Leadership

[GnomeWorks]

Then how about we just propose a feat that allows you to have a cohort, as per the SRD, and no followers? I think that would be just fine.

 

[Bront]

Actually, the rules say that if this happens, then the cohort fails to level, remaining 1 XP below the next level until the PC levels first. Coincidentally, if the cohort has any spells or feats that expend XP and something like this happens, this is the perfect time to use 'em--might as well

What I ment is close the gap at all.

If I need 10000 exp, and my cohort need 5000 exp to advance (10th and 5th level) and he earns 1/2 the exp I do (5/10), he isn't going to catch up.

 

[Bront]

Then how about we just propose a feat that allows you to have a cohort, as per the SRD, and no followers? I think that would be just fine.

What about other odd cohorts, like mount cohorts or such, which are allowable (though that's the DMG, not SRD).

 

[Kahuna Burger]

I'm not sure followers should be disallowed entirely, I think restricting them (and cohorts to large extent) from adventures would be sufficient.

Take Rinaldo for instance. He wants to have a shop. If he takes the leadership feat, are his followers going to be fighters following him into battle to get slaughtered? it seems unlikely. They should be craftsmen or 'buyers' (experts with lots of ranks in appraise and diplomacy) essentially existing to Aid Another on his profession checks and set his mind at ease about his buisiness when he gets caught up in another adventure. His Cohort could be a crafting oriented spell caster who mostly makes specialty items and occasionally comes along on an adventure if there is a specific need.

Similarly, if my character Katherine took leadership some day, her followers would be spread out amoung the different cities and would reflect a network of information contacts who could aid another on any gather info checks she needed to make in that city, or make knowlege local checks for her. I'm torn on what would make a good cohort for her, but it would serve to round out her information gathering schtick (maybe a druid who could cast all the "speak with" type spells and provide more eyes in the sky with animal companions).

So I would make two suggestions for alterations in the leadership feat.

1) lets go back to an explicit restriction of followers to npc classes and a lower stat buy than PCs. Its just not fair to new players for them to be replaced 5 times over by a higher level character's feat.

2) Followers must be given non combat and primarily non-adventure based roles and can never "come along" on an adventure. Cohorts may be restricted from the "meat" of an adventure by DMs but can be used as support characters during the "gearing up" phase.

So anyone who wants to take the leadership feat should apply to the character judges with a description of the followers and cohort, how they fit into his or her current character concept and what impact they will have on the character/game. I would be happy to extrapolate 4 levels ahead to show exactly what katherine's proposal would look like if you want a more detailed idea.

 

[Velmont]

Take Rinaldo for instance. He wants to have a shop. If he takes the leadership feat, are his followers going to be fighters following him into battle to get slaughtered? it seems unlikely. They should be craftsmen or 'buyers' (experts with lots of ranks in appraise and diplomacy) essentially existing to Aid Another on his profession checks and set his mind at ease about his buisiness when he gets caught up in another adventure. His Cohort could be a crafting oriented spell caster who mostly makes specialty items and occasionally comes along on an adventure if there is a specific need.

KB have a good Sense Motive roll on that

I never intend to have my cohort following me, and if they ever show up in an adventure, it would be because part of the adventure would happen in my shop. I thought to use my follower just as loyal employee for my shop. Let's pretend Rinaldo will take that feats at level 9, what the feat would bring him:

Cohort: Cleric of some Trading God. Rinaldo, in his desire to sell items, would have made a deal with the local temple of some god of trading. That cleric would likely to have three creation feat, Scribe Scroll, Brew Potion and Craft Wand, as all items of healings are the most interesting items to have in great numbers. Having 16 of charaisma at that time, his cohort would be of level 7, which is the maximum he can be, as no cohort can be more than two level lower than the main character.

Followers: I would be allowed 8 followers level 1. My followers would be as such:
One expert merchant
One expert caravaneer
Six Warrior.

- The expert merchant would be the NPC that would maintain the shop when Rinaldo is not around.
- The expert caravaneer would be the NPC that would carry the stock he sells from his supplier to his shop (that would be mainly spell component, as that would represent his basic stock of his shop).
- The warrior would be guards, and would generally have two working during the day at the shop, two at night, and the last two would follow the caravaneer.

With time, new followers could be:

- More merchant, as shops open in other city.
- Messengers that carry information or special command from one shop to another
- More guard to protect the more valuable items, the new shops, ect...
- An adept, member of the Chromatic Order, one of the official buyers of spell component in Rinaldo's shops.
- Ect...

 

[Manzanita]

I like Kahuna Burger's recomendations. Rinaldo should definitely be allowed to take the feat. Or at least he should be allowed to recruit a follower to run his shop some other way. This feat seems like a good way to me. Thus Velmont could run his cohort directly, and thus be active in his shop thread whenever anyone wanted to buy something, even if Rinaldo were on an adventure.

 

[Xael]

My character Almayce would probably want to take the Leadership feat, but he's interested mainly in followers, and PC classes of those (though he would have use for even the NPC class ones). He's planning on either large amount of followers of Gliran and forming a temple or something in Orussus, or an utopian magical island or mountain kindom of his own, after he's badass enough.

He wouldn't be bringing those followers to adventures, other than possibly a driver for his to-be-undead-powered-carriage...

But the whole feat was already shot down once earlier.

 

[azmodean]

Perhaps if it is specified that the followers and corhorts will not go on adventures in the feat? Any input on this from a judge?

 

[Velmont]

Followers and cohort not going into adventure should be not a simple black and white things. I would more says it is up to the master of an adventure to tells if he want things to get more complicated by allowing anyone else to come, but I would see more followers staying behind and the cohort can follow the characters.

I would see followers in an adventure if the adventures happen in a place where the followers stay. If the action happen in a temple of a cleric where his follower stays, his followers would likely happen.

A cohort is just like an animal companion/familiar/mount. It might be more powerfull, but a feat have been sepnt there too.

 

[azmodean]

The reason for the feat having a no from the judges is to avoid someone taking multiple characters into an adventure, which can be a hassle for the DM and other players. It doesn't look like they are even considering budging on that, so I was just wondering if non-adventuring cohorts/followers would be more acceptable.