The world is fractured, and the old empires have turned to dust. The dead rise from their crypts and Greenskin hordes gather in the distance, as bandits roam free and Nobles prepare for war – the people are left with no choice but to turn to mercenary bands for aid. Battle Brothers is a turn-based tactical RPG where you lead a mercenary company in a procedurally generated world fraught with dangers of all kinds, and plenty of opportunity for fortune and fame. Decide where to go, which contracts to take on, who to hire, and how to equip your growing mercenary band in this sandbox adventure of grit and valor.
The procedurally generated maps of Battle Brothers feature bustling cities, wandering beasts, unique points of interest, and the freedom to explore and engage with everything as and when you wish.
Travel in real-time across the varied landscapes of the world to visit the settlements and strongholds spread across the realm, offering you everything from respite and rumors at the local tavern to new recruits for your growing band of battle brothers. Visit markets to sell loot and acquire powerful equipment, or speak to the local lord to see what troubles them, and how much they’re willing to pay to have those troubles taken care of.
Settlements and Noble Houses will be your primary source of wealth as they offer dynamically generated contracts of varying difficulty to reflect the coin that comes with completing them – will you take on particularly challenging monsters early in your career to secure greater wealth at the risk of losing your starting sellswords, or will you start focused on local bandits and thieves fleeing justice instead? Be warned – no contract is without consequences, and the quests you take on and how you accomplish them will determine your relationships with the various factions of the world as well as your company’s renown and reputation.
Seek opportunities beyond contracts and quests to deepen your pockets – from profitable trade among the many cities and settlements to the great riches hidden in the wild. Will you pursue the life of a merchant and seek out optimal trade routes to bolster your wealth, focus on mercenary contracts, or strike out on your own and seek opportunity and loot in the crypts, camps, and ruins that litter the world?
Various crises can ignite and fundamentally reshape the landscape, demanding radically different strategies and offering new opportunities as time goes on – how will you adapt to an evolving political situation, and more powerful adversaries? Nobles may start massive factional wars, the undead may rise up, or Greenskins may launch full-scale invasions of the land.
The brutal battlefields of Battle Brothers reward the clever tactician and punish the careless. As you fight intense turn-based tactical battles on battlefields featuring rough terrain, height advantages, and obstacles to use to your advantage, every swing of the blade carries weight. Take on bandits and beasts of all kinds and maul, mangle, and maim your way through combat.
An extremely granular approach to equipment introduces reason to vary your formations and loadouts depending on the team you’ve assembled, and the foe you face – the stab of a spear does little against the fleshless skeleton warriors, while the bludgeoning mace will make quick work of them and their armour. But those very same spears work great alongside shields to keep hungry beasts at bay with their extended reach alongside shieldbashes for those who come close. Meanwhile, though a warhammer could make quick work of a heavily armored bandit, using a dagger to cut between gaps in their protection could leave a very valuable piece of armor intact for you to loot and use.
Initiative and action points are important factors on any battlefield, but in Battle Brothers, fatigue plays an additional key role as more powerful attacks and abilities are quicker to exhaust your warriors, especially when covered in layers of heavy armor. A tired soldier has less of their repertoire available to them, and with enough fatigue accumulated, even moving proves difficult – every step taken, every arrow fired, and every sword swung comes at a price, and sometimes a lightly armoured warrior with a dagger and a net can do more damage than if they were heavily armoured and swinging around a morning star.
Even if the body is willing, the mind may break first – morale is another key factor to manage on the battlefield! If they have little resolve, your own troops may begin to flee under pressure, but most enemies will similarly suffer should momentum swing in your favour. Will you fight cautiously, taking the enemy on one at a time, or will you seek to slaughter them in quick succession in the hopes of triggering a mass rout?
A bad injury – whether temporary or permanent – can quickly end a promising career. While the broken arm that severely reduces combat skills can be healed with rest, a broken elbow joint permanently reduces those very same attributes. From collapsed lungs that make a warrior quick to tire to bruised legs and broken knees that make them slow to act, Battle Brothers’ detailed injury system will break your brothers’ bodies, and keep you on your toes. Keep brothers in reserve when in trouble, and camp and rest to heal over time, but keep in mind that salaries still need to be paid on time and rations are always limited.
A mercenary company is nothing without its fighters – your battle brothers come from all walks of life, grow with experience, and provide unique opportunities for an astute commander. Starting with a small band, you will recruit new procedurally-generated hopefuls to grow your company. Ensure your troops are well fed and well paid, train them in a way that best matches their strengths and weaknesses, invest in their equipment to further their capabilities, and use careful tactics to protect your brothers against the many dangers you face.
From Retired Soldiers and Crusaders to Beggars and Graverobbers, your recruits’ backgrounds will determine countless factors about them, including their starting gear and attributes and the traits they are likely to develop, while also greatly influencing what events might come to pass as your company goes from contract to contract. Cultists might convert brothers to their faith as Thieves attract unwanted attention from the law, while Monks play peacemaker and prevent multiple Hedge Knights in your party from killing each other in duels – backgrounds will trigger opportunities of their own, and will often mix with others for unique events within your party. When faced with the choice, would you rather hire the highly skilled Adventurous Noble that expects a higher base pay and comes with the high resolve that makes for a good sergeant to rally your troops? Or would you rather bring on a Brawler or Farmhand that, while cheap to keep on, is likely to come with higher health and fatigue and room to learn the art of combat and grow into an ideal front-line warrior?
Physical and mental traits further differentiate these individuals, influencing how they may best be used, and potentially changing your plans as new traits develop over time. Athletic warriors are slower to tire, Brutes make better use of certain weapons in melee as they have great skill aiming for the head, and a brother with a Deathwish won’t waver when hurt, often bolstering the mood of his compatriots.
Battle Brothers does away with a restrictive class-based system, instead allowing you to develop each warrior according to what you need and what they’re individually suited for. Each brother is an individual with eight attributes, varied backgrounds, and a multitude of traits they either start with or gain over time, and these will determine the roles they best play. Each individual is inclined towards certain attributes, influencing how you might choose to develop them over time, and a detailed perk tree means you can mold these warriors, and your company, as you like. A middling warrior with the Fast Adaptation perk will increase their hit chances with every miss, and a heavily-armored brother might benefit most from unlocking the Recover skill to quickly reduce accumulated Fatigue – an individual’s role, strengths, and weaknesses can all be influenced by your decisions.
Battle Brothers is a turn-based tactical RPG that prioritizes your freedom of choice as a player – from the way you run your company to the people you fight shoulder-to-shoulder with and the adventures you seek, the world is completely open to your choice. Will you secure a place in history, or will your mercenary company end with a pauper's grave? The decision, the risk, and the reward are all yours.
