LordVyreth said:
What about a hydra? Those things are brutal in 3.5. And the way Dru handles Leadership is interesting. Care to elaborate on how you work it, Dru? And what level are some of these companions/cohorts?
Sounds like it was a good game. When can we expect a recap?
Last question first: depends on Zad's workload, I would assume. It's not impossible we'll see one today, but you never can tell. I can promise you won't have to wait three months for it.
Now as to how I handle leadership....it's a complex equation. Followers and cohorts don't just sprout from the Oerth, and usually need to be obtained in some fashion. If I can use Dr. Who as a quick metaphor, it's the difference between getting help from a friendly NPC for one adventure and having someone become a companion. Leela, Jo, Sarah Jane, K9 or Rose didn't just appear out of the ether, they got caught up in the Doctor's adventures, and then were invited/decided to tag-along. Cohorts work that way, too.
Dravot took leadership partly at my request, to give a bedrock for the game. In turn, he got Thorkeld, the Lion of Brindinford (and now his brother-in-law). As he rose in level, he eventually got Zira/Zara, and then both of them when they separated. Bolo has traditionally only had one animal companion until recently.
More importantly, characters like Meepo, Fuvex'vex'vex or the residents of Kobold Country (who aren't cohorts) rarely contribute anything meaningful in terms of an adventure proper (other than comic relief) unless they are made into cohorts.
Ultimately, as the campaign becomes more and more powerful, all non-PCs tend to get left to guard the horses, metaphorically. Thorkeld, Zira and Zara spend time releiving Dravot of lots of administrative, financial and social burdens, usually off-camera. The Mage's guild can't be counted on for much unless directly ordered to do something, and that's purely off of Scorch's status as a MoAO 10, currently the only one left. Aethramyr is held in high esteem many places, but he can't reliably call on folks like the People of the Testing in an emergency. Furthermore, many cohorts, companions and familiars are simply too vulnerable. Dravot just couldn't keep watching Thorkeld die over and over again, nor Bolo wait for Tailcatcher to get unlucky.
Finally, at high levels, combat takes long enough without having ten extra creatures/cohorts/companions/shadows/familiars and so forth to deal with....especially when they rarely decide the course of a battle.
