Followers and class levels? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Followers and class levels?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
atherton
Jun 15, 2009 21:43:28 I've been looking over a lot of the builds that try for high leadership scores and use followers for cooperative casting. The followers in these builds are generally low level characters with PC classes. My campaigns with leadership have always worked the same way but I was looking over epic leadership in the ELH and found something rather disturbing. On page 37, it lists an optional rule for 'exceptional followers'.

The gist of it is that followers with levels in classes better than warrior, commoner and expert are to be treated as higher level followers. The example is a 6th level aristocrat takes up one of your 8th level followers and a 6th level fighter equals a 9th level follower.

So... what's going on here? The description of regular leadership doesn't say followers are normally npc classes, but the ELH seems to imply this to be the case by explaining 'exceptional' followers as an optional rule. Is this some weird 3.0 thing? Is leadership just so commonly house-ruled to allow easy access to PC class followers that builds here assume it?
#2
xakypshalorn
Jun 15, 2009 21:46:22 The reason fo that is that in the 3.0 Dungeon Master's guide, there WAS a distinction, but it's not in the 3.5 rulebook (whether an oversight or by intention I'm not sure lol) but the fact is, the Epic Level Handbook (A 3.0 resource) is referencing a non-existant rule for 3.5
#3
jgumbyrx
Jun 15, 2009 22:04:35 Actually, the DMG specifically states that there is no limitation on allowable race/class/whatever for cohorts. You have found inconsistency between DMG and ELH. Xakypshalorn has the right of it, though.

Something I've done in some of my games is this:
-- cohorts followers are, by default, npc classes or racial HD.
-- those with pc class levels are treated as having a +2 LA for the purposes adjudicating the Leadership feat (this stacks with whatever other LA that the cohort may have).

This has cut-down considerably on the broken-ness of the feat (though, it is still a bit broken, just not as broken)
#4
atherton
Jun 15, 2009 22:17:18 Thanks for the help guys. I've been thinking about starting up a Handbook for Overlords (or: 'Building a Sauron Worthy of Mordor') and wanted to double check my understanding of high level leadership. Now to figure out what in the stronghold builder's guidebook does and doesn't work in 3.5...

anyways, thanks again

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 atherton Jun 15, 2009 21:43:28	I've been looking over a lot of the builds that try for high leadership scores and use followers for cooperative casting. The followers in these builds are generally low level characters with PC classes. My campaigns with leadership have always worked the same way but I was looking over epic leadership in the ELH and found something rather disturbing. On page 37, it lists an optional rule for 'exceptional followers'. The gist of it is that followers with levels in classes better than warrior, commoner and expert are to be treated as higher level followers. The example is a 6th level aristocrat takes up one of your 8th level followers and a 6th level fighter equals a 9th level follower. So... what's going on here? The description of regular leadership doesn't say followers are normally npc classes, but the ELH seems to imply this to be the case by explaining 'exceptional' followers as an optional rule. Is this some weird 3.0 thing? Is leadership just so commonly house-ruled to allow easy access to PC class followers that builds here assume it?
#2 xakypshalorn Jun 15, 2009 21:46:22	The reason fo that is that in the 3.0 Dungeon Master's guide, there WAS a distinction, but it's not in the 3.5 rulebook (whether an oversight or by intention I'm not sure lol) but the fact is, the Epic Level Handbook (A 3.0 resource) is referencing a non-existant rule for 3.5
#3 jgumbyrx Jun 15, 2009 22:04:35	Actually, the DMG specifically states that there is no limitation on allowable race/class/whatever for cohorts. You have found inconsistency between DMG and ELH. Xakypshalorn has the right of it, though. Something I've done in some of my games is this: -- cohorts followers are, by default, npc classes or racial HD. -- those with pc class levels are treated as having a +2 LA for the purposes adjudicating the Leadership feat (this stacks with whatever other LA that the cohort may have). This has cut-down considerably on the broken-ness of the feat (though, it is still a bit broken, just not as broken)
#4 atherton Jun 15, 2009 22:17:18	Thanks for the help guys. I've been thinking about starting up a Handbook for Overlords (or: 'Building a Sauron Worthy of Mordor') and wanted to double check my understanding of high level leadership. Now to figure out what in the stronghold builder's guidebook does and doesn't work in 3.5... anyways, thanks again