Gather your party before venturing forth!

Vagrus - The Riven Realms is to a large extent a party based RPG, yet you start without a party!
This guide addresses how to fill up your Companion roster.

Introduction

The description of each companion also includes potential roles as a deputy or in crew combat. So in case you're looking to fill a specific role asap, you would know who to go for.

There are of course spoilers related to the companions and how to get them, but not beyond that.

Without further ado: Braxius in the Merchant district of Tor'Zag's Shelter offers you one random companion (Harvek, Renkailon or Criftaa) and you then get to choose one (between Gor'Goro and Garrik).

Regardless of what companions you get from Braxius, you can eventually hire all the Companions (DLC update: except you can't have both Old Acquaintances at the same time)



[This guide is up to date with the Old Acquaintance DLC release]

Criftaa (Tainted Bounty Hunter)

Recruitement

Potential Random from Braxius.

Alternatively: Build up rep with Velarias (wraith Town just NE of Tor'Zag's Shelter). I found the best way is to sell them 2-3 horses (mounts).
Once they like you enough the option in town dialogue will appear, telling you about a bounty hunter to the NE of Velarias. A very short distance from town (3 nodes to the NE) you get to help her fighting an orc and recruit her.

Alternatively, a rumor about a Bounty Hunter can lead you to her.

NB: You need to take her back to the Tor'Zag's Shelter authorities relatively quickly so she can claim the bounty of the orc she was fighting. Failing that she'll leave.

NB2: It is possible to recruit Finndurarth and Criftaa on the same trip and still make it back to the respective destinations they want to go in time.

• Pick up Criftaa.
  
• Pick up Finndurarth.
  
• Tor'Zags'Shelter (For Criftaa to claim bounty)
  
• Karnak Waystation (For Finndurarth's event)

It all depends on how mobile your comitatus is, so you should probably do a manual save after picking up Criftaa to be safe... or just get them one by one on different trips.

Deputy Role

• Venatoris (Free)
  
• Chief Handler
  
• Scout master

Companion Combat

Backline Single target Ranged DPS / poison damage. She can manage decently from front line.

Eylani (Half-Elf Beastmaster)

Recruitement

She can be recruited from Tectum Carvos. A camp a few days west of Larnak.

Be prepared for a relatively hard Companion Combat to enter Tectum Carvos. You should ideally have 4 other companions by the time you head there to recruit her.
(I wouldn't leave getting her too late either, because the whole area starts swarming with a certain type of enemy at some point.)

For her to agree to join you, you only need to agree to start a quest in the same settlement.

Deputy Role

• Chief Handler (Free)
  
• Scout Master

Companion Combat

Frontline. Tank. Single target stun

Finndurarth (Dragonkin Diplomat)

Recruitement

You will stumble on an event involving her on your way to Deven from the south. Same as with Criftaa you will need to take her quickly somewhere otherwise she leaves (in her case Karnak Waystation). Once in Karnak be ready for a couple of companion fights.

Note: A part from Finndurarth the event involving her also rewards with a few valuable trade goods. Have a few open spots in the inventory to not lose out on that. In particuler, the Dragonsteel scraps can fetch a small fortune in Velarias.

Deputy Role

• Spellweaver (Free)

Companion Combat

Backline. Lightning-based spellcaster. Best AoE.



See screenshot for the location where Finndurarth's event triggers. If you're heading north to Deven for a trade trip better go off road and circumvent it, and take it on the way back South.

Garrik (Dwarven Engineer)

Recruitement

You may choose him instead of Gor'Goro from Braxus.

If you don't you need to build up rep with the Loader's Guild to Tier 1. They do offer a lot of delivery tasks from and around Tor'Zag's Shelter so it is easy enough to build up. Once you have enough rep you can pay his debt (20 Bross) with the Loader guild: The option will appear in Undercity/Bath house.

NB: You can get Garrik first time you visit Tor'Zag's Shelter, even if you don't pick him from Braxius: You will need to chose Loader Criminal as background, and chose the (Loader) smuggling job when you leave Karnak. That way you will have the Loader reputation needed to get Garrik when you get there the first time. It will still set you back 20 Bross though.

NB2: [Unconfirmed by me] Reportedly even without the loader rep and Braxius: Garrik becomes recruitable through a Rumor a few months in. It is useful if you, for whatever reason, got on the bad side of the Loader's Guild. (You will likely still need to pay off his debt)

Deputy Role

• Supercargo (Free)
  
• Marauder Prime

Companion Combat

Backline. Pistol DPS. Mediocre AoE/debuff with grenades

Gor'Goro (Orc Gladiator)

Recruitement

He can be chosen from Braxius.

A rumor appears in Tor'Zag's Shelter a few months later if you chose Garrik.

Regardless, getting him involves an Arena fight with Gor’Goro + 2 companions vs 3 opponents.

If you don’t have 2 companions (or choose not to use then) then you can get 2 NPCs to fight on Gor'Goro's side, but only if you got the Gor'Goro from Braxius

Deputy Role

• Guard Captain
  
• Marauder Prime

Companion Combat

Frontline Tank. Cleave. Armorbreaker.

Harvek (Tainted Brawler)

Recruitement

Random from Braxius. Otherwise Recruitable from the Lumen Bar.

Deputy Role

• Guard Captain
  
• Slavedriver

Crew Combat

Frontline melee dps. Bleed.

Nedir (Human Sorceress)

Recruitement

She can be recruited at a Bar in Larnak.

Prequisite just seems to be having 3 Renown or hearing about her in the Venari HQ in the same town, specifically when you look at what Mercenaries they have to offer.

You will need to have enough house Venari reputation to allowed access to their HQ: The requirement is just to have Tier 0 rep, so as long as you didn't annoy them previously, you're good

Another way to hear about her is to ask Incanus, a mage in Avernum, about recruitable mages.

Deputy Role

• Spellweaver (Free)
  
• Slavedriver

Crew Combat

Backline. Fire-spellcaster. Demon summoner.

Renkailon (Dark Elf Rogue)

Recruitement

Random from Braxius
Otherwise, become friends with the Dark Elf Prince in Deven (Rep required 6). You can do that by offering him the goods he likes (Obsidian, metal, tools, Luxury wine), you can also get a boost to the rep with him if you dedicate the victory in the Arena of Deven to him. Once the rep is high enough with the Prince, Renkailon becomes available.

Renkailon is arguably the hardest one to get. So if you get him from Braxius, you’re lucky.

Deputy Role

• Scout Master (Free)
  
• Venatoris

Crew Combat

Single target DPS. Mark target.

Skornar (Human Fighter)

Recruitement

Available in Avernum. You will need high rep with the Prefectus there. One way to get high rep is to help him when you first interact with him during the Pandemenum Arena event.

If you did help him Prefectus invites you to his place and you can get to buy Skornar of him when your rep is high enough (4)

If the Prefectus was not saved by you at the arena event involving Skornar, the only way to draw his attention is to have high Renown (9 to be exact). From then on, you can raise your reputation with him and eventually press him for Skornar.

Deputy Role

• Guard Captain
  
• Marauder Prime

Crew Combat

Sword and board frontline tank.

Vorax (Undead Cook)

Recruitement

He can be found on the road from Tor'Zag towards the Twin Towers. (If you visited TZ at least once.)
More precisely, his event triggers halfway between Karnak Waystation and Twin Towers.

Deputy Role

• Supercargo (Free)
  
• Slavedriver

Companion Combat

Damage soaking. Both himself and the obstacle he creates can take a beating.
(Edited: With the right build he can be a good tank. Thanks for the comments)

Cooking

Check his resting dialogue options for different recipes he can cook to buff the Vagrus, the crew or companions for a short period (one to a few days)

Sedarias and Javek. DLC Companions

• To unlock a quest to get them you have access to the DLC area, Kadaath, through the realmgate at the crossroads. You need to travel to it a couple of times. You do not need to travel beyond Kadath though the other portal to the new zone.
  
• Basically: Crossroads -> Kadaath -> Crossroads (wait for Artifact to recharge) -> Kadaath -> Crossroads (questgiver pointing you to Braxius should be waiting)
  
• You can't have both the DLC companions, if you head to one of them with the other in your comitatus. A fight to the death starts with you needing to pick sides.
  
• You can finish the questline of one character then drop him, or kill him them pick the other one.
  
• If you plan to do both questlines: Take the DLC companion you do not plan to keep first

Javek (Telepathic Sorcerer)

Recruitement

See above, in the section that covers both DLC characters.
That said the quest marker disappears once you pick Sedarias, so I am adding his node here for convenience:

Combat Role

Backline buff, magic damage

Comitatus Role

• Chief Handler (Free)
  
• Spellweaver
  
  

  Notes

• Requires to be proficiency 6 to complete his personal quest
  
• A dialogue during camp allows to increase loyalty of other companions. Becomes available once personal quest is done
  
  
  

Sedarias (Undead Warrior)

Recruitement

See section above that applies to both DLC characters.
If you pick the other DLC character up first you can still pick Sedarias up later if you're ok with loosing the former. In that scenario the questmaker on the map disappears so adding the location here:

Combat Role

Front line tanky melee dps

Comitatus Role

• Guard Captain
  
• Marauder Prime
  
  

  Notes

• Through camp dialogue you can him to cast the Unbinding Blessing that allows to hurt specters with normal weapons... it saves you a trip to the temple
  
• At some point in his quest-line you need to level him up to proficiency level 5. Just so you know to have a bit of influence put aside if you want to go through with that quest.
  

Temporary Companions

Hirelings

House Venari (Larnak) offer mercenaries (temporary companions that can participate in Companion Combat) and House Oquo (Drusian Quarry) offer hirelings that can join the comitatus but do not join in Companion Combat.

Depending on the hireling, they can also be assigned different deputy roles, if for whatever reason you don't have the Companion for a given role.

Recruitement

House Venari

• Man-at-arms/Mercenary 5 Bross (Tier 0 Rep)
  
• Master-at-arms/Mercernay Captain 15 Bross (Tier 3 Rep)

House Oquo

• Taskmaster/Quartermaster/Beast Handler 4 Bross (Tier 0 Rep)
  
• Slavemaster/Supercargo/Beast Master 12 Bross (Tier 3 Rep)

(Prices can be reduced if you want to invest rep points)

Contract Renewal

1 month after hiring them, the contract can be renewed for a second month.
The contract can also be renewed for a third month in the field for an additional cost.
After that they leave, and will need to be re-hired in the respective settlements.

Walkthrough

The guide lists the Companions alphabetically.

Here is one good order of getting them asap as a walkthrough.
I rush west to get Eylani, because I don't want to deal with the wyrms that start spawning if you leave it too long.

• During character creation grab the background that gives Loader Guild Rep. Take a loader job from Karnak to Tor'Zags
  
• Get Renkailon from Braxius.
  
• Get Gor'goro from Braxius.
  
• Get Garrik from Loaders.
  
• Ideally have Renkailon as Scout Master and Garrik as Supercargo from now on
  
• Harvek in Lumen
  
• Head to Larnak. Through Crystal / Mirage
  
• In Larnak you should be able to recruit Nedir. Go to the Venari HQ as mentioned in the guide.
  
• From Larnak take as many supplies as you can and head to TC to get Eylani.
  
• Head to Avernum, through Larnak.
  
• Can't quite get Skornar from Prefectus in Avernum yet, but make sure you have 2 out of the 4 rep needed.
  
• Head to Deven, grab jobs along the way
  
• Grab Finndurarth. And the Dragonsteel bar.
  
• Sell Dragonsteel bar and 3 horses in valerias (sell horses through the dialogue not the regular market)
  
• Grab Criftaa
  
• Go to TG Shelter for Criftaa's quest.
  
• Go to Karnak for Finn's quest.
  
• Continue south to grab Vorax
  
• Go back to Avernum for Skornar

See video of me going through that (except the last 2 point)

[Molotova]

@greegarak updated Vorax entry. To him being a potential good tank. Thanks

[Molotova]

I updated the guide to add the DLC companions.
You should know them from the prologue, so you probably know which one you'd want to stick with. I think the main takeaway from the guide is: Pick the one you don't want to keep first if you're keen on doing both quest-lines. Don't worry if the quest from Braxius disappears you can still make the switch once you're done with your first pick.

[greegarak]

"During character creation grab the background that gives Loader Guild Rep. Take a loader job from Karnak to Tor'Zags"
It,s good advice. Imperial-criminal-trader vagrus is the best option for Trader calling.
Can achieve lvl2 in Torzag with Loaders, only need to choose Harvek(instead Ren) who will add 75pts to Loaders rep. The rest of needed pts can be gained by entering Torzag with contraband, which means -12pts to Sergrorod =+1pt to Loaders, and by selling Moondust

[Andante]

don't sleep on vorax. He's a tank. ranked up inflammatory insults taunts and immobilizes targets, super useful against targets that evade a ton. Only thing he's not useful against is ghosts, but then again even against ghosts vorax has a ton of HP with hp regen and can fulfill the role of a tank for your backline magic casters who do well against ghosts .

[Psycho Dad]

@greegarak to be fair IIRC there pay only increases when you level your companions..so in order to follow this guide I recommend to level them as you can afford it.

[greegarak]

Nice NPC's guide.
"Sell Dragonsteel bar and 3 horses in valerias"-
instead of selling 2 horses, talking with Harvek(status Friendly) will help
"Can't quite get Skornar from Prefectus in Avernum yet, but make sure you have 2 out of the 4 rep needed."
- quest with Warehouse, helping prefectus in scoria, one random event of Exploring Avernum and the fourth is one town visited or Crimsongate, which prefectus is curious
"Get Renkailon from Braxius"
- better is taking Criftaa instead(fully mounted with horse =24/25 moving point, takes only 5 days for her quest finished), and hiring beast master from Drusian quarry or scout from Larnak
"Vorax.....There are better Companions for crew combat, it is not really his thing) - fully disagree. Vomits reduces armour by 1 and can poison,also AoE. Inflamory insults also can be used as AoE against 2 enemies in line,but front rank foe need to be stunned or immobilazed, then will receive 1damage as do the rear rank foe(1 damage also).

[Elfaron]

After watching the video, I realise I screwed Finn's event by avoiding the wreckage. Will see her again this play-through or I'm screwed? lol (I'm on my first play-through)

[MrMuse]

"Molotova [author] 20 Oct, 2021 @ 5:08pm
There is a 2 months grace period (70 days) where there doesn't seem to be ANY random encounters, including wyrms." You can also just go back to the start of day save and usually get no encounter...lame i know but it is what it is.

[MrMuse]

Personally I didn't like Garrick. He's a whiny bitch

[Neosinf]

Only thing I think you should explain to the aspiring Vagrus player is the innate daily cost of your companions, which can start at about 0.5 silver a day to 1.5 by the time most of them are level 5 prowess. This can really affect your profit early.