Choosing early contracts

Use early contracts to learn your company’s limits. These are comparisons, not a promise that a particular job will be offered at the start of a campaign. Check the live objective, route and opposition; the contract index records each template’s script branches and payment structure.

Compare the commitment

Delivery — Armed Courier. Its payment pool is based on road distance. It can be a lower combat commitment when the route is short and clear, but the script includes a theft branch that turns delivery into a cargo-recovery task. Check the destination, displayed travel estimate and whether your roster can handle a detour.

Patrol — Patrol. The script sets a route through named locations and can split payment between completion and confirmed kills. Consider it when your company can already handle road encounters; per-head pay does not make unknown opposition safe. Budget for the whole route home.

Camp clear — Drive Off Brigands. This sends you to the nearest brigand camp selected for the contract, creates defenders scaled to contract difficulty, and requires a return trip. At low difficulty, existing loot in a non-event camp can be cleared when the job starts. The worked example on the system page explains its reputation branches; do not accept it only to collect loot you have already seen.

Hunt — Hunting Beasts. The target and proof or trophy branch vary. The base template can create bandits disguised as direwolves, spiders, ghouls or direwolves; the Unhold branch requires its DLC. Read the offered target instead of assuming “beasts” means one predictable fight.

Caravan escort — Escort Caravan. The payment pool depends on road distance, and the contract supplies provisions, but a long trip exposes the company to encounters and follow-up branches. Compare the quoted pay with travel days, likely repairs and the cost of being away from useful settlements.

Decide before accepting

1. Read every objective. Check whether it requires a return trip, a timed action, a kill count, a rescued person or proof from a target.
2. Trace the whole road route. Count outbound and return travel, likely detours and days away from resupply; a target’s distance is not the whole commitment.
3. Inspect the expected enemy and branches before estimating combat risk. The contract index records examples such as theft during delivery, possible bounty hunters after a brigand-camp fight, and staged waves in defenses.
4. Check injuries, fatigue, armor and ammunition. Keep enough crowns and supplies for repairs and the next journey.
5. Compare the actual offer after negotiation with those costs. Script pool values and per-head components are calculation inputs, not guaranteed profit.

For a first company, choose an objective and route your current roster can absorb, and keep recovery money in reserve. That is risk-management advice; no contract family is automatically safe.

Campaign-version caveat

The legendary locations introduced in update 1.5.1 require a new campaign. The developer described the first as a mid-game challenge, so do not treat those locations as ordinary beginner contracts.

Next: recruiting and positioning.

Historical update: repair budgets

For a company using the Blacksmith retinue, update 1.5.1 reduced the repair-speed bonus from 33% to 20% and added a 20% reduction in repair-tool use. Recheck old repair-budget advice against that version boundary; these are separate bonuses, not a universal discount on contracts.

Developer video

Combat Tutorial — Overhype Studios is a supplemental combat demonstration and may show a different game build.