Friends

[Eltern]

It seems like a character can have quite a few friends these days:

Feats:
Leadership
Undead Leadership
Dragon Cohort
Item Familiar
Obtain Familiar
An apprentice, who has advanced above level 5 and now follows you as a cohort (DMGII)

Class Feature:
Animal Companion

Other:
A business (DMGII)

And it would appear that one character can have -all- of these, though they might have to multiclass. Some will argue that Leadership/Undead Leadership/Dragon Cohort don't "stack," but I don't see definitive rules for that.

Any other ways to get crazy companions?

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

There was a feat on the Wizards website a few months back that allowed the character to gain an Animal Companion. I don't remember this feat being off-limits to those who had an AC from a class feature.

I also seem to remember a feat, Extra Familiar, that grants the character an, well, extra familiar.

The Thrallherd in Complete Arcane gets a class ability that supercedes the Leadership ability and, of course, magical psionic domination may not win friends, but it will help influence people.

Isn't there an Epic Leadership feat in the ELH?

One of my players wanted to know whether his PC could take Leadership more than once. There's no specific prohibition I can find against this, and I seem to remember an example NPC on the Wizards' site that had taken Leadership more than once. I ruled that he could take the feat more than once, gain an additional complement of followers each time he took the feat, and gain an additional cohort, too, but with the caveat that all cohorts attracted are two levels lower than than they otherwise would be for each leadership feat taken beyond the first, so one cohort: as per DMG; or two, both at -2 levels; three at -4 levels, and so on.

 

[Shin Okada]

Any other ways to get crazy companions?

Feats:
Craft Construct

Class Feature:
Control Undead (cleric)
Blackguard's undead companion
Effigy Master prestige class (Complete Arcane)
Mindbender prestige class (Complete Arcane)

Spells:
Animate Dead (or simular spells and abilities)

There should be more I guess.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

Mindbender! I think that's what I was thinking of, rather than Thrallherd, though that sounds right too. Maybe in the XPH.

Magical Item:
Shield Guardians (MM) are controlled through the use of an amulet.

 

[dedicated]

Cleric elemental domains

 

[Rkhet]

Monstrous Thrall from Complete Divine.

Planar Turning from ELH.

 

[Silveras]

One of my players wanted to know whether his PC could take Leadership more than once. There's no specific prohibition I can find against this, and I seem to remember an example NPC on the Wizards' site that had taken Leadership more than once. I ruled that he could take the feat more than once, gain an additional complement of followers each time he took the feat, and gain an additional cohort, too, but with the caveat that all cohorts attracted are two levels lower than than they otherwise would be for each leadership feat taken beyond the first, so one cohort: as per DMG; or two, both at -2 levels; three at -4 levels, and so on.

There is the general rule that taking a Feat twice does not stack the benefits unless the feat specifically says that it can it can be taken twice and that the benefits stack (Player's Handbook, p.89, Feat Descriptions, Benefit section).

 

[Eltern]

There is the general rule that taking a Feat twice does not stack the benefits unless the feat specifically says that it can it can be taken twice and that the benefits stack (Player's Handbook, p.89, Feat Descriptions, Benefit section).

Of course, you can just take Undead Leadership, if your character swings that way. And pick up some apprentices, while you're at it. That'll up your follower/cohort numbers.

 

[Pinotage]

There's a spell in Complete Divine, I think, called Beget Bogun. It basically creates a permanent woodland servant to serve you, much like an Unseen Servant, except well, seen.

Pinotage