Followers

[shootingwomprats]

FOLLOWERS
Followers are non-heroic characters that act as your allies and agents during adventures. Unlike other NPC allies, followers can be obtained by spending 5 character points. A player chooses the role, function, and abilities of the follower. Followers go on adventures with you and provide assistance, both in combat and in noncombat encounters, and otherwise function as members of your party. Followers are considered your allies, as well as the allies of your party members.

In a Clone Wars campaign, followers give the heroes an opportunity to lead troops into battle, command a crack squad of Republic Commandos, control a group of mercenaries hired to do reconnaissance, or retain a retinue of guards fitting for a noble of stature. Though they serve the same functions as non-heroic allies, they are different in that their actions are typically under the direct control of one of the heroes. A Jedi hero might lead clone trooper followers into battle, while a noble might have a team of loyal protectors and decoys accompanying her as she travels the galaxy. These followers are not just mindless, faceless drones who obey the hero's every bidding, but they do represent the many background characters that assist heroes in one way or another throughout the Star Wars saga.

For an individual hero, the presence of followers represents a significant part of that character's development: leadership. When a hero gains a follower, that hero has become a leader to a single follower or small group of NPCs. Gamemasters should encourage these heroes to act as good leaders should, taking care of their followers, ensuring they are healthy and prepared, and watching out for their emotional and physical welfare.

Each individual Gamemaster can determine how much or how little time they devote to fleshing out the personalities and mannerisms of a hero's followers. For some, as signig a name to the follower is enough, but some Gamemasters might wish to flesh out the followers as thoroughly as they would major NPCs for a campaign. Gamemasters should also consult with their players to determine how much detail they would like for their followers. For example, a hero leading a squad of clone troopers as followers might not care about his followers' thoughts and motivations, and Gamemasters should be aware of how much attention their players want paid to followers' personality details.

FOLLOWER STATISTICS
A follower's have 2D in each attribute. When you gain a follower, you can build a full stat block for that follower by using the guidelines presented below.

1. Skills: Followers Place 1D into five skills.
2. Languages: A follower speaks its native languages, plus it has at least one language in common with you (usually Basic).
3. Special Qualities (SQ): When you receive a follower, you can select the follower's species, applying that species' special abilities to the follower.
4. Character Points and Force Points: Followers do not receive character points or Force points, though the GM may make a special exception for good roleplaying.
5. Dark Side Points: Followers have Dark Side points (though they begin with none), which increase as they commit acts that would warrant an increase normally.
6. Move: Movement based on follower species.
7. Equipment: All followers start with equipment appropriate for them to perform their function.

FOLLOWER TEMPLATES
When you gain a follower, you must choose on of three templates for your follower: the aggressive follower, the defensive follower, or the utility follower. These follower templates provide unique skills and other mechanical benefits for your followers that rot only increase their usefulness but also prevent all your follower from having identical statistics (if you choose different templates for each follower).

When you gain a follower, choose one template and apply the mechanical modifications indicated in that template to the statistics of your follower. Once chosen a follower's template cannot be changed.

The Aggressive Follower
Aggressive followers are focused on attacks and depleting enemy resources. They are somewhat tougher than other followers because they put themselves in harm's way more often and are more likely to attack an enemy target.

Attribute Bonus: Strength +1D.
Skills Bonus: Two offensive skills +2.

The Defensive Follower
Defensive followers specialize in protecting themselves from damage and, similarly, holding a defensive position. Defensive followers make excellent support fighters, laying down suppression fire or helping to hold a corridor against an invading force.

Attributes Bonus: Dexterity +1D.
Skills Bonus: One offensive and one defensive skill +2.

The Utility Follower
Utility followers are typically skilled in several areas, allowing them to contribute to a variety of situations where skill checks are called for. Utility followers might be demolitions experts, slicers, saboteurs, or any number of other professions that rely on ski ls to excel.

Attribute Bonus: Choose from Knowledge, Mechanical, Perception, or Technical, +1D.
Skills Bonus: Utility followers are trained in a two complementary, focused skills of your choice at +2.

SAMPLE FOLLOWER
GAMMA-383 "TRENCH"
The following stat block represents a sample follower for a commanding officer character. Since the soldier is a member of the Republic, he decides that his follower is a special clone trooper assigned to follow his orders in preparation for life as a member of a commando squad. Wanting his follower to be more survivable, the hero chooses the defensive follower template. The clone trooper, designated Gamma-383 by the Grand Army of the Republic, is nicknamed "Trench" due to his penchant for hunkering down and holding a threatened position for long periods of time.

GAMMA-383 "Trench": All stats 2D except for: Dexterity 3D, blaster 5D+2, dodge 5D+2, melee combat 5D, survival 4D, brawling 4D. Languages: Basic. SQ: 2D for 1D placed in military skills. Equipment: Clonetrooper armor, clonetrooper blaster rifle (5D+1), utility belt with medpack.

FOLLOWER ACTIONS
Followers act on your initiative and take actions based on the actions you choose to give them. You must have line of sight to your follower or be in communications with your follower to be able to use any of the actions below. Typically giving instructions is a free action, but for complicated instructions the GM may count it as an Action.

Followers may perform 1 move and 1 standard in a round. On any round in which an individual follower does not take a standard action, that follower is considered to be fighting defensively as their standard action.

EQUIPPING A FOLLOWER
Followers starts with the equipment needed to perform its function. A hero can provide additional equipment to his followers. The GM can limit followers to 3-5 items to keep them from becoming walking arsenals.

FOLLOWER DEATH
When a follower is mortally wounded or worse, they are in the process of dying or already dead. However, you can spend up to 5 character points to augment their soak roll before damage is rolled or spend a Force Point to prevent the follower from dying.

If a follower dies, you can recruit another follower to replace a dead one, abiding by the normal rules for gaining a follower at that point. Recruiting a new follower usually requires 8 hours of searching and recruitment, though Gamemasters can shorten or lengthen this amount of time based on the circumstances. However, Gamemasters should be careful not to delay this recruitment for too long, because until the hero gains a replacement follower, that hero is at a disadvantage.

FOLLOWERS AND DARK SIDE POINTS
A good leader is responsible for the actions of those who follow him, and when it comes to the lure of the dark side, heroes with followers are no exceptions. If you command one of your followers to commit an act that would normally give a Dark Side Point, you and the follower gain a Dark Side Point. If a follower falls to the Dark Side, it becomes an NPC under Gamemaster control (as any hero normally would), but you can recruit a new follower as though yours had died.

Sources: Clone Wars Campaign Guide (p.32-37), D6 mechanics by +Oliver Queen.
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[MrNexx]

I like it. I would change "All Followers have 2D in all stats" to "All Followers have the minimum stats for their species" (A wookie follower should not be as strong as an ewok follower), and I'd think I'd like a few more templates for followers... as it is, it's pretty much "Give them +1D to an attribute and +2 to two skills, on top of their 5D skills". It feels like less of a template than "They get another attribute die and 6D+1 of skills."

I used something similar many years ago to help balance out a non-force sensitive character in a force-heavy game... he had two followers, Guido and Nunzio, who were Gamorrean toughs.
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[shootingwomprats]

[Mamatried]

How about since they are "followers" give them 10D all over regardless of species, call them "heroic-light" if you will.

With the templates this could be maybe a thing?

[MrNexx]