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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 4696935" data-attributes="member: 20323">Has anyone developed rules for henchmen? I've taken a look at the beastmaster ranger, and have tried to come up with a way to include henchmen without jeopardizing 4e's economy of actions.I used the mount/mounted combat idea and carried it over to the companion/leadership. Here's what I came up with...Gaining a CompanionFriendship: During the course of your adventures you might forge a strong bond of friendship with an NPC who later joins you on your adventures. Such companions are very loyal, often to the death.Professional: Sometimes you can hire a companion, whether through a traditional contract, or in exchange for other services or goods. A professional keeps to the terms of the contract and won’t put their lives on the line (unless you’re paying extra). Generally a professional costs 50 gold per level per month, though they often negotiate for longer or shorter contracts, and many choose to take a cut of whatever treasure the PC finds. The downside to hiring a mercenary is that gold speaks louder than love, so keep an eye out for treachery.Quest: The success of a quest may earn you a companion. Perhaps you free the captured prince but he is under an enchantment causing him to fall in love with one of the PCs who he dotes upon and follows everywhere. Or perhaps driving off the trolls earns you the respect of the crippled sergeant who asks you to train his daughter to become a warrior. Generally such companions stay with the PC for a couple levels in order to accomplish a specific quest – soon after this, they part ways.Companion [Keyword]: This keyword is applied only to creatures with special companion rules, such as an ability gained when fighting alongside your companion. In order to benefit from a companion a character must both have the Leadership feat. The total levels of all companions may not exceed the character’s level, and the maximum level of a single companion is half the character's level.Leadership (new feat)Prerequisite: Charisma 12+Benefit: When you fight alongside a creature with the companion keyword who serves you, you gain access to any special companion abilities they have. Not every creature possesses these abilities. In addition, you may spend an action point to grant one companion a full turn (see below).You may have a number of companions in battle equal to your Charisma modifier.Companions in CombatDuring battle, move your companions on your initiative; they provide flanking (and whatever companion benefits they offer) but may not attack or take standard actions. You may spend a minor action to direct a companion in line of sight to take a standard action; thus if you have three minions fighting alongside you, you could spend three minor actions to command them all to attack (assuming your Charisma was 16 or higher), forfeiting your turn in the process.</blockquote>

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