There will be many special items available to buy just like in the preview, some as powerful as the lord equipment. Special character lords will not have lootable equipment in order to keep them unique and similarly in the tabletop game their equipment is exclusive. A reward for high level quests is a good idea, definitely something we will consider.
Thanks for the link nileshvinay, I have increased the amount of companions in the mod to 28 now so there are many to choose from. I will update the web page closer to release.