For allies like Rexus or the other named allies, are you leveling them? What's your approach to doing so: each time the PCs level, or just to keep them relevant but underpowered, or only if they accompany the PCs on missions?
I've got a party that maaayyyy be a touch underpowered (Unchained Monk, Unchained Rogue, Arcanist, Magical Child) when it comes to combat. So, I'm thinking about this issue more than I would normally.
For me I level NPCs if needed and generally keep them 2 or 3 levels below the PCs. Helpful, but not outshining.
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I leveled the people who came to the ball with my party to two levels behind the party. (Rexus put his 4th level ability score point into Con. He's been training.) Other than that, I have not had to deal too much with character levels. Except to say that Octavio Sabinus will always be at least 1 level higher than the party. (Because they were snotty to them. And most of the time I try not to be a jerk GM, but I allowed myself this small instance.)
Isn't this really about their role in the campaign? Are they ever going to have to "roll dice" because they are in danger, doing something on behalf of the pc's/rebellion and need skills appropriate to the DC, and so forth? If they are never going to be in a fight or asked to Gather Information (diplomacy check) or untangle a Hellish Contract, etc. then they don't need to be leveled up. If they are being asked to tackle challenges on behalf of the pc's, they should be leveled up to have a chance at success. If they're taking on a role equivalent to a pc - because the pc's lack a particular capability and the group has a good chance of failure without them, they should be at the pc's level. If they are a supplement to the pc's and pc's could succeed without them only the NPC let's the pc's accomplish more, then they can be 2-3 levels behind.
Put another way - are they a Best Actor/Actress candidate, Best Supporting Actor/Actress candidate or a bit player?
The mechanism I'm going for with future campaigns, including HR (which we start tomorrow, YAY!) is that NPCs aren't typically in combat unless the script specifically calls their interaction out. We'll just role-play it as "he's battling unnamed combatants and managed to pull it off."
Rexus plays a part in the first book, and there are rewards tied to whether or not he lives, so I may involve him a bit more than not. If so, as others have already said, the more involved the NPC is, the closer to the PC level the NPC should be otherwise they will be useless. Our party starts with a 25-point buy, and I've set a minimum stat requirement of 8, so skills won't be an issue. Everyone is keyed on skills for this AP anyway because I've made a big deal out of it.
I leveled them at APL-2 whenever I thought the PCs might ask for them to come along. I was surprised how infrequently they did that. Generally, the two most important ones to level are Shensen and Jackdaw.
For allies like Rexus or the other named allies, are you leveling them? What's your approach to doing so: each time the PCs level, or just to keep them relevant but underpowered, or only if they accompany the PCs on missions?
The answer will greatly depend on the group in question. For games with six PCs who have every angle covered already, there is little need for the NPCs to advance significantly for combat purposes, but certain skills or quality-of-life abilities may still be lacking in the party, especially if PCs favour spont. casters.
For smaller parties, especially ones who lack certain niches (e.g. my PC group have no divine casters or healing of any kind), then the NPC allies become much more important both in and out of combat. Continuing the example, with my group Hetamon Haace is not only introduced early, but at this point is likely to join the Silver Ravens long before he is revealed as the Rose of Kintargo.
The extent of advancement of the NPCs also depends heavily on how your PCs are built. All the NPC allies are typically built on 15 point gen, with NPC wealth and are almost never remotely optimised. If your PCs are 25 point gen and built with care and a focus on optimising the numbers () then making the NPCs match their level is, I think, perfectly acceptable and doesn't risk overshadowing the PCs. Conversely if your PCs are 15 pt gen characters and struggling with APL+0 encounters... you might want to keep the NPCs a few levels lower.
The short answer is: Go with your gut, but remember the PCs should be the stars of the show.
I've got a party that maaayyyy be a touch underpowered (Unchained Monk, Unchained Rogue, Arcanist, Magical Child) when it comes to combat. So, I'm thinking about this issue more than I would normally.
I'd suggest avoiding Rexus and Laria as combat-buddies, and favouring NPC allies who complement the above, such as Hetamon Haace and later on Octavio and Shensen.
Put another way - are they a Best Actor/Actress candidate, Best Supporting Actor/Actress candidate or a bit player?
This is an excellent way to think of it, and a method I find works well. I would only add that combat is not the only application of advancing levels; Skills and utility magic are very much tied to level, and advisory/assistant style NPCs will need to advance as the campaign progresses to stay relevant, even if they never appear at the PCs side in combat.
I leveled them at APL-2 whenever I thought the PCs might ask for them to come along. I was surprised how infrequently they did that. Generally, the two most important ones to level are Shensen and Jackdaw.
As mentioned, it's a rather subjective matter: Shensen and Jackdaw are two of the four NPCs I removed from my Hell's Rebels campaign (the other two being Tayacet and Zella Zidlii).
Indeed, as-published the most important NPC to level (in my opinion) if the PC party doesn't include specifically a cleric... is Hetamon Haace. The reason being the Devil's Bells, which although not impossible to cleanse without a cleric, are excruciatingly hard to do so, as even other divine casters are unlikely to have the essential spells to do so, and none of the non-hostile NPCs are normally able to assist.
I made Rexxus into an Oracle with the Blackened Curse manifesting when he searched the rubble of his ancestral home in his backstory. I think leveling him up with an eye towards the bell tower in spell selection will be how I handle this. My idea is to keep him combat-adjacent, with mostly buff spells, healing, and condition removals.