Circle Magic and Leadership

[Elrihm]

I was wondering about followers and their levels. Are they NPC spellcasters, or do they have PC levels of spell casting? This is in relation to having followers participate in circle magic.

[Gabe the Bard]

I'm not basing this on any rules, exactly, but I imagine they would be NPC casters such as adepts, and probably just a fraction of your followers would be spellcasters of any kind.

[Greymane]

I'm AFB right now, but I'm fairly certain it's entirely up to your DM as to what sort of followers you attract, so you may want to ask him/her.

To say that I'm lenient would be a vast understatement, and I enjoy allowing characters to pick what sort of followers they attract depending on what sort of public image they're giving off. Nobody has attempted to grab nothing but Wizards before, but I'd allow it if they were starting some sort of new magic movement or founding a mage academy or something.

[Elrihm]

Yep, I'm trying to found a school of magic. Could I just say I wouldn't accept anyone who was a tattooed wizard? It would take along time to collect 100 of them, but still.

[Aspenor]

For Circle Magic, Simulacrum > Leadership.

[Urpriest]

I remember there being rules limiting followers to NPC classes, and possibly even requiring adepts to be lower level. I can't figure out where they were, however, and it could be some sort of 3.0 holdover, or maybe I'm just misremembering.

[Valdor]

I really wish i can be of more help then this, but i do remember reading somewhere in a book that any follower with a PC class counts as one lever higher for the level of followers that you can have and any with a PrC count as two levels higher.

That is all i really can remember i just wish i knew what book it was in.

Though IMO if followers were able to have PC classes, that would really break a game. Being able to do circle magic with that many people would be insane.

As a DM an a player, i have always just ran that your highest level followers were aristocrats followed by the next couple highest classes being experts and the bulk being commeners.

[Hecuba]

[...] it could be some sort of 3.0 holdover

This is indeed the case. The leadership section of the 3E DMG explicitly calls out followers as "Experts, Warriors, or Commoners."

[Elrihm]

Lol..allas my poor triple banned red wizard no longer has access to illusions, ench, or evoc, so yeah...no simulacrum for me. How about a construct. anyone know anything i can build that could cast spells into me? My character kinda specialized in building things so having the two overlap would be great. As for the leadership thing, the 3.5 DMG says followers are NPC's (just found that) looking for apprenticeships, employment, or a leader so my character, wishing to start a magic school for young mages, would have apprentices following him around right? like level 1 adepts or something. Maybe start them off as "average" (3d6, not full first lvl health, rather than as "elite").

[Alleran]

Lol..allas my poor triple banned red wizard no longer has access to illusions, ench, or evoc, so yeah...no simulacrum for me.
There's a feat chain in Lost Empires of Faerun (Spell Reprieve, Item Reprieve, Arcane Transfiguration) that lets you regain access to one of your banned schools. I would recommend Illusion.

[Elrihm]

REALLY? I must go find this. I started off banning ench and evoc, specializing in trans, so when I took red wizard there was no good choice. I sure as hell wasn't giving up conj, or abj, and necro has always been a little more fun if not useful for me. (like building an effigy and possessing it)

[Elrihm]

ew, three feat burn....kinda feat hungry after going for craft construct. hmm.

[Endarire]

In 3.0, followers were NPC classes. In 3.5 they're any class pending DM approval.

Druids get animal companions. Manifesters get psicrystals. Red Wizards get apprentices.