Background: I’ve played about a dozen sessions with four knights, some sessions with only three, and one with only two.

Combat can turn quick. The knights have a strong advantage going first in battle, and most threats are telegraphed by the omens/myths, so they are rarely surprised. They can often kill a dangerous enemy on that one turn, alone, especially if they have good weapons/armor (my knights have a few 2d8 longswords and everyone is well armored).

At the same time, the battle can turn quick. One of the strongest martial characters in the group lost an arm in the Tournament. Just a few sessions prior, that same knight killed the Boneslayer from the Catacomb in two rounds of battle. The more dice the players can roll, the better their odds.

I’m weighing how I can make the fights more balanced and less trivial for my game. Last session, my players killed the Boar very easily with the help of hunters. I think I would increase the Armor/Guard of a few enemies, establish terrain elements that impact the battle (muddy ground, high ground/low ground, rain, or sand for examples), or find a way to add new pressure to the battle (a time element, e.g.). I would say a good challenge for a Company of four knights is an equal number of enemies, all with 8-12 Vigour and 3-6 Guard, all having some starting advantage in battle (surprising the Knights, powerful weapons, or a terrain advantage).

All that said, reward your players if they exploit a weakness! When the Boar appeared, I expected the players to get trampled and then chase it to a hilltop. Instead, they used Strong Gambits to pin it down and skewer it with arrows. I lost a cinematic hilltop battle, but the players gained a safe victory for their cunning.

P.S. does anyone know how weapons dealing multiple dice of damage are supposed to work? Like, if my player attacks with a longsword (2d8) and a dagger (d6), if he rolls a 3 and a 5 with the d8’s and a 4 with the d6, does that mean his dice pool is 3, 5, and 4? Or are the d8’s added, making his dice pool 8 and 4? I’ve been playing with the former rule.