Re: (TFT) New Followers (was Re: Cheap talents)

[James Eckman <fugu@wenet.net>]

> From: "Dave Seagraves" <dseagraves@austin.rr.com>
> Subject: Re: (TFT) New Followers (was Re: Cheap talents)
> 
>    Many of the microquests -- such as /Treasure of the Silver Dragon/ --
> have a limit on the number of characters (or attribute points) you can bring
> into the scenario.  As a GM or solo player I never include in this total
> party followers gained via New Followers talent.  I figure that anyone who
> took the trouble to learn New Followers (and its prerequisite Charisma)
> deserves the extra help.

A very fair ruling, otherwise why have the skill?

>    I had an amusing thought while reading these New Followers posts.  Create
> one leader-type character with New Followers.  Recruit some decent NPC's and
> teach them New Followers.  Have /them/ recruit their /own/ followers and
> teach /them/ New Followers . . .  you can see where this is going.
> Eventually you'll have an army.  Then choose your GM's favorite country in
> his world and conquer it.  You'll have no problem keeping the peasants in
> order because your army is well liked because of all that Charisma floating
> around.
>    Even more amusing: Do the same thing except use Monster Followers!

It would be fun, and somewhat different! The only problem is, if you
lose one key follower, you lose all of the followers under him. Makes
asassination, bribery and control person have a whole new meaning.


> From: Brett Slocum <BSlocum@ancept.com>
> 
> > A question for everyone, how many people have followers in your games?
> 
> A few. And a few with Monster Followers. My current knight character is
> learning
> New Followers, even though he already has a couple followers already.

Cool that your playing, is this a PBEM?

> 
> > Possibly different games:
> >
> > 1. You've come to the title, now claim your birthright! 
> 
> This sounds kind of like AD&D Birthright. Grand strategic roleplaying.

Along with far earlier variants, I never claimed it was original, I try
to steal only the finest though ;)

> TFT game. If the situation warrants the PC getting a follower, then do it.
> If the PC later buys New Followers, then perhaps it gets easier. But I
> still wouldn't let someone just get a new follower without the situation
> being roleplayed.

I agree 100%, while the talent should make it easier, there should be
serious roleplay involved. After all, your trying to convince someone to
leave there current life and take up with some rootless wanderer!
 
I always make a difference between true followers, ordinary followers
and hirelings when it comes to things like morale and following orders.

> Sometimes, TFT characters start looking kinda
> cookie
> cutter alike. This became particularly evident when I started
> creating a TFT Tekumel conversion. On Tekumel, in the temples, there are
> three
> main types of priests: administrative-, ritual- and scholar-priests.
> Administrative
> priests mostly run the temples properties and lands. Ritual priests perform
> the
> rituals and sacrifices. The scholar priests study anything from ancient
> languages
> to magic. They each have religious training, but have specialized in
> different
> areas. Their amounts of religious and ritual training differ vastly.
> Requiring
> all of them to take 2 points for Priest in TFT seemed too much. My GURPS
> Tekumel
> conversion simply required different minimum skill levels in Theology,
> Performance (ritual), etc. But the TFT talent system was too chunky for my
> tastes
> in this particular instance (this is not in general a problem for me). 
I can understand that, I always let the players choose some subtalents
when they took priest, just like the original version allowed. 2 ancient
languages, etc. It was a priest package.

> Not that I won't run Tekumel with TFT. But it's not something I'm going to
> net-publish soon.

I'll take Tekumel however I can get it ;)

Jim Eckman
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