what would be a good idea for a cohort for this character?

[questbreaker]

ok i have a level 15 character, with Swashbuckler 3 / Swordsage (diamond mind and shadow hand) 4 / +8 LA (Vampire Template).

he is a vampire, and he owns an airship. he has the undead leadership feat with a leadership score of 21, giving him a lv15 cohort (max lvl 13 though, my level -2), 60 lv 1s, 6 lv 2s, 3 lv 3s, 2 lv 4s, 1 lv 5 and 1 lv 6 followers. my question is what would be a good cohort for my character. im looking for anything really, but especially if they can protect my airship or buff me and my vampire spawn somehow. i dont know, just looking for ideas really. show me what youve got.

 

[robberbaron]

Dread Wraith with an extra couple of dice?

 

[Shayuri]

Seven undead hit dice at level 15 means you most likely have a serious hit point deficiency.

I'd recommend your cohort be:

A) Mortal. This will also allow you to use him during daylight hours and so on, when the vamp can't easily take action.

B) Either an evil cleric or an evil theurge of some kind. This will mean he can bolster you against turning/destruction...always the bane of undead PC's. Just make sure he doesn't Rebuke/Command you! MUahaha. It also means he can supply you with much needed healing and temp hit points...not to mention nigh-required Shield Other that effectively doubles your hit points. A theurge also has the advantage of having area spells that can't hurt you, like Cloudkill, Stinking Cloud, area cold effects, etc... He can use such spells indiscriminately with you in the fight.

C) Make sure he has a Darkskull and follows you around.

D) If you can get a warforged cleric it might be worth it even with their penalties to spellcasting stats. Why? They never sleep. Thus they can operate easily during day AND night. Good for you. Plus, they're immune to lots of inconvenient stuff most mortals aren't.

There may be other race/class combos I don't have access to or can't think of this early. I leave those an exercise to other responders.

 

[questbreaker]

i have undead leadership, so my cohort has to be undead. so far dread wraith is the main option i see here

 

[questbreaker]

evil theurge would be a great idea if i could get an undead one. any ideas?

 

[szilard]

evil theurge would be a great idea if i could get an undead one. any ideas?

A ghost?

-Stuart

 

[IanB]

You could go for a classed undead with a relatively low level adjustment. Ghouls are what, +4? You could get a 7th level ghoul cleric, I think. That would be enough to provide some healing, although it wouldn't share your maneuverability advantages.

Maybe a necropolitan?

 

[Corsair]

Necropolitan is +0.

 

[questbreaker]

so a necropolitan theurge, i like the sounds of this. what levels of what arcane / divine classes should i take, and what cleric domains if cleric is indeed what i need? i assume a cleric 3 / wizard 3 / mystic theurge 7, but are there more potent or specialized class mixes?

 

[SteelDraco]

A 13th level Dread Necromancer might be fun. It'll fit with the concept of the character, and he'll be a powerful aid to you, since he'll be able to heal you, bolster you and your other minions, and run things while you have to sleep.