Leadership: What do I do with it?

[Rossebay]

I'm slightly derailing the campaign by taking Leadership, but I think it's for the best.

However, that's another story. For now, I'm curious: What classes should my followers be? Level 6, charisma 18, I have a Special Power, and I have a base of operations, so a leadership score of 13 (10 level 1 followers, 1 level 2.)

I think my cohort is going to be a rogue/sneak-attacker of some sort that will develop into an assassin, do my NE Cleric's dirty work while he puts on a good public face. Any suggestions there, though? How do I even build a rogue? Is this a good use of a cohort?

Mind you, I already have a Drakkensteed Special Mount (early entry into PrC Paladin, but an evil variant), so I don't need to make the cohort into a mount.

[Spuddles]

Your followers should all be wizards or clerics or something that casts spells.

[Rossebay]

Your followers should all be wizards or clerics or something that casts spells.

I'd be terrified of taking them into battle, though. Squishy as they are, they'd probably end up damaging my leadership score.

I honestly thought of using Artificers and having them make me some abundance of minor magic items.

[Spuddles]

You never take followers into battle, unless they're kobolds (count as tiny for purposes of space, if they want) in nested enveloping pits.

Artificer is cool, too, but they run out of xp kinda fast.

Having a dozen low level casters means having a couple dozen spell slots lying around for spamming spells. Give them versatile spell caster so they can access second level spells.

You can also optimize them for magic missile (force reserve feat & spell gifted trait). 24d4+24 non-avoidable force damage from 130ft away is pretty good vs. things without SR. You know, for defending your base or airship or whatever.

[Crake]

I'd be terrified of taking them into battle, though.

Followers should pretty much never be taken into battle. Ever. They're there to do the tasks that your organization would need done. Do you have an idea or motivation behind why you picked up leadership at all? What do you want to achieve with your followers? Make a spy network? Build a keep and maintain it?

[Squirrel_Dude]

If you're neutral evil, and going to have followers with an alignment that is, I assume, also Neutral Evil, it might not be a good idea to get an assassin in training. Just sayin', that probably won't work out well in the end.


Personally, I would recommend a diviner/abjurer wizard, if you don't have one of those already. They could act as a mobile base of operations for you, run your spy networks, secure your base, etc.

[Rossebay]

Yeah, my motive for taking leadership is eventually taking over the kingdom.
It's so far off, but you have to start somewhere, right?

The campaign's focus are these pillars of light that grant us these cool homebrew powers. For example, for Wis mod rounds per day (free action activation, broken up as I see fit), I get Cha mod*10% health back from whatever damage I deal in melee combat that round. Anyway, the kingdom is built around these pillars of light, and only royalty has access to the majority of them. My character wishes to provide access to these pillars of light to all that are capable of using their power, not restrict it to a royal family that can only rarely get anything out of the pillars at all.

Basically, we're starting out with maintaining a keep and trying to get connections into a spy network, or something of the like.
You suggest a divination specialist instead? I know assassins can be hired, but I always felt like a pet assassin would be more trustworthy. But you do have a point with the divination/abjuration pet. He'd keep me a lot safer...