Help with 3.5E follower design, please

[Jay R]

I’m playing in my first 3.5E game, and I’m looking for a little guidance.

I started at 7th level. My player is a Fighter 2/Ranger 3/ Horizon Walker 2, about to go up to 8th level. He has Leadership, and is about to get his first five followers. So he will soon have five 1st level followers.

My question is this: what would make the most useful 1st level characters to hang around an 8th level party?

Obviously, they stay out of any melees, but I’m thinking a cleric for additional healing, a sorcerer for Enlarge Person on me and then hide, a fighter and a ranger just because those are his base classes, and to defend the other followers, and maybe a bard for buffs.

I have no idea to what extent I will get to design my own followers, but if I do, are these good choices?

And what are good builds for 1st levels who will never reach 2nd level?

[Seharvepernfan]

I coulda swore that followers were restricted to being commoners/experts/warriors, but I can't find it anywhere in the rules.

A dedicated traps person (or assist with traps person), or any person who is dedicated to using aid-another with one of the PC's, tower-shield wielders to provide soft cover for PC's or spear wielders who form a ring of AoO death around a PC, dedicated readied-action archers to shoot casters (or trip people with bolas or throw nets, whatever), a smith (preferably a caster with magic item creation feats) to repair or create items, casters who cast low-level spells on or for the party that they don't want to prepare themselves, elf sentries, animal handlers (sending an armored war-riding dog into combat for you is pretty nice), a dedicated healer who heals while sanctuaried or invisible during battle, a halfling scout/thief, ...you get the picture.

[Troacctid]

The normal use of followers is to keep a home base and use them to maintain it, perhaps running a business to earn some profits on the side. Bringing them adventuring with you is dangerous, as the first AoE attack is going to one-shot all of them. You can get more, sure, but if they keep dying, that's not going to be good for your Leadership score.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Jay R
…I’m thinking a cleric for additional healing….

For a first-level cleric, Augment Healing (Complete Divine, p. 79) might be worth it--this adds 2 points to every healing spell. Combine this with Faith Healing (Spell Compendium, p. 87) and that's 11 points of healing per casting, which isn't terrible for first level.

If you're able to swing a flaw feat or a human bonus feat, Sacred Boost (Complete Divine, p. 84) spends a turn attempt to maximize every cure spell cast within 60 feet. That won't have any effect on Faith Healing, but if you have someone else ready with a higher-level cure spell, having a follower with Sacred Boost makes for a nice combo within the same round.


Originally Posted by Jay R
…a fighter and a ranger just because those are his base classes, and to defend the other followers….

If you want a couple followers to defend the others, you might try two fighters with Shield Wall (Heroes of Battle p. 99) and Block Arrow (HoB p. 96) who can stand shoulder-to-shoulder and catch arrows on their shields. You might also look at Phalanx Fighting (Complete Warrior, p. 103), which looks as if it should stack with Shield Wall to give a total of +4 to AC. (A +2 shield bonus from Shield Wall and another +2 untyped to AC.)

That's assuming a human bonus feat; if you can add a flaw feat as well, you might consider Parrying Shield (Lords of Madness, p. 181) which adds your shield bonus to touch AC.

[JDL]

Followers are intended to be restricted to the NPC classes. As per the DMG p. 105:


Followers
Followers are similar to cohorts, except they're generally low-level NPCs. Because they're generally five or more levels behind the character they follow, they're rarely effective in combat. But a clever player can use them as scouts, spies, messengers, errand-runners, or guards.

As a DM I'd ban any cohort that isn't an adept, aristocrat, commoner, expert, or warrior.

[Crake]

I coulda swore that followers were restricted to being commoners/experts/warriors, but I can't find it anywhere in the rules.

If I recall correctly, it's in the epic level handbook under epic leadership, where it outlines that any followers that arent's commoners/experts/warriors have a "level adjustment" so to speak. p37 has the optional rule of "Exceptional followers".


Though followers are normally warriors, experts, or commoners, your DM might allow you to have characters of other classes as followers. If you use this optional rule, adept or aristocrat followers count as followers of two levels higher than their actual character level. A follower with any levels in a PC class counts as a follower three levels higher than his character level. A follower with any levels in a prestige class counts as a follower five levels higher than his character level. This reflects the fact that such characters are rarely followers and are much more likely to be unique characters in their own right.
For example, a 6th-level commoner, warrior, or expert counts as a 6th-level follower. A 6th-level adept or aristocrat would count as an 8th-level follower. A 6th-level fighter or 3rd-level aristocrat/3rd-level wizard would count as an 9th-level follower. A 5th level rogue/1st-level assassin would count as an 11th level follower.

[Madhava]

Hm. Maybe give them skill focus: appraise/sleight of hand/whatever could make some coin? You could have them run a shop, or other business, for you, safely back in town.

If you're seriously considering bringing them into the field with you, then we're talking wand-users. So, maybe a Paladin who's packing some wands of cure serious & restoration?

Other than that... some Wizards with wands of enervation & solid fog? Come to think of it, these could be Hexblades. First level Hexblades should have a slightly higher survival rate.

And yes, a Bard feated for song of the heart... also, buy him a badge of honor.

[Crake]

And yes, a Bard feated for song of the heart... also, buy him a badge of honor.

he only has level 1 followers, even if we ignore the rule that followers need to be commoners/warriors/experts, he still cant get a bard with song of the heart, because it requires level 3

[Jay R]

Thanks for all the advice. The DM has confirmed that for quite awhile, we'll be where first levels can't survive, and I'm not likely to find anyone anyway.

The rule that followers can't be what followers have always been in D&D seems weird to me, and doesn't appear to exist unless you're using the splat books. There is certainly nothing about it in the DMG, which says that they are NPCs, but does not restrict their class. And my DM doesn't seem to be using it.

But the question is now moot.

[Palanan]

Sorry to hear your plans are on hold for now. I know how that can go.

The one time I ever took Leadership, in my very first 3.5 campaign, I managed to secure exactly one follower, who was promptly killed later in the session when the DM hit us with a green dragon. I was certainly naive about exposing followers to upper-level dangers, but the DM was almost laughing out loud as my hapless follower shriveled to an acid-scarred husk.

During that same strafing run the dragon also took out about a dozen mounted followers of another PC, who had spent a good amount of his WBL on their weapons, gear and mounts. Our DM seemed to feel followers were just there to be killed--and he was enjoying himself way, way too much at our expense.

:smallannoyed:

[Jay R]

Oh, it's still worth having. My cohort is a Giant Owl.