Post by GRWelsh on Oct 10, 2006 21:00:25 GMT -5
Check this post out by 'Half-Orc' from a recent thread on Dragonsfoot:
I went against the book once regarding the Ranger's followers. At creation, I had the player roll for all of her followers and then had them arrive and attach themselves to her every level or so. For one of the followers, I used an NPC that had been around since the first session, but decided that the ranger's success had impressed them enough to enter into her service. (Obviously, if a player is lucky enough to roll something awesome like a copper dragon, I'd wait to introduce that as a follower until much higher levels.) This worked very well for us since I only had two players at the time, so the PCs could really use the help. The player didn't know if the gnome at the stables was a potential follower or a random theif which made for some interesting role-playing opportunities.
What does everyone think of this idea?
What if the ranger didn't start getting the followers at 1st level, but didn't have to wait all the way until 10th level? Let's say he started getting them at, oh I don't know -- around 5th level? Would that be too unbalanced? It seems to me, that a 10th level ranger's followers tend to be kind of weak for a character of that level, what with the selection of 1st-3rd level halfling fighters, 1st-4th level clerics, 1st/1st level elf fighter/magic-users, blink dogs, centaurs and sprites... They might even be more of a liability with the ranger not wanting to take them on adventures but wanting to leave them behind at the stronghold to "protect them" from harm. What are the odds these sorts would survive in an adventure designed for 10th level characters -- like the G series? They'd just be a liability, with the ranger worrying about them all the time.
With the exception of a very few lucky rolls, a ranger's followers will make him look like he opened a combination of an sylvan-setting animal shelter and a training school for Keep on the Borderlands. Even if the ranger player defies the odds and gets the coveted copper dragon, chances are he found a baby or young dragon that is more of a ward than a war-mount. I really like this idea of rangers beginning to get some followers with a kind of gradation over five levels or so -- and it makes more sense than a pack of mismatched oddities showing up just as he finishes up his 10th level training.
Legal disclaimer: I'm playing a ranger in Scott's game, who just got to 5th level.
I went against the book once regarding the Ranger's followers. At creation, I had the player roll for all of her followers and then had them arrive and attach themselves to her every level or so. For one of the followers, I used an NPC that had been around since the first session, but decided that the ranger's success had impressed them enough to enter into her service. (Obviously, if a player is lucky enough to roll something awesome like a copper dragon, I'd wait to introduce that as a follower until much higher levels.) This worked very well for us since I only had two players at the time, so the PCs could really use the help. The player didn't know if the gnome at the stables was a potential follower or a random theif which made for some interesting role-playing opportunities.
What does everyone think of this idea?
What if the ranger didn't start getting the followers at 1st level, but didn't have to wait all the way until 10th level? Let's say he started getting them at, oh I don't know -- around 5th level? Would that be too unbalanced? It seems to me, that a 10th level ranger's followers tend to be kind of weak for a character of that level, what with the selection of 1st-3rd level halfling fighters, 1st-4th level clerics, 1st/1st level elf fighter/magic-users, blink dogs, centaurs and sprites... They might even be more of a liability with the ranger not wanting to take them on adventures but wanting to leave them behind at the stronghold to "protect them" from harm. What are the odds these sorts would survive in an adventure designed for 10th level characters -- like the G series? They'd just be a liability, with the ranger worrying about them all the time.
With the exception of a very few lucky rolls, a ranger's followers will make him look like he opened a combination of an sylvan-setting animal shelter and a training school for Keep on the Borderlands. Even if the ranger player defies the odds and gets the coveted copper dragon, chances are he found a baby or young dragon that is more of a ward than a war-mount. I really like this idea of rangers beginning to get some followers with a kind of gradation over five levels or so -- and it makes more sense than a pack of mismatched oddities showing up just as he finishes up his 10th level training.
Legal disclaimer: I'm playing a ranger in Scott's game, who just got to 5th level.
