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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Arkhandus" data-source="post: 2591531" data-attributes="member: 13966">The DM dictates how followers and cohorts will work.  It is purposely left up to the DM to figure out how he wants to run Leadership in his or her game.  You decide who picks the cohort/followers, and you decide who picks the classes and races of these minions, and you decide who will run the minions in RP and combat (or perhaps separate those duties).As written, though, the DM is supposed to determine what the cohort is, at least, and the PC only gets a little input as to what kind of cohort he or she wants to attract.  The PC can say they want a human sorcerer cohort, for instance, but the DM is the one who actually decides what the cohort will be; the PC may have to turn away several fighter, cleric, bard, barbarian, elf, halfling, and gnome cohort-wannabees before a human sorcerer approaches him or her some months later, to see about getting to travel with the hero and share in his or her heroics.Of course, the DM can choose to just leave the cohort choosing and design entirely up to the player, but generally the DM is encouraged to exercise at least some control over the process.IMHO, the DM should choose and design the cohorts and followers because they really are NPCs, even though he or she may end up giving control of them to the players.  The DM should at least make sure that the player doesn't just use his cohort as a selfless, fanatical buddy of the PC, always doing everything he's told to no matter how stupid or suicidal (unless, of course, the DM is going to make the cohort's fanatical behavior come off as extremely creepy or wierd, or does something to make the cohort's behavior call the PC's morality into question with the way he sends the unusually fanatical cohort into stuff; getting the hairy eye of Paladins or something to gaze warily over the PC).Myself, I've only seen the Leadership feat used once in a game I've run, when the PC Courtier acquired a Samurai cohort to serve as his yojimbo.  I designed and ran the cohort, but he basically just did as the PC Courtier told him to do.  The PC would give a command, and the loyal yojimbo would comply.  If the Courtier fell unconscious from an arrow that got past the yojimbo's body-as-meat-shield, the yojimbo took the initiative and retrieved a healing potion from the Courtier's gear and administered it to the fallen leader, even if it left himself open to being shot full of arrows that round, collapsing next to the revived Courtier.  Who spent his own turn reviving the yojimbo with a potion, who then went back to fighting for his leader's life.  It wasn't a great arrangement, but it was all I could come up with at the time; in hindsight I would've been better off letting the player control his cohort during battle, to save myself the trouble and give him something more to do.I'd suggest you design the minions but take the gist of the PC's suggestions to heart; if the PC wants a certain kind of cohort, he or she should acquire such a cohort eventually if he or she keeps looking, and in the meantime he or she might acquire a similar cohort to serve until then.  In your small group, I'd let the player control his minions for the most part, but you should exercise some control over them as well.  The player might determine some of the minions' personality qualities or something, but the DM should determine the majority of that stuff and make sure that the minions are run accurately.  Cohorts and followers won't blindly throw themselves into a suicidal situation, unless their leader is truly awe-inspiring or something; most PCs aren't paragons of virtue, honor, and inspiration.  Followers are less likely than cohorts to risk themselves so terribly.  You should probably NPC some of the minions for roleplaying purposes at the very least.A good use for followers in combat is to have them stay out of harm's way, but carry some of the group's healing potions and such, then run a potion out to an ally when needed.  It should probably be a full-round action to administer a potion to someone who's not spending their own actions to drink it; sorta like administering it to an unconscious ally, except that the ally is just moving about to dodge and such, so the follower has to take more time to administer sips and gulps of the potion.  That's how I ran it when the PC Courtier and his Samurai cohort were falling unconscious, as more PCs started falling unconscious too, so the heimin followers began running out to administer potions to their masters, reviving them to continue the fight and defeat the large group of bandits that had ambushed them.  When needed, the followers can even just use the Heal skill to try and stabilize an ally or whatnot.Followers aren't really necessary, and they can be turned away if the PC desires.  They aren't much use in combat and aren't meant to be; they can help in an assault or a defense sometimes, but they're most likely to be serving their leader as porters, repairmen, laborers, craftsmen, hunters, supply-gatherers, errand-boys, messengers, couriers, scouts, spies, informants, intermediaries, brokers, and so on.  Followers are more likely than cohorts and NPCs to work behind the scenes, out of immediate attention, supporting their leader from the background by handling stuff that the leader is too busy or dignified to take on himself; a follower might spy and steal and investigate for his or her leader without that leader even knowing about it.  They just want to help, or to be associated with someone like their leader.  Followers will probably run the leader's household, headquarters, business ventures, and so on and so forth.  They might help transport treasure and supplies.  They might follow from a safe distance while bringing gear for digging projects, earthworks, and the like.</blockquote>

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