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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 1270720" data-attributes="member: 2629">I do not allow leadership or any other feat that grants cohorts. They are by far the most powerful/broken feats in the game. They nearly double a PC's abilities at little (if any) real cost. The added number of player controlled characters makes game balance more difficult and often results in more PC deaths. Remember: these feats are all optional feats - PCs are not entitled to them unless you give it to them.If you feel you must allow them, I advise keeping the following guidelines in mind. Many DMs let players go hog wild and end upturning something that is already out of balance into a nightmare. The key is to remember that cohorts are more than a set of extra abilities. They are NPCs with lives of their own.Make sure their ability scores are on par with the NPC ability scores listed in the DMG (ie; that their ability scores are generated so that they are no more powerful than the elite array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 08). Although loyal to their PC, cohorts should have lives of their own that include such things as families, organizations and jobs that require some attention by the cohort and may require him or her to spend time away from the PC or may place the cohort in difficult situations where he must choose between his PC and his family's best interests ("If I break you out of jail, the king will execute my family! What should I do?")These cohorts are NPCs, though the player may control them at the DM's option. You should design the cohort. The player may specify a race, gender and class, but you should choose skills, feats and any starting magic items. Even though the player will be playing the cohort in most games, you should feel free to specify some aspects of his personality. The cohort should be designed as a self sustaining being, not a min-maxed power booster for the PC. Keep in mind that the cohort should notice abuse. Unless the cohort has an unusual relationship with his PC (slave, worshipper, lover, etc...), most PCs should resign their post if the PC doesn't treat them fairly. Their opinion of fair treatment will be determined by their personality, but most cohorts should take off if their master doesn't pay them well, doesn't give them a decent share of treasure or puts them at high risk.If a cohort dies, it should not go unnoticed by the world. If he had a family, that family might demand the return of the corpse. Heck, they might even want compensation for you getting their father/brother/son/etc ... killed. If a cohort causes problems in the game by being too powerful, being too disruptive or by reducing the fun of other players (for any reasonable reason), don't be afraid to take the player aside, explain that the cohort is not working out and find a way to work it out of the game (and give the PC a replacement feat). In my experience, cohorts, unless designed to be no more than Sancho Panza to Don Quixote, make one player happy, the rest of the players a little frustrated and the DM very frazzled over all the balance and planning issues that the effectively new PC creates. If the goal of the game is the most total fun that all the players (and DM) can have, I find that leadership is not good for the gander, even though the goose may get off on the extra power.</blockquote>

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