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View Full Version : Leadership Feat, How can I make it easy?



Kunanaki
2008-03-11, 09:23 AM
Has anybody ever used the leadership feat in a campaign?

I'm wondering if this is basically like rerolling a lower level character to play on the side as my Cohort, like fully customizing him as though I would play him, or if it's more of a dime a dozen generic grab bag. Basically I'm not quite certain how Cohorts are played, and how they interact with things, Combat related.

And past that, what would be some good Cohorts for a Cleric / Incarnate that's prestiging to Sapphire Heirarch?

CASTLEMIKE
2008-03-11, 09:29 AM
The DM should control the type (class, level, gear, spells if a caster) and availability of the NPC PC cohort.

Edit:

My thoughts would be something like a Cloistered Cleric for an Abba of an Abbey or Monastery or other religious retreat with a dedicated purpose of some sort (Fortified Abbey (Border, Church Holy Site, Trade route), Hostel, Library, School or University) and a Knight for a minor noble with a small keep or castle or a travelling Bishop.

Some Adepts to staff the Abbey or local rural clergy in Thorps, Hamlets and an occassional village or two for a travelling Bishop.

Mostly Warriors as church templars with a few experts as administrators and crafters.

SilverClawShift
2008-03-11, 09:37 AM
The DM should control the type (class, level, gear, spells if a caster) and availability of the NPC PC cohort.

But since the game is a group activity, the DM should be open to suggestions. It's just that the DM has final call on just about everything.

valadil
2008-03-11, 09:41 AM
The one time I saw leadership get used, the player picked the type of character and the GM made the build. Basically the GM didn't want another completely optimized character get added to the party. We needed another healer, but another full cleric would have broken things so we got a favored soul.

Jarchh
2008-03-11, 09:43 AM
I've taken thsi feat with a few characters. In my experience a good dm will allow the player to fully stat out and pick the character that they'll have as their cohort, however the dm has full control over the rest of the world, so if you make decisions to create a character that isnt suitable for the current situation he can introduce the character any time he wishes, cohorts dont just pop out of thin air, they have to be written in so keep that in mind when picking one.

Hopefully you're dm's a good guy and realises its just a game and will let you have as much fun as possible.

Jack Zander
2008-03-11, 09:48 AM
I've taken thsi feat with a few characters. In my experience a good dm will allow the player to fully stat out and pick the character that they'll have as their cohort, however the dm has full control over the rest of the world, so if you make decisions to create a character that isnt suitable for the current situation he can introduce the character any time he wishes, cohorts dont just pop out of thin air, they have to be written in so keep that in mind when picking one.

Hopefully you're dm's a good guy and realises its just a game and will let you have as much fun as possible.

But if one players is hogging the fun by having two characters, it's not fun for everyone.

Most DMs I've experienced don't even allow Leadership unless the party is low on players or for flavor reasons (you have a base/castle that needs guarded by minions/soldiers and your cohort is off doing your bidding or simply acting as Pasty and carrying your stuff).

Human Paragon 3
2008-03-11, 09:54 AM
I DMd a character with leadership. The player wanted a jedi-like apprentice and picked the class, and I took care of the rest. I built the character, picked feats, rolled stats etc. and the player was pleasnatly surprsied with my build (it was a little better than his own character build). Then, as she leveled up, the player got to make all the build decisions, since she was essentially a part of his character.

A simplification we used: always keep the cohort exactly 2 levels below the Leader regardless of XP. Makes things a lot easier.

I am playing a character with leadership now, too (or I will be starting sunday). My character is a musket-wielding ranger and the cohort is an indian side-kick (like the Lone Ranger and Tanto). I am making all the build decisions, but the DM doesn't mind since it's just a ranger and a fighter anyway, and its less work for him.

When we use Leadership, generally the player will roleplay the cohort as well, but the DM reserves the right to take control of the cohort at any time inside or outside of combat.

As to possible cohorts for you, I'd go with something specialized like a Barbarian, Sorcerer, or Warlock since your Cleric/Incarnate is fairly versatile. The extra character can up your damage output somewhat and single-minded classes are all easy to play.

EDIT: The Cohort can also be a great DM tool, add drama to the party, and share vital info with the PCs. The Cohort can be kidnapped or affected with a terrible curse and the PC will have to save him/her. A good DM knows how to use a Cohort to their own advantage.

Swooper
2008-03-11, 10:10 AM
Huh, I've taken Leadership with many characters, and so have the other players in my group, and we've never gotten a cohort :smallfrown: It's always been more of a roleplaying thing, with some followers as the main mechanical benefit (and those are almost never statted out or even counted).

Guess it's part of having a DM who considers the rules to be something that sometimes gets in his way, but can most of the time be ignored...

Galdor Miriel
2008-03-11, 10:34 AM
We have a few characters with leadership in our campaign, which is currently level 12.

We have a couple of things which make it work.

The first is that we keep strict track of rounds, if you talk it uses time, the dm looks at the clock, you say what you, or your cohort does and there is no retracting your move or your spell. This keeps the game ticking over and only players who can handle the extra decisions can handle a cohort.

We have cohorts at 2 levels below the pc, we use the elite array and npc wealth when they start, any new wealth comes from the PC as a gift, they do not get a treasure share.

If we have too many characters with cohorts we do a feat swap out, you can not play your cohort for that session and receive a bonus feat(chosen at time of leadership pick) instead.

Hope that helps.

Cohorts can be fun, but you have to make sure they do not dominate or put one player too much in the limelight.

Galdor

Benejeseret
2008-03-11, 11:18 AM
Two of my characters recently rescued a baby troglodyte and wanted to adopt him. He is currently wee and rides along in a back sling. If they care for him until they reach lvl6 I will be ruling that he has grown enough to join the party.

Thus IC RP set the race and I will let them influence his class based on how they raise him in IC throughout. I will stat him out and basically take him on as a DMPC who the characters have huge influence over.

This is the only way I will really allow Leadership as it was fully RP driven choices leading to an opportunity.

As for the followers, ya, the characters do not know it yet but the baby is the troglodyte Chosen One who will become the leader of a small reptilian army. They can choose to ally with him and the cold-bloods, or swap over to a less monstrous (but morally monstrous) humanoid cohort with an army following him.

Kunanaki
2008-03-11, 01:30 PM
So, with that being stated, how would I convince my DM ease of use? I've shown him that I can handle, and make it easy, having multiple attackers (in the form of raise dead), so I don't think he'll be opposed to the idea.

I was considering Totemist, as I'm a big fan of the class, and it covers a hole in my "heavy" spellcasting lean.

But Barbarian again is a fair addition.

Eliminating XP, and keeping them flat two levels under sounds like a fair idea, but for RP purposes, how would I have him enter in? Should we rescue someone?

Human Paragon 3
2008-03-11, 01:40 PM
So, with that being stated, how would I convince my DM ease of use? I've shown him that I can handle, and make it easy, having multiple attackers (in the form of raise dead), so I don't think he'll be opposed to the idea.

I was considering Totemist, as I'm a big fan of the class, and it covers a hole in my "heavy" spellcasting lean.

But Barbarian again is a fair addition.

Eliminating XP, and keeping them flat two levels under sounds like a fair idea, but for RP purposes, how would I have him enter in? Should we rescue someone?


I'd have to know your exact situation to make the best recomendation as to how to introduce your cohort, but suffice to say there are dozens of ways to do it. You could rescue him, he (or she) could be a long-lost relative or lover that you meet, it could be a friend that you thought was dead but has some convoluted story and has been tracking you for months, it could be an alternate version of you from some crazy arcane experiment, it could be an enemy or mercenary that defects to your side, it could be a mercenary that you hire, it could be a starry-eyed burgeoning adventurer who takes a shining to you and wants to follow in your footsteps, it could be your friend from boarding school who finally ran away from home. It could really be anything.

As for ease of use, what could be easier? You're competent enough to run two characters and the DM can take control whenever he wants.