Crime Lord minions

**cjovalle** · 01-25-2010, 05:55 PM

I'm looking at various options for a character of mine. I find the Crime Lord prestige class interesting, but I wonder: why would anyone take the Attract Minion talent? 3/4th of your level, nonheroic, takes a full share of XP, and when killed (which seems likely as a nonheroic 3/4ths your level character), is not replaceable (according to the SW FAQ). The Clone Wars followers seem like better options, and regular classes can get them. Am I missing something?

**Inquisitor Tremayne** · 01-25-2010, 11:35 PM

Don't underestimate the power of nonheroics, just because they have fewer hitpoints and no talents doesn't mean they are weak.

At 8th level you get a nonheroic 6 character, with a bab+4, 6 feats (7 if human). With simply AP (light, medium), WP Rifles and coordinated attack and weapon focus (rifles) you can get an auto +2 to your attacks every round. give them medium powered battle armor and they will instantly stand out from any other nonheroic opponent you will face. Plus if they are gaining xp (don't recall if they do or not) then they can eventually gain heroic levels, further increasing their playability.

IIRC followers are essentially minions in the 4e sense and are incredibly powered down comparatively. Unless you invest heavily in feats and talents meant to boost them.

**cjovalle** · 01-25-2010, 11:48 PM

Thanks for the response!

Crime Lord minions take a full character's share of XP. I hadn't considered that they could take heroic levels from that point forward; I just assumed that they would have to stick with nonheroic and the 3/4 level restriction. That does change my evaluation a bit if they advance like other characters and can take heroic levels.

I'm still not entirely sure I would do it- if the nonheroic is killed, the talent is pretty much gone. Now, Crime Lords have more talents than others, so that may affect that consideration, but it makes me hesitant.

I think that SW followers are better than the 1-HP 4E minions, but they aren't as powerful as Crime Lord minions. On the other hand, depending on the template you choose, they can get a full BAB and a few other benefits, and oh-so-precious talents can be used to improve them. To me, though, one of their better features is that they are replaceable, RAW.

Originally Posted by Inquisitor Tremayne

Don't underestimate the power of nonheroics, just because they have fewer hitpoints and no talents doesn't mean they are weak.

At 8th level you get a nonheroic 6 character, with a bab+4, 6 feats (7 if human). With simply AP (light, medium), WP Rifles and coordinated attack and weapon focus (rifles) you can get an auto +2 to your attacks every round. give them medium powered battle armor and they will instantly stand out from any other nonheroic opponent you will face. Plus if they are gaining xp (don't recall if they do or not) then they can eventually gain heroic levels, further increasing their playability.

IIRC followers are essentially minions in the 4e sense and are incredibly powered down comparatively. Unless you invest heavily in feats and talents meant to boost them.

**Inquisitor Tremayne** · 01-26-2010, 11:50 AM

Thats why crime lords get so many talents, so they can have more minions and/or replace the ones they lost.

Personally, I wouldn't waste my valuable character resources (feats, talents, actions) to improve followers. IIRC YOUR character must spend an action to allow your followers to take actions. Giving up a standard action a round so a lower powered character can take an action, to me, is a waste.