If a player with the Leadership feat makes a crafting cohort who does nothing but craft items for their character, does the cohort advance in level over time?
If not, can a player dismiss the old cohort in order to attract a new one of a higher level?
Or, does the cohort still gain an equivalent fraction of the player character's experience even though they are not adventuring with them?
If not, does the player character's ever increasing leadership score automatically advance the cohort's level?
Question 1: If a player with the Leadership feat makes a crafting cohort who does nothing but craft items for their character, does the cohort advance in level over time?
Answer 1: No, he hasn't done any adventuring to gain any experience so he'll stay at the same level that you recruited him at per the table in the link above. If this was the case, then every single expert craftsman who has been crafting items for their entire life would be of very high levels, this isn't the case.
Question 2: If not, can a player dismiss the old cohort in order to attract a new one of a higher level?
Answer 2: I'd say that depends on your GM, RAW it doesn't say anything about dismissing the cohort to get a new one, but if you used the first one as a slave to make your items just to get a second cohort at a higher level your reputation may be pretty bad with other cohorts who'd be willing to follow you and make your leadership score pretty bad where you wouldn't be able to actually attract a higher level cohort.
Question 3: Or, does the cohort still gain an equivalent fraction of the player character's experience even though they are not adventuring with them?
Answer 3: No, he doesn't gain anything if he isn't adventuring, see answer 1.
Question 4: If not, does the player character's ever increasing leadership score automatically advance the cohort's level?
Answer 4: No again see answer 1, the cohort NEEDS to adventure with the party in order to gain some experience and his level can't be anything more than 2 levels lower than the PC unless that PC takes the Noble Scion prestige class which allows you to recruit an equal level cohort at level 10 via the Greater Leadership.
Thank you.
I see in the description of the feat it says:
"You attract followers to your cause and a companion to join you on your adventures."
No problem, glad I could help.
|
I don't think you're correct in that. I'm reading the Leadership feat now:
Cohort Level: You can attract a cohort of up to this level. Regardless of your Leadership score, you can only recruit a cohort who is two or more levels lower than yourself. The cohort should be equipped with gear appropriate for its level (see Chapter 14). A cohort can be of any race or class. The cohort’s alignment may not be opposed to your alignment on either the law/chaos or good/evil axis, and you take a –1 penalty to your Leadership score if you recruit a cohort of an alignment different from your own.
A cohort does not count as a party member when determining the party’s XP. Instead, divide the cohort’s level by your level. Multiply this result by the total XP awarded to you, then add that number of experience points to the cohort’s total.
From this, I believe that cohorts do not earn experience based on their own deeds at all. They merely level up at around the same pace based on their leader's deeds. Your cohort could sit in a tavern drinking while you adventure, and they would still get experience whenever you do.
Mergy beat me to it.
Though the rules for advancement are, I believe, clear, the handling of it is between you and your DM. I suppose anything left to be said would be considered "Advice." Nevertheless, I'll add that a cloistered cohort producing items without real connection or participation in the story seems more like a special ability than an npc. I guess that's sort of an RAI issue.
|
|
Mergy beat me to it.
Though the rules for advancement are, I believe, clear, the handling of it is between you and your DM. I suppose anything left to be said would be considered "Advice." Nevertheless, I'll add that a cloistered cohort producing items without real connection or participation in the story seems more like a special ability than an npc. I guess that's sort of an RAI issue.
Consider a cleric of Abadar who starts a large-scale magic item factory in a small town. He could hire a wizard cohort to keep shop and do Cooperative Crafting with him, and his low-level minions could take care of distribution.
Not only are you increasing the town's economy and providing jobs, but you are being true to your god. That's definitely a possible connection to your character's story.