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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spatzimaus" data-source="post: 887624" data-attributes="member: 3051">Leadership is probably the toughest Feat to handle well, which is why it's in the DMG instead of the PHB.Short answer: it looks like your friend never read the Cohort section on p. 147-148 of the DMG.  While the last paragraph allows for cohorts to be treated as full characters, this isn't the default and it clearly warns against the problems this'll cause.Long answer:Originally posted by Hackenslash I feel that to allow a Cohort to be the same level... basically places an equally powerfull character in the control of a PC Well, first of all, by the book the cohort has to be LOWER in level, the Feat text is "he can't recruit a cohort of his level or higher", so if he's, say, level 15, his cohort can be at most level 14.  And that'd require a Leadership score of 20, so he'd need a high CHA (20 or higher).  Most players who use CHA as a dump stat won't get one that high.  The typical player would end up with a cohort 3-4 levels below them.the player in question is a Cleric/ Prestige Scion sub class form the Ultimate Prestige Classes Book, and has a Minotaur Cohort, wait for it...Cleric/Holy Liberator...of the same total levels as his own class.By "total levels", you're including the ECL of the Minotaur, right?  Because Minotaurs are ECL +8 (according to the DMG, anyway, other results may vary), so if he's a level 15 Cleric, his Minotaur cohort couldn't have more than 6 total class levels.  That'd probably keep him from entering a PrC easily.That's why there's that "Special Cohort" table.  By default, your cohort is just an ordinary ECL+0 race.  This isn't a sneaky way to get around the ECL rules.Now that in itself may not seem to be an issue in a high level campaign but it does provoke questions as to whether the PC is just taking advantage of the rules so that he can be in both sets of Dialogues/Discussions and take part in multi action scenarios, and always have a say in every scenario to the annoyance of other players with only one class who sometimes don't get a word in edgeways. That sort of dynamic is up to the DM to handle, but remember that the cohort is basically a follower, NOT an equal member of the party.  He's there to protect and assist the PC.Read the Cohort description on page 147 in the DMG.  It definitely doesn't support the sort of system you're talking about.By the book (the p. 147 thing), the Cohort is simply an NPC that follows the player around and helps him.  The DM controls him in most character-based discussions (with suggestions from the player), although most DMs I've seen let the player decide his combat actions.  He only gets a half-share of the XP and loot.Cohorts make great characters for visiting players to play, and when you retire your main character you have a ready-made character to jump to.  They're not supposed to be a replacement for the original character.However I am digressing, the main point of this thread is to see what you all think of the Rules for Cohorts in the DnD Game and whether you think that they are Fair and more importantly, should they be as powerfull as the PC that controls them. They're okay.  Not great, just okay.  And no, they shouldn't be as powerful as the PC that controls them, which is why the rules as written don't allow them to be equal level.nor would I be rude enough, to try and change my friends campaign rules, as he seems to be ok with high level cohorts running around getting their own missions and quests and having equal say in party decisions. Cheers and hope to hear from you all soon. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> If he's running a campaign where cohorts are the equals in every way of the characters who selected them, then he's really using a house rule and there's no reason not to take the Feat.  Effectively, everyone will be playing 2 characters.  Now, that can be a lot of fun, too (especially in small parties of 2-4 players), but it's only "balanced" if all of the players are doing it.*********Now, IMC we totally redesigned the Feat to follow a point-based system, so it's been a little while since I used the rules as written.The character I currently play (a Psychic Warrior) was the cohort of my previous character (a Psion) under the old Leadership feat, so keeping that Feat available can be a very good thing IMO.</blockquote>

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