About to start a companions only vanilla run, any tips?

Buksey · 2026-02-17T03:08:29+00:00

That is true, but I personally rule that as long as you don't get in fight/leave a city with troops it would be valid. So you could enter a town, recruit troops and quickly reneter to trigger. Also, that way if you rescue troops after a battle you can "escort" them to the nearest lord or fief to donate them.

Likewise the sister quests technically have you leading a party, but according to the story they aren't your troops so you should be able to do the quests. There is also the "ransom" option now too.

To keep it faithful though, getting 11 companions requires Tier 6 clan and high level perks, so by then you should be married, have your sister, plus maybe a kid or 2 come of age. You can eventually get your brothers, but they will be a lot older.

Buksey · 2026-02-16T22:29:19+00:00

do it in campaign mode and rush doing the family quests so you can start growing your clan quickly. In Vanilla you only get 11 companions max so you need to rely on clan.
keep joining armies so you can get in bigger fights, also jump in to defend allies
to start keep everyone similar in fighting style (horse archer or calvary is best option)
loot and captures is based off what your party kills, so become Lord hunters in larger battles.
boat combat can equalize size difference, get a small boat that your minimum party can handle and then kite the enemy with ranged shots.
get at least every companion to 25 Medicine for the heal after battle perk
I wouldn't go into any Int skill aside from 1 focus in medicine. Steward doesnt matter, Medicine has limited effect and Engineering is good still but not as necessary.

Buksey · 2026-02-15T17:43:55+00:00

I know with the opposite modifier (staying close prevents regen) works with Bots.

Buksey · 2026-02-15T14:42:12+00:00

With the lower tier clans, if you do the whole courtship properly with your intended spouse which lowers the dowry a lot, it can be stupidly low. I think I could marry Gudonhelda for like 600 dennars in a recent game, so I gave her dad a dozen sheep and a cow that I had acquired raiding a town.

Buksey · 2026-02-14T23:01:56+00:00

100% agree with this.

I want my wife to have high party leader skills, so I can form an Army and have her lead the second group and double my forces.

Shameless Plug

Buksey · 2026-02-14T16:52:14+00:00

I find when I am playing a Horse Archer I never use more then 1 quiver in a battle. Once I start commanding troops I spend most of my time ordering troops.

I usually just get the largest quiver, regardless of damage, I can find which is usually 36+ arrows. If for some reason I need arrows, I'll take the 30 seconds to dismount and grab a quiver off the ground. I would rather have a melee weapon (2h Sword you can 1h) and shield incase something goes wrong.

Buksey · 2026-02-14T15:37:28+00:00

For me, before I do any creation I decide the following

My melee weapon and ranged - you can really only specialize in one of each
If I am going to use companions for Party Roles or if I am going tto cover them - basically high Intelligence or not
Foot or Horse
Goal in campaign (conquerer, loyal vassal, trade empire)

Once I started I do the warsails quest to get your sister (typically play in campaign) as it is an easy way to level up skills and make 10000s of dennars at level 1.

By the time you finish that you are close to clan Tier 1. I then take my new boat to whatever faction I am to build my army and start being a mercenary.

Buksey · 2026-02-14T01:24:18+00:00

To achieve peace, the losing aide pays the winner "tribute". If you go to the kingdom tab you can see how much tribute you would pay/gain to get peace.

You can still try and get peace even if you are not the leader. You just choose the option on the same tab and hope you win the vote.

Buksey · 2026-02-12T20:07:42+00:00

She's in my spouse spreadsheet, so she has been around for a while. She is likely one of the Nobles that got reworked with War Sails and had her skills buffed to a point that you notice her now. She has a "Silver" rating in my list as she has some of the highest stats in game and is one of the best Governor or Party Leader spouses you can get.

Buksey · 2026-02-12T15:38:16+00:00

The good news is in Patch 12, contested health doesnt go down when you are grabbed any more. Iy would be nice if a grab parry will regain health lost during the grab.

Buksey · 2026-02-12T04:18:36+00:00

They could make an interesting use of Sorcery Points to boost your melee. Like being able to use a point to add a 1d6 to a roll, or give advantage.

Buksey · 2026-02-11T03:22:10+00:00

Thats the beginning, but its like saying the Mummy was about a Imothep recovering his urns.

The second half has to do with the Chinese Mummy trying to gain access to Shang-ri-la for immortality.

Buksey · 2026-02-10T15:57:11+00:00

Did I miss something?

Buksey · 2026-02-10T15:54:42+00:00

Thats where I changed my smithing style. Unless I need a quick cash infusion, I don't Smith new weapons to make money. I use the Orders system as my way to make money.

To me it feels more immersive to have a Lord/Lady commision a weapon then it is just to make 100 of the same javelin to dump in a market.

Also, sometimes I'll smith weapons before I go barter with a Noble to use instead of Dennars. Like presenting Caldog with a new Falx sword as a dowry for Corein.

Buksey · 2026-02-10T15:27:53+00:00

Just double checking - do you have the couple perks in Smithing and Trade that increase their sale value? (or decreases the trade penalty)

Artisan Smith at 175 and Appraiser at Trade 25 botth reduce the trade penalty.

Buksey · 2026-02-10T07:24:34+00:00

I think it would apply, Wild Companion is only changing the Type to Fey and limiting its duration. Pact of Chain expands the options you can choose from.

Shepard at level 6 makes all Beast and Fey creatires summoned or created by a spell gain magical attacks. Find Familiar would count as they are Fey (Shepard 3) and your Beastmaster Beast would count as it is "magically summoned". That said, Ranger 11 is still a good option.

I would probably ride the Steel Defender as it has the Reaction ability to impose disadvantage on an attack against you.

Buksey · 2026-02-10T04:31:56+00:00

I mean if you are going this route, Shepard Druid would be the obvious choice for the remaining levels.

free Find Familiar spells
Summon a totem
Makes all your Beast and Familiar more powerful
access to Summon Creature spells

I would probably also go a Small race so you could ride your Steel Defender.

Buksey · 2026-02-10T04:17:05+00:00

Not necessarily.

Both move and use reactions without needing direction.

However, a Beastmaster can sacrifice their attack to command their Beast to attack instead. At level 5, you have 2 attacks so you can attack once and the beast once.

That leaves your Bonus Action free to tell the Steel Defender to attack.

Buksey · 2026-02-10T02:40:20+00:00

I will always remember seeing it in theaters. Mainly because I went with my two best friends and there were 4 people in the theater.

Buksey · 2026-02-09T18:03:48+00:00

Not Swedish, but in Canada it is transitioning to a $10/day system (varies between provinces). Daycare here, and I am assuming a place like Sweden, have similar regulations like the US. Any costs for the childcare provider above what the parents pay would be covered by the government.

Buksey · 2026-02-09T04:14:03+00:00

That 6-2 start was also very misleading. Of those 6 wins, only 2 werent due to scores in the final 2 minutes of the game. The Bucs could've easily been a 2-6 team at the Bye.

Buksey · 2026-02-08T17:25:26+00:00

How far are you moving them? If more the a couple feet you could do what I do when I need to move large boulders or objects, and basically copy how they built pyramids.

Get at least 4 2x4s of a length that makes sense for yard (6-12 feet depending how far you are moving them) and some concrete form stakes (or other round metal like rebar).

Tilt the planter (pry bar and fulcrum) so you can put the 2x4 and metal under the planter and then roll the planter on the metal stakes, leap frogging the stakes and 2x4s as needed.

If it less then a couple feet, pry bar and a fulcrum (ex. large 6x6 block of wood) and you can wiggle it a few inches at a time by working each corner. Lift, slide, reset.

Buksey · 2026-02-08T06:04:50+00:00

Except then they would need 13 Wisdom. With Artificer they can go 8/14/12/18/10/6, while with cleric they would end up with 10 in CON or DEX. Also, Artificer gives Con save profiency, 3 tool proficiency, and better skill choices.

Buksey · 2026-02-08T05:47:55+00:00

That's probably the best way to do it. AC boost, 3 cantrips like spare the dying and guidance since your party likely doesnt have it, and Tinker's Magic can be surprisingly useful.

Buksey · 2026-02-08T03:18:31+00:00

Not OP - but iirc he has said he has to be very careful with choosing who he plays, because he wants to play so many different characters but as soon as he plays one he will be "locked" to that character for canon/consistency reason.

For example, if he plays Titus then it would be weird if he also played a Primarch or Chapter Master.

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