At the end of an adventure campaign, a player asked if he could see the character sheet for an important NPC. He was interested in seeing what his stats and gear were like, and because the saga was complete, I saw no harm in doing so. While talking about the NPC, he mentioned that the character didn't have the Leadership feat, despite having an apprentice and minions -- though any PC who wanted the same in the campaign, needed it. I just smiled and answered: "NPC's get to cheat. PC's get to win." He just rolled with that, and we just discussed some other factors about the adventures.
However his notice did make me curious. Does anyone actually design NPC's using the Leadership feat?
However his notice did make me curious. Does anyone actually design NPC's using the Leadership feat?
I don't, it infers I'm going to use the math to determine all of his minions and change it if the NPC ever changes. Making a bajillion mooks would then infer that these guys have someplace to be. Much easier just to claim that the NPC had his minions for other reasons and place them how I would like. I also don't allow leadership for PCs so it doesn't become an issue of PC vs. NPC, and if a player wants to start a group they become background characters rather than a large group to mess with on the battlemap.
NPCs don't need leadership, they have plot and purpose.
I don't always follow the build rules, if an NPC needs a feat, he/she simply has it, or just its effect. Same if he/she is human and needs the ability to cast magic missile at will... TADA! there it is :)
The leadership is a crunch way (for players) of getting followers and an "apprentice" with some rules-bound loyalty; there isn't a "normal"-clause in the feat stating you can't have these things without it. They are called hirelings, and sometimes their payment is protection, connections, or a chance to belong to a group.