Leadership, UH, What is it good for?

[Hussar]

Lots of great ideas.

No, I wouldn't say that it's cheesy at all. Using leadership this way is great. It makes sense in some ways that your cohort wouldn't necessarily be the same class as you. A weak wizard could attract a thug cohort for example.

Give your wizzie lots of piety and he is attaching himself to your character as a means to learn from one of the greatest priests in the church. You're 15th level! This pretty much means that you are one of the highest level clerics around. If someone wanted to learn about Cuthbert, you da man!

Just be sure to whack him upside the head with a stick once in a while.

 

[Psion]

Seriously, take the feat, make the arcane caster, and just don't roleplay the character as a "follower" How about "love interest"?

Perhaps she's the Sherry Palmer to your David Palmer (24 reference here). You knew each other as youth, parted ways. She uses methods you don't approve of, but despite your distaste, you need her help. And to be with and support you, she's willing to give it to you.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Yes, you can. You can also fill higher-level domain slots with lower-level domain spells.

Well, strictly, you can't:
With access to two domain spells at a given spell level, a cleric prepares one or the other each day in his domain spell slot.

If your domains are Strength and Law, then in your 5th level domain slot, you prepare one or the other of Righteous Might and Dispel Chaos.

On the other hand, I personally allow the two things you suggest, and Skip Williams noted in a RotG article something like "Though a strict reading indicates otherwise, there's no reason not to allow it".

Edit - here we are: "Although the text on page 32 in the Player's Handbook seems to imply that a domain spell slot can hold a spell of its own level only, there's no good reason to bar a cleric from preparing a lower-level spell from one of her domains for that slot." Now, I don't think p32 'seems to imply' it, I think it states it outright, so I consider that when I allow a cleric to prepare a lower-level domain spell, I'm exercising my right as a DM to change the rules.

-Hyp.

 

[rgard]

Look to Fearun. Wizards can be as pious (or favored) as any cleric. The wizard could just be aiding his god by helping the cleric they most believe represents his faith.

As for uses, nearly everyone in my DS campaign has taken Leadership, or plans to. Here's the breakdown:

The Dragon Sorcerer will be taking a half-dragon wizard who specializes in summoning and cutting deals with evil outsiders. He uses it to gain power (both overt and political) over others without spending his own spells known to do so. His followers will be spread out, acting as an information network.

The Trollkin Fellcaller is planning on making a circus. He's mainly doing it to get a charater from Bo9S into the campaign. Please don't ask for further details on this. I'm stumped as it is.

The Fey Mechanic uses it to gain a roleplaying requirement (he's using a druid mechanic to help develope biotech). His followers work in the shop. She also fills skill gaps he doesn' have (he makes weapons, she makes armor, etc).

The Fighter Sorcerer uses his cohort and followers as goblins sappers (yes, he was inspired by WOW). He's using the Gobber from IK, with the cohort taking levels in rogue and the followers taking levels in expert. They sneak in, set charges, and leave. The party goes in and cleans up during the chaos.

I like the fighter sorcerer idea. Try a battle sorcerer from UA and give him the feat from the Dragon mag that gives him access to a cleric domain spell list.

You keep your clerical theme, the character can melee and you fill the blaster void in the party.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[WizarDru]

Don't forget that at that level, if you so desire, you can attract FOLLOWERS. At fifteenth level, you can have 20 1st level NPCs, 2 2nd level NPCs and 1 3rd level NPC. Unlike your cohort, who is a sidekick and follows you to hell and back, they are low-level NPCs. Got a fortress or church of St. Cuthbert? These are the guys who run/maintain it for you. Of course, followers may have different priorities than you and are not as fiercely loyal as a cohort.

 

[Lalato]

My DM doesn't allow cohorts as playable companions. You can have them, but they can't go adventuring with you. That's actually fine with me. It's one less thing to think about when I'm playing. However, where cohorts and followers will come in handy is, as others have stated, in the running of non-adventuring enterprises (in this case, a fief).

The question then becomes... which character class would run a fief the best? I think the first thought is Rogue since you can get a lot of good skills that way, but I'm really eyeing a Druid instead... it's an insurance policy for when the crops don't do so well. But I keep going back and forth on it. Any ideas?

--sam

 

[Numion]

Say it again. HUNHH!!

Seriously, take the feat, make the arcane caster, and just don't roleplay the character as a "follower" How about "love interest"? Or "comedic foil"? Or your character's geeky younger brother that you have taken under your wing in order to teach him how to be a "real" man? The possibilities are endless, and great fun so long as you don't look at it like a "Pokeman-at-arms".

I think we have a winner here. Don't look at the cohort as the mandatory Cuthbert devotee who's just so obsessed with a powerful cleric that he / she decides to follow because of that. There are a jillion possibilities why someone would want to join an adventuring group.

Like, the reasons why your current group is together.

 

[Particle_Man]

My DM doesn't allow cohorts as playable companions.

Does your DM allow them to be magic item creation factories?

 

[FnordBear]

Also rememebr many DMs will allow in creatures and such of the appropriate ECL with leadership. Think outside the box, why not an ECL 9 dragon?

"Are you my mommy?" *big golden eyes*

"Um...sure...lil wyrmling...."

"Yay!"

 

[Lalato]

Does your DM allow them to be magic item creation factories?

I had not even considered that, but it's a stellar idea. I'll check with my DM.

--sam