Cohorts in a campaign.Do they work?

[Mathew_Freeman]

I like cohorts. But I agree that they should either have a very good reason to be with the party (ie an NPC of a suitable level that joins up with the PCs on a permanent basis) or have a very clear relationship with the player in question (ie the bodyguard for a mage, as noted).

Be warned, though, that too many spellcasting cohorts can really slow down combat and make it waaaay to complicated, especially with inexperienced players.

 

[Trellian]

In a couple of campaigns ago two of my players had cohorts. One chose a bard cousin of his to be his cohort for the only reason to have her build houses with a Lyre of Building so he could sell. The other one had a cleric since that role was not filled in the group.

Now we're starting city of the spider queen, and the wizard has chosen a monk as his bodyguard and the samurai has chosen an archer as additional backup. This means we will be 5 players and 2 cohorts. Some of us will be missing now and then due to summer holiday, so it is good to have some cohorts when that occurs. Just don't do as i did, allow a cohort whose sole purpose is to make money for the PC. Also, be wary for those who only wants cohorts in order to make him cheaper magical items.

 

[Musrum]

I ran a cohort for the first 5 minutes of the first session of a campaign. The players then explained their house rule: you have to pay the XP for your cohort out of your own character's XP share...