[PF] Tattoo Guardian Cohort help

[Azoth]

I have a player that has taken Leadership, and wanted to Awaken his Tattoo Guardian and have it serve as his cohort. I have no problem with this, but am trying to determine it's base cohort level. Paizo doesn't list any constructs under it's Monstrous Cohorts, and it does not particularly help that their assessment for what level a monster is acceptable as a cohort seems fairly random.

I am leaning towards using CR+HD which would give it a Cohort level of 6. That puts it in line with a few other CR3 2-3HD creatures that Paizo gives as examples. Is that too low for a Tattoo Guardian?

Obligatory link to the monster in question:

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/constructs/tattoo-guardian/

[unseenmage]

I have a player that has taken Leadership, and wanted to Awaken his Tattoo Guardian and have it serve as his cohort. I have no problem with this, but am trying to determine it's base cohort level. Paizo doesn't list any constructs under it's Monstrous Cohorts, and it does not particularly help that their assessment for what level a monster is acceptable as a cohort seems fairly random.

I am leaning towards using CR+HD which would give it a Cohort level of 6. That puts it in line with a few other CR3 2-3HD creatures that Paizo gives as examples. Is that too low for a Tattoo Guardian?

Obligatory link to the monster in question:

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/constructs/tattoo-guardian/
In PF monsters can be played (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/bestiary/monstersAsPCs.html) as a character of their CR.
Just using that should prove simplest.

[Azoth]

In PF monsters can be played (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/bestiary/monstersAsPCs.html) as a character of their CR.
Just using that should prove simplest.

If they were looking to play it as a player character that ruling would suffice. In this instance, however, they are looking to use it as a Cohort and there are several examples of other CR3 creatures having an effective cohort level of 6 or higher. Your suggestion, while valid, goes against the established paradigm for using monsters as cohorts.

[unseenmage]

If they were looking to play it as a player character that ruling would suffice. In this instance, however, they are looking to use it as a Cohort and there are several examples of other CR3 creatures having an effective cohort level of 6 or higher. Your suggestion, while valid, goes against the established paradigm for using monsters as cohorts.
Then go with your gut.

If you don't mind incorporating 3.x material the Faerun book Power of Faerun has loads of expanded info on Leadership and Cohorts.

For our own games we use CR as character AND cohort AND follower level and it hasn't unbalanced. Then again, we also tend towards more powerful games. Mythic, Race Builder, and custom items and spells all have made appearances in our games.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by unseenmage
Then again, we also tend towards more powerful games.

Clockwork space whales….

:smalltongue:

[unseenmage]

Clockwork space whales….

:smalltongue:

... ... ...yes. That we also turned into Tattoos.
Was fun times.

FYI, If a character has more than one Tattoo Guardian they all share damage at the same time making using more than one of them a poor proposition at best.

EDIT: More to the OP's post, it sounds like your assessment of monsters as cohorts is what will work best for your games.