How to read this
Difficulty below is the early-game hurdle, not the ceiling — several "hard" origins (Cultists, Anatomists, Lone Wolf) become some of the strongest companies in the game once they get rolling. New to Battle Brothers? Take the balanced start (with the tutorial) for your first run, then pick a themed origin once you know the systems.
At a glance
| Origin | Early difficulty | The hook |
|---|
| Balanced Start | Easy | Three experienced mercenaries, no bonuses or penalties. The clean baseline. |
| Band of Poachers | Medium-Hard | Three ranged recruits, faster map, always scout the enemy — but fragile melee. |
| Oathtakers | Medium | Two well-armoured zealots and a unique Oath system in place of ambitions. |
| Deserters | Hard | Geared soldiers who strike first — but low morale, broke, and hunted. |
| Northern Raiders | Hard | Tough barbarians who live by raiding; the southern realms hate you. |
| Anatomists | Medium | Harvest the dead, brew potions, grow permanently stronger over time. |
| Davkul Cultists | Hard–V.Hard | Sacrifice and ritual for monstrous late-game buffs. Rough start, huge ceiling. |
| Manhunters | Hard–V.Hard | Overseers and expendable Indebted — a zerg-and-slaver economy. |
| Beast Slayers | Hard | Monster hunters: extra beast trophies and exploration sight, worse trade prices. |
| Gladiators | Hard–V.Hard | Three named arena champions — powerful, but expensive and high-stakes. |
| Lone Wolf | Very Hard | One elite Hedge Knight. Lose him and the run is over. |
The Balanced Start Easy
"A quick start into the world, without any particular advantages or disadvantages."
Start with: three experienced mercenaries you've fought beside before. A tutorial variant walks you through the systems; the non-tutorial variant drops you straight in.
Why pick it: nothing is working against you, so it's the best place to learn recruiting, the economy, contracts, and the perk system. Every lesson here transfers to the harder origins.
Play it like: a normal company — grab a tank, a sergeant, a couple of two-handers and ranged, and follow the game-phase progression.
Band of Poachers Medium-Hard
Outlaws who live in the woods and shoot first.
Start with: a Hunter and two Poachers — three capable ranged recruits from turn one.
Bonuses: +world-map movement speed (you outrun trouble and reach contracts faster), and you always see the enemy's composition before a battle — a permanent free scouting report.
Penalties: noticeably reduced stash/inventory space, and minimal starting melee gear — your line is fragile until you buy armour.
Play it like: a ranged-first company. Kite with bows, pick fights you've scouted, and rush one or two armoured melee anchors so your archers aren't overrun. Strong once it stabilises.
Oathtakers Medium
A small band of faithful, oath-bound warriors.
Start with: two well-equipped, well-armoured warriors (good gear, thin numbers).
Mechanic: in place of the usual ambitions, you take Oaths — pledges that grant stat or company bonuses while imposing a matching restriction, plus a unique storyline.
Penalties: only two starting brothers, so early battles are dangerous until you fill the line.
Play it like: a quality-over-quantity start — lean on your two armoured bodies, take Oaths whose restriction you can live with, and recruit carefully.
Deserters Hard
Soldiers who walked away from their banner — and are wanted for it.
Start with: three soldiers carrying decent military equipment.
Bonus: your company is first to act on the opening turn of combat — a free alpha strike to soften or kill before the enemy moves.
Penalties: very low Resolve (your line breaks easily — a sergeant is near-mandatory), poor starting funds, and you're hunted by former employers who send parties after you.
Play it like: aggressive opener, fragile follow-through. Win fast with the first-turn advantage, prioritise Resolve and a banner, and avoid drawn-out fights until morale is shored up.
Northern Raiders Hard
A barbarian war-band that takes what it wants. (Warriors of the North)
Start with: a core of tough Barbarians (high HP and melee) plus a supporting holy man.
Bonuses: strong, durable bodies and good loot from kills; built to win melee brawls outright.
Penalties: the southern realms despise you — recruiting and trading in civilised towns is hard or blocked, and you can't lean on southern kit (crossbows). You're expected to raid caravans and settlements to sustain yourself.
Play it like: an aggressive raiding company — hit caravans and camps, fight in the open where your barbarians dominate, and embrace being the villain of the map.
Anatomists Medium
Scholars of flesh who turn corpses into power.
Start with: three ordinary recruits — no combat edge out of the gate.
Mechanic: harvest body parts from the things you kill and brew potions that grant permanent stat boosts and mutations. Your company scales up steadily as your stockpile and recipes grow.
Penalties: a weak baseline and grisly reputation events — locals are unnerved by what you do.
Play it like: a patient, scaling company. Survive the bland early game, hunt beasts for ingredients, and snowball your brothers' stats with potions into the late game.
Davkul Cultists Hard–Very Hard
Devotees of the dark god Davkul who pay for power in blood.
Start with: four fanatical Cultists — poor fighters, strong belief.
Mechanic: periodic free Cultist recruits, unique gear, and a web of strange events. Through sacrifice and ritual your devoted brothers earn buffs that become monstrous by the late game. You can convert other backgrounds to the faith.
Penalties: a genuinely rough start (cultists can't fight well yet), limited recruitment, and you must manage the sacrifice/conversion mechanics carefully or stall out.
Play it like: a long con. Endure the early game, feed the rituals, and emerge with one of the strongest companies in the game. High floor of pain, very high ceiling.
Manhunters Hard–Very Hard
Slavers and overseers driving a chain-gang of the Indebted.
Start with: a couple of Manhunter overseers and a group of expendable Indebted thralls.
Mechanic: field extra bodies (more men on the battlefield than a normal company) by throwing cheap Indebted into the line, and capture & sell people for coin. Indebted level faster but cap out low.
Penalties: you must keep more Indebted than overseers, the Indebted are weak and capped around level 7, the pay split is awkward, and the slaver theme tanks some relations.
Play it like: a numbers-and-economy company — screen your valuable overseers behind a wall of disposable Indebted, and bankroll the operation by selling captives.
Beast Slayers Hard
Specialist hunters of the world's monsters. (Beasts & Exploration)
Start with: three well-equipped Beast Slayers — a solid fighting core.
Bonuses: a 50% chance for an extra trophy from every beast you kill (great income and crafting), and you spot tracks and locations from farther away — an exploration edge.
Penalties: ~10% worse buy/sell prices everywhere — merchants don't love your kind.
Play it like: a beast-hunting, map-exploring company. Take beast contracts, farm trophies, and lean into the bestiary; just budget around the trade penalty.
Gladiators Hard–Very Hard
Three arena champions and the legend you build around them. (Blazing Deserts)
Start with: three named, already-levelled gladiators — The Bear, The Lion, and The Viper — each with unique "Glorious" traits and specialised kits. A powerful opening trio.
Penalties: they demand very high wages (around 50 crowns each), your roster is capped at 12, and the stakes are high — losing your champions is devastating. Arena fights are a natural income source.
Play it like: a small, elite company. Use your champions to punch above your weight early, win arena bouts for coin, and protect your stars — you can't easily replace them.
Lone Wolf Very Hard
One peerless knight against the whole world. (Beasts & Exploration)
Start with: a single elite Hedge Knight. He carries the special "Player Character" trait — immune to the events that can kill other brothers — has excellent stats, and eventually earns elite named gear.
Penalties: the run is brutal solo until you can afford help, starting funds are low, your roster caps at 12, and — critically — if the protagonist dies, the campaign ends.
Play it like: protect the one man who matters. Babysit your knight through the early fights (he can solo a lot), slowly build a support cast around him, and never let him take a fight he can't win.
And "Random"
The Random option rolls one of the above for you — a fun way to get a fresh challenge once you've played a few. Not recommended for your first campaign, since you might land on a Very Hard start blind.