Campaign idea, what could go wrong.

[kulosle]

So my group has a problem with attendance lately. So I've come up with something fun. The idea is for the group to design a 9th level character (maybe higher) with the leadership feat(no alternate forms of leadership or other minions in any way). The Leader and the cohort will become NPCs after character creation. Although the leader will take advice from his followers. The group then decides how best to carry out the orders of their leader controlling all the followers directly, although only one at a time per person attending. Some one can get caught up what happened while they were away. And no one player is necessary to play. It would be an urban campaign, so that money is a factor, and a guild hall could be had if they wanted one.

I'm not too worried that my players will munchkin (put tips on how to avoid it are still welcomed). we for the most part have a gentleman agreement on that (and tier 1 classes are banned for the most part) but sometimes people stumble upon pretty powerful things. This will be the first time in a long time any of us have even looked at the leadership feat(always banned) so accidental munckining might happened.

I mostly just want to know if this sounds like a good idea. Does this sound like something you would play? If so what are some general ideas i might be able to give my players about how to build their team. Is 9th level a suitable starting point or do you think there is another sweet spot. I like 9 because it lets the leader take the Land Lord feat from stronghold if they want it. Any suggestions at all would be appreciated.

[Extra Anchovies]

A big part of the fun of tabletop roleplaying games is, well, the roleplaying, and that can't happen unless everyone has at least one character that is purely "theirs". Maybe structure it like so:

Since you want an urban campaign, the PCs are heads of a guild and/or moderately benevolent criminal organization (the kind that smuggles drugs to pay for schools). Whoever's at the session manages the guild/organization resources for that "turn" (maybe representing one in-game week or month). Add in one or two encounters per session that the PCs themselves need to take part in. The explanation for another PC's absence is that they're away on "official business" (whether it's an assassination or the fulfillment of their end of an infernal pact), and they gain the same amount of XP and wealth as those who were present.

[Kol Korran]

It might fit some groups, mostly of people who like to improvise, mix things, and do not get attached. As extra anchovies stated- if you keep changing characters, or controlling a character that is not your own, well... most people just invest in that far less.

Also, why the need for leadership? Just as an explanation when the PCs are cohorts/ followers? Or to give them cohorts to fill up missing party places?

If I may suggest a slight alternative? I like the Shadowrun approach- the PCs are professionals who do difficult job, but not everything is tailor made to their skills or current group composition. The group has two options:
- Keep the down payment, and try to find more imaginative ideas to complete their mission (Try to make open ended and multi route missions... "Save the kidnapped daughter of X" might entail fighting, or sneaking, or bluffing or a lot of free play options. Design a situation, not a solution). This could lead to quite awesome roleplay and ideas- necessity generates creativity.
- The party uses part of the down payment to hire an extra crew member- You design some (7-12) experts in their fields, from the party's organizations, which may fit the role. This usually may also mean dealing with their personality quirks, colorful characters and so on. These can add a bit to the roleplay. Either you play them or someone in the team plays them. Which is a bit like your idea, but there is a clear distinction between what it s "prime PC" and a "hired help".

We used something similar in a shadowrun game, and developed attitudes, likes, dislikes, and more towards the hired help. And at time we handled things on our own, and had to think "out of the box", which led to some great fun and stories!

good luck! :smallsmile:

[prufock]

How much are you letting the players determine the Leader's abilities? It is pretty easy for them to get their leadership score maxed out at 25, with Extra Followers and Assemble the Horse, giving them 326 level 1s, 26 level 2s, 14 level 3s, 8 level 4s, 4 level 5s, and 4 level 6s. However if only a number of followers equal to your number of players is going to be relevant each session, this doesn't matter quite so much.

Honestly I would start the leader as low level as possible, put restrictions on the leadership score boosts (IE YOU, not the players, determine whether he has "great renown" or "special power" etc). I would start with a pool of only twice your normal number of players. I would even think about doing this E6 style, starting the hero at level 6 and adding on feats for more followers. Honestly if you want the NPC leader to have a stronghold, just give him one. You can start with something small and basic, improving it each time the leadership score increases.

There's nothing wrong with the type of game you're proposing, but you may be overthinking it. What you basically have is a pool of characters, all of which are part of the same organization, and the players can swap characters at any time. It's an episodic type of campaign, which is the kind you need for a rotating group.

I would structure a campaign like this as the PCs actively helping their leader and cohort on their quest, and attempting to recruit more followers for them.

[kulosle]

prufock that is assentailly the type of game i'm planning. I'm not worried about them getting to high of a leadership score. And I might take the suggestion of getting rid of the leadership feat. Make the leader a guild leader and give him a second in command(the cohort) and a certain array of followers depending on how they build him just to avoid the possibility. My group enjoys optimizing and this is a cool way of doing it without munchkinry.