Post/Author/DateTime	Post
delewobmesid 09-12-07, 03:04 PM	I have a Gnome Cleric 6/Ruathar 1 of Olidamara who doesn't deal much, if any, damage; I picked up leadership, more out of habit than anything, and realized I didn't create a very 'functional' co-hort; so I'm going to dismiss his current co-hort and replace it with... Human Conjurer 5, 10,13,14,18,12,8 (headband +2), Extend Spell, Scupt Spell, Fiery Burst, Metamagic School Focus; I'd already decided on Greater Mage Armor and Fireball as his thrid level spells from leveling; would this be a solid co-hort? or should I just have my cleric retrain out of leadership to fiery burst when he hits 8?
Mommy was an Orc 09-12-07, 03:43 PM	In general, I think cohorts are best picked based on who you regularly adventure with - the best are clerics, bards, and marshals. Beguilers aren't bad either. The problem with Wizard 5 is that they've got lousy saves, AC, and poor hit points. And as Wizards, attract attention that they're not really equipped to deal with properly playing up 3. Clerics are nice, as you can crank out a decent healbot. Bards with Inspirational Boost can really amp the damage of a party, plus can toss some useful spells such as Grease. Marshals can let you go first with Motivate Dex, then some other auras. They're not too hard to mix with other casters. Beguilers can give you decent spells, plus cover the Rogue slot. A Beguiler 6+ is casting Haste for the party, readying Silence, firing off Glitterdusts, etc...
Lomiat 09-12-07, 11:34 PM	In general, I think cohorts are best picked based on who you regularly adventure with - the best are clerics, bards, and marshals. Beguilers aren't bad either. The problem with Wizard 5 is that they've got lousy saves, AC, and poor hit points. And as Wizards, attract attention that they're not really equipped to deal with properly playing up 3. Clerics are nice, as you can crank out a decent healbot. Bards with Inspirational Boost can really amp the damage of a party, plus can toss some useful spells such as Grease. Marshals can let you go first with Motivate Dex, then some other auras. They're not too hard to mix with other casters. Beguilers can give you decent spells, plus cover the Rogue slot. A Beguiler 6+ is casting Haste for the party, readying Silence, firing off Glitterdusts, etc... Just to quibble a bit... I've played several games with a 13th-level rogue archer who made tremendous use of the Leadership feat by picking up a wizard cohort. The wizard's job was to buff the archer: Greater Invisibility was the main trick. Another fighter had a wizard cohort to buff his Shield Bash. Back in the days when Polymorph was legal, the wizard's main contribution to combat was a round of Quickened Enlarge Person + make the boss an Annis Hag. Wizards -- especially gnome or dwarven wizards -- can make fantastic cohorts (again, depending largely upon who forms your regular play group) -- though they're best if they're dedicated to a certain chore (as illustrated above) rather than to being "party wizards." They're not going to do much damage playing up, nor are they likely to make BBEGs fail saves. They *can* perform battlefield control, buff and debuff. And, for what it's worth, Leadership seems to be a more valuable feat at the later levels -- when you don't always fill out your APL 14 tables. You might want to wait to take the Leadership feat until 12th level. If you've already taken it, my opinion is that the cohort should be the character at the table that everyone wants to have at the table but that no one wants to play. For that reason, I favor the bard/marshal single-focus party-buffer or the healbot cleric.
_metz_ 09-12-07, 11:40 PM	I have had great success with my Wizard cohort. (Have a 10th level Rogue) I would suggest that you fill what your area is often lacking. A wizard Cleric combo is VERY nice, and people will love you for bringing that tohte table, but keep in mind, a FIghter playing up by two is less likely to get hammered then a wizard. HENCE - invest in COn, if you go a wizard cohort, a Gnome or Dwarf is a must. Don't try to max DCs or go for straight damage, but take the useful party spells that scale ALL the way up regardless if you are two levels below everyone else. Haste, Mass Fly, etc are all really useful.
delewobmesid 09-13-07, 11:30 AM	Here is the party I'm building this cohort for tweaked Warmage ~7 Ranger/Rogue/Ruthar ~7 Fighter/Rogue/Barb ~7 Monk ~8 Cleric 7 As my main character is a gnome, and I"m the founder of the Gnomish Inquisition in the County of Urnst, it would make sense to create another Gnome; perhaps a straight bard? Gnome Bard 5, 8,10,16,12,8,16; melodic casting & ?, insiprational boost, gease, cure lt, glitter dust? or am I better off splashing a level of marshall for the dex check bump? I originally thought redoing the mage would allow for some consistant range damage and pump the Monk as he is a party 'tank'
Mommy was an Orc 09-13-07, 11:47 AM	Hmm. You do seem to be missing the primary arcanist, but you do have the Warmage. You also seem to have the Rogue area covered. An area of concern is that Monk 'Tank', though. Is the Rogue Ruathar able to cast Mage Armor on him? I'd look at a Gnome Wizard or Gnome Beguiler/Unseen Seer/Shadowmage with this party. Each has their advantages. The Beguiler is a little tougher and instead of having to pick spells with two characters, you just do it with one. Plus once you hit 8th, he'll be able to cast Haste(or other things) 4 times a day instead of having to actually pick Haste as a spell to cast.
delewobmesid 09-13-07, 12:54 PM	there won't be any mage armor for the Monk, unless my co-hort provides it; I think I'm going to go with Gnome Conjurer 5 (opp Illusion, Enchantment) 8,13,16,16,12,8 Extend Spell, Fiery Burst, Metamagic School Focus 1st - MM, Lesser Orb of Acid, Identify, ray of enfeeblement, Mount, Shield, Grease 2nd - Scorching Ray, Rope Trick, Glitterdust, Web 3rd - Fireball, Greater Mage Armor HP 31, AC 20 (after borrowing my main character's Hvy Darkwood Shield: 2ac and no arcane failure!) does that seem viable?
awroe 09-13-07, 01:22 PM	there won't be any mage armor for the Monk, unless my co-hort provides it; I think I'm going to go with Gnome Conjurer 5 (opp Illusion, Enchantment) 8,13,16,16,12,8 Extend Spell, Fiery Burst, Metamagic School Focus 1st - MM, Lesser Orb of Acid, Identify, ray of enfeeblement, Mount, Shield, Grease 2nd - Scorching Ray, Rope Trick, Glitterdust, Web 3rd - Fireball, Greater Mage Armor HP 31, AC 20 (after borrowing my main character's Hvy Darkwood Shield: 2ac and no arcane failure!) does that seem viable? With a warmage in the party, I would advise dropping the damage spells and picking something with more battlefield control / utility. Haste would be much better than Fireball (and probably better than GMA in a lot of situations). The cohort's DCs are never going to be excellent, so no-save spells or spells that do something on a failed save are good. I wouldn't drop Illusion as a school - not only are you missing the Gnome bonus to DCs, you also loose the Invisibility spells, Blur and Displacement. Perhaps Evocation instead?
_metz_ 09-13-07, 01:22 PM	there won't be any mage armor for the Monk, unless my co-hort provides it; I think I'm going to go with Gnome Conjurer 5 (opp Illusion, Enchantment) 8,13,16,16,12,8 Extend Spell, Fiery Burst, Metamagic School Focus 1st - MM, Lesser Orb of Acid, Identify, ray of enfeeblement, Mount, Shield, Grease 2nd - Scorching Ray, Rope Trick, Glitterdust, Web 3rd - Fireball, Greater Mage Armor HP 31, AC 20 (after borrowing my main character's Hvy Darkwood Shield: 2ac and no arcane failure!) does that seem viable? where is the haste? drop greater mage armour and take a haste, seriously...
Mommy was an Orc 09-13-07, 01:55 PM	there won't be any mage armor for the Monk, unless my co-hort provides it; I think I'm going to go with Gnome Conjurer 5 (opp Illusion, Enchantment) 8,13,16,16,12,8 Extend Spell, Fiery Burst, Metamagic School Focus 1st - MM, Lesser Orb of Acid, Identify, ray of enfeeblement, Mount, Shield, Grease 2nd - Scorching Ray, Rope Trick, Glitterdust, Web 3rd - Fireball, Greater Mage Armor HP 31, AC 20 (after borrowing my main character's Hvy Darkwood Shield: 2ac and no arcane failure!) does that seem viable? You've got 2 Roguish characters and a Monk in the party - Illusion, particularly Greater Invisibility and Displacement are a good way to make sure they can handle the frontline. Mage Armor is a much better spell for you to be casting than Greater Mage Armor - I'd seriously make all your 3rd level spells Haste. You can do an average of 17 damage or you can double the damage output of 3 of your fellow PCs for an entire combat while giving them tactical movement. You're duplicating the Warmage with your spells - the reserve feat involves being in close range, somewhere you'd rather not have your Wizard have to hang out at. Sure, it might be nice to do a little damage here and there, but I'd concentrate on buffing your fellow party members to do more damage. Also, remember, your hour/level buffs only generally last 5 hours. That's not an entire day, so focus on maintaining spells on the Monk to make him more the tank.
delewobmesid 09-13-07, 02:06 PM	Thank you for the feedback; the extend spell/metamagic school focus (plus a few pearls) will keep mage armor up all day; Gnome Conjurer 5 (opp Necromancy, Enchantment) 8,13,16,16,12,8 Extend Spell, Scuplt Spell, Metamagic School Focus 1st - MM, Lesser Orb of Acid, Identify, Mage Armor, Mount, Shield, Grease 2nd - Scorching Ray, Rope Trick, Glitterdust, Web 3rd - Haste, ?a conjuration spell? or should I switch this guy to a transmutter?
Lomiat 09-13-07, 05:49 PM	Thank you for the feedback; the extend spell/metamagic school focus (plus a few pearls) will keep mage armor up all day; Gnome Conjurer 5 (opp Necromancy, Enchantment) 8,13,16,16,12,8 Extend Spell, Scuplt Spell, Metamagic School Focus 1st - MM, Lesser Orb of Acid, Identify, Mage Armor, Mount, Shield, Grease 2nd - Scorching Ray, Rope Trick, Glitterdust, Web 3rd - Haste, ?a conjuration spell? or should I switch this guy to a transmutter? My opinion? Don't give up Necromancy. It has the fewest spells of any school, but they're among the most useful spells without save DCs. In addition to Haste, your wizard's role should be to provde battlefield control. Gnome Conjurer (opp: Enchantment, Evocation - remember this is the *one* school your warmage has covered) Str 8 Dex 13 Con 16 Int 16 Wis 12 Cha 8 Feats: Extend Spell, Scult Spell, Split Ray 1st - Grease, Mage Armor, Enlarge Person, Guided Shot, Ray of Enfeeblement 2nd - False Life, Glitterdust, See Invisibility, Sculpted Grease 3rd - Haste, Sculpted Web, Split Ray of Enfeeblement
UMiskatonic 09-14-07, 12:46 PM	The disadvantage of throwing down a fireball is that your enemies will target the guy who can fireball them. A wizard cohort CANT take that attention. Trading fireballs will kill your cohort and injure the rest of the party. It's also stealing the warmage's job. I'd focus on all the stuff the warmage CANT do. While it's not immediately apparent, casting fly on the warmage might make him invulnerable to enemy attack. In that case, your one 3rd level spell is enough to win the encounter, and you'll generally get ignored. A utility wizard (or bard or bard/marshal or beguiler) would be the cohort I'd want. And forget about greater mage armor. +2 AC isn't going to help you. You'll take damage from area effects, or enemies will roll up with +25 to hit, and your +2 AC isn't going to help. Hasting the fighters so that they can get to you next round will.
GeorgeFHarris 09-14-07, 05:21 PM	I have a Gnome Cleric 6/Ruathar 1 of Olidamara who doesn't deal much, if any, damage; I picked up leadership, more out of habit than anything, and realized I didn't create a very 'functional' co-hort; so I'm going to dismiss his current co-hort and replace it with... Human Conjurer 5, 10,13,14,18,12,8 (headband +2), Extend Spell, Scupt Spell, Fiery Burst, Metamagic School Focus; I'd already decided on Greater Mage Armor and Fireball as his thrid level spells from leveling; would this be a solid co-hort? or should I just have my cleric retrain out of leadership to fiery burst when he hits 8? My elven cleric (Cle6/RSoE5) who is about to become level 12 is probably going to take Leadership at level 12. She has access to duskblade, so her co-hort is going to be a Dwarven Duskblade 10 who trained with elves, and, thus, worships the only elven god that he is allowed to worship (Ehlonna, because she is also a human god), who also happens to be my cleric's god (good for recitation). I understand that not everyone has access to duskblade, but it seems to be a great class for cohorts of clerics if you have the access. For your party, a Bard looks like a good complement. And it doesn't matter if they're 2 levels behind the rest of the party. GH
Southernskies 09-16-07, 04:41 AM	You can't buy the headband for your cohort from their own wealth. As cohorts use the NPC wealth table, you only get 4300 gp to spend and the maximum on a single item is 50% of that. The earliest your cohort can buy a stat bump item is when they are 8th level (10th level for you).
JamesMaissen 09-16-07, 12:45 PM	You can't buy the headband for your cohort from their own wealth. As cohorts use the NPC wealth table, you only get 4300 gp to spend and the maximum on a single item is 50% of that. The earliest your cohort can buy a stat bump item is when they are 8th level (10th level for you). You can wait and then buy it on their first AR. -James
Lomiat 09-16-07, 09:05 PM	You can wait and then buy it on their first AR. -James Or... if you really wanted, you could buy it for your PC and lend it to the cohort (or if the table's full -- to another PC).