I have some ideas, though I would like to see what you think?
Simple advice: Don't.
As soon as you start using your cohort for profit, it will upset WBL and your GM will make the 10000th thread on how to counter this.
Cohorts are meant to balance a party or give roleplaying opportunities, not to put them aside and put them in item crafting sweatshops.
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You can, but is that the game you want? Its fun to have all the toys, but at that point you're character becomes an NPC who is a merchant. If that's the fun you want, go for it, but most players don't want to just run an mercantile empire. They want to run a real empire.
If you want the chance to do the money game, check the Kingmaker path. You can build up stuff that way. AND you get to kill stuff part of the RPG too!
Yeah...just don't.
A smart GM wont let you make money with magical item crafting and shouldn't let you make any sort of money short of running an actual business using Ultimate Campaign's rules.
Trying to keep the game balanced is difficult enough already, a wise GM knows that allowing one player to upset that wealth by level comparative to another means that one player is going to be potential much more powerful than the other.
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The only answer that won't annoy your GM is this:
Figure out a way to make money with the other PCs. Include your cohort in that plan.
I have found that killing rich and dangerous monsters tends to be very profitable in my campaign.
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Actually, as a GM you can have a lot of fun with this while at the same time letting your player scratch that itch to make extra money.
First, you need to be clear with the player that you won't allow it to unbalance the WBL guidelines. So, what is your business (run by cohort and followers) doing with the money? Reinvesting. Buildings, equipment, wages, etc all need to be attended to. Let this be the PC's eventual retirement plan - running his successful company as an NPC. It might be a satisfying conclusion to an adventuring career, to retire as the head of a influential merchant house, temple, or whatever.
Second, allow a little trinket now and again. Reward creativity and effort. Don't let the bonus overshadow the other players WBL, or perhaps the player might gift something to everyone - keeping all the PC's on an equal footing (and giving them a reason to help support this business endeavour). I like having players really into the game, if this helps for this player, go for it. And the little extra trinkets now and again make up for what I'm going to do to them...
Finally, why do I not mind this kind of thing? Well, cohorts and followers that are being pimped out for work create a vulnerability for the PC. Lots of potential for plot hooks. Lots of targets if a BBEG gets away and wants to extract some revenge. Who knows, maybe the cohort gets tempted to siphon off a bit for himself and the PC finds himself trying to reign in a wayward cohort.
So, I see it as an opportunity for lots of fun and additional challenges to pose to the PC(s). As far as the wealth goes, well, I see that as more of an "endgame" reward. Once their retired, does it really matter if their WBL is somewhat out of whack? Not to me. Because they are no longer adventuring and it ceases to be a consideration.
Dont use them to make money but rather have them off-set some of your expenses.
Maybe they run a series of stables for mounts or animal companions in some major towns, or run some nice inns to stay in. They could sell all your loot for you (same price) but freeing you up for the day(s)
I have some ideas, though I would like to see what you think?
Talk to your GM. I don't follow WBL, so I would be okay with one or more PCs making extra gold on the side, but be aware that there will also be a lot of other factors (rival companies, theft, untrustworthy employees, potential lawsuits assuming the civilization area is high enough.)
Sounds like it could add a cool aspect to the game and a lot of RP opportunities.
Hmm. I see...You all make a reasonable point to this question at hand.
However, if I were to ask you from a creative point of view, what would be the choices you make for your cohort and followers to make gold, what would your answer be?
Ranks in profession: Maddam.
However, if I were to ask you from a creative point of view, what would be the choices you make for your cohort and followers to make gold, what would your answer be?
Completely depends on the campaign world. Precious metals around? Train your cohorts to be miners/refiners. Wood valuable in far off area and plentiful wood nearby? Train woodcutters, hire merchant wagon, etc.
Without knowing anything else, I'd think low-level spell-casting cohorts could earn a lot of money in large cities by healing/identifying.
Profession: Haberdasher
Profession: Game maker
If your group ever gets frustrated with the GM, you then use diplomacy to hook a random npc, and get the rest of the group to play a game you designed.
Of course this game should take place in the future, and all the characters roll dice to generate their characters stats. They all pretend to be these characters and act out their characters role. Continue to play this game until you've created PathfInception.
Simple advice: Don't.
As soon as you start using your cohort for profit, it will upset WBL and your GM will make the 10000th thread on how to counter this.
Cohorts are meant to balance a party or give roleplaying opportunities, not to put them aside and put them in item crafting sweatshops.
Right. Also PF is not a Mining game.
Profession: Game maker
If your group ever gets frustrated with the GM, you then use diplomacy to hook a random npc, and get the rest of the group to play a game you designed.
Of course this game should take place in the future, and all the characters roll dice to generate their characters stats. They all pretend to be these characters and act out their characters role. Continue to play this game until you've created PathfInception.
That is an interesting suggestion. Perhaps I made the wrong thread.
There's always Pimpin'??
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Basically the only way you can make money with a cohort crafting magical items is with the traits that reduce the cost of crafting items by 5% of the crafting cost. Roughly this means that for every 1000-gp of the crafting cost you "make" 50-gp.
50-gp a day isn't anything to sniff at. You cannot, per the terms of the game, make money by crafting items unless you fulfill specific requirements. Also, since the DM makes your cohort--not you--you will never get a cohort who had that specific trait. If YOU want to take that trait then by all means. It is possible to make items at a profit, but this takes forever.
Adventuring will ALWAYS be more profitable than sitting somewhere safe and making stuff.
However, there are some ways to make money. Offer to cast spells for half the price of the normal spell-casters. I'm sure some people will line up to pay you for your services, but this might make the local merchants guilds, who support said spell-casting services, hostile towards you.
You actually have to pay all of your cohorts and followers if you order them to do something. They do not work for free. In general apply the rules from Ultimate Campaign to find out how well you are doing for actual profit. The value is much lower, but then again you have an establishment that you can live in. You might be able to house many of your followers and allies both cohort or not.
However, that said, this is just downtime. You might run a business in a town that creates arms and armor, can make all forms of magical items, and trains the guard and town's army to be a Band of Badasses. You become an asset, you do something in the gaming world, and your actions extend beyond yourself. The town might make "donations" to you in thanks for your efforts.
If you just want to increase your own money then ensure that you can build all of your own gear and make all of your own magical weapons. Instantly you will be rolling in the dough. However, expect your DM to start using Sunders and monsters that destroy or damage your gear to compensate.
Have your cohort mine for Bitcoins.
Kill them for exp -> lvl up -> increase your WBL.
Gain new cohorts+followers and repeat until noone wants to follow you anymore -> retrain the leadership feat.
Kill them for exp -> lvl up -> increase your WBL.
Gain new cohorts+followers and repeat until noone wants to follow you anymore -> retrain the leadership feat.
You could play an Orc, have Orc followers and cohorts, send them off to raid human villages and nations until you are eventually rooted out. Collect all of the wealth for yourself and buy a ring of invisibility and boots of teleportation.
When your village eventually falls just teleport to safety and stay invisible for a long while.
Splendid, Taku. You have quite the imagination to make an old man like me quite profitable. Heheh.
Our GM allows us to do anything, we already have a small band of followers working for us in a small settlement, trying to make money (using Ultimate Campaign) though the only restriction is to do the research and think smart because we do live in a permadeath world, with very limited resources to divine power.
I wanted to take the initiative to create a larger band of followers for profit. Your advice is noted and appreciated.
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With Ultimate campaign you and your cohorts can make money even if you sell stuff at half price.
Simply you produce the Capital (game term used in the UCamp rules) needed to produce the stuff you sell using the UCamp rules.
The you use the Capital to produce the finished items.
1 unit of Goods will cost 10 gp and be worth 20 gp when used to make a weapon, armor or other stuff. So you end paying 1/6 of a normal item price and sell at 1/2.
Making magical Capital is way more efficient as: each unit cost 50 gp and is worth 100 gp and the item crafting part is way faster, producing up to 1.000 gp of stuff in a day. That mean that if you can sell the magical items produced you can earn up to 250 gp/day from the crafter cohort while having the low level followers gather up and process the materials needed to generate the capital.
The problem is that you need to live in a location where you can sell that many magical items.
If you live in a small settlement it would be best to have your follower and cohorts build a manor with magically reinforced walls.
Magically Treated Walls: These walls are stronger than average, with a greater hardness, more hit points, and a higher break DC. Magic can usually double the hardness and hit points of a wall and add up to 20 to the break DC. A magically treated wall also gains a saving throw against spells that could affect it, with the save bonus equaling 2 + 1/2 the caster level of the magic reinforcing the wall. Creating a magic wall requires the Craft Wondrous Item feat and the expenditure of 1,500 gp for each 10-foot-by-10-foot wall section.
Usually that is cost prohibitive for PC until they reach a level where going to another plane or creating their small demiplane is more convenient, but if you can reduce the cost with the hep of your follower and get some extra money from their activities it can work.