*groan* Cohort Questions.

The way I handle Leadership is quite DM-control heavy, and relies on the assumption that cohorts are just NPCs like everybody else. Usually, the player describes to me roughly what they would like ("a melee bruiser", "a utility caster", "an intelligent problem-solver guy" etc.: no classes mentioned). Then, I would build an NPC using the elite array for stats, NPC equipment, and whatever level of optimization I feel comfortable with for the current game situation.

Sometime during the next session or two, the PCs get to meet an NPC who happens to have good reason to get involved with them, and who seems particularly interested in <Leadership Guy>. The player can try to get to know that NPC, strictly in-game, and can try to hire them as a constant companion, based on pure roleplaying. I'll drop a few hints that this is a possible cohort, and won't make the hiring process too difficult, but the player will have to put in some work. Getting to know the cohort, personality-wise as well as where abilities and weaknesses are concerned, is again a strictly roleplaying-focused process - it happened that even after a few levels, a cohort would suddenly whip out a neat trick that the PCs hadn't seen before.

The player can also roleplay that s/he doesn't want anything to do with that NPC, and that'll be fine with me. In one case, a player signalled me that she wanted to hire on a particular, already established NPC as her cohort when she took Leadership at 6th level - that was also fine with me, I just needed to provide the guy with some stats.

I'll run cohort NPCs myself as a DM, although I'll allow the player to dictate general tactics ("I want him to concentrate on the priest, using his most powerful attacks", "I need him to buff the whole party", "I'd like for her to hang back and target spellcasters"). After the PC knows a little more about what their cohort can do, they can of course use some downtime to talk tactics ("when next we face a spellcaster, I'd like for you to interrupt their casting with your arrows whenever possible", "that Haste spell of yours is great, please prepare it as much as you can and use it everytime things get rough").

I'll then see to it that the cohort uses his/her resources to the best of his/her ability, but I also make sure to roleplay them. I try to shoot for a level of optimization similar to what the players can muster - easy for me most of the time, since I understand the game mechanics much better than my players.


All in all, the way Leadership is used in my group is to provide some NPC support without eating up a share of XP - that's mostly all the feat does, and I believe it's plenty.

Kristivas said:

I've considered "players handbook classes only" and other such limits. Wanted to get some advice from the sages of the internets.

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Last time a player asked for a cohort from me, I gave him Joxer (from the Xena TV show).

Here's an easy solution: Cohorts and Followers are NPCs. NPCs use NPC classes.

So look at Warrior, Adept, Expert, Diplomat and Commoner. I don't know if there is a Psionic NPC class, but if there is then let him use it.

A lot of great suggestions here, and I appreciate them all.

I talked to him about it, laid out my side, and he was fine with not wanting to roll a munchkin'd out Psion. We came to an agreement.

I will roll up the cohort, and I've decided it will fit heavily with the character's Faith (Tempus). The cohort will be a Battleguard basically a cleric with a few fighter levels which will lead his troops/followers, guard the base/ship, provide easy access to the Craft Arms and Armor feat (basically a discount on crafting, so long as they provide materials and pay some for xp losses, of which I'll have a limit available per level), and which will be available to help for some missions.

I can plan around that, as they occasionally drag NPCs around with them. Though.. those NPCs don't always survive, so the player will have to make the smart calls with him.

This works out well, as the player and I want to teach his girlfriend to play. To try and stay 2 levels behind the main character and to have some added exp available for crafting, I was considering letting him play the Cohort in a duo-game with her. I can keep the treasure low, so that he stays pretty much in line with the NPC wealth per level guideline (a little more, a little less).. his girl won't care so much about the rewards as the play. Do missions that involve the outpost or whatever while the main group is away. Won't effect the main game at all, since we won't be playing it often and for long periods, as we do our main game.

In short, I shoulda just went to him first and laid out my concerns. I will keep all of this advice in mind, should this come up again.

I like to have significant NPC allis of the PCs in my games, cohorts or not, but I rarely let them be a part of the action. So, for example, in my current pirate game there are a lot of cohort-level NPCs (character level -2), but they only participate in the action when appropriate. So no tag-along buffers, exploding psions, or whatever. The main use for cohorts is actually as agents - station house managers, prize crew captains, officers, ambassadors and so on. And in these positions, the personality of the NPC often matters more than the actual stats. Another popular role is knowledge base - the current party lacks almost all knowledge skills, so they return to the ship with reports on what they've encountered, and get information of what it might be.

The big issue in this case is the creation of magic items. Basically, any magic item can be manufactured on-board by this crowd of NPCs. I've said that NPC-crafted items can be had at a 25% discount (rather than the full 50%).

And yeah, all this is happening in Pathfinder, but the Cohort rules are essentially the same.

Seems to me like this is asking for a random table...

So yeah, you get a cohort; let's see what you've attracted. The class entry could be a (weighted) list from 1 to whatever; what you roll, though, depends on your class. (You can give the individual dice colours so that they give you more information.) (And you might let the player move the colour of the dice around.)

I would probably let the player choose a different Feat if the result was not acceptable.

I see Leadership (once it's allowed by a DM) as a player choice, like any other feat. It is under the player's control. In my games, I let the players build the character, I will RP them as an NPC until they get to the point of joining the party, then it's the player's job to RP them. It works out very well for my group... but then, half of my group is used to RPing multiple characters simultaneously.

I have enough to take on RPing the rest of the world, and I trust my players, they reward my trust, and thus far it has worked out well for us.

For the record, our player mix is one super-munchkin-power-gamer, one concept player (in his way, worse at twisting the rules than the munchkin, but ironically in getting his concept he routinely falls behind the party average in power level...) one super experienced gamer, one formerly experienced gamer, and two newbies - both of whom are great at rp and characterization.

nijineko said:

... one formerly experienced gamer ...

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Formerly experienced gamer - I'm not quite there yet, but working on my CV.

(Not trying to be snide, I get your meaning, but it is a funny expression.)

Starfox said:

Formerly experienced gamer - I'm not quite there yet, but working on my CV.

(Not trying to be snide, I get your meaning, but it is a funny expression.)

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that did come across kinda funny. thanks for the humorous response! for those who may not have gotten it, that particular member of our group is the 2nd ed master in our anything official 3.x goes group.

and yes, he still plays The Ranger. ^^