: Useful for unconventional holdings or aggressive internal policies.

Governors don't travel with you, making it an ideal role for companions less suited for front-line combat but valuable for their utility and synergy.

Miscellaneous and Utility Roles

Beyond party and garrison roles, companions can serve in various utility positions such as caravan leaders, raiders, and warband captains. These roles contribute to passive income, strategic distractions, or logistical support.

Useful skillsets include:

• Trade: For caravan runners, generating more profit and avoiding ambushes.
• Roguery: For companions running illicit operations, selling prisoners, or raiding villages.
• Tactics: For leading smaller warbands, ambushing enemies, and retreating when outnumbered.

These companions operate autonomously, extending your reach across the map without constant micromanagement. A well-equipped caravan leader or tactically-savvy raider can serve as both an economic engine and strategic diversion during long campaigns.

There's no single "best" companion in Bannerlord—only those who fit your needs, style, and current phase of conquest. Whether they're sharpening blades or balancing books, every companion contributes to your story. Choose wisely, and equip them well; a companion in rags can still fight, but a well-fed, well-armored captain is how you build a dynasty.

How To Recruit Companions

Taverns and the Encyclopedia

In Bannerlord, companions don't join automatically—you must find them, assess their skills, and make an offer. They are found in taverns across Calradia. Visit the tavern in each town to check the roster for recruitable companions, identified by titles like "The Healer" or "Of the Hills."

Alternatively, use the Encyclopedia (N key by default) to locate specific companions. Navigate to the "Heroes" tab and filter by Wanderer to see all recruitable companions. Click on a name to view their stats, backstory, and last known location. The entry updates as they travel, so check frequently.

Recruiting is straightforward: initiate a conversation in the tavern and pay their fee—no persuasion or loyalty quests required. Just gold.

Stats and Companion Limits

Choosing the right companion depends on your current goals. Early-game players benefit from a good Surgeon (high Medicine) and Scout (Scouting boosts map speed). Mid-game players should prioritize combat captains and Stewards for future governance or party leadership. Late-game players might focus on high Engineering, Tactics, and Leadership for large-scale wars and sieges.

Consider level scaling: some companions start with high stats but limited growth potential, while others have more room to develop. Think long-term; a strong early-game fighter might not scale well into a governor, whereas a balanced, low-level recruit could become versatile with experience.

Remember, there's a cap on the number of companions you can hire, tied to your Clan Tier. This cap grows as your Clan Tier increases through renown gained in battles, tournaments, and quests. Plan ahead and choose companions to fill skill gaps in your party for a strong, adaptable clan.

Assigning Roles And Making Them Work For You

The Party Roles Menu

Hiring a companion is just the start. To maximize their value, assign them tasks, shape their responsibilities, and equip them for Calradia's challenges. Whether managing food supplies, leading charges, or governing settlements, companions excel with the right tools and direction.

In the party screen (L key), the Roles tab lets you assign specific duties: Quartermaster, Surgeon, Scout, and Engineer. Each role ties to a skill (Steward, Medicine, Scouting, Engineering), and the chosen companion must be in your party for the bonuses to apply.

Roles are mutually exclusive; a companion can only perform one role at a time. While you can fill these roles yourself, delegating them frees you to focus on combat and leadership. Choose the right person for each job, and your army operates smoothly.

Clan Screen Management

To assign a governor, click on an owned settlement and select a companion from the governor dropdown menu. The companion will travel to that location and apply their skills (Steward, Charm, Leadership, Engineering) to improve loyalty, prosperity, construction speed, or militia growth.

To assign a party leader, go to the "Parties" tab in the Clan screen and click "Create New Party." Select a companion, set a budget, and optionally send them off with troops. They'll operate semi-independently, based on your kingdom's stance and your orders.

Both roles remove the companion from your direct control, so be strategic. Assign combat-capable companions as party leaders and skill-based companions for governor duties where they're safe and productive.

How to Dismiss a Companion

Sometimes, you may need to dismiss companions. If a companion no longer serves your needs or you need to make space, you can dismiss them via the Party Menu. Select the companion, initiate a conversation, and choose "I no longer have need of your services" when available. They'll vanish from your party and Calradia.

Remember, they retain their gear, and you cannot rehire them later; they disappear permanently. Their role (Quartermaster, Scout, etc.) will be unassigned, so reassign it if necessary.

Dismissing companions isn't always wrong. If they're no longer useful, not filling roles, or you want to minimize distractions, letting them go can free up resources. However, don't dismiss recklessly; a rare healer, high-level scout, or charismatic governor might be irreplaceable later. Consider their impact on your campaign goals rather than just headcount.

The Next Chapter of Companions

Companions are more than stat sheets; they are the heart of your growing empire. From the healer who kept your troops alive in your first skirmish to the captain leading a warband under your banner, companions give Bannerlord its sense of continuity. They are the characters you remember, equip with your best gear, and trust to hold the line while you negotiate surrenders.

Even as late-game pressures push players toward leaner rosters, the importance of companions evolves. In Bannerlord's open-ended sandbox, their value lies in how you use them. As captains, scouts, governors, or expendable assets, they reflect your strategic priorities and roleplaying choices. Every dismissed leader or cherished medic mirrors the kind of ruler you've become.

And with the upcoming War Sails expansion, companions are set to take on new roles. You'll assign them to helm warships, manage fleets, and engage in maritime campaigns. The expansion promises customizable fleets, ship-based battles, and new sea-focused skills and assignments. Managing your clan on land is challenging; managing them across oceans adds a new strategic dimension.

Whether outfitting companions with Nordic spears or dispatching them to blockade enemy ports, War Sails could elevate them from secondary figures to indispensable naval officers. It's not just about keeping your party healed anymore; it's about building a fleet, surviving storms, and turning named faces into legends of the northern seas.

So whether you run a tight band of elites or a sprawling network of governors, raiders, and sailors, remember: your companions are more than tools. They are the spine of your story and the soul of your campaign—and soon, they might just be the wind in your sails.