Battle Brothers - A Playthrough

[Hastar]

I would say Battle Brothers and Eador Genesis has been the best money I have ever spent in gaming. Along with HoMM3.

Looking at the screen shots I was not sure about either of these games. Once I started playing I could not stop. Once Battle Brothers is released next week, I will play Ironman mode. My 130 hours in EA has prepared me for Ironman mode I hope

Battle Brothers is hard. If you like games where you have to think and if you make a wrong move the battle is lost, then I think most will enjoy it. Turn based fans and open world sand box fans won't be disappointed.

The best way to describe the game is it's like playing HoMM3 without empire management. You are in control of one army on the map and you try to increase the power of your men. Instead of having classes like rangers and paladins your brothers are defined by the weapons they use and the armor they wear. Also, the skills you pick at each lvl up.

You have to also worry about the morale of your men and there are certain battles you want to stay away from. You can't go charging into every battle and expect to win. Fighting orcs takes a different approach then fighting the undead or the noble houses.

I would also compare Battle Brothers to Mount and Blade but with turn based battles. If you are a fan of M&B I think you will enjoy BB.

 

[rk47]

31 - Terrible Price

Spoiler

The fault was entirely mine.

My poor judgment cost us the lives of our brothers as well as our company's banner.

We fled the slaughter of Weilersheim. Smoke and fire rises from the settlement as the sun sets.

The day grew darker still. We spent a few days outside of the settlement, waiting for the carnage to die down.

We owe them an apology. On our return journey we spotted a band of brigands attacking a caravan that just left the miserable village.

Not today, scum. There's no money in this - *but we owe the village this much at least.

We saved the donkey but were too late to save the caravan hands.

Siggy the Bold gave his life in the melee. As we pressed the advantage, the two remaining brigands flee before they can finish off the donkey pulling the cart.

We bury our fallen companion and the two caravan hands before moving on.

 

[rk47]

32 - What does one donkey matter?

Spoiler

In these trying times, Hakon the Arrowmaker and Ejnar the vagabond grew in experience.

We return to Weilersheim, relieved to find the settlement still standing, but most of its farm and other outlying trade facility in ruins.

They must've fought desperately to save themselves.

We hurriedly left the settlement without bothering to trade. The locals are angry, and it is unlikely they've much to sell us anyway.
The company is on its lowest ebb - they've lost their banner, suffered a blow to their reputation from two failures in a row, and lost more than half a dozen brothers within a week. I needed a quick victory to lift their spirits. Anything. Even robbery.

It's almost ironic that almost a day ago we lost a brother protecting the same cart from brigands.
Today, we slaughtered the lone donkey pulling the cart without the slightest trace of hesitation and seized the meager cargo.

A small pouch of coins, a shipment of lumber, and enough rations for a day was all the small cart could carry.

We'll take whatever we can get and hurry away from the village for we won't be welcome in Weilersheim any time soon.

 

[rk47]

33 - Pragmatism

Spoiler

'Are we criminals now, Captain?' one of the men asked.
I ignored the question and focused on getting the best price for the quality lumber we just seized.

Sure, we robbed that caravan, got one village rightfully pissed at us, another atrocity like that and the nobles will send armies after us, but for now things have improved.
The morale of the company has stabilized. However, our manpower is sorely lacking and our purse will not last another botched contract.

The next one better be a success.

We'll take it. We have to. I head to the recruitment pool and counted the coins. Only 700 gold. Not enough to fully complement the unit. We'll have to make do with what we can.

I hired two hardy laborers, gave them arms and ready the men to move out.

This better be good.

 

[rk47]

34 - Back in Business II

Spoiler

The bastards were waiting for us with 3 archers in the dense forest.

Anton caught an arrow to the windpipe. But held his nerves. With them outnumbering us 10 to 9, we're gonna need all the men we have.

Rabe's Arrow replied and killed one of the archers.

I sent one of the new recruit to hold off the brigands to the north, while we deal with the larger group to the south.

Ejnar scored a kill with his pike, the brigands begin to waver.

Hakon and Wilfred backs the newbie to the north.

Anton's luck however, ran out - another arrow hit him and down he goes.

Bjarni, one of our shield brother was struck on the cheek with a blade.

Edmund the newcomer hacks away at his opponent's shield.

The second blow finally shattered the shield, with the defenses stripped, a victory shouldn't be too far away. Meanwhile the thugs in the south are beginning to flee.

Robert the Manly isn't about to let that happen, scoring an opportunistic blow as the coward tries to flee.

Another brigand stepped up, swinging his cleaver at Ejnar.

It wasn't a bad hit, but it was enough to make him bleed.

Rabe meanwhile had to contend with a bruised leg after a mining pick caught him unprepared.

Robert the Manly dispatched the cleaver thug.

Flee, you bastards.
Things are looking good down south, but the topside is still having trouble - Edmund's finger was crushed while trying to block.

Bjarni avenged his bruised leg by slaying the fleeing brigand.

Rabe scored a good hit, injuring the brigand's shoulder.

Robert finished his work, taking his kill tally to 3 for this battle.

At last the northern group has successfully conquered the lone brigand.

Wilfred had to pull out a pitchfork to do it.
The remaining three brigands fled, the forest's dense vegetation aiding their escape.

To pursue three archers in this mess of foliage is foolish. Better to let them go than risk eating arrows.

Well, one didn't make it out in time before Wilfred forked his chest.
Good news surfaced after the fight, Anton is survived the fall - missing an eye. An eye patch and a few days of rest, and he'll be as good as new.

A fine victory for the company.

 

[rk47]

35 - Meager Income

Spoiler

Not much survived the carnage. Most of the dead brigands' armor were too damaged to be of use.

A small cache of ammunition, gold, provisions and repair tools were the highlight of the spoils. And Rabe gets more experienced.

That bruised leg is going to make maneuvering more annoying.

I gave him Backstabber for additional hit chance on surrounded enemies.
Bjarni suffers from a pierced cheek that would make it harder for him to catch his breath while in battle.

His low melee skills makes him more fitting for the role of a shield brother therefore I gave him Colossus to extend his life.

The contract is settled, our gold situation slightly improves and we camp outside the settlement for the night.

In the morning we visit the marketplace to pick the best bargains before heading of to the next settlement in search for more work.

The fuck? No matter, we unload our surplus cargo to earn a bit of coin in Fahrnfeste.

With no contract available, we're forced to move on. But this time I have a clear objective in mind - Eldsvik. The last settlement that our company hasn't visited.

Located in the far northeastern region of the world, we have to make a stop at Hemmeln along the way.

Trouble was spotted along the way.

A group of brigands, plundering a caravan. It may seem like no business of ours, but days of inaction made the company's sword arms slightly itchy. It's time to swing that sword arm a bit.

 

[rk47]

36 - Charitable Work

Spoiler

Our superior ranged weapons proved decisive, scoring some decent hits in the early engagement.

The raiders however, decided that Anton is the weakpoint and assaulted him.

We net one of the raiders to separate them. They may be outnumbered, but their armaments cannot be underestimated.

A javelin caught Anton on the chest and down he goes again. Fuck.

Two caravan hands died in quick succession, further bolstering the raiders' morale.

We press on and sustained more serious injuries.

Edmund took a flail to the head - shattering his helmet and gets a broken nose. Ejnar retaliated with a pike thrust - tearing a raider's ear off.

Einar, another brother suffers from multiple injuries, facing off against a raider in an uphill position.

The first blow cracked his ribs, the second crushed his finger. At least he's still breathing. The netted raider broke free and immediately turned a nearby caravan hand into two.

The last caravan hand couldn't keep himself together and fell apart. This engagement is starting to prove costly.

We manned up, struck a few blows that wrecked the raiders' armor and finally scored much-needed kills.

None of the caravan hands survived the battle. At last the fight is over, the brothers rushed over to Anton, and found him alive.

His heart is weakened but he's still able to fight. The company immediately surrounded the donkey pulling the cart, weapons in their arms and greed in their eyes, only stopping when I shouted at them to desist.

 

[rk47]

37 - Ill Afford

Spoiler

"Leave the cart alone,' I instructed the men. The questioning stares stopped when I explained how well-equipped the army is in this region and it'll take weeks before they'll forget of our transgression. Weeks that we cannot afford to endure without employment.

Edmund gained experience. Time to toughen him up.

Einar gets the same treatment.

That battle wrecked our frontliners.

I can't afford the temple healers, we'll just have to grit our teeth and move on.

We manage to find a simple courier work at Hemmeln.

130. I don't think that's enough to pay for a day's wage. Better than nothing.

We load our cart with fresh bread and other provisions from Hemmeln. It's best to stop at Sommersborg to sell these off before they get stale. At least we'll make more than 130 coins in one trip.

We couldn't find any work in Sommersborg, the nobles are simply not interested with our small time company. Our cart lighter and purse a little bit heavier, we move on to Waidhof to deliver the package.

Did we even make any profit off this trip?

 

[rk47]

38 - Been there, done that

Spoiler

The market at Waidhof stocks plenty of fine lumber. At a fine price too.

We load them into our cart and went looking for work.

Alas, we are not headed that way. That contract will have to wait. For now we shall head to Sommersborg and sell off some cargo before continuing our way to Eidsvik.

That last village we've yet to visit.

The folks of Eidsvik seems terrified of something. Maybe we can solve their problem. They have two contracts available.

One is our favorite: Relic retrieval. One of the men asked nervously if it's another starmap disc we're retrieving.

Nah, it's just a Staff of Foresight. I chuckled.
Let's take a look at the other contract.

A stolen property. I'll think about it first…
For now, we'll celebrate our company's milestone.

 

[rk47]

39 - Without Fear

Spoiler

Despite the many objections, I've decided we can retrieve the staff. I convinced the men that I'm much wiser this time around and no repeat of that 'Star Disc' massacre will occur. With much grumbling, they finally relented and off we go to retrieve the relic.

'We shouldn't touch that Sword..' one of the men warned.
I gave no fucks. Perhaps it was bravado, or pride overcoming logic - but I simply felt confident that I'm better prepared for anything at this moment and ordered one of the company to take the sword with us. Bjarni volunteered.

Ha. Pussies. Alright. Time to return and collect some gold.

No sooner we set forth, several dark shapes makes its way quickly through the snowy plains. It did not take long before we identified those high speed raiders.

'Goblin wolf riders! They're coming right at us!

The smaller cousin of orcs. Goblins are crafty, cunning and all-round annoying. Their blades capable of inflicting bleeding wounds on unarmored flesh and their wolves meant a high mobility advantage. I ordered the men to get ready for a charge. These little bastards won't waste any time in getting close.

It's hard to land a hit on these little buggers, so I told Hakon to cast a net at the closest one and everyone else to start clobbering on that poor bastard.

A few quick thrusts from the pike and the wolf mount is dead, the rider lands on the snowy plain, still more than capable of being an annoyance.

Seriously, the fact he managed to escape his net after being dismounted pisses me off further. I order the men to finish the little shitspawn off.

Another thrust of the pike and the little creature lies dead. The goblins begin to waver, they're not as reckless as their orcish counterparts. We need to stack up the kills quickly before they can inflict more harm. But the wolfriders are not done with their tricks, oh no - on top of their high mobility, they also have other ways of escaping bad odds.

Showing off some fancy footwork, a goblin wolfrider disengaged from melee without giving our spearmen any opportunity to strike at their fleeing form. And then using their high mobility, they engaged our softer back-line.

Only three of them are engaged, the other two are waiting for a better opportunity.

So be it. We'll capitalize at our number advantage while we can.

Robert tore one rider and his mount apart.

The nearby rider lost his nerve and begin to flee. One rider waiting on the wings saw an opportunity and charged at our backline.

The rider on the other side is starting to deal some damage

No matter, we just have to kill them quickly before anyone falls, we ignore the fleeing goblin and focus on the new threat.

It didn't take long for the remaining goblins to seek a retreat.

This one's too panicked to pull off his fancy foot-work while the other was cut down, leaving his mount standing. So eat some free attacks, you green pieces of filth!

The last one was too fast to catch on foot. We let him go.

Hope we taught those shit-eaters a lesson.

 

[rk47]

40 - Strange Meat

Spoiler

The goblins didn't really carry much. We seized a few pieces of their weaponry, a few cuts of questionable meat and a small quantity of ammunition.

Against all odds, Anton has leveled up.

Let's hope he continue that string of good luck. Bjarni too is ready for promotion.

I gave him Fast Adaptation to land more hits in the front. Ejnar gains Backstabber, to capitalize on surrounded foes.

I look at the ancient sword and wonder if it's even that useful to anyone.

It must be valuable. I tossed it back into the cart and hurried my men back to Eidsvik.

Later that night they asked if we'll be getting another standard to replace the one we've lost.

Hm. Why not? I told them I'll do that once our finances permits.

But with this meager pay, I doubt that time will come soon.

 

[rk47]

41 - Away from the Cold

Spoiler

We discover that Eidsvik has given away the other contract to another mercenary company while we were away hunting for the relic. With no jobs in town, it's time to load our cargo with cheap goods and move on.

Barely hours after living Eidsvik, a small quarrel broke out in the camp.

Damn these fools. We've got enough medical bills as it is.
If I recall correctly, there is one courier contract available in Waidhof...

Ah, it's still there! And the employer is willing to stick to the negotiated terms. We accept.

Weissenhaven is a long journey south - good. It'll give us time to heal and repair our gear. Assuming no ambushes occur along the way, we should be able to make a quick stop at Markdorf for quick supply before moving on.

One day later, we arrive at Markdorf without incident and completed our delivery at Weissenhaven.

Two contracts are available in Weissenhaven.

A brigand hunt

And a fight against a mysterious terror.

If the pay is great, so is the risk - I must think upon this carefully.

 

[rk47]

42 - Risk Averse

Spoiler

After judging the risks and the pay, I decided not to take the contracts after all and instead search for employment at Ottendorf.

Our purse should be able to withstand a few days of unemployment a little while longer.
Ottendorf proved to be the right choice in the end.

A simple cargo delivery should be well within our capability.

The pay isn't much, but at least we'll avoid heavy casualties if we are prudent with our routes.
The prices in Ottendorf's marketplace is horrible, we add nothing to our cart as we leave for Hemmeln.

What the client transports isn't any of our business. Our job is just to deliver the cargo to its destination. Unwilling to risk the 400 gold pay and put the company in any danger, I told Bjarni to shut it and move on. One and a half day later, we're outside Hemmeln with no incident.

Isn't it great when things go smoothly?

 

[rk47]

43 - Fear the Nobility

Spoiler

The village of Hemmeln was recently raided. Perhaps the villagers are interested in a permanent solution for the problem?

690 is not a huge amount - but that means the risk shouldn't be that great. I accept and hired a farmer from the recruitment pool t complement our 11.

He's a hardy fighter. We hand him a pitchfork, a battered straw hat and wish him good luck.

The camp is just north of the village, slightly off the main road.
Barely hours after leaving the village, the men spotted 3 groups racing through the forest.

A small group of brigands are being pursued by two House Rabenholt patrols.
'What do we do, Captain?' one of the men asked.
There's no contract for this, the brigands are practically doomed, but getting a piece of the action would score us some easy gains in reputation and a cut of the loot. I told the men to form in with the Sommersborg Company and ready themselves for battle. It'd be a good lesson to the men on why they shouldn't mess with nobles.

'Feels good to be on the winning side for once, eh boys?'
The company nervously chuckled, they felt inferior at the sight of the army's polished arms and shields. Bright battle standard on the rear, armored wardogs on the front, heavy crossbows locked and loaded. They understood the lesson all too well: the nobles spared no expenses in gearing their men. A few more donkeys slain and it would be us standing on the other side of the field.

The war dogs were set loose, followed by crossbow bolts. There's no escape for the hapless brigands.

The company held back and struck a few from the rear.

The outcome was clear. All the brigands lay dead with nary a soldier fallen. I'm quite pleased that we've scored a few kills of our own. Rabe slaying one with his pike while Wilfred claimed two lives with his bolt.

The leader of the unit thanked us for our 'unneeded help' and let us have a share of the salvage.

It's a pretty good cut for such a low risk venture. But the army's generosity does not extend to the assault on the brigand's camp.

For that, we will have to do it on our own. I told the men to equip the freshly looted gear and get ready for another battle.

 

[rk47]

44 - Earn Ourselves

Spoiler

The White Company descends upon the brigand's camp.

A mix of poorly armed thugs, marksman and raiders made the fight slightly uneven. We capitalize on the eagerness of the thugs by killing a few of them with arrows and bolts.

Ha. It's 12 on 7 already. This is good. I split my forces into two.

Bertolf the new recruit got to work nearly killing a thug with his pitchfork.

Rabe finishes it off.

Baldur charges forward at the marksman and laughed when the poor guy pulled a knife in melee.

Yeah, get rekt. The White Company is having its best day ever. Not even a surprise flanking by a brigand thug can stop us.

We're done with this group.

The last raider proved stubborn. Raising his shield. Helm all but ruined.

He held out for a round despite being surrounded, deflecting all our blows and thrust.

Egil has had enough of this shit and divided the raider into two with a swing of his polearm.

'Heads. I win,' he declared as two thuds were heard. The battle is over.

A few men suffered some wounds, but nothing serious. Good work.

 

[rk47]

46 - They didn't do anything

Spoiler

We reach the ruins by midday.

A pack of Nachzehrers was shadowing us throughout the snowy plains. I hurry the men inside and told them to find the staff quickly, I wouldn't want to commit to a fight in the ruins unless if I have to.

'I've got it!' one of the men shouted.

'What's the plan, Captain?'
'Make your way out of this battle. Do NOT engage!'

I'm pretty sure the pack of nachzehrers are going to jump on us the moment we finish our battle here so it's best we retreat here. We can outrun these skeletal bastards, but it is impossible to outrun those flesh-eating hellspawns. The White Company march in the cold snow, making an orderly retreat. None of the undead got a hit on us.

The pack of nachzehrers were waiting for us when we escaped the ruins, only to find us slightly ragged but perfectly unharmed. They hesitate. I look at the men's eyes. They were ready.

'Alright, boys! Send these bastards to hell!'
The company charged immediately hollering warcries and other black-related obscenities that no sane moderator in an upstanding community would approve.

The black ones couldn't reach us without getting hurt. Spearwalls were waiting for them, arrows and bolts raining overhead, occasionally ventilating their flesh.

The Spearwall plan is working. I made every single one of the front line switch to spears and wait for the black ones to charge at us. But this snowy plains is making it harder for combatants to move around. Every time they get into contact with our wall, they get stabbed and knocked back. You can't hurt what you can't touch. But putting up a spear at the ready is tiring business, and eventually a few black ones made it to the melee, well within range of our backline's polearm.

Unlike the unfeeling skeletals, these creatures know fear. Four deaths later, and they begin to scatter in panicked yelps.

None made it out alive. It's all white on the snowy plains.

Robert claimed four kills that day.

 

[rk47]

47 - They are good boys

Spoiler

Lots of experience and promotions.
Einar is a tank. His melee skill is lacking so his future is set as a punching bag.

One-eyed Anton defies the odds and reached level 3

And Edmund, another shield brother gets promoted. Shield brothers are really raking in the exp today.

The newest member of the company, Bertolf the Rock gets promoted as well.

It's time we collect our pay at Waidhof. Along the way we dumped some cargo at Wikstadt at a tidy profit.

The gold was enough for us to replace our missing battle standard.

The boys felt redeemed. The nightmare of Weilersheim is all but forgotten.
Egil the Hamfisted is chosen as the standard bearer as we march to collect our pay.

 

[Heckle]

So I've been watching this site for years but never bothered creating an account to post anything. But I just had to in order to let you know that reading this thread convinced me to buy this game this week instead of holding out for a future steam sale. Now I'm about 12 hours (and 4 dead companies) in and am absolutely loving it! Great thread and thanks for the kick in the pants to pick up this gem!

 

[HiddenX]

Welcome to the RPGWatch forums Heckle.

And thanks rk47 (a Codexian!) for promoting Battle Brothers and recruiting new Watchers

 

[Jimmious]

Also joined just for the playthrough of RK47. Keep it coming