Companions¶

"You don't have to do this alone. Most don't."

A companion is any non-pet humanoid ally who walks with you, fights at your side, and can be dismissed when you need to travel light. They sleep where you sleep, eat what you feed them, and - given enough hours together in combat - they stop calling you "boss" and start calling you something warmer.

At a glance¶


Party cap	2 followers (mercs + invited combined)
Pets	Don't count toward the cap
Bondmates	Don't count (Beastmaster's bonded animal is separate)
Beckoned NPCs	Don't count (they leave at the next location)
Bond tiers	Paid Merc → Sworn → Lifelong

The two kinds of follower¶

Hired mercenaries charge a daily wage and follow you for the work. They have loot shares, wage tracking, and they'll quit if you can't pay or you put them through too much. The most common entry point is Grigg's three teams - pre-built pairs keyed to your class. Larger companies (Iron Wolves, Shadow Hands, Pale Sisters) open up mid-game.

Named companions are NPCs who join you for reasons - class-aligned recruits met through quest chains, the bond-quest arcs, or sheer dramatic momentum. They don't take a wage, but they have opinions, schedules, and limits on what they'll watch you do. Push a paladin recruit through enough necromancy and Trust tanks even if the merc-wage line stays at zero.

The mercenary–vs–named distinction is soft: the same NPC can start as a paid merc and migrate to sworn-tier loyalty (no more wages) over time. The system is the same either way.

Bond tiers¶

Every follower carries a bond tier with you. There are three:

Tier	What it means
Paid Merc	Default. Loyalty is transactional - wages on time, no funny business.
Sworn	Loyal. Wages drop, combat buffs come on, the NPC starts dropping personal lines in banter.
Lifelong	Bonded. Class-unique perk activates (extra attack / revive once / emergency heal / aura emanation / ...).

You don't buy tiers. You earn them. Promotion gates are combat hours together plus a one-time bond-quest:

Paid Merc → Sworn: ~8 combat hours with you in the party.
Sworn → Lifelong: ~30 combat hours and the class's bond quest complete. Bond quests are class-aligned story beats - each follower class has its own.

Run /bond to see your current followers, their tiers, hours accumulated, and what's gating the next promotion. /bond <name> drills into one. /bond tier_up <name> attempts a promotion if the gates are met.

Hiring a merc¶

Easiest entry: talk to Grigg at the Rusty Tankard. He runs three pre-built pairs - Wrecking Crew (damage/damage), Shield & Sparks (tank/utility), Old Guard (heal/burst) - and each fits a different class profile. Pick the team that covers your weakness, not the team that doubles your strength.

Larger merc companies (Iron Wolves, Shadow Hands, Pale Sisters) unlock around mid-game once you've built reputation with the Merchants Guild or your faction of choice. See Grigg's three teams for the preview.

Managing your party¶

Command	What it does
`/bond`	List current followers + tiers + combat hours
`/bond <name>`	Detail view - tier, hours, gate, current buffs
`/bond tier_up <name>`	Promote if gates are met
`/bonds`	(plural) - friendship-XP curve view (legacy)
`/party`	Roster snapshot
`dismiss <name>`	Send a follower home
`dismiss all`	Dismiss every follower at once

The party cap is two. If you're already at capacity and a recruitable NPC offers to join, you'll need to dismiss someone first. Dismissal is friendly - the NPC walks back to their home location and waits there. They'll rejoin if you ask again later, provided nothing's burned the bridge in between.