Let’s say I want a new special ability that lets a PC have their own entourage, loyal only to them and not the gang as a whole. What’s the best way to achieve that?
Do they just make a cohort and it functions the same as a gang cohort (same tier a the gang the PCs is in, edges and flaws, etc)? Should there be limits, or additional parameters? Maybe you can use a second special ability to make them fine quality?
This feels like essentially the same as a fine hunting pet or something summoned through ritual just a matter of scale so making it a cohort makes immediate sense. I suppose it’s just a matter of scale difference in having an entourage vs a single pet. Independence and stuff could be handled with flaws/edges I’d imagine.
The hound has an expert (hunter) as part of their playbook. which means it is tier+1 plus potential special abilities to improve on it. Now having a human or spirit or whatever instead of an animal isn’t a big stretch from there mechanically.
Depending on how easy you want it to be in your campaign you’d either have a long term project to acquire them, simply take a special ability to introduce them (we did this for a non-hound who took Ghost Hunter. The special ability came with the pet.) or both.
Of course you want to keep experts relevant on the crew level, so I’d discuss this with the player on how their characters deal with that new associate who isn’t actually part of the crew.
The expert creation rules are flexible enough to make this happen.
Now if you want a personal gang, this could be solved in the same way. But considering the amount of Extras you introduce (who share no loyality to the crew at large) this will probably have an impact on the crew, so everyone on the table should have a say in it.
Yeah, I’m with Chris McDonald. The hunter gets a pet as part of his standard equipment, which functions as an expert. Experts are equivalent in cost to gangs (its just a trade quality for scale) so it seems fair that you’d have one of your special items be “entourage”. I’d say they would never scale (always be a small gang, even the the crew gets bigger) but their quality would go up as a crew does.
As far as a special ability, just having the entourage seems fine, though I’d also argue that you could get one with a long term project as well.
Of note, just like experts and gangs, the entourage should have a “thing” that it is (thugs, sailors, witches, doctors, etc.) and it would get it’s quality when doing those things, otherwise they get 0D.
I would think of this more as an asset or a playbook item, as has been said. If you want the character to begin leading a group, I think it would be fair to say that one character is responsible for the crew’s cohort and their relationship to the rest of the crew is more tenuous.
Maybe you could create a special ability for it, but I’d be inclined to say that a special ability that costs xp should have an extra effect. In comparison: the Cutter’s Leader gives effect, armor, and a cohort they lead fights to the death; the Hound’s Ghost Hunter gives potency in what their pet is already good for, and special narrative position; the Cult’s Zealotry is +1d against anything the cult hates and fight to the death; Smuggler’s Like Part of the Family gives a cohort with special flaws and All Hands gives your cohort a downtime action.
So how does this entourage function? Are they supposed to be loyal unto death? What do they do competently? Maybe they get a special set of flaws that change how they work with the character? Maybe you’re inspiring or attractive to some sort of folks so the entourage “recovers” more easily, or has some effect when you push yourself?
Interesting. I figured it for a special ability so that a PC could start with it, or just buy it with xp in order to avoid the long-term project thing.
An entourage on the scale of a gang cohort being part of the PC’s gear list seems a bit OP to me, though? I feel like a single character is appropriate (like a fine hunting pet, squire, or steed), but multiple character is really pushing it, even if they’re not fine quality. I mean, I guess at Tier zero, it would just be 2 guys (your DJ and you hype man), but 20 personal bodyguards seems pretty ridiculous for a guy in a Tier III gang. Maybe it’s just the combination of scale and quality that feels OP to me.
If there’s a special ability, I think it would be fair enough to cap their numbers at 3-5, as Sean said, but allow their tier to ascend along with the crew. Personally, I think the balance isn’t a huge concern. Quantity isn’t always a concern, although I suppose it would be for an exclusively fighting cohort. Even so, I’m imagining the way tremendously famous celebrities can see their entourages escalate into these huge, anonymous things that fill up restaurants or clubs. Also, lots of people attract proportional attention, which could be difficult for some crews.
The worst thing with making it a large gang would be keeping track of them all. Putting a special ability gives fictional pressure to name, interact, and create interesting problems and situations for the cohort to solve. Having to name and keep track of that would be awkward. As a GM and a player, I’d rather have 3 guys whose names I know, and some special ability to link us together.
So, perhaps a gear item like this:
Entourage: Up to half a dozen bodyguards, hangers-on, and retainers who are loyal only to you. They function as a cohort (Gang: Thugs), but do not increase in scale.
And then the playbook could have a special ability that gives them other abilities like they can fight ghosts or become experts or you can see through their eyes?
I’d say if you are concerned about then being overpowered, just ask that they have a very pertinent flaw! Or multiple flaws?
Justin Ford Effectiveness is only one part of OP, there’s also the issue where one aspect of a character hogs the spotlight time away from other players, which y’know 20 dudes that only one PC can order around is very much in danger of doing. Also, as John Dornberger pointed out, if these are 20 mostly-anonymous dudes it becomes pretty egregious. I think I’m pretty good with it being 6 max though!
This is my initial version of a related special ability:
Ghost Crew
Your entourage has occult expertise. They gain potency when defending you, and an arcane ability: they can fight ghosts—they can survive in the deathlands—you can possess their bodies from afar. Take this ability again to choose an additional arcane ability for your entourage.
Johnstone Metzger Cool! I like that set of abilities. It seems like their expertise always combat and bodyguarding? Despite seeming slightly less potent on it’s own, I think “Survive in the Deathlands” is my favorite. It combines really well with other special abilities. All Hands will allow them to pick up assets that would generally be impossible to find inside the city; Synchronized opens up a lot of cool options for safety in scores outside the city, which is an awesome specialty for a crew. It even open up new options for where to put your hideouts.
“Possess their bodies” has the perfect creepiness to fit nicely, and I’m imagining that being really neat for a Leech having a group of Hulls or a Whisper with a thing for possessor ghosts. Compared to “see through their eyes” for the Hound’s pet, this gives you a lot of options, but your entourage is somewhat more fictionally vulnerable than a pet.
When I was picturing an entourage, I was worried it might be too narrow, but I’d take that on a lot of characters.
Yeah, I was worried at first that making them thugs would cut off options, but they are supposed to be the people who always hang around a leader-type character, so that fits. And then the arcane abilities add a layer of haunted-ness to them. I might still change them or re-word them, but they were the most Blades-ish I could think of.
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