|
I hate to be the guy cautioning against this, as you clearly enjoy the concept, but are you sure you are ready to run a cohort? Cohorts are a lot of paperwork. Additionally, it sounds like your cohort will be a more complex character than your main. As you've already admitted you've only started playing PFS recently, and you've been playing what sounds like is a fighter/warrior type during this last six month period your probably less familiar with the spells and rules for playing a magic type character. I completely understand wanting to now try a magic type character, and I also understand that this seems like the best option to try it out while still getting to have fun with your primary, but the problem is you are now essentially running 2 characters in combat and unless your really familiar with your spells and rules your going to end up bogging down party combats, which can turn out to be less fun for the other players as well as frustrating for you.
So, if you really want to play a caster type consider asking your GM if you can switch to a new character, preferably a spontaneous spell caster. This way you'll have the opportunity to play with a spell casting type character with out slowing combat as much. (You'll still likely slow combat down as you learn all the nuances of your spells, but you're understanding of your spells will grow exponentially faster with A)a limited spell selection and B) more opportunity to cast per day.
However, if you're really dead set on a cohort complete the following steps:
1) Ask you're GM for permission. Game tables can get crowded in a hurry with everybody bringing in a cohort. Make sure the GM is aware that your bringing in a cohort and that he can make allowances for it in combat.
2) No Summoner or summoning spells. You've already got to manage a cohort's turn and your own. Anymore than that and you start taking away from the other characters. If you plan to change your character with out taking leadership you can alliviate this personal restriction, but otherwise this is an important curtesy to the other players.
3)If you're looking for a support type caster, consider an Oracle. Spontaneous casting limits the number of spells you have to be familiar with but gives you lots of uses and opportunities, and the Life oracle mysteries give you access to channeling similar to a cleric. Alternatively you could go with Flame oracle and be able to spam out fireballs like a sorceror. The goal here is to give you the ability to provide your team with support without having to go back to your books all the time to look up your new spell. Also saves you from having to worry about rememming your spells everyday. Clerics and Druids need to pick a specific time of day to regain their spells, sometimes this can be advantageous, but if you forget it can be a nightmare. Not to mention that you need to review the spells you are taking before you prepare them because you will want to make sure the spell works as you interpret it. You'd be surprise how many players take a spell expecting it to work one way only to find out they didn't read the entry correctly and it works far more differently or less effectively than they imagined.
4) Be vigilent in your booking keeping. Again spontaneous casters are more effective here. Also keep in mind that your Cohort does not receive experiance and party treasure as a normal party member. You are responsible for outfitting your cohort from your own portion of party loot, and experiance gained is based off of your experiance multiplied by the equation described in the Leadership feat.
5) Keep to your intended role. Most players don't mind if a character's cohort passes up a turn if there is nothing it can do, but appreciate being able to rely on the cohort to fill the role intended. Remember, a cohort isn't supposed to outshine your main character.
I've probably blabbed on more than I should here, but I've seen a lot of people, myself included, make poor choices with taking the leadership feat, and I thought I'd offer the advice I'd seen to be most effective with it. Take it or leave, here are my 2 cents worth.
Oracle with Life Mysterie
Take this as you first Revelation
Life Link (Su): As a standard action, you may create a bond between yourself and another creature. Each round at the start of your turn, if the bonded creature is wounded for 5 or more hit points below its maximum hit points, it heals 5 hit points and you take 5 hit points of damage. You may have one bond active per oracle level. This bond continues until the bonded creature dies, you die, the distance between you and the other creature exceeds medium range, or you end it as an immediate action (if you have multiple bonds active, you may end as many as you want as part of the same immediate action).
And now this dude can spam fast healing 5 form med distance while hidding invisibil in a bush and casting cures on himself. If everything goes wrong he can end the link(s) as an immediate action.
High con and thougness and you are ready to go...
Breiti
Throw me in as another who would choose oracle over cleric or druid for a cohort. Though I am not as particular about which particular mystery. But oracles are a lot less work to run during game sessions which is great when running two characters, and I love the flexibility of being able to go extreme offense or extreme healing/defensive with spellcasting without notice.