I've been thinking of a system that works a lot like Action Points (in this case Splug Points). The PCs will gain Splug Points for treating Splug well, buying him treats, and generally being nice to him. Right now, I'm thinking that each PC would gain 1 Splug Point after a Milestone or an Extended Rest. These points would allow the PC to use one of their actions to direct Splug to perform some feat or task. Right now, I've got 5 such abilities:
Splug's Abilities
"Take That!"
Splug sees an opportunity to help you slay your foe and takes it.
At-Will, Minor Action, Splug Point
Effect: Splug makes a basic attack against an enemy you just hit.
"Ooh, Sardines!"
You throw a sardine, Splug's favorite treat, and he moves like lightning to gobble it down.
Encounter, Move Action, Splug Point
Effect: Splug shifts up to twice his speed.
"Splug Will Save His Friend!"
Splug sees that you are on death's door, and rushes to your aid
Daily, Immediate Reaction, Splug Point
Trigger: You fail a Death Saving Throw
Effect: Splug shifts his speed+4 and must end his movement adjacent to you. You spend two healing surges to gain the benefit of one.
"No, Stupid Human, Like This..."
You draw on Splug's expertise to complete your task.
Daily, Minor Action, Splug Point
Effect: You gain a +5 power bonus to your next untrained skill check when using a skill in which Splug is trained. (Athletics, Acrobatics, Stealth, Streetwise, Thievery).
"Screw You, Fat Man!"
Being the selfish, self-centered bastard that you are, you throw Splug between you and a devastating attack
Daily, Immediate Interrupt, Splug Point
Special: You must be adjacent to Splug to use this power.
Trigger: You are hit by an attack.
Effect: Splug is hit by the attack instead, and takes damage as if the attack was a critical hit. You lose all remaining Splug Points, and cannot regain more until Splug forgives you for being such a crappy friend.
The action listed in the ability is the type of action the PC uses to spend the point and have Splug perform the action. Only one Splug Point can be spent per Round by the party, and Splug acts as part of the action (meaning, he doesn't act on his own).
"Take That!"
Splug sees an opportunity to help you slay your foe and takes it.
At-Will, Minor Action, Splug Point
Effect: Splug makes a basic attack against an enemy you just hit.
"Ooh, Sardines!"
You throw a sardine, Splug's favorite treat, and he moves like lightning to gobble it down.
Encounter, Move Action, Splug Point
Effect: Splug shifts up to twice his speed.
"Splug Will Save His Friend!"
Splug sees that you are on death's door, and rushes to your aid
Daily, Immediate Reaction, Splug Point
Trigger: You fail a Death Saving Throw
Effect: Splug shifts his speed+4 and must end his movement adjacent to you. You spend two healing surges to gain the benefit of one.
"No, Stupid Human, Like This..."
You draw on Splug's expertise to complete your task.
Daily, Minor Action, Splug Point
Effect: You gain a +5 power bonus to your next untrained skill check when using a skill in which Splug is trained. (Athletics, Acrobatics, Stealth, Streetwise, Thievery).
"Screw You, Fat Man!"
Being the selfish, self-centered bastard that you are, you throw Splug between you and a devastating attack
Daily, Immediate Interrupt, Splug Point
Special: You must be adjacent to Splug to use this power.
Trigger: You are hit by an attack.
Effect: Splug is hit by the attack instead, and takes damage as if the attack was a critical hit. You lose all remaining Splug Points, and cannot regain more until Splug forgives you for being such a crappy friend.
The action listed in the ability is the type of action the PC uses to spend the point and have Splug perform the action. Only one Splug Point can be spent per Round by the party, and Splug acts as part of the action (meaning, he doesn't act on his own).
All I had to say for my party to want to keep him around: "He volunteers to carry stuff and stay near you, handing or tossing you items that you require"
The party cleric went "Yay, our first Henchman!" and that was all she wrote.
I don't even put a mini on the map for him, because he does not participate in combat any more than a character's back pack does... he is effectively just spare storage space.
YAY FOR SPLUG!
With that out... I like it, I just don't have KotS.
I like what you have done.
All I had to say for my party to want to keep him around: "He volunteers to carry stuff and stay near you, handing or tossing you items that you require"
The party cleric went "Yay, our first Henchman!" and that was all she wrote.
I don't even put a mini on the map for him, because he does not participate in combat any more than a character's back pack does... he is effectively just spare storage space.
I have a player that really liked to use henchmen and cohorts and she's been looking for an NPC to slavishly follow her and tell her she's pretty. This was my compromise.
Of course you need to give the players enough points to make it interesting.
I was also thinking of adding the Leadership feat, which would grant Command Points, and maybe another small benefit. I am toying with an idea of using something like the multiclass feats, with each feat allowing you to control the cohort in better ways, or pushing the cohort to more heroic acts.
I love this. This is a really innovative, and generally balanced, way to handle cohorts. The only thing negative I really have to say is that I'm going to have to steal it since I didn't think of it first.
Feel free to borrow, steal, or cannibalize!
Hahah, I love this idea not only for its ingenuity but for the hilarious way you treat the powers.
The power names are actual Splug quotes from our game. I tried to get the powers to reflect Splug's personality, and seem like something he would actually do in game.
Leadership
Leadership
Pre-requisite: You must have DM approval to take this feat.
You may choose a willing NPC approved by your DM to be your Cohort. You may spend Command Points (detailed below) to direct your Cohort to use either of its At-Will powers and its Unique power.
(Leadership 1)
Pre-requisite: Leadership, 4th level.
You may spend a Command Point to direct your Cohort to use its Encounter power.
(Leadership 2)
Pre-requisite: Leadership, 8th level.
You may spend a Command Point to direct your Cohort to use its Utility power.
(Leadership 3)
Pre-requisite: Leadership, 10th level.
You may spend a Command Point to direct your Cohort to use its Daily power.
Command Points:
The action required to spend a Command Point is determined by the Cohort's power. For example, to activate Splug's at-will ability "Take That!", you must spend a Command Point as a minor action.
You gain 2 Command Points whenever you gain an Action Point.
Cohorts:
Cohorts act only on your turn. If you do not spend a Command Point to direct your Cohort on your turn, the Cohort takes the Total Defense Option and attempts to move to safety.
Leadership
Pre-requisite: You must have DM approval to take this feat.
You may choose a willing NPC approved by your DM to be your Cohort. You may spend Command Points (detailed below) to direct your Cohort to use either of its At-Will powers and its Unique power.
(Leadership 1)
Pre-requisite: Leadership, 4th level.
You may spend a Command Point to direct your Cohort to use its Encounter power.
(Leadership 2)
Pre-requisite: Leadership, 8th level.
You may spend a Command Point to direct your Cohort to use its Utility power.
(Leadership 3)
Pre-requisite: Leadership, 10th level.
You may spend a Command Point to direct your Cohort to use its Daily power.
Command Points:
The action required to spend a Command Point is determined by the Cohort's power. For example, to activate Splug's at-will ability "Take That!", you must spend a Command Point as a minor action.
You gain 2 Command Points whenever you gain an Action Point.
Cohorts:
Cohorts act only on your turn. If you do not spend a Command Point to direct your Cohort on your turn, the Cohort takes the Total Defense Option and attempts to move to safety.
Generally the best way to handle minions and cohorts is total RP, the minions and cohorts all being NPCs.
But for those DMs who are uncomfortable with RP effecting combat in such a way or who have players that can't RP, this looks pretty good.
We just need a list of Cohort type monsters.
Splug being the first.
One question though, if the cohort tries to move to safety, how useful will he be? I mean, it will hardly ever be in a good position to use those powers.
Yeah, that's one of those things that I'm not quite happy with. I want the cohort to be close enough to be able to use his powers, but not make him a major target for the enemy. This is the main reason I'm thinking about the Redirect power.
That way he'll always be in position.
Here are the updated powers for Splug:
Splug's Powers
At-Will
"Take That!"
Splug sees an opportunity to help you slay your foe and takes it.
At-Will, Minor Action, Command Point
Effect: Splug may move his speed, and then makes a basic attack against an enemy you just hit.
"Foul Language"
Splug hurls insults and screams at your foe, distracting the enemy for the split second you need.
At-Will, Minor Action, Command Point
Ranged 5
Attack: Cha+2 vs. Will
Effect: If Splug's attack succeeds, you gain a +2 bonus to hit that enemy.
Encounter
"Ooh, Sardines!"
You throw a sardine, Splug's favorite treat, and he moves like lightning to gobble it down.
Encounter, Move Action, Command Point
Effect: Splug shifts up to twice his speed.
Daily
"Splug Will Save His Friend!"
Splug sees that you are on death's door, and rushes to your aid
Daily, Immediate Reaction, Command Point
Trigger: You fail a Death Saving Throw
Effect: Splug shifts his speed+4 and must end his movement adjacent to you. You spend two healing surges to gain the benefit of one.
Utility
"No, Stupid Human, Like This..."
You draw on Splug's expertise to complete your task.
Daily, Minor Action, Command Point
Effect: You gain a +5 power bonus to your next untrained skill check when using a skill in which Splug is trained. (Athletics, Acrobatics, Stealth, Streetwise, Thievery).
Cohort Power
"Screw You, Fat Man!"
Being the selfish, self-centered bastard that you are, you throw Splug between you and a devastating attack
Daily, Immediate Interrupt, Command Point
Special: You must be adjacent to Splug to use this power.
Trigger: You are hit by an attack.
Effect: Splug is hit by the attack instead, and takes damage as if the attack was a critical hit. You lose all remaining Splug Points, and cannot regain more until Splug forgives you for being such a crappy friend.
At-Will
"Take That!"
Splug sees an opportunity to help you slay your foe and takes it.
At-Will, Minor Action, Command Point
Effect: Splug may move his speed, and then makes a basic attack against an enemy you just hit.
"Foul Language"
Splug hurls insults and screams at your foe, distracting the enemy for the split second you need.
At-Will, Minor Action, Command Point
Ranged 5
Attack: Cha+2 vs. Will
Effect: If Splug's attack succeeds, you gain a +2 bonus to hit that enemy.
Encounter
"Ooh, Sardines!"
You throw a sardine, Splug's favorite treat, and he moves like lightning to gobble it down.
Encounter, Move Action, Command Point
Effect: Splug shifts up to twice his speed.
Daily
"Splug Will Save His Friend!"
Splug sees that you are on death's door, and rushes to your aid
Daily, Immediate Reaction, Command Point
Trigger: You fail a Death Saving Throw
Effect: Splug shifts his speed+4 and must end his movement adjacent to you. You spend two healing surges to gain the benefit of one.
Utility
"No, Stupid Human, Like This..."
You draw on Splug's expertise to complete your task.
Daily, Minor Action, Command Point
Effect: You gain a +5 power bonus to your next untrained skill check when using a skill in which Splug is trained. (Athletics, Acrobatics, Stealth, Streetwise, Thievery).
Cohort Power
"Screw You, Fat Man!"
Being the selfish, self-centered bastard that you are, you throw Splug between you and a devastating attack
Daily, Immediate Interrupt, Command Point
Special: You must be adjacent to Splug to use this power.
Trigger: You are hit by an attack.
Effect: Splug is hit by the attack instead, and takes damage as if the attack was a critical hit. You lose all remaining Splug Points, and cannot regain more until Splug forgives you for being such a crappy friend.
Also, I forgot to include the following: Whenever you take an extended rest, you lose all unspent Command Points at the beginning of the rest. You Gain 1 Command Point at the end of the extended rest.
So it will be like action points... Since you give up an action (if my understanding is correct) it will probably be ok to give them out fairly liberally.
You got it. They'll mostly be minor actions. I'm going to be playtesting this over the next few weeks. My PCs will be finishing H1 this weekend, and we'll be on H2 by the week after. I'll keep this thread up to date with our progress.
Just my $0.02:
You might think about the Leadership X feats actually officially granting Leadership powers to the character who takes the feats so that it's a little more in line with every other thing he can do. Sort of like "Channel Divinity: Avandra's Rescue," only "Cohort Leadership: Encounter," which would be the equivalent of your Leadership 1. Idk, just writing off the top of my head.
Maybe:
Cohort Leadership
Prerequisite: DM approval, Cha 13
Benefit: You gain 1 DM approved cohort. Your cohort acts on your turn and takes the Total Defense Option and stays away from enemies unless you give him a command, or if he is forced to defend himself from an attacker, at which point the DM chooses his actions.
You gain 2 Cohort Points when you gain an Action Point. You can only have 4 Cohort Points. You may spend 1 Cohort Point to use Cohort Short Command.
You may use Cohort Short Command.
If your cohort dies, you must retrain this feat to gain another cohort. You make take this feat multiple times, each for another cohort.
Cohort Short Command - Feat Power
You give a simple command to your cohort.
At-Will - Leadership
Minor Action
Effect: You may command your cohort how to use his minor, move, and standard action. He does so immediately. You may only command him to use At-Will powers.
Special: You may only use this once per turn. You must spend 1 Cohort Point.
Cohort Leadership: Cohort Stern Command
Prerequisite: Cohort Leadership, 4rd Level
Benefit: You may have +2 max Cohort Points. You may spend 1 Cohort Point to use Cohort Stern Command.
Cohort Stern Command - Feat Power
You issue a stern command to pressure your cohort for better results.
Encounter - Leadership
Minor Action
Effect: You may command your cohort how to use his minor, move, and standard action. He does so immediately. You may only command him to use At-Will or Encounter powers.
Special: You must spend 1 Cohort Point
With your cohort powers, it's hard to say how many Cohort Points should be allowed or even how many you can spend per encounter. Especially when you consider that you're getting to take multiple actions per turn.
Cohort Power
"Screw You, Fat Man!"
Being the selfish, self-centered bastard that you are, you throw Splug between you and a devastating attack.
Daily, Immediate Interrupt, Command Point
Special: You must be adjacent to Splug to use this power.
Trigger: You are hit by an attack.
Effect: Splug is hit by the attack instead, and takes damage as if the attack was a critical hit. You lose all remaining Splug Points, and cannot regain more until Splug forgives you for being such a crappy friend.
Every time I read this I think abut Peach in Smash Bros, holding Toad out to block attacks.
1 CP = At-Will
2 CP = Enounter
3 CP = Daily
As for the points, you would require Leadership to obtain them of course. The PC should get 3 points per day.
That way the PC can use 3 At-Will, a Encounter and 2 At-Wills, or the Daily per extended rest. Each Milestone the PC should gain at least one, but I figure if the cohort is RP based then the PC should gain points just for being good to Splug.
This is interesting to me because my rogue captured a goblin with a well aimed shuriken to its leg, poor Gimpy... I really should go to the jail house and check up on him.