Bannerlord Companions: Two Party Roles Each (v1.4.8)
Short answer: the first thing to fix is role assignment, not who you hired. A party has four roles — Scout, Quartermaster, Surgeon and Engineer — and any role you leave unassigned is filled by your own character's skill. Hiring someone does nothing until you assign them. And since v1.4.5 a single clan member can hold up to two roles at once, which matters most early, when companion slots are scarce.
Written against v1.4.8, released 10 August 2026 — the latest stable build per Bannerlord's official Steam news. The v1.5.0 line was still in beta as of 19 August 2026.
A word on sources first. Role effects and clan tier numbers come from mountandblade.fandom.com's Clan page, and recruitment from its Companions (Bannerlord) page. Both are volunteer-run wiki pages, not an official wiki, and neither carries a verified-version tag, so confirm the numbers in your own game. The version numbers and the two-role rule below, by contrast, are taken from TaleWorlds' own patch notes.
Four roles, and an empty slot means you
This is where most parties lose value. The wiki puts it plainly: roles default to the clan leader (the player) unless manually assigned to other members, which means the role bonus uses the player's own skill values.
So "I hired a companion but my party is no faster" and "my wounded take forever to heal" usually mean the role was never assigned. Recruiting alone does not transfer anyone's skill to the party.
| Role | Skill used | What it does for the party |
|---|---|---|
| Scout | Scouting | The hero's Scouting skill applies to the party, improving how far away it can spot other parties |
| Quartermaster | Steward | Raises the party's troop size cap, scaled to the hero's Steward level |
| Surgeon | Medicine | Applies the healing benefits of the hero's Medicine skill to the party |
| Engineer | Engineering | Builds siege engines faster and unlocks higher-difficulty engines, provided the assigned hero has the relevant Engineering perks |
The wiki marks its own Engineer entry "Requires verification". Treat that one as a step less certain than the other three.
v1.4.5 made it two roles per person
This is where older guides disagree with the current game. TaleWorlds' patch notes for WS v1.2.5 / BL v1.4.5 (21 May 2026) state it directly:
And across both the expansion and the base game, clan members can now hold up to two party roles at the same time, reducing the pressure of companion limits.
The wiki matches this — party members can be assigned up to two roles within the party — and adds a detail worth knowing: roles can be left unassigned, in which case the player fills them, and the two-role limit is ignored.
| Assignment | Whose skill applies | Two-role cap |
|---|---|---|
| Given to a companion | That companion | Applies (two per hero) |
| Left empty | You | Does not apply |
Your own character can cover all four roles simultaneously. That makes "leave the role empty where my skill is already higher" a legitimate choice — hand a companion only the roles where they clearly beat you.
The same patch added two naval roles to the War Sails expansion: First Mate, tied to the Boatswain skill, and Navigator, tied to the Shipmaster skill. The four roles above are base game; these two appear only if you own the expansion.
Where to hire, and what to check first
Companions are recruited in taverns in major towns, and every one of them has the occupation Wanderer.
You can see their skills before paying. Open the in-game encyclopedia, go to Heroes, and filter by the Wanderer occupation: that lists every companion in the game along with their skill levels. It beats walking into taverns hoping for a good roll.
Three things about those numbers, all documented on the wiki:
- Starting focus points equal level + 4, so a higher-level companion arrives with more already spent.
- A skill shown as 0 actually carries a random +0 to +9. Zero does not mean untouched.
- Companions whose starting level is 8, 12, 16 and so on are flagged as bugged, with one attribute point fewer than others. Worth avoiding if you intend to raise them over a long campaign.
How many you can hire depends on clan tier
The companion cap is tied to clan tier, and tier is driven by Renown.
| Clan tier | Renown required | Companion cap | Party cap | Workshop cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 50 | 3 (inferred) | 1 | 2 |
| Tier 2 | 150 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Tier 3 | 350 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Tier 4 | 900 | 7 | 4 | 5 |
| Tier 5 | 2,350 | 8 | 4 | 6 |
| Tier 6 | 6,150 | 9 | 4 | 7 |
The tier 4 row contradicts itself on the wiki. Tier 3 is listed as a cap of 5 and tier 4 as "+1 (7 max)" — a +1 from 5 should be 6, not 7. The wiki text alone cannot settle which figure is right, so check this one in game. The table reproduces the "max" values as listed; the 3 shown for tier 1 is inferred backwards from tier 2's "+1 (4 max)".
Who to put where
The wiki recommends companions per role. They are identified by the suffix of their name, because wanderer names take the form "name + epithet". Short-term means strong immediately; long-term means better once raised.
- Scout wants Cunning. Short-term, of the Wastes (Aserai) has by far the highest starting Scouting and decent martial skills, but only reaches 7 Cunning at level 28. Long-term, the Black (Vlandia) is young and reaches 7 Cunning by level 24.
- Quartermaster wants Steward and Trade. Short-term, the Exile (Empire) or the Spicevendor (Aserai) bring high Steward and Trade for the quartermaster perks, but only hit 7 Intelligence at level 28. Long-term, the Scholar (Aserai) starts at 0 Steward yet is young, carries 50 Trade for the Caravan Master perk, and reaches 7 Intelligence by level 24.
- Surgeon also points at the Scholar, who has by far the highest starting Medicine and again reaches 7 Intelligence by level 24. So the Scholar is the recommendation for both Quartermaster and Surgeon. Before v1.4.5 that forced a choice; now one hero can simply hold both. It is the clearest use of the two-role change.
- Engineer wants the Engineer (Aserai) — high Engineering, serviceable martial skills, 7 Intelligence by level 24. Until you start besieging places this role earns the least, so it is a reasonable one to defer while slots are tight.
One caveat about the wiki's companion table itself: it is unfinished. At the time of writing, 10 of the 54 companions listed still have their main stat cells filled with "?". That is why no individual skill numbers are reproduced here. Use the in-game encyclopedia described above to check a candidate before hiring.
Other uses, and the traps
Companions can be put to work outside party roles. The wiki lists the following.
- Running quests. They can take a quest if they meet its skill requirement. They leave the party for the days it takes to finish, and some quests need troops sent along, so dispatching one right before a campaign costs you strength.
- Leading caravans. They travel the campaign map and earn clan income through their Trade skill.
- Leading war parties. A companion-led party costs no Influence when you call it into your army — unlike asking a noble.
- Governing a settlement. Their Governor perks apply. If the governor's culture does not match the settlement's, loyalty takes a penalty — which the wiki says the right perks can negate. Parking whoever is nearest in freshly taken territory costs you here.
- Improving relations. Leaving a member in a castle or town raises your standing with its owner, and potentially with the town's notables, over time.
- Slots are finite. The cap follows clan tier, per the table above. The formula behind the hiring fee itself could not be verified for this article, so it is not stated here — judge from the price quoted in the tavern.
Summary
Three things. First, an unassigned role runs on your own skill — hiring alone changes nothing. Second, since v1.4.5 one hero can hold two roles, so the Scholar can be Quartermaster and Surgeon at once. Third, the companion cap is clan tier, which is Renown — if you want more slots, earn Renown first.
As for the numbers: the volunteer wiki pages used here carry no verified-version tag, and the companion table still has gaps. The mechanics above should hold, but check individual skill values in the in-game encyclopedia.
Sources
- TaleWorlds — Patch Notes: WS v1.2.5 / BL v1.4.5 (21 May 2026 — two party roles per clan member; the First Mate and Navigator naval roles in War Sails. Official)
- Steam — Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord official news (confirms v1.4.8 as the latest stable, released 10 August 2026, and the v1.5.0 line as beta. Official)
- mountandblade.fandom.com — Clan (the four role effects, roles defaulting to the player, the two-role cap, and Renown and caps per clan tier. Volunteer wiki, no verified-version tag)
- mountandblade.fandom.com — Companions (Bannerlord) (tavern recruitment, the Wanderer occupation, checking skills via the encyclopedia, focus points = level + 4, the bugged starting levels, the random minor skills, per-role recommendations, and the quest/caravan/governor/relations uses. Volunteer wiki, no verified-version tag)
- mountandblade.fandom.com — Skills (Bannerlord) (which skill each role uses, and that an empty role falls back to the player's skill. Volunteer wiki)
