Companions

Adjacent characters (red lines) dislike each other; characters with green lines between them like each other. Credits to Sonkacsont0

You are not the only hero in Prophesy of Pendor. Across the lands, you may find characters in taverns who will be willing to aid you... for a price.

Companions are much more expensive in Pendor, often costing thousands of denars to hire (Sir Roland, the most expensive companion, costs 8000 denars). However, in most cases, companions are far more advanced than in Native and come with stronger equipment. For example, Lethaldiran is recruited at level 42 and comes with Noldor armor and a Noldor bow and arrows, with weapon proficiencies over 400.

Companions have slightly different starting skills and experience between different save games. But they will always have the same level, attributes, equipment and proficiencies.

Companions' starting skills and experience are slightly randomized per save file. Attributes, equipment and proficiencies are always fixed.

Every companion will also cost three times as much as a normal troop with the same level, and they will take three times the loot a normal troop will take after every battle. On the other hand, they can be trained and equipped as player decides, they may offer better party skills, be sent to gather Right to rule, they can be assigned to train your Custom Knighthood Order, they can become lords or be sent as emissaries (only if player is Monarch), and they can't be killed, though they can depart if things are not going according to their liking.

Every Companion likes one other Companion and hates two others (first image on this page) and also likes/dislikes certain actions. Often, they will talk to you when you are doing something which they do not like, such as failing quests or running low on food. They will also talk to you when you go near a specific fief (shown in the table below), and tell you a bit about their history and how that particular location relates to it.

For companion prices and making them vassals info, just scroll down to the table. For further information about the companion, like their special recruiting template, check each companion's page.

Recruitment

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Companions are found in Taverns throughout Pendor.

Their locations are random and they will change from time to time so it is important to check back at taverns regularly. Player may pay 300 denars to Vorador the Scribe, situated on Poinsbruk's Tavern, to know the city which of all companions that are on taverns.

All of them ask for money (except Ansen and Leslie) before they join your party. Regardless of recruitment cost, all require the same wages according to their level, these are triple the wages of normal troops, and like it happens for the other troops, if the companion is mounted or is over level 30 and uses a ranged weapon, their wages will be multiplied by a 166% or a 133% respectively. Since they do not have a strict level cap, most likely all of the companions you trained will even exceed the wages of the most expensive troops like Noldor Twilight Knight, Hero Adventurer and Heroine Adventurer. For example, Lethaldiran, the companion with the highest starting level (42), without leveling, will cost more than twice than any of the 3 "level 60 troops" previously mentioned.

Departure

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There are several ways to (temporarily) lose a companion:

• If you voluntarily part ways with a companion (via the dialog option or by not taking them back in after a mission), you can just pick them up again (no recruitment cost). But for them to reappear in taverns, you need to gain 100 renown (counting from the moment you dismissed him/her). You can ask a Traveler in the tavern for the position of each companion that once was in your group, so it is advisable to recruit them all once and then release them if you cannot use them right away.
• If you are taken prisoner, you have to wait until you are free. When freed, some companions might be freed with you, but may also be captured and you will need to see a ransom broker to get them free for money (in which case they will come to you within 1-2 days), or have to free them like every other prisoner. If one has escaped on their own, were not captured, or released due to a peace treaty, they can be found in taverns as usual.
• If you keep companions with dislikes against other companions in the same group, those companions might eventually leave "to go back home" or "settle down". They can not be found via traveler as they do not respawn right away. Instead, it takes several weeks before they respawn, at which point they can be found again. If you have trouble finding them that might have to do with renown. Some companions which left on their own decision will not reappear until your renown exceeds the renown at the time when they left + 100 (avg.). After that a traveler should know the location.
• If you lend a companion to a lord via the Lend companion quest and that lord acquires a hostile relation with you or swears loyalty to another faction, you won't be able to meet that companion unless several in-game weeks have passed. During that time, you can't find the companion via a traveler. The lost companion will eventually find you on their own.

Customizing Companions

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Companions have the same leveling process as the player, allowing them to increase in stat proficiencies and weapon skills. You also have the ability to change the companions' equipment for your tactical needs*. To manage this, go to the party screen (Hotkey: P) and talk to the companion. Ask to "know about them" or ask to "see their equipment" to change these options, respectively. Stats rely on the companions' performance in battle/experience and their equipment relies on items in your inventory. Both create a domino effect, requiring one to get the other. For example, an armor that requires 9 strength requires more stats. However, a decent weapon is required get enough experience in battle to get that stat required for the better armor.

*Lethaldiran requires the player to be at least level 30 to allow the player to see his inventory.

Marriage

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It is possible to marry a hero, but only for female characters. It requires the following steps:

1. Start your own kingdom.
2. Appoint a male companion to be a vassal.
3. Ask the companion if he wants to marry, if your renown and relations with him are high enough, he will accept.
4. As you have no family on Pendor, he will organize the wedding, and in 1 month, marry.

Court Minister and Emissaries

As a monarch, appointing companions to be your minister is highly recommended, as a prominent citizen is never skilled in politics, and will not give you many options which you can use to manage your realm. All companions have the same capabilities, so choose someone not very useful or someone that constantly deserts your army in your party. Ideally, if you're playing as male and you marry, your wife should be your minister, as she offers the most options (combined wife and minister functions), whilst if not, she can't accompany your or be made a vassal like you can with your companions.

One can train companions to be good emissaries by increasing their Persuasion skill, increasing the chance of success. But note that kings will very often reject truce or goodwill regardless of Persuasion level, even if the skill is at 10, as the circumstance takes a larger importance.

Strategy: Companion Combinations

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These combinations are thought to avoid any conflicts within the party which often result in your companions leaving. Some combinations will allow the player some actions whilst other combinations, will allow other actions. If you like one combination more than another and still want companions from the crew you don't pick, one way to keep them around is to continually send them out on the "gather support" mission. This keeps them out of your party but still under your control without causing problems within your party, though you have to continually re-send them out every 5-6 days.

• Diev-Sigismund-Leslie-Kaverra-Lethaldiran-Julia-Alyssa-Alistair (Combined starting level: 144)
  • 5 commoners, 3 nobles
  • Special troops (if made into lords): Eventide, Dragon, Noldor & Maiden Rangers
  • You can add Ansen+Sir Rayne for versatility or Boadice+Frederick for more asskicking power.
  • Do not raid villages, steal from peasants or rob merchants, otherwise Leslie, Diev and Boadice will be upset.
  • Do not run from battles, or Sir Alistair, Sir Rayne and Frederick will be upset.
  • Do not fail quests, or Alyssa will be upset.
  • Do not fail to feed or pay the troops, do not get slaughtered or Kaverra, Siggy, Lethaldiran, Julia and Ansen will be upset.
  • This combination is arguably a stronger group overall than the following list, especially with the additions of Lethaldiran, Alistair, Sigismund, and Diev. Picking this group, as well as Boadice and Frederick, gives you a solid core group of companions. You can then make nobles out of the other combination - Roland, Donavan, Rayne, etc.
• Adonja-Donavan-Kassim-Ediz-Riva-Sara-Roland-Jocelyn (Combined starting level: 118)
  • 4 commoners, 4 nobles
  • Special Troops (if made into lords): Dawn, Barclay, Mystmountain
  • You can add Ansen+Sir Rayne for versatility or Boadice+Frederick for more asskicking power.
  • Do not raid villages, steal from peasants or rob merchants, otherwise Jocelyn and Roland will be upset.
  • Do not run from battles, or Donavan, Ediz, and Sara will be upset (as will Rayne or Frederick if you add them).
  • Do not fail to feed or pay the men, do not get slaughtered or Adonja, Kassim and Riva will be upset.
  • This combination is arguably weaker than the group that includes Diev, Sigismund, and Lethaldiran, though certain members of this group are worth picking up: Roland and Donovan to make into a lords, and Jocelyn to train a CKO. This group, however, is much more versatile, as their lower starting levels allow for wider arrays of skills down the line. However, if you want companions that are already set for battle, go with the other combination.
• Alistair-Adonja-Donavan-Kassim-Ediz-Riva-Alyssa-Ansen
  OR Alistair-Sigismund-Donavan-Kassim-Ediz-Riva-Sara-Sir Rayne
  • Can raid villages, steal from peasants, or rob merchants
  • 3 commoners, 5 nobles with either group
• Roland-Jocelyn-Diev-Sigismund-Leslie-Kaverra-Lethaldiran-Julia-Boadice
  • 6 commoners, 3 nobles
  • This is probably the most hard core, kick ass warring group ever.
  • No medic, though Leslie can be made into one.
  • Ok to run from battles, surrender, pay off bullies and bandits, leave some men behind to cover your escape, and everyone is still happy!
  • Cannot raid villages or Kaverra and Leslie will be upset.
• Leslie-Diev-Donavan-Frederick-Jocelyn-Boadice-Ediz
  • Add either: Alistair & Alyssa 'or' Roland & Sara
    • It would appear that Alistair & Alyssa would be a better choice, unless you're a big fan of funny mustaches and man-eaters.
  • 5 commoners, 4 nobles
  • Ok to not feed or pay your men. You can get slaughtered, and everyone's still happy.
  • Versatile skills distribution.
  • Can't go raiding stuff or surrendering, or failing quests with this group.

"Minimalist" Combinations

Some players prefer fewer companions so they can get more loot in battle - see the Looting page for more explanation. This combination gives you the bare neccessities for party support and some prep for your future kingdom and CKO. At minimum, you could have as few as three or four companions in your party, with a few others added as their roles become necessary.

• Party Support: Sigismund-Diev-Leslie (respectively: trainer, pathfinder, INT slave (medic, engineer, even pathfinder and trainer if you push Leslie high enough)). You don't need really any other companions besides these three to cover the main bases.
  • Switching out Diev for Sara the Fox gives a little more flexibility here to make a pathfinder and/or additional general INT slave, but Diev starts with decently high skills and is much more useful in combat.
  • Switching out Sigismund for Kaverra gives a little more flexibility to make a trainer, but Siggy starts with high trainer ratings and is exceedingly more useful in combat. He also can act as a ready-made pathfinder if need be and can serve as a decent, but not great, CKO trainer as well.
• Future Companion Lords: Ansen-Roland-Rayne (Ansen and Rayne need to be re-equipped and trained up a bit (a lot in Ansen's case) to be useful lords later; Roland can simply be re-equipped and then either sent away until you need him or constantly kept out of the party via the "gather support" mission).
• CKO Trainers (perhaps eventually in your party, if not from the start): Lethaldiran (for additional access to Noldor recruits as well as CKO archery trainer) and Jocelyn (for CKO general trainer; doesn't even need to be re-equipped or leveled up to do this). If kept in the party, Jocelyn will conflict with Diev, but not Sara.
   

Companions as Lords

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Much like native, you can grant fiefs to your companions if you become a King. Some companions will field special troops along with their normal culture troops or a whole new recruiting template (like Lethaldiran with Noldor, Donavan with Barclay...). All companions start with 1000 renown if turned into vassals. You can still customize the equipment and distribute their skill points of companions after you made them lords. Commoners when becoming lords have three different personalities:

• Roguish: Tries to live life as a lord to the full (something between bad-tempered and cunning)
• Benefactor: Tries to improve the quality of life of his people (similar to martial)
• Mercantile: Tries to maximize fief's earning potential (similar to bad-tempered/sadistic)

Note: Frederick of Mettenheim will drop -1 relations with you every time you grant a lord a fief no matter what. No amount of fiefs will stop the -1 from taking effect everytime you give a Lord other than Frederick a fief.

Note: Making a commoner a vassal will drop your relation with most lords (not only the ones in your kingdom) upon talking to them.

If a companion is made into a lord and defects from your faction, and said faction is then defeated, they can again be found in taverns and recruited to your party.

Noble personalities are alike the other nobles, for further information about lord personalities click here.

In bold are highlighted good & decent personalities or good social status. Adonja, Alyssa, Kassim, Riva, Frederick (despite his awesome troops), and Sara make terrible lords until you have so many vassals you don't need to care. However, despite his Cunning personality, Lethaldiran's army is archer-heavy and includes Noldor troops. Making him a vassal has its advantages, but he shouldn't be one of your first choices. Likewise, Frederick's Mettenheim forces are worth having on your side once you don't have to care about keeping all your vassals happy.

Sir Roland and Ansen are by far the best two options for your first vassals. Since Ansen is a good option, you can also make Sir Rayne a vassal and open your party up to Boadice and Frederick to replace the other two in your party.

Name	Level	Hire Price	Personality	Social Class	Common Troops	Special Troops	Triggers story
Adonja	6	1200	Roguish	Commoner	Pendor*	Mystmountain and Bearclaw Berserkers	Poinsbruk
Alyssa	9	2000	Bad-tempered	Noble	Empire	-	Ethos
Ansen	1	0	Upstanding	Noble	Empire	-	Ethos
Boadice	24	6000	Martial	Noble	Veccavia*	Maidens & Valkyries (no Lady Einherjar)	Valonbray
Diev	20	4000	Benefactor	Commoner	Ravenstern	-	Rane
Donavan	14	3000	Martial	Noble	Pendor*	Barclay	Castle Alden
Ediz	9	3000	Benefactor	Commoner	D'Shar	-	Torbah
Frederick	15	6000	Mercantile	Commoner	Pendor*	Mettenheim	Marleons
Julia***	8	800	Benefactor	Commoner	Empire	-	Janos
Kassim	5	800	Cunning	Noble	D'Shar	-	Singal
Kaverra	12	2000	Benefactor	Commoner	Fierdsvain	-	Jayek
Leslie	1	0	Benefactor	Commoner	Variable**	-	Javiksholm
Lethaldiran	42	6000	Cunning	Noble	Pendor*	Noldor Warriors, Rangers and Maiden Rangers	Laria
Riva	4	1500	Roguish	Commoner	Sarleon	-	Laria
Sara	6	1500	Sadistic	Noble	Variable**	-	Marleons
Sigismund	20	4000	Benefactor	Commoner	Fierdsvain	-	Vezin
Sir Alistair	32	5000	Martial	Noble	Pendor*	Order of Eventide	Laria
Sir Jocelyn	32	5000	Benefactor	Commoner	Sarleon	-	Poinsbruk
Sir Rayne	15	5000	Martial	Noble	Pendor*	Order of the Falcon	Rane
Sir Roland	32	8000	Good-natured	Noble	Pendor*	Order of the Dawn	Cez

*: They have special recruitment templates, meaning that they will recruit other troops and with different numbers than the standard kingdom recruitment templates (to see these, go to that companion's page).

**: the companion will take by default the template from the kingdom her awarded fief belonged to, he/she will get soldiers from the faction of the original, even if its a village. If she is then given a walled fief, no matter to which faction it will belong, she will remain with the original culture, and train troops of that culture no in that walled fief's garrison as well.

• From testing: I took Pendor culture. Then recruited and made vassal Leslie, giving her Tulbuk (a D'Shar village) as her first fief. Then gave her Valonbray (a Fierdsvain city), she kept on recruiting D'Shar troops on her army AND now as well Order of the Dawn troops (as Valonbray starts with a Dawn chapter). On purpose lost Torbah (D'Shar city to which Tulbuk is attached), so Leslie only had Valonbray, she kept on recruiting D'Shar and Dawn troops on her party and on Valonbray. So it's set-up at the moment Leslie or Sara are given their first fief.

***: when made vassal, she will be called Tribune Julia. She is the only one with this special naming convention.

You can change the template of companions to the default one of the culture you selected to . To do so, talk to them "I wish to ask you something" - "I want you to train your soldiers according to the customs of my kingdom".

• Companions with * (special templates) will say they won't train "inferior soldiers" and refuse to change

3.9 Recruitment Feature

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This is a new feature added to be able to recruit special troops. This is similar to the new Right to rule option. While that will always give some troops, it can only be triggered once per companion; this may be repeated, but an attempt may not provide any troops whatsoever. Player can ask a single companion every week for troops:

For option to appear

• Not during order's renown challenge quest
• You haven't asked a companion that week (no matter if you won or lost)
• Player must be at least level 20
• Relations with the companion at least +40 (if the companion is a lord).

Troops (weak, medium, strong)

• Frederick: Mettenheim Avonteurer, Mettenheim Greatsword, Mettenheim Forlorn Hope
• Donavan: Barclay Aventurero, Barclay Soldaro, Barclay Conquistadoro
• Boadice: Veccavi Man Hunter, Veccavi Knight, Veccavi Bloodsworn Guard
• Adonja: Mystmountain Warrior, Mystmountain Shaman, Bearclaw Berserker
• Ansen: Melitine Free Brother, Melitine Lancer, Melitine Imperial Guard
• Lethaldiran: Pendor Heavy Bowman, Pendor Armored Bowman, Noldor Hunter
• Sir Jocelyn: Monk, War Priest, Inquisitor
• Sir Rayne: Maiden Ranger, Talon of the Falcon, Maiden Noble
• Sir Alistair: Young D'Shar Adventurer, Eventide Ghilman, Hero Adventurer
• Ediz: Singalian Horseman, Singalian Temptress, Omen Seeker
• Kassim: D'Shar Outlaw Chieftain, D'Shar Rogue Knight, D'Shar Deathwind Savaran
• Julia: Empire Levy Skirmisher, Empire Armored Crossbowman, Guardian Empire Knight
• Kaverra: Vanskerry Raider, Vanskerry Warrior, Vanskerry Jarl
• Diev: Ravenstern Archer, Ravenstern Highlander, Iceguard Ranger
• Sir Roland: Warden, Dawn Wyvern, Hero Adventurer
• Sigismund: Rogue Blackheart Squire, Rogue Blackheart Knight, Hero Adventurer
• Leslie: Maiden Cavalry, Maiden Adventurer, Heroine Adventurer
• Riva: Rogue Sarleon Squire, Sarleon Rogue Knight, Red Fletcher Longbowman
• Alyssa: Rogue Baccus Squire, Baccus Rogue Knight, Iron Circle Centurion
• Sara: Maiden Cavalry, Marleons Heavy Cavalry, Maiden Noble

Here you can check it in a table format, as well as the levels (as its what determines the base price)

Chances (rolled in advance)

• 30% fail
• 35% weak troop
• 25% medium troop
• 10% strong troop

Quantities (rolled in advance)

• 1-5 if you talk to him in a tavern (not recruited)
• 2-4 if you talk to him whilst he is in your party
• 1-2 if you talk to him whilst he is a lord

Price

• if the troop is mounted, +25%
• always +20% of its original cost (original cost based on troop's level)

Tips

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• Normally, the maximum amount of companions you have at once without dislikes is 10.
• If you have 10 Persuasion, you can have all of the companions in your party, as you will be persuasive enough to prevent them from leaving. This requires them to have at least average morale and to be happy about your style of leadership and happy about the general state of affairs. Not reaching these requirements will slowly get the companion "mad", and in ~week he will leave if its not fixed. One easy fix is sending away one of his/her rivals.
• Ansen, Leslie and Sara the Fox are good candidates for INT/CHA party skills that you will not be leveling up, due their decent starting value and specially, their low starting level.
• For high-level companions, like Lethaldiran and Sir Roland, investing Qualis Gems for the Dust of Twilight will allow them to become even stronger without needing to grind for EXP.
• Regarding training your Custom Knighthood Order, plan accordingly as you want high trainer skill to pass over STR, AGI and Weapon Proficiency in a timely manner.
• It is posible to have all 20 companions in a party without any quitting because he doesn't like the status of the company, to achieve this:
  • Hire them all. 
  • Resolve all their conflicts correctly (you always have to support someone, but make sure that each companion gets 2 "likes" and 2 "dislikes".)
  • Don't do things that upset them.
  • Get you persuasion to 10. 
  • Make sure party morale never drops below 67 (the higher, the better). 
  • Note: Initially they may try to leave because of some accumulated penalty points, but eventually they will stop doing it after these points drop to a normal level.
  • To know more detail about these or the math and code around it, check this thread: https://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,349168.0.html