DUNGEON MASTER'S NOTES

  Managing the Leadership Feat 

Dungeon Master's Notes Index

A Brief History of Leadership

      If we're going to examine the Leadership feat at length then we should have a look at where it came from.  The notion of attracting followers isn't new but not everyone has played the older editions of the game.  I have to admit that I have no real experience with first edition, but by second edition something like Leadership was taking form.  Certain classes - namely the fighter, ranger, and cleric - naturally attracted followers between 8th and 10th level.  The fighter had a series of charts that you rolled on to determine how many people showed up and what they could do.  One character was bound to be the leader of the troops (the equivalent to Leadership's cohort), while the other, lesser followers were all men at arms.  The fighter could only attract these people if he had a stronghold and some land.  Even with the stronghold, the fighter's name wouldn't have spread far enough to attract people until ninth level.

      A few things strike me most about the second edition setup.  The first thing that stands out is that not all classes got followers, whether they had strongholds or not.  It is also interesting that there's an effort to give players a choice.  If a fighter didn't want followers, then he could avoid them by not having a big keep.  If a ranger didn't want followers, she could ask them to leave.  The Leadership feat in 3X edition makes followers available only to those players who want them, since taking the feat is usually voluntary.  There might be a few prestige classes that grant the feat but they're few and far between.  The second edition setup also gave different types of followers to different classes.  The ranger's chart of possible followers included some normal choices, like fighters, but it also included animals and some other exotic creatures that no other class got.  Second edition went with a theme to reinforce the sense of class, at least to a degree.  The 3X implementation of Leadership is generally more complicated, possibly unbalancing, but well worth consideration.

The Problematic Reputation of Leadership

      Many Dungeon Masters refrain from using Leadership because of its reputation, or because of details they find problematic.  Unlike most feats, Leadership is complex, offers more as the leader goes up in level, and is more than meets the eye.  At first glance Leadership appears to grant a leader a small army, but a closer look throws that conclusion into doubt.  Most followers are destined to remain very low level, which means that a couple of higher level spells will neatly dispose of them - they're not really fit to be an effective army.  The description of the feat is bent around the mechanics of gaining followers and leaves little room to explain what followers are supposed to be for.  If they're not going to last as foot soldiers, what should they be up to?  And certain things are not touched on at all, like who should create all of the followers.  Leadership has been abused and mishandled in a number of different ways, leading DMs to advise against it altogether - which is disheartening and premature. 

      Some of the greatest problems with Leadership come from Dungeon Masters who simply use the feat as it's printed, without thinking about its implications or tailoring it to fit the current campaign.  The Leadership feat is in the Dungeon Master's Guide for a reason, and it's not just because the DM can disallow it.  The DM can disallow any feat from any book.  Leadership is in the DMG because it requires attention from the Dungeon Master.  With careful forethought, the feat can add a lot of enjoyment to a campaign.  Without planning, however, Leadership could cause problems.  This does not mean that Leadership deserves its dented reputation.  Rather, it implies that Leadership should only be implemented by those who can afford to think it through. 

Shaping A Concept

      The Dungeon Master has to start making sound decisions from the moment that a player expresses interest in the feat.  Leadership needs to be tailored to suit your gaming style; one size does not fit all.  The first step to implementing Leadership involves developing a concept of how the feat is going to function in your game.  What will followers be for?  Will they be more combat-oriented, like a small army, or will they be more socially-oriented spies, contacts, and moral support?  Do you have any other concept in mind?  If you choose a socially-based concept you will probably have an easier time of using the feat as it is written; the design of Leadership just seems to favor social ties, at least for followers.  You might also want to look around and see if you want to merge Leadership with other d20 features.  You could decide that followers will run a business for their leader and use the rules for businesses in the DMG II.  Or you could decide that followers will belong to the same affiliation as their leader and use rules for affiliations in the PHB II.

      With more effort, you can alter Leadership for interesting combat possibilities.  Leadership can grant a small army of followers to a player character who takes the feat.  (Hereafter I will refer to PCs who purchase Leadership as "leaders").  Leadership is not designed to provide armies powerful enough to provide effective backup for high-level leaders, but there's no reason why small armies can't fight each other.  In fact, it is entirely likely that a leader's followers might end up clashing with the followers of an NPC, maybe even the Big Bad Evil Guy.  Followers might also have to defend their leader's keep against outside threats.  This could offer a nice break from the normal flow of a game.  A DM could develop a system whereby players can take over for an army of followers and direct them in large-scale battles.  Recruiting particular followers, like clerics, could easily grant an army bonuses.  While this might sound like a lot of work for a DM, it could be a nice break from the routine style of play and very enjoyable for players who favor mass combat.  (If any of you have played Suikoden or a similar game, you have an idea of how this can work.)

      In relation to this, you will have to decide which stat Leadership is based on in your campaign.  The default stat is Charisma, which means that Leadership is partially based on powers of attraction, force of personality, and attractiveness.  This makes Charisma important to anyone who wants Leadership, and not just to sorcerers and bards.  Charisma, however, does not have to be the only option depending on how you want to set up Leadership in your game.  If you are running a game in a setting like Oriental Adventures, then you might want to base Leadership on a character's honor and/or family reputation.  If a monk has developed a reputation for her amazing Wisdom, you might want to allow her to base her Leadership score on that.  If a wizard's knowledge is known across the land then you might want to allow Intelligence to reign in place of Charisma.  At the very least, you can decide if you want to add any bonuses or penalties based on these sorts of things.  The flavor of your campaign can be enhanced by small details like Leadership and flexibility might add spice to the feat.

      At any rate, a guiding concept can give you a vital clue as to whether you should use Leadership in your game or not.  If you can't find a concept you like and the feat just doesn't seem to fit the campaign, then you might want to disallow it.  Quite bluntly, Leadership will not work in everyone's game.  The feat can be far more social than some games allow, and Leadership does require more than some DMs want to give.  With that said, I have seen just how much fun Leadership can be for those with the desire to play with it.

Leadership Parameters

      As soon as possible, Dungeon Masters interested in Leadership should look over the feat's parameters to see if anything needs to be changed.  Most notably, you will have to decide if you want to alter the number or levels of followers.  If you would like to grant a small army to a leader, then keeping the chart as it is should work.  If you'd like to give your leaders more people for larger-scale battles, then you'll need to alter the numbers.  If you would like to add a more personal touch, in which leaders get to know most of their people by face and name, large numbers might be difficult to deal with.  In such a case, you might want to consider cutting the numbers down, or giving players the option of having more or less people.  For instance, in my game Thorik the dwarven cleric had 10 first level followers for some time.  When his Leadership score increased, he became entitled to 5 more first level followers.  I gave him the option of having 15 first level followers, or adding 1 level to 5 of his current followers.  He decided to level up 5 of his well-known followers to second level, rather than waiting for 5 new first level people.  So far this has worked well and has not shifted the balance of power in a significant way.  You should also keep in mind that the DMG states that when leaders gain followers of higher levels, they get new followers instead of leveling up established ones.  You might want to consider allowing leaders to advance followers they already have; then they can attract new people to fill in the lower levels. 

      Other details that might need handling are penalties, bonuses, and cohorts gaining experience points.  There are generic tables for the bonuses and penalties that apply to Leadership, but these are only guidelines.  If you are running an evil campaign, for example, you might want to grant a bonus for a fearsome reputation rather than fairness.  You might also decide that great failure should enact a greater penalty than -1.  When you're done with bonuses and penalties, you should also consider whether or not you want to keep track of a cohort's experience.  If a cohort is already the maximum level they can be, then it only creates more work to keep track of experience.  If a cohort might be able to gain a level, then the extra work is worth it (but should be handled by the player).  Just as importantly, you should decide if you will allow leaders to have multiple cohorts.  The DMG allows one leader to have multiple cohorts but this could cause problems depending on the makeup of the group.  If cohorts equal or outnumber player characters, you might want to consider allowing only one per player character.  Combat could get rather messy with so many NPCs hanging around, and the PCs will probably lose more of the spotlight.  You'll want to try to decide these things before too long so players know what to expect.

Who Controls Whom?

      When a character takes the Leadership feat, the player will have to calculate the character's Leadership score(s).  There is a separate score for cohorts and followers.  These scores will let you know the maxmimum number of NPCs the leader is entitled to.  Problems often arise when Dungeon Masters leave too much up to their players.  Many players take advantage of the feat (and the DM) by choosing each follower so that they yield the maximum possible benefit and cover all of the leader's weak areas.  Many players will also build their followers and cohorts as stacked as they can, if they are left in charge of their follower's stats and gear.  Powergaming players aren't the only ones who will abuse the feat; the temptation is often too great, even for good players.  Needless to say, these choices can greatly unbalance the game.

      Even if you trust your players a good deal, you will have to decide if you want to leave followers and cohorts up to them.  As the DM, you can manage things with all due attention to game balance, and you can surprise your players with the details of different NPCs.  As the DM, you also know how much you are willing to give your players - and it is very difficult to take something back once it's given.  You could always allow the player in question to devise some NPCs and then randomly choose which ones are used and which are left aside.  You might also allow other players in the group to create a couple of followers and randomly choose some of those.  Think about it carefully, in any case.

      DMs should also think carefully about who gets to portray cohorts, in and outside of combat situations.  (Followers are generally noncombatants handled by the DM like regular NPCs.)  Outside of combat, cohorts will be involved in the PC's exploits and will have a voice in the group, unless they are effectively ignored.  The DM could allow the leader's player to portray their cohort during all situations, and the player might want to.  This will demand more out of the player but it will also give the player twice as many options and possibly twice as much of the spotlight.  The cohort will also likely feel like less of their own person and more like an extension of the leader.  The DM might opt to play the cohort instead, either during combat or all of the time.  Or, the DM could portray the cohort but allow the leader's player to control what the cohort does during combat.  For a fun twist, and if the group is willing, don't let leader's players portray their own cohorts - give them to the other players in the group instead.  There are different ways to rule on this but the decision can be an important one.  Will the player get to control two characters for the price of one feat?  Because that is essentially what it comes down to.

If You Build It, They Will Come

      Once a character takes the Leadership feat, you have to ask yourself how they will gain their followers and cohort(s).  Just because a character has leveled up and claimed the feat, that doesn't mean that NPCs will start tracking them down or appearing out of thin air, unless that makes sense for your purposes.  Pre-existing NPCs - friends, siblings, and so forth - make great cohorts and followers.  It will help cut down on the work load (and make the most sense) to choose from NPCs the leader already knows.  You can then present these NPCs in a new light.  You will have to decide how much say-so a leader will have in the process.  Just because a leader wants to attract a cleric, that doesn't mean a cleric will be interested.  If leaders have a lot of control they might make choices that will be problematic.  If leaders have no control, however, they might feel like the feat wasn't worth taking. 

      DMs will have to decide how to balance this, since leaders will be entitled to new followers with each new level they obtain.  Will you allow leaders to actively recruit people?  How successful will their efforts be?  If you want leaders to gain followers quickly and easily, then allowing them to have very successful recruitment drives can help.  If, however, you want to give the impression that NPCs are people, then you might want to complicate things.  Just because a leader calls out for followers, that doesn't mean things will go their way.  People might be put off, especially if the leader has a spotty reputation.  NPCs might decide that they don't want to leave their home for a person they don't know, or they might be reluctant for some other reason.  This is not to say that the leader should always be thwarted, but a monkey wrench every now and then can remind the leader that followers follow because they want to, first and foremost.

Character Classes

       The 3.0 DMG states that followers can only be warriors, commoners, or experts.  This severely limits the range of what followers can be and might make them seem like cookie-cutter creations after a while.  The 3.5 DMG notably does not make this specification, and in the end, the DM will have to decide several things in regard to class.  First, you'll have to decide if followers can take player character classes in the first place.  If followers remain low level and don't tend to enter combat in your game, PC classes probably won't hurt the balance of power.  Followers can be great for experimentation and showcasing - you can give them classes that you don't normally use or classes that your players might never consider taking.  This can give followers some extra flavor and allow players to learn about class features without having to play a new character.

      The DM will also have to decide what the distribution of classes will be like.  Is a paladin more likely to have clerics and other paladins as followers?  Is it likely that a barbarian will follow someone who does not belong to their tribe?  How often do druids become followers of those who do not live in the woods?  Since sorcerers are born and not made, they could be more rare as followers.  A lot will depend on the setup of the campaign, the leader's class, location, and ties to others.  People of the leader's class might follow for the chance to learn more advanced skills.  Followers might be from the same church, guild, or secret organization as their leader.  Organizations might hint at classes - followers from a thieves' guild might just be rogues.  Followers can also be gathered depending on what the leader does.  Saving a village can make the people there very grateful, after all.

      You'll also have to decide if you want to give cohorts access to prestige classes.  This is an important decision because cohorts are meant to be higher level followers and they will probably end up adventuring with the party.  You could prohibit cohorts from taking prestige classes altogether and keep it simple.  You could also decide to take it on a case by case basis.  If a cohort is a part of an organization with their leader and there's a related prestige class, then it might make sense for the cohort to have access to that class.

Character Races

      Neither the 3.0 or 3.5 DMG says much about race restrictions for followers.  Both DMGs clearly state that the races of cohorts are not limited - but that's not entirely the case.  Some races have such high level adjustments that they're pretty much out of the question, except as high-level cohorts.  Quite a few races might not be available due to location.  Other races might be restricted due to the DM's vision and the boundaries of the campaign.  For example, DMs might limit racial choices because of historical grudges or entrenched superiority complexes.  But the first step is to decide if followers and/or cohorts can come from races outside of those in the PHB.  The DM could rightfully decide to restrict choices to the PHB races and thereby keep it simple.  A leader's situation helps to decide what sorts of followers they attract.  If a leader stays in one area and there are only so many races in that region, then they are naturally restricted.  The more a leader travels and influences others, the more they have a chance to encounter and impress members of different races.  Plane-hopping campaigns could (and perhaps should) have a wide variety of races represented in a PC's followers - and with sourcebooks like Savage Species, this is easily achieved.  

      The seven core races are only the tip of the iceberg if you're open to exploring options.  There are different racial subtypes for most of the core races, like sun elves, arctic dwarves, and strongheart halflings.  These subtypes are sometimes regionally based and might not be suited to a particular campaign; an arctic dwarf might be quite reluctant to leave the frozen tundra.  On the other hand, subtypes don't always have level adjustments so they could make good low-level followers.  There are also races with low level adjustments that can make suitable followers and cohorts, like tieflings, genasi, and aasimar.  A few races that have racial templates, like half-celestials, could make for interesting higher-level followers.  The Book of Erotic Fantasy presents a few templates with +0 level adjustments; these are especially good for adding spice to low level characters.  Last but not least, a DM could allow cohorts and/or followers to have monster class levels as they're presented in Savage Species.  Planar campaigns can greatly benefit from this last option since there's such a staggering variety of characters across the planes.  Savage Species truly opens up the field to just about any creature, giving DMs a lot to play with - but only if they want to.

Dungeon Master's Notes Index