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<blockquote data-quote="Olgar Shiverstone" data-source="post: 2078221" data-attributes="member: 5868">Hmmm.&nbsp; Still considering.&nbsp; I'm rather conflicted about cohorts.&nbsp; One the one hand, they're a very powerful additional capability, that (if full control is granted the player) effectively doubles the player's &quot;screen time&quot;, potentially detracting from other players' play.&nbsp; And if the cohort gets a share of the XP/treasure, one PC could (potentially) be siphoning off XP and/or treasure from the rest of the party (probabaly treasure from the PC's share, but XP from the party allotment).On the other hand, some PCs already get extra time due to animal companions (though this is relatively small compared to another character), and a cohort provides a way to cover capability gaps in the party. *cough*cleric*cough*meatshield*coughcough*It's a pain for the DM to take on yet another full-time persona; OTOH, if the DM runs the cohort, it minimizes &quot;cohort abuse&quot;, and allows the cohort a more distinct personality. I personally dislike running an NPC that travels with the party (though due to a hired guide whose quest is not yet complete, I've been running one for some time, and he just won't die, darn it.)If the DM controls the stats, it adds some mystery about the cohort -- but makes it hard for the player to run the cohort in combat, if that's what the player is doing.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Olgar Shiverstone, post: 2078221, member: 5868"] Hmmm. Still considering. I'm rather conflicted about cohorts. One the one hand, they're a very powerful additional capability, that (if full control is granted the player) effectively doubles the player's "screen time", potentially detracting from other players' play. And if the cohort gets a share of the XP/treasure, one PC could (potentially) be siphoning off XP and/or treasure from the rest of the party (probabaly treasure from the PC's share, but XP from the party allotment). On the other hand, some PCs already get extra time due to animal companions (though this is relatively small compared to another character), and a cohort provides a way to cover capability gaps in the party. *cough*cleric*cough*meatshield*coughcough* It's a pain for the DM to take on yet another full-time persona; OTOH, if the DM runs the cohort, it minimizes "cohort abuse", and allows the cohort a more distinct personality. I personally dislike running an NPC that travels with the party (though due to a hired guide whose quest is not yet complete, I've been running one for some time, and he just won't die, darn it.) If the DM controls the stats, it adds some mystery about the cohort -- but makes it hard for the player to run the cohort in combat, if that's what the player is doing. [/QUOTE]

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