Leadership - DM's how do you handle Cohorts and Followers?

[Bagpuss]

I have a few of questions so I thought I'd organise them formally.

Section One - Cohorts

1. Do you let the player design them fully, partly or do you do them completely yourself?

2. How do you assign attributes, random rolls (what system), elite array, standard array, other?

3. What classes can they have PC classes, or only NPC classes or even Prestige Classes?

4. In play who controls them, you or the player, or some combination?

Section Two - Followers

Same questions but now about followers.

 

[Crothian]

Section One - Cohorts

1. Do you let the player design them fully, partly or do you do them completely yourself?

2. How do you assign attributes, random rolls (what system), elite array, standard array, other?

3. What classes can they have PC classes, or only NPC classes or even Prestige Classes?

4. In play who controls them, you or the player, or some combination?

Section Two - Followers

Same questions but now about followers.

Cohorts
They are NPCs so they are fully designed by me. But a PC does get to recruit him so it is usually a pre existing NPC.

I give all NPC the stats they should have. That measns I pick them.

Chorts can get any classes

As an NPC I control them.

Followers are pretty much the same way except they are more often NPC classes and rarely pre existing NPCs. They also tend to do stuff off screen more as we've found followers are best doing the little things the PC doesn't want to do.

 

[BenjErik]

1. I let the players give me a general gist of what sort of character they want as a cohort, but I do most of the statting and character sheets. I will let a player have some input if he or she chooses, but no way I am going to have them fully design their own Cohorts.

2. Elite Array for the most part, maybe adjusted by DM fiat!

3. I don't limit classes. The Cohorts can be whatever best fits the flavor of the character the PC wants on his side, as long as it logically fits. (No Blackguard cohorts following LG characters or crazy stuff like that!)

4. In combat, I usually let the players control them, unless it goes against something I feel that character absolutely wouldn't do. In roleplaying/social situations, I control them.

--- As far as followers go... I've never really thought about it! They usually end up as temple staff, guards for the PCs holdings, or other occupations in which their personalities and stat blocks don't really come into play much.

 

[Sejs]

Cohorts~

1. Do you let the player design them fully, partly or do you do them completely yourself?

The player and I work together to design the cohort. The player comes up with the basic idea and we colaborate to make it a person. Background, skills, etc.



2. How do you assign attributes, random rolls (what system), elite array, standard array, other?

Roll or point buy. Whatever would be standard for other character creation in the game. I would consider using the elite NPC array, but I also use cohorts as drop-in characters for those times when someone shows up to play and they don't already have a character in the game.



3. What classes can they have PC classes, or only NPC classes or even Prestige Classes?

They can have PC classes, PrCs, etc. The same restrictions on classes that are on normal PCs (e.g. no Frenzied Berserkers, etc) apply to the cohort.



4. In play who controls them, you or the player, or some combination?

Heh, and now the hitch: another player, seperate from the one who has the Leadership feat, plays the cohort. Assuming they agree to take up the duty. If nobody steps up, I run the cohort. No One-Player-Two-Bodies action, your cohort is another living person. You've got to interact with them as such.

 

[Sejs]

Followers~

1. Do you let the player design them fully, partly or do you do them completely yourself?

Same as above, we work together.



2. How do you assign attributes, random rolls (what system), elite array, standard array, other?

Elite NPC array. There are a lot more followers to deal with than there are cohorts, so using the array keeps things simple.



3. What classes can they have PC classes, or only NPC classes or even Prestige Classes?

Again, any are available, though the low levels followers have pretty much rules out PrCs.



4. In play who controls them, you or the player, or some combination?

I do. The DM. Again, there are lots of the guys. That'd be a bunch of extra work for a player to keep track of, but as a DM I'm already set up to deal with that sort of thing. Plus, again, keeps the player from meta-minding the whole operation.

 

[Bagpuss]

Funny all these DM's saying they control the cohort when the DMG actually says "A cohort is effectively another PC in the party under that player's control...."

I agree with you folks however, that full control to the player is too much really.

I'm in the process of trying to decide if I should take the Leadership feat or not. I know it depends on my own DM, but I was curious as to what other folks do.

I'm playing a LN Knight of St. Cuthbert and was thinking of recruiting a LN Cleric of St. Cuthbert (the player of the party Cleric has moved away). As a Knight with decent Charisma, I might even have access to followers straight away or soon at least.

Assuming the DM has direct control of the Cleric, I take it you wouldn't be opposed to talking general battle tactics that the cleric and knight would use together in the early rounds of combat. Things like I'll delay until you can cast Enlarge Person/Bull's Strength or whatever.

Followers I was considering getting someone who could Track, another that could Ride well (messenger) and Knowledge (nobility), and Squires to care for my horse and armour.

Also how would you feel about the player surrendering a bit of control to the cohort. While mechanically the player would be the one with Leadership, I was thinking it would make more sense in character for the Knight of St. Cuthbert to be a bodyguard of the priest.

 

[Agent Oracle]

1.) The Player had to sacrifice a feat for this ability, I will not use it as an excuse to abuse the player.

2.) The Cohort is Not an Evil Minion in Disguise.

3.) The Followers of the Player Character are, likewise, not evil minions in disguise.

4.) the Cohort is given according to the general gist of the player's intent. if the player wants a good swardsman as a bodyguard, he gets a class with a full BAB. Likewise, if he wants someone who can patch him up after a fight, he'll get a healer-type.

5) the followers are also of the general sort desired. No specific classes (which prevents players from attempting somethign stupid, like the "me and 20 warlocks" build I saw)

6) Cohorts are rolled, followers posess the elete array.

7) Followers are, for the most part, not likely to follow Players on adventurers, while cohorts are.

 

[jasin]

Section One - Cohorts

1. Do you let the player design them fully, partly or do you do them completely yourself?

Fully, with the DM retaining the power to make any adjustments, but rarely excercising it. Formally, it's not that the player actually makes that character, the players tells the DM "this is the kind of cohort I'd like" and the DM offers the the closest character appropriate, which in practice tends to mean that exact character.

2. How do you assign attributes, random rolls (what system), elite array, standard array, other?

Mostly just like the PCs, which is usually 30 point buy for my group, but sometimes a bit lower: 28 point buy cohorts for 30 point buy PCs.

3. What classes can they have PC classes, or only NPC classes or even Prestige Classes?

They're heroic NPCs, on par with the PCs, so anything.

4. In play who controls them, you or the player, or some combination?

Much like 1. In practice, it's the player, but that's just the player stating what he'd like the cohort to do, the DM can rule the cohort acts otherwise at any time.

Section Two - Followers

Same questions but now about followers.

1. Creation: as for cohorts.

2. Stats: whatever is the norm for "semi-heroic" NPCs in the game, like competent city watchmen, low-level alchemists and the like. 25 point buy in a 30 point buy game

3. Classes: so far, we've been playing NPC classes only, with PC classes or PrCs costing extra levels (e.g. if you get a 5th-level follower, it could be a War5 or a Ftr4) as a house-rule. But apparently, that's a 3.0 holdover, and 3.5 Leadership allows PC-classed followers. Not sure what we'll do about that once it comes up, since Leadership is pretty powerful just for the cohort. Probably allow PC-classed followers but introduce tighter DM control over the whole thing: both creation and control, for both cohorts and followers.

4. Control: DM. They followers will likely obey most reasonable commands, but the players says "I tell Fred the Follower to guard the door", contrasted with "Cathy the Cohort casts a spell". Not that big a difference, really, but I guess it's because we see cohorts as more proactive: cohorts do stuff, followers get told to do stuff.

 

[airwalkrr]

Cohorts
1. I design cohorts completely myself as the DM. I do not allow the players to choose their cohort. I introduce prospective cohorts as the campaign progresses and they may take them along if they wish.
2. I assign ability scores based on whatever method the PCs use (usually 4d6, drop lowest).
3. They can take levels in any classes that PCs can take levels in.
4. The player controls the cohort, although I retain veto power.

Followers
1. Neither. Followers are non-combatants usually so we do not stat them up beyond determining their class and level.
2. Standard array (13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8).
3. Usually NPC classes only.
4. The player orders them and I determine whether the orders were carried out or not.

 

[Metus]

Bagpuss, you read my mind. I was wanting to ask these very questions today.

Actually, the question that I was curious about was #4, whether the DM or player runs the cohort. As the DM, I allow the player to control the cohort, simply because it's one less thing I have to deal with. I was worried I was doing that wrong, but it's nice to see that other people have the PC control/role-play the cohort as well.