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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Helldritch" data-source="post: 7883554" data-attributes="member: 6855114">A bit off topic at first but you'll see my point.The best character I leveled up to 20th level was a fighter that became a mage (and took the name Helldritch...) I rolled him on 4d6 pick the 3 best. I had 17 in strength, 10 in wisdom but 18 in all other stats. I did not have my own dice so I had use the DM's dice. It was my first character, I was 10 years old (yep that young but got 11 a month after start) and I leveled in fighter level up to level 7 and I was specialized in the long sword. During the first few adventures, I realized that a lot of the treasure was wizards' stuff (wands, scrolls etc...) So I learned the rules and found that I could change class. I became quite a successful wizard but before becoming one, I had to have some good hirelings to protect me. One thing that went for me is that I was using my charisma to get the best hirelings and followers that I could get. I could play multiple characters (our DM was welcoming the fact that I was able to play my own followers). Even if most of them (if not all) were staying at the dungeon's entry way.These followers were protecting our night's sleep, our treasures and our mounts. I was always keeping a part of my share to give them a bonus in addition to their pay and their loyalty was quite high. (I miss the loyalty rule of that time.) In one adventure, my five hirelings saved us from death with a timely rescue of our bodies. Yes they were lower level than us, but with their equipment they were not that far from our power level. We played them and rescued ourselves. This is an aspect of hirelings and followers that is often overlooked. They can be your saviors in your darkest hour.With a grittier healing curve, hirelings are useful. I would not (and almost never did) bring them in the dungeon crawl proper but they can mount a rescue expedition, check over your sleep/rest. And let's not forget the fact that they can bring useful skills to the party like herbalism, medicine, alchemy, knowledge and many others.Since 3ed, followers have seen a steady decline in usage (at least at my table). I am beginning to wonder if the easier healing curve that has been seen in recent editions is the main reason for that decline. The focus is now entirely on the characters (which is not bad per see). Without hirelings as we knew them in 1st and 2nd edition, the ability to recuperate from combat on the morning is more important than ever. This might be the reason why that healing is now where it is at. With the ability to heal all wounds overnight, who needs a cleric for hire? Who needs a healer? It might allow for some great leeway in party composition but it also diminish NPC interactions. And I did see some hirelings become full fledged characters. The more I think of it, the more I think that I should reintroduce followers into play. Not as player character but as NPC found in the MM.PS: I know that 3ed had quite extensive rules on how to use followers (leadership) but using them was such a hassle that it was not worth it. The complexity of the characters in 3ed was great and most players had more than enough on their hands with their characters alone. Adding one, two or three more characters (hirelings/followers) was usually out of the question.</blockquote>

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