Level Up (A5E) Sidekicks: Between Adventurers are Followers

[xiphumor]

One of the brilliant things to come out of TCoE was sidekicks, which were “half-classes” that could be given to any creature of CR 1/2 or lower if the party wanted them to tag along. It was a great way for the party to quickly fill out an empty niche, keep a beloved adoptee from dying instantly, or just quickly spice up an NPC. I’m now wondering how/whether A5e could implement a similar system.

TCoE had three basic sidekick classes: The Expert, Spellcaster, and Warrior. This system covered the bases pretty well IMHO, but A5e should of course add more opportunities for choice! So let’s add some rough, generic subclasses! Or better yet, themes for options that don’t force you to commit.

Experts could divide up into Faces (Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion), Scouts (Acrobatic, Animal Handling, Athletics, Investigation, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival), and Brains (Arcana, Culture, Engineering, History, Medicine, Nature, Religion). I’m willing to let all three have Perception.

Spellcasters implicitly had this by choosing which spell-list they would draw from: Wizard, Druid/Cleric, or Warlock/Bard. This breakdown still seems like a solid basis to me.

Warriors could be broken into Strikers (DPR), Defenders (Tank), and Support. Included under Support, there should be solid options for a mount.

Thoughts?

 

[lichmaster]

One of the brilliant things to come out of TCoE was sidekicks, which were “half-classes” that could be given to any creature of CR 1/2 or lower if the party wanted them to tag along. It was a great way for the party to quickly fill out an empty niche, keep a beloved adoptee from dying instantly, or just quickly spice up an NPC. I’m now wondering how/whether A5e could implement a similar system.

TCoE had three basic sidekick classes: The Expert, Spellcaster, and Warrior. This system covered the bases pretty well IMHO, but A5e should of course add more opportunities for choice! So let’s add some rough, generic subclasses! Or better yet, themes for options that don’t force you to commit.

Experts could divide up into Faces (Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion), Scouts (Acrobatic, Animal Handling, Athletics, Investigation, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival), and Brains (Arcana, Culture, Engineering, History, Medicine, Nature, Religion). I’m willing to let all three have Perception.

Spellcasters implicitly had this by choosing which spell-list they would draw from: Wizard, Druid/Cleric, or Warlock/Bard. This breakdown still seems like a solid basis to me.

Warriors could be broken into Strikers (DPR), Defenders (Tank), and Support. Included under Support, there should be solid options for a mount.

Thoughts?

Well, A5E has followers. Sidekicks could be reframed as a special kind of follower, and they could also "level up" as followers do (becoming veterans at the end).

 

[aco175]

I thought the beauty of sidekicks was their simplicity to make and run. Adding more classes begins to sound like more work.

To make this work though, I could see half-kicks where you have part warrior/ part spellcaster. Maybe half caster/expert. Then it would just how you build them if you need a tank or striker.

I'm interested to see how this develops. I tend to be in the camp where I can build the guy I want in the rules and not need more to make things work.

 

[xiphumor]

I thought the beauty of sidekicks was their simplicity to make and run. Adding more classes begins to sound like more work.

To make this work though, I could see half-kicks where you have part warrior/ part spellcaster. Maybe half caster/expert. Then it would just how you build them if you need a tank or striker.

I'm interested to see how this develops. I tend to be in the camp where I can build the guy I want in the rules and not need more to make things work.

The main issue with half-kicks is that multiclassing already exists for that reason.

And I grant you could probably already make things work RAW, but I like the design challenge.