So, now that we are level 7, leadership is available, and there are some questions that need to be answered about creating a cohort. I will list my thoughts below, and we should discuss.

1) What is their starting wealth? Can we augment it with our character's wealth?

2) What are their starting stats? 

3) Where do they come from?

I will answer these questions with my opinions

1) There is a wealth by level for NPC's. I suggest we use the heroic NPC. Here is the table

2) I would prefer that they, being cool PC NPC's, that they get a point buy as well. I would like the 25pt like we got, but I would understand if we decided against that

3) I would hope that you can figure out a roleplay reason for said cohort/followers to follow your character. I intend to be very detailed about all of my followers and my cohort.

I will respond in reverse order. 

3. I have always felt that Cohorts are best introduced via role play means. With an upcoming 8+ session story arc is wouldn't be to difficult to incorporate a small origin. Characters that just show up are really shallow. Backstory and personality matter.

2. Roll it. 100%. 4d6, drop lowest. 7 sets. Drop lowest. 

1, Shouldn't be more than half of your characters wealth. 

Out of curosity, why do you suggest rolling their stats, when we as characters didn't roll ours?

1. I think the heroic npc wealth by level is perfect, it scales like an increasing wage. I think that if you want to put some of your character's wealth into your cohort or followers thats fine.
2. I prefer the idea of a point buy for cohorts. I would lean towards a lesser point buy than the players got, but I dont think it will affect the game too much either way.
3. I think that the players should definitly be the ones creating their cohort's personality and backstory. The only exception I can foresee is if the player or the party ran into a DM created npc and were like, damn, I gotta make this guy my cohort. Then, with said DM's permision, rollplay could make that happen. I think that if you had your cohort's particulars figured out, and there was an easy way to write your meeting into the plot of the module, that would be cool too.

I dislike point buy in general. 

Personal preference against it. 

1: I agree with starting heroic NPC wealth, and it comes from the PC after that

2: I feel that a 15-20 point buy is the way to go. We are the Heroes. They are the side-kicks. The Elite Array (used by Paizo/Wizards/Etc) for powerful monsters is 15/14/13/12/10/8 (a 15 point buy). Rolling stats has always (100% of the time) led to inequality of opportunity. If I roll shitty stats, I’m dismissing my cohort and taking a new one (with the slight penalty).

3: In a single DM arc, a cohort can be easily introduced via the story. In a multiple DM even like Rianardu, that’s harder to do. Ask the DM. If they can work it in, fine. If not, do it as part of down time.

@Smurf:

3: when designing this arc, I didn't account for this. It would take a massive re-build of the module, and at least a 2 week no-session time for me to re-write things like this in, assuming I get cohort info now. Do we really want to delay when we have great down time RP that can answer these questions? Or is this just that you like down time?

I really don't care how its introduced. It just makes cohorts seem less cohorty when they have a proper introduction. I find it more meaningful when a cohort appears in the story in some fashion and later joins the party in an official cohort capacity. 

Ideally if this were to happen in session I would have introduced Mikes Cohort during my module so when he actually took the feat, the cohort was already introduced and a basis for the character accounted for. 

Obviously I'm not asking you to re-write your module, thats ridiculous. 

It's just one of those things that IMO works better for the story....or at least thats what I prefer. 

I don't know what you module includes, but I assumed that a short cohort introduction wouldn't be hard to do, but I appear to be mistaken. Thats fine. I've been wrong before, lol. 

Anyway, that was my opinion on the matter. Overall I really don't care, but mike asked for the opinion so I gave it. 

#1 - Im seeing consensus for this one.

#2 - It seems like (most) people want a point buy. I personally vote for 25pts. Our level is what makes us the 'Heroes' and them the 'Cohorts', but thats my opinion.

#3 - I intend to spend a small amout of time having Elle introduce her cohort at the begining of the next campaign. As for others, I think if they are being gained later they can be rolled into a campaign (talk to that dm) unless the player has a specific way they want to meet their cohort (like I did)

Sound good?

I think the only left to agree to is the point buy.  Because there is a viable way to get a cohort with level equal to a PC, I think that cohorts (read, side kicks) should be limieted to a 15 point buy.  They are still useful, and as good as a well balanced NPC would be to the party, without being game-breakers.

*****EDIT*********

This does loop back to balance in the game.  It's important to remember that the monsters in the books were made with the assumption of a 15 point buy.  In our groups desire to play supermen and superwomen, we inflated those scores by a full 10 points.  These improvments typically meant that we have more versitility without the expense of power, a min-max, where we maximize advantages without having to deal with disadvantages.  Reasonably, very few builds start with a 20 stat.

That said, I don't think a single feat should give someone a second pocket-superman.  I think that 15 should be the hard cap on point-buy for cohorts, unless you feel that the stardard fantasy model is far too weak to be effective in the game on the limited basis that the cohorts are supposed to exist for.

Technically, it is possible to get a cohort equal to your character level. It, however, takes 10 levels in a very meh PRC. Also, the maximum level for any cohort caps at level 17, so even at max level with this prc's ability, your cohort is at minimum 3 levels behind you.

As to your suggestion of 15 pt buy, I am personally against it, but I would be interested in seeing what other people say.

I'd say give them a 20 point buy. It makes them better than average npcs, allowing them to stand with the party without being a liability, while also staying less powerful than us, maintaining our power advantage.

So we have one vote for 15, one for 20, and one for 25. Anyone else contribute?

Group has decided upon 20 point buy for Cohorts, and heroic attributes for followers

Ok, follow up question:  If a follower's granted power grants leadership, is there some kind of substitution that can be done to avoid shenanigans?

Basically, Looking at the Nobility Domain (YAY BUFFS), at level 8, Mack would get Leadership and a +2 bonus to it.  This is obviously not allowed (lol, Adeon gets a grand-cohort :p).

Suggestion:  Find a permanent replacement for this power for a cohort.  In liue of leadership with a +2 bonus, award a bonus feat at level 8.

Thoughts?

Idc, seems fair. What would happen if you already had leadership and then got this as a bonus. Anything already written into the Power?

+2 bonus to leadership if you already have the feat.

Another Idea is to allow me to take a differnt level 8 power from my domain/subdomain list.

So for example:  I could take the Leadership Subdomain of the Nobility Domain (which has a level 1 power substituion), Keep the domain spell list from Leadership, and then add the level 8 ability from one of the other domains (Martyr, for example).

Baring that, a bonus feat would be ok.

I think the bonus feat would make more sense, but thats imo.

Whelp....bonus feat it is.