Leadership [General]

A character with this feat is the sort of individual others want to follow, and he or she has done some work attempting to recruit cohorts and followers.

Prerequisite: A character must be at least 6th level to take this feat.

Benefit: Having this feat enables the character to attract loyal companions and devoted followers, subordinates who assist her. See the table below for what sort of cohort and how many followers the character can recruit.

Leadership
Score
Cohort
Level
Number of Followers by Level
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th
1 or lower
21st
32nd
43rd
53rd
64th
75th
85th
96th
107th5
117th6
128th8
139th101
1410th151
1510th2021
1611th2521
1712th30311
1812th35311
1913th404211
2014th505321
2115th6063211
2215th7574221
2316th9095321
2417th110116321
25 or higher17th135137422

Leadership Score: A character’s base Leadership score equals his level plus any Charisma modifier. In order to take into account negative Charisma modifiers, this table allows for very low Leadership scores, but the character must still be 6th level or higher in order to gain the Leadership feat. Outside factors can affect a character’s Leadership score, as detailed below.

Cohort Level: The character can attract a cohort of up to this level. Regardless of a character’s Leadership score, he can only recruit a cohort who is two or more levels lower than himself. A 6th-level paladin with a +3 Charisma bonus, for example, can still only recruit a cohort of 4th level or lower. The cohort should be equipped with gear appropriate for its level (see Table 4–23: NPC Gear Value, page 127).

Number of Followers by Level: The character can lead up to the indicated number of characters of each level. For example, a character with a Leadership score of 14 can lead up to fifteen 1st-level followers and one 2nd-level follower.

Leadership Modifiers: Several factors can affect a character’s Leadership score, causing it to vary from the base score (character level + Cha modifier). A character’s reputation (from the point of view of the cohort or follower he is trying to attract) raises or lowers his Leadership score:

Leader’s ReputationModifier
Great renown+2
Fairness and generosity+1
Special power+1
Failure–1
Aloofness–1
Cruelty–2

Other modifiers may apply when the character tries to attract a cohort:

The Leader…Modifier
Has a familiar, special mount, or animal companion–2
Recruits a cohort of a different alignment–1
Caused the death of a cohort–2*
*Cumulative per cohort killed.

Followers have different priorities from cohorts. When the character tries to attract a new follower, use any of the following modifiers that apply.

The Leader…Modifier
Has a stronghold, base of operations, guildhouse, or the like+2
Moves around a lot–1
Caused the death of other followers–1

Source: Dungeon Master’s Guide, page 106.