How does it works?
Let's say that my 10 level barbarian (leadership score of 12) want to take a dragonne as a cohort: could hedo it or that's something allowed only for those classes with a mount or animal companion? if the leadership score was 15 (still level 10) would the dragonne be any different? What if he was higher level but same leadership score (e.g.12 and 12)?
You need a Leadership score of 14 and to be at least 12th level to take a Dragonne as a cohort.
There are no other restrictions on doing so. It gains XP as described in the Leadership Feat, and should take class levels when its level increases (when it earns enough XP to get from 10th to 11th level, in the first instance).
Thank you. Could you please explain me how to calculate that? The dragonne was an example (as was the barbarian), I'd like to understand the rule.
No problem.
From Bestiary 3, the Dragonne is considered a 10th level Cohort.
As per Table: Leadership, a 10th level cohort can only be obtained with a Leadership score of 14 or higher. (Note: I track "Cohort Leadership" and "Follower Leadership" scores separately, thanks to the additional modifiers given under the feat. Technically, they need a Cohort Leadership score of 14 or higher.)
As per Cohort Level under the Leadership feat description, you can only recruit a Cohort that is at least 2 levels lower than yourself. This means that to get a 10th level cohort, you must be at least 12th level.
Also under Cohort Level in the feat description, added to Monstrous Cohorts from Bestiary 1, monstrous cohorts earn XP as a cohort of their cohort level, starting at their starting cohort level, so a Dragonne starts earning 10/Leader's Level times Leader's XP gains, with a base XP total of a 10th level character. They will level to 11 when their XP total is enough on Table: Character Advancement and Level-Dependent Bonuses from the Classes chapter of the core rules (amount varies dependent on XP rate of the game). Note that the Dragonne can't level to 11 before the leader has levelled to 13.
Thank you, now it's all clear!
From Bestiary 3, the Dragonne is considered a 10th level Cohort.
A character with the Leadership feat can take a dragonne as a cohort. Such characters must have an effective leadership level of 10th.
I read that as the PC needs a leadership score of 10, not that the dragonne is a 10th level cohort.
Monsters on the following list all work well as cohorts (be they bodyguards, mounts, assassins, etc.)—their effective cohort “level” corresponds to the level available to the PC as afforded by his Leadership score.
Not the level of the PC, but the level of cohort available to the PC.