MESBG Battle Companies Review

“The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the road has gone, and I must follow, if I can.”
— Bilbo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring

Battle Companies transforms Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game from a competitive wargame into a narrative campaign system. It’s a supplement that focuses on the human scale—individual warriors matter, names stick, and losses hurt. But while it excels at storytelling, it faces significant balance challenges that the community has worked to address.

What is Battle Companies?

Battle Companies is a supplement for MESBG that shifts the focus from large-scale battles to small warbands of 3-8 models. It’s designed for narrative campaign play where your warriors grow, gain experience, and develop their own stories over multiple games.

Core Concept

Small Scale: 3-8 models per warband
Campaign Progression: Warriors gain experience and improve
Narrative Focus: Story over optimization
Human Scale: Individual characters matter

How It Works

Warband Creation: Choose a faction and create your starting company
Experience System: Warriors gain experience and can improve stats
Campaign Turns: Structure for ongoing narrative play
Scenarios: Thematic missions for your warband

Strengths of Battle Companies

Narrative Excellence

Battle Companies excels at creating stories:

Character Development: Warriors grow and change over time
Personal Stakes: Losing a beloved character hurts
Emergent Narrative: Stories develop naturally through play
Thematic Scenarios: Missions that fit Middle-earth’s tone

Human Scale

The system captures Tolkien’s focus on individual heroism:

Names Matter: Each warrior has a name and personality
Individual Actions: Every model’s decision counts
Personal Growth: Characters develop through experience
Meaningful Losses: Death has narrative weight

Campaign Structure

The progression system mirrors the Fellowship’s journey:

Small Beginnings: Start with basic warriors
Earned Growth: Improvement through experience
Mounting Stakes: Challenges increase over time
Narrative Arcs: Stories develop naturally

Challenges and Weaknesses

Balance Issues

Battle Companies suffers from several balance problems:

Less Playtested: Not as rigorously tested as core MESBG
Power Creep: Some upgrades are significantly better than others
Faction Imbalance: Some factions have advantages
Experience Disparity: Veteran warbands can dominate

Limited Updates

The supplement receives less support than core MESBG:

Infrequent Errata: Balance issues persist longer
Community Reliance: Players must find solutions
Rule Ambiguities: Some interactions unclear
Scaling Problems: Large experience gaps create issues

Campaign Management

Running campaigns requires significant effort:

Bookkeeping: Track experience, injuries, equipment
Scenario Design: Create balanced, thematic missions
Player Management: Coordinate schedules and progression
Narrative Consistency: Maintain story coherence

Community Solutions

Battle Companies Community Edition

The community has created several solutions:

Community Edition 3.21: Addresses many balance issues
Revised Point Costs: Better balance for upgrades
New Scenarios: Additional thematic missions
Rule Clarifications: Resolve ambiguous interactions

Online Tools

Several tools make campaign management easier:

Battle Companies Manager: battle-companies-manager.com
Campaign Tracking: Digital tools for experience and equipment
Scenario Generators: Automated mission creation
Community Resources: Shared scenarios and house rules

House Rules

Common community fixes include:

Experience Caps: Limit maximum improvements
Injury Systems: Add consequences for defeat
Equipment Limits: Restrict powerful gear
Faction Adjustments: Balance starting options

System Comparison

Battle Companies vs. Core MESBG

Scale: Small warbands vs. large armies
Focus: Narrative vs. competitive
Progression: Character growth vs. list building
Balance: Community-dependent vs. official support

Battle Companies vs. Other Campaign Systems

Mordheim: More narrative, less balanced
Necromunda: Similar scale, different theme
Five Leagues: Solo-focused, more procedural

Getting Started

What You Need

MESBG Core Rules: Required for basic mechanics
Battle Companies Supplement: Official rules and scenarios
Community Edition: Recommended for better balance
Campaign Tools: Tracking sheets or digital tools

First Campaign

Start Small: 3-4 players maximum
Choose Theme: Pick a faction you love
Use Community Rules: Better balance and clarity
Plan Scenarios: Prepare thematic missions

Finding Players

Local Clubs: Check gaming stores
Online Communities: Forums and social media
Conventions: Many events have Battle Companies
Solo Play: Some scenarios work solo

Verdict: Narrative Gold, Balance Challenges

Battle Companies succeeds brilliantly at its primary goal: creating narrative campaigns that feel like Middle-earth. The human scale, character progression, and emergent storytelling make it one of the best campaign systems available.

Strengths: Battle Companies excels at narrative focus, capturing Tolkien’s human scale where individual characters matter. The strong community support provides ongoing improvements, while the rich campaign possibilities offer endless replayability for story-driven players.

Weaknesses: The system suffers from balance issues that require community fixes, while limited official support means players must rely on fan solutions. Significant bookkeeping is required to track experience and equipment, and campaigns can become unbalanced over time as some characters become significantly more powerful than others.

For Narrative Gamers: This is the gold standard for Middle-earth campaigns. The investment in learning the system pays off with deeply satisfying storytelling.

For Competitive Players: Battle Companies may not satisfy your needs. The balance issues and narrative focus make it less suitable for competitive play.

For New Players: Start with the Community Edition and use online tools. The official supplement alone has too many balance issues.

The system proves that MESBG’s mechanics work beautifully at the human scale. With community support and house rules, Battle Companies becomes one of the most rewarding campaign systems available for Middle-earth gaming.

Next up: A look at Five Leagues from the Borderlands and how it can be adapted for Middle-earth solo campaigns.