Post/Author/DateTime	Post
BlackFiend 02-26-07, 04:39 PM	Can you retire a cohort without killing him? The leadership feat mentions the ability to get a new followers. Doesn't mention about cohorts specifically.
HellflameArcanite 02-26-07, 04:49 PM	He doesn't have to die at your hand. Perhaps he has old enemies from the past that, while he is taking the day off, murder him in a tavern. Believiable story, not your fault, and a potential hook.
Thiez 02-26-07, 05:05 PM	Well, simply telling him to go away wouldn't give you the 'killing a cohort' penalty, and if you have the Leadership feat but no cohort, you can get a new one, right?
Finfreeze 02-26-07, 05:13 PM	Meet the cohort alone, preferably on a balcony somewhere during a clear starry night. Spin the old story about how you've grown to care about your cohort too much, and how the coming battles are going to be fierce, none of us may come back, and so on. He/she may get the picture right there and then. If that doesn't work, embrace your cohort. Then cast a nonlethal temporary disabling spell on your cohort/punch him/her in the solar plexus/karate chop him/her in the back (which always causes unconsciousness in fiction), say something like, "I'm sorry but...", "This is hurting me more than it hurts you," something about your sins and/or the gods/your cohort forgiving you, or words along the lines of "This is my burden to bear..." Then write a letter detailing the full extent of your decision and leave as soon as possible, making sure it's extremely sappy. Granted, it works better when you and your cohort are in a romantic relationship...
enygmatic_me 02-26-07, 05:22 PM	Out of curiosity why are looking to retire the Cohort in the first place?
BlackFiend 02-26-07, 05:27 PM	My first cohort was for story purposes. I was leary of the feat and made one to basically sit and handle Temple affairs while I adventure. Well, in the campaign...we are pulling up stakes and departing the region. I do not wish to bring that cohort along...want to try something different. Perhaps a riding beast or exotic of some type as we travel far and away lands. So, his services are no longer required, though he will always be a close ally and associate of old. But I am, for all intents and purposes, never returning to the continent we called home. This is a long running campaign. We are soon debarking on epic levels, but not for a long while. (We are party level 16 now. I got him when I was 8th level). I may bring the followers along for story purposes. But he's just not needed as he was before. I'll have no temple for him to tend to. But having an exotic mount would be fun...but I don't want to retire the PC to get one just yet.
enygmatic_me 02-26-07, 05:43 PM	My first cohort was for story purposes. I was leary of the feat and made one to basically sit and handle Temple affairs while I adventure. Well, in the campaign...we are pulling up stakes and departing the region. I do not wish to bring that cohort along...want to try something different. Perhaps a riding beast or exotic of some type as we travel far and away lands. So, his services are no longer required, though he will always be a close ally and associate of old. But I am, for all intents and purposes, never returning to the continent we called home. This is a long running campaign. We are soon debarking on epic levels, but not for a long while. (We are party level 16 now. I got him when I was 8th level). I may bring the followers along for story purposes. But he's just not needed as he was before. I'll have no temple for him to tend to. But having an exotic mount would be fun...but I don't want to retire the PC to get one just yet. Then, in my opinion, the answer is simple. You need him to stay and continue his work in the temple. Who better to do it then someone that has been doing it and knows the ins and outs of the temple like he does. I am assuming you are a cleric or paladin of some sort, so the simple statement of," Your loyalty has been of great importance/help/comfort/whatever is appropriate to me, but it is now time for you to go stand up and lead the flock in the name of (insert deity here)."
HellflameArcanite 02-26-07, 06:26 PM	Thiez, that might discourage cohorts at the DMs discretion, or you might make a potential enemy. Finfreeze, I think that knocking him unconscious and abandoning him in the middle of nowhere might have other consequences to your leadership score.
runestar 02-26-07, 09:58 PM	Just swap him out for another cohort of your fancy.:)
tarkin 02-27-07, 11:39 AM	I see no reason a cohort can not retire healthy. In even a strict game, you could at the very least you can 'retrain', switching out one the leadership feat for another. Then later 'retrain' again to get the leadership back. A Loose Game might require you to do it all at once - i.e. retrain losing the feat leadership and replacing it with... leadership. Adventuring is a deadly business, if no one ever retired, then everyone gets murdered. I can see any of several possibliites in game to explain the actions. If the DM is friendly, he might just leave on his own. He could be fired, to save him from an excessively deadly life style. He could be fired for incompetence.
runestar 02-27-07, 10:03 PM	He has an ailing grandmother, and wants to retire to his village to care for her in her twilight days. Just cook up some reason to get rid of him and sub in the new cohort.:D