How do you equip companions?

[amondrubee]

Do you equip them with as much variety of powerful equipment to make them battletanks?
Do you make each companion specialise in something?
Do you give a certain weapon and type of armor for each companion?

I always give Borcha light armor and a bow to roleplay him as a scout. Alayen gets the plate armor and sword of war. He doesn't need a shield cause he's got his chivalry nonsense. Nizar uses an awlpike and I deliberately made his athletics slightly lower than Alayen so he's a second wave assaulter. I make his agility high while Alayen only gets brute strength. Alayen is suppose to get knocked out first and then the merchant who is suppose to stand aside, saves his sorry ass. Ymira only gets a dagger and a crossbow. She and Borcha are my range companions and Ymira is the surgeon. She's the weakest companion in close combat. Bunduk has a balance of strength and agility, and wields the strange great sword and armor set. An all round great companion.

Watching Alayen charge towards a swarm of arrows without a shield because of his chivalry is fun.

 

[Tzsak]

If you give them a horse and a lance they level up pretty quickly.

As a footmen only sort of person I have more trouble. I seem to have the best luck outfitting them as heavy infantry with two handed swords and hoping for the best.

 

[amondrubee]

My companions are all around level 38-44ish so they don't need to be fully battletank equiped. I garrison my army then use 7 companions as a mobile force to take down small to medium armies 40-60. Even mounted mountain bandits are easy to kill. The worst I've faced is 630 Swadian army, which knocked out 5 companions, and took out all our horses.

This is on full difficulty. At high levels a band of companions is more deadly than a mediumish army.

 

[Varric]

my companions so strong, they don't need any equipment and they'll still tear apart every farmer and looter they see in their way.

 

[Hietala]

give allayen the samurai set and a heavy hunter. that guy massacres just every stupid other horseman in his path :p

 

[AA0]

I keep all mine the same (except Kelthi) they are all on heavy chargers in full lordly plate with fur covered shields, balanced morningstars, war bows and a large khergit arrows.  Kelthi, because of the throwing skills, has two bunch of axes. 

I want my heros as small leaders in their own right, they stay alive but still pack a good punch.  When I have those battles that end up with 16 vs 199 I count on them to distract the enemy so I can swoop around unhindered, if they are dead then I will be too. 

 

[Uther]

Mine are all combat-oriented and very specialized.

I got Baheshtur, Nizar and Borcha as horse archers. All in thick branded armor, guard helmets, with swords of war and 2 packs of bodkin arrows. They are all approaching their thirties now, and work like a charm.

Artimenner, Lezalit and rolf are knights, pretty much. Armed to the teeth. Rolf has a balanced lance, Artimenner a masterwork bastard sword, and Lezalit has masterwork nordic sword....with which he does wonders for some mysterious reason. Lezalit is the biggest beast in my party. Loads of HP, best armor, and great weapon specialty. Even in sieges he can give any huscarl a lesson.

Oh i also have Matheld. She's light cavalry.

 

[n00b]

Heavy armour, horse, and best 2-handed longswords, as heavy as they can be equipped, because I always worry they may die in battle....  (can they actually get killed??)

 

[Mabons]

Heavy armour, horse, and best 2-handed longswords, as heavy as they can be equipped, because I always worry they may die in battle....  (can they actually get killed??)

No, thats the main advantage.

 

[The Red Baron]

Heavy armor, high athletics, bow, arrows, sword, shield

 

[DLEGION]

so...the big question......who are companions? where i find them?

 

[LBaeldeth]

My companions all get the same equipment: Decent armour (somewhere in the 40-range), whatever shield is handy, and a one-handed weapon. Stick 'em on a horse (currently have most of them up to Heavy Hunters) and that's that. They do pretty well as long as they don't get swarmed by infantry.

There are three exceptions: Bashteshur (horse archer; no longer works for me), Matheld (who gets a big two-handed axe in additon to the one-hander-and-shield), and Deshavi (on foot, bow and arrows, sword; that is, when she's not off pouting).

When I get around to making a Nord character, they're all going to be foot archers. I can just imagine their level 30+ sniper fire supporting the infantry ...

DLEGION, companions are named NPCs who will join your party. They appear in taverns, I think at random. You control their levelling up and equipment.

 

[Sigismund]

I like to keep half of my companions on foot since they usually make good crossbowmen. Though I try not to keep anyone mounted in a large pitched battles because whenever I do that they just run head first into the enemy and get mobbed. I always give everyone the heaviest armour possible and I usually give weapons to whoever I think it suits the most.

 

[n00b]

so...the big question......who are companions? where i find them?

They're your followers. The companions have individual names, skills and equipments (you can equip them by "Talking").

I think you can only get them in taverns, and some require $$$.

 

[Lord Shields]

I think you can only get them in taverns, and some require $$$.

That is the only way to get them.

 

[AlienKnight]

I equip them in as strong an armour as I can get and a reasonable horse (like heavy hunter). When it comes to weapons, I try to keep balance, so some have 2H axes and some 1H sword and a lance or bow / crossbow, according to how I develop their skills (surgeon should depend more on ranged weapons because not strong enough to go for a direct combat, a strong NPC should have a huge battle axe to perform well during siege...).
While they are low level and get knocked out every battle, I sometimes do not give them horses to keep them in a second line until they get strong enough not to fall right in the beginning of the fight.

 

[Westage]

When I'm in the Barbarian Invasion mod I love getting 3 companions and outfitting them as follows:

1: Centurion Helmet, Centurion Armour, Legion Greaves, Legion Scutum, Roman Sword.
2: Wolf Skin Helmet, Centurion Armour, Legion Greaves, Clipeus (sp?), Roman Standard, Roman Sword.
3: Gallic Legion Helmet, Legion Segmentata, Legion Greaves, Legion Scutum, any kind of mace.

It may be a bit sad that I put this much effort in, but this way its cool to have my army with me (the uber general) then a Centurion, Standard Bearer and Optio as a wee command squad. It sure looks realistic seeing these guys at the front of the endless lines of Legionaires (I don't upgrade past Legionary First Cohort) and charging to the enemy. Very historically accurate!

It's also funny seeing the mishaps when you equip a dress on a man like Rolf and suddenly he has female breasts or if you put Briton Woad Paint on a female like Katrin and she then suddenly becomes muscley and flat chested! Oh the joy...

 

[Hietala]

SM clothing: leather stuff, and whips

 

[Lt. of the tower]

SM clothing: leather stuff, and whips

Kinky I like  .

I personally don't bother using heroes any more, to much trouble maintaining their happiness and buying them equipment. When I use to use them what ever look I liked meant they would have it in uniformity (example: heraldic surcoats with maille with chargers.)