Aura of Command
Cost: 1 Point/Rank
Relevant Ability: Charisma
Progression: Descriptive; see below
The character possesses a natural knack for leadership. This Attribute is similar to Art of Distraction, except it only works on allies or subordinates or possibly with leaderless individuals looking for guidance (such as ordinary people caught in an emergency). Instead of distracting them, the character is able to inspire allies or neutrals into following him or her into dangerous situations that they might otherwise avoid.
Simply because a character is in a position of authority over other people does not automatically imply that he or she possesses the Aura of Command Attribute. In a military structure, subordinates will usually follow most orders (even dangerous ones) without hesitation because it is part of their job. Aura of Command reflects a character's almost unnatural ability to inspire others to engage in actions that few people would ever consider undertaking. Note that few leaders have an Aura of Command sufficient to inspire their entire force at once. Commanders usually concentrate on key individuals (such as immediate subordinates) and hope the actions of these people will encourage others to follow them.
For every rank the character has in they can affect 10/per rank other indaviduals with their attempts skill rolls. Characters also may add their rank in Aura of Command to their leadership score. Every five ranks you have Aura of Command allows you an additional cohort, you may only have one cohort with you at time however.
LEADERSHIP
| Leader’s Reputation |
Modifier |
| Great renown |
+2 |
| Fairness and generosity |
+1 |
| Special power |
+1 |
| Failure |
–1 |
| Aloofness |
–1 |
| Cruelty |
–2 |
Benefits: Having this feat enables the character to attract loyal companions and devoted followers, subordinates who assist her. See the table below for what sort of cohort and how many followers the character can recruit.
Leadership Modifiers: Several factors can affect a character’s Leadership score, causing it to vary from the base score (Aura of Command Rank + (non ehance CHA) ± Reputation). A character’s reputation (from the point of view of the cohort or follower he is trying to attract) raises or lowers his Leadership score:
Other modifiers may apply when the character tries to attract a cohort:
| The Leader . . . |
Modifier |
| Has a familiar, special mount, or animal companion |
–2 |
| Recruits a cohort of a different alignment |
–1 |
| Caused the death of a cohort |
–2• |
| • Cumulative per cohort killed. |
Followers have different priorities from cohorts. When the character tries to attract a new follower, use any of the following modifiers that apply.
| The Leader . . . |
Modifier |
| Has a stronghold, base of operations, guildhouse, or the like |
+2 |
| Moves around a lot |
–1 |
| Caused the death of other followers |
–1 |
Leadership
Score |
Cohort
Level |
Number of Followers by Level |
| 1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
| 1 or lower |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 2 |
1st |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 3 |
2nd |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 4 |
3rd |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 5 |
3rd |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 6 |
4th |
5 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 7 |
5th |
6 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 8 |
5th |
8 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 9 |
6th |
10 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 10 |
7th |
15 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 11 |
7th |
20 |
2 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
| 12 |
8th |
25 |
2 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
| 13 |
9th |
30 |
3 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
| 14 |
10th |
35 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
— |
— |
| 15 |
10th |
40 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
— |
| 16 |
11th |
50 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
— |
| 17 |
12th |
60 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
| 18 |
12th |
75 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
| 19 |
13th |
90 |
9 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
| 20 |
14th |
110 |
11 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
| 21 |
15th |
135 |
13 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
| 22 |
15th |
150 |
15 |
8 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
| 23 |
16th |
165 |
17 |
9 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
| 24 |
17th |
180 |
19 |
10 |
7 |
3 |
2 |
| 25 or higher |
17th |
200 |
21 |
11 |
8 |
4 |
3 |
Leadership Score: A character’s base Leadership score equals his level plus any Charisma modifier. In order to take into account negative Charisma modifiers, this table allows for very low Leadership scores, but the character must still be 6th level or higher in order to gain the Leadership feat. Outside factors can affect a character’s Leadership score, as detailed above.
Cohort Level: The character can attract a cohort of up to this level. Regardless of a character’s Leadership score, he can only recruit a cohort who is two or more levels lower than himself. The cohort should be equipped with gear appropriate for its level. A character can try to attract a cohort of a particular race, class, and alignment.
At rank 10 they may have a cohort that is only one level lower than himself, and gain another cohort that is two or more levels below himself. They may gain another cohort that is 2 levels below them at rank 15, and another cohort at rank 20. At any time a character may have no more than one of their cohorts with them.
Number of Followers by Level: The character can lead up to the indicated number of characters of each level. Followers are similar to cohorts, except they’re generally low-level NPCs. Because they’re generally five or more levels behind the character they follow, they’re rarely effective in combat.
Power Extras
More Followers: You double the number of followers that you have. This extra may be taken twice.
Powerful Followers: All of your followers are 2 levels higher.
