Look at your cohort as a magical iteam that gains abiliets as you gain levels and the "exp" chart as the progression restraint that keeps your iteams power within a resonable distace. AND OMG 4 leaderships! Who works for who. If one of you dies can you play one of the other pc's cohorts,lol.
yeah a cohort levels as you level, always staying 2 levels below you. so when you gain xp, its considered to of gained the same xp
yeah a cohort levels as you level, always staying 2 levels below you. so when you gain xp, its considered to of gained the same xp
This is not true.
A cohort has normal XP progression like a regular character. It's xp is tracked by dividing its level by your level, then multiplying that result with the leader's XP awards, and adding that number to the cohort's XP.
A cohort does not get XP from the story or the leader, but the amount they get is determined by the amount the leader gets.
Technically, it isn't "magical XP from nowhere". It's "magical XP from sacrificing a feat and babysitting". Leadership isn't all that broken, really, especially if you're unfortunate or foolish and get a bunch of cohorts killed.
blahpers has the kernel of the matter. You have to invest materials and time to keep your cohort a} alive and b} effective. They (by RAW) don't get a portion of treasure. So you've got to out-of-pocket keep them equipped. Doesn't matter if it's scrolls, armor, weapons, or cloaks, you're responsible for keeping their APL-2 butt alive.
Yes, they contribute, but solely in the action economy.
They're NPCs. They're covered by separate rules, and can only be so powerful.
I personally don't like leadership, and don't allow it in my games. It takes focus off the PCs, who are the real heroes.
I have a modified version that I used in the goblins game. When they get back home, they'll get this:
Think of this as a muted form of the Leadership feat. Rather than taking the feat, you will instead each have two followers who aren't meant to go on adventures with you, but can act as lieutenants/couriers/proxies for you as important leaders of the Licktoad tribe, and defenders of lesser goblins when you're away.
Your leftenants are much stronger than other goblins in the following ways:
Leftenants may take ranks in any of 3 NPC classes: Adept, Expert, or Warrior.
They gain levels automatically, as you do, at 2/3 of your character level (rounded up).
They can multiclass as though any NPC class they take is their favored class. They cannot take levels of PC classes.
Leftenants get a standard 15 pt. Buy, adjusted as normal for race, with normal race traits.
Leftenants start their 1st level at max hps.
Leftenants get standard (heroic) NPC WBL, but can also get extra treasure from you.
Being Licktoads, Leftenants are proficient with dogslicers and get swim as a class skill.
For example, if you're a 7th level character, your leftenants would have 5 levels (7 x .66 = 4.66, or 5 levels, rounded up, in any of 3 classes) each. One could be an Adp 2/ Exp 2/ War 1, or any other combination of the 3. She would get her favored class bonus at each level. Another could take levels of Expert, and be an Exp4/ War1, able to craft items and also be stealthy, a decent healer, and use any martial weapon, for instance. You may want them both to be warriors; not as strong as fighters of their level, but still capable of defending the tribe when needed. They might both take teamwork feats to make their enemies cry.
These characters can help the tribe as warriors, crafters, shamans, or anything else their skills and feats would make them good at. As with any followers, if they are mistreated or abused, you may lose the ability to replace them easily, should they die.
Treated well, they will serve you and the tribe as useful, fairly tough Licktoads.
I started a level 5 leftenant, just for fun.
Kookie: adp 1/ exp1/ war 3
S 12, D 18, C 14, I 13, W 12, Ch 7
HP: 54. BAB: 3. Saves: F 5, R 4, W 3 Feats: toughness, improved initiative, dodge
Class skills: all adept skills, warrior skills, and 10 others of Kookie's choice, 19 total before assigning.
That's Craft, Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge (All), Profession, Ride, Spellcraft, Survival, Swim, and any 10 others. 29 class skills out of 35. Should have given him more int.
Spells: 0: 3/day, 1: 2/day Prepared: 0: detect magic, mending, stabilize. 1: cure light wounds, sleep.
Stuff: 2400 gp worth. More, if he gets any of your unwanted items.
Not tough enough to hang with you big boys, but he can keep the Licktoads safe from most threats and is quite useful to the tribe.
this is an extention of this thread: http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz5ih8?Leadership-Cohorts-and-an-equal-share
The best policy is not to allow leadership.
That said Leadership is one of the most poorly worded and ruled feats in the game. No one knows exactly how any of it works. I could probably do 10 pages of FAQ just about Leadership. It is a clusterf#+~.
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blahpers has the kernel of the matter. You have to invest materials and time to keep your cohort a} alive and b} effective. They (by RAW) don't get a portion of treasure. So you've got to out-of-pocket keep them equipped. Doesn't matter if it's scrolls, armor, weapons, or cloaks, you're responsible for keeping their APL-2 butt alive.
Yes, they contribute, but solely in the action economy.
Where is this RAW rule?
AFAIK the loot division is totally a player choice, there is no RAW rule about that.
blahpers has the kernel of the matter. You have to invest materials and time to keep your cohort a} alive and b} effective. They (by RAW) don't get a portion of treasure. So you've got to out-of-pocket keep them equipped. Doesn't matter if it's scrolls, armor, weapons, or cloaks, you're responsible for keeping their APL-2 butt alive.
Yes, they contribute, but solely in the action economy.
Where is this RAW rule?
AFAIK the loot division is totally a player choice, there is no RAW rule about that.
I believe that's what he means; there's no rule stating that the cohort gets any treasure, so it's up to you to supply it. More to the point, while they get "magical xp from nowhere", they do not get "magical equipment from nowhere". So they can get expensive unless you happen to get stuff that helps them that would otherwise be vendor trash for you--or unless you have a monster cohort who doesn't need much equipment.
Now there's a rule I haven't figured out yet--how they decided which cohort level to assign to which monsters. It certainly isn't a simple CR-to-cohort-level conversion.
Keep in mind, though, that XP is just a mechanic anyway. PC's don't have to rush in and gather up the leaking XP particles after a kill. ;) So don't get wrapped up in where the XP "came from." It's not a mass-energy item that has to be conserved in the universe.
Now there's an idea for a campaign. . . . The world has a finite amount of XP, and the rise of powerful, immortal beings threatens to bleed the well dry and drive the planet to extinction.