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So just about everyone agrees that the Leadership feat is way too powerful. Most home games and even the Pathfinder Society ban it. So I was thinking... what if it was broken down into smaller pieces and divided up into three branches?
Here are nine feats to replace the current incarnation of Leadership. The first three give a character the ability to help his team out without having to add a bunch of NPCs to the group. The next three break the cohort chain into three parts; you can take some or all of them, with the net result being that a full cohort costs four total feats. Finally, there are three feats to handle an ascending amount (and effectiveness) of followers.
Leadership
Benefits: As a move action, you may give all allies within 30ft. a +1 morale bonus to their AC for one round. As a standard action, you may give all allies within 30ft. +1 morale bonus on their attacks for one round.
Improved Leadership
Prerequisite: Character level 3rd, leadership.
Benefits: The range of your leadership powers increases to 60ft. You may use your Charisma modifier as the duration for leadership actions.
Greater Leadership
Prerequisite: Character level 5th, improved leadership, leadership.
Benefits: The range of your leadership actions increases to all allies who can see or hear you. As a full-round action, you may grant your allies a saving throw against a single ongoing effect and stabilize all dying allies.
Cohort
Prerequisite: Character level 3rd, leadership.
Benefits: You gain a cohort according to your leadership score. The cohort uses the basic ability score array (13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8), may only be an NPC class, and is always at least two levels below you.
Improved Cohort
Prerequisite: Character level 5th, cohort, leadership.
Benefits: Your cohort now uses the heroic ability score array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8).
Greater Cohort
Prerequisite: Character level 7th, cohort, improved cohort, leadership.
Benefits: Your cohort may be a PC class.
Followers
Prerequisite: Character level 3rd, leadership.
Benefits: You gain a number of NPC followers equal to your Charisma modifier. These followers use the basic ability score array (13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8), may only use the commoner NPC class, must be the same race as you, and are always first level.
Improved Followers
Prerequisite: Character level 5th, followers, leadership.
Benefits: Your followers may now use any NPC class and may be of any race.
Greater Followers
Prerequisite: Character level 7th, improved followers, followers, leadership.
Benefits: You gain followers according to your leadership score.
Thoughts?
First off: Leadership is fine with me in my games...
You took one OP feat available at level 7, and made the most OP aspect of that into its own feat available at level 3.
And then added 8 more feats for the rest. All in all, I'm not a fan of modular leadership.
I think splitting it up was a good idea. However, I'm not a big fan of the base leadership feat. I would try to incorporate something to do with aid another. I also agree with DonDuckie that you made the most powerful aspect of Leadership, having lots and lots of loyal units, a 3rd level ability now. I'm also puzzled why there's a race limitation.
I would personally make the feats refer to a pre-made stat block for the NPCs.
You could use the Squire feat as a model for the Cohort feat taken at 3rd level. At the lowest levels, your cohort's maximum level is 3 below yours rather than 2 (to a minimum of 1st level, obviously).