Okay, so I know I'm not alone on this one. There is a player playing a Thrallherd requesting playing their cohorts instead of the main pc. What could be upsetting about that?
If you meant 'Elizabeth' then it is a disguise of Aegis', another false identity, the same deal as 'Xyn' and 'Rias'.
Niserie has never used one of her cohorts as an actual -sole- PC. Uruk was scrapped because of the difficulty in use.
Actually this is the very first time I've heard about Niserie's idea of playing cohort in place of the PC, I have received no such requests via Skype/ORPG/wikidot or otherwise.
1. multiple solo games devoted to the character, and creating overpowered cohorts. The DM in question's refusal to see that this was a very bad thing.
It so happens that my (quite chaotic)schedule is much more compatible with Nightmare/Aegis than other players.
I have a much better idea of how to DM for a single player/two player when someone suddenly asks me for some RP at late hour or during the day when I have nothing in particular prepared in advance. Most of those are full-blown improvisation as nothing of greater significance happens in them, not counting the event with the Kython Hive and one green dragon.
I can manage roughly 1-2 games made for a group varied in composition per week.
I wonder how a plain psywar/warmind (PF version) can be deemed as overpowered, so far its performance proved to be semi-underwhelming/adequate at best.
I seriously doubt that you have actually seen Lillanda in action (she's been only deployed in the Kython Hive game and that dreamscape battle only…so far) her sheet is viewable.
The thrall in question has actually spent ~90% feats for mind-blade feats which pretty much grants her summonable 'items' (weapons, and shield + minor bumps).
Peace's shop (with its silly low prices, if you did not notice I have refused to buy anything from him, be it for my chars or the thralls) would definitely allow her to accommodate for much more powerful approach (feat-wise), but once again I sought stuff with pretty static bonuses for simplicity's sake.
it is a 'defensive' char with ~45 AC (but the touch one is lacking, the saves are BAD for this level…she needs at least a plain cloak of resistance ASAP) with the main approach being plain charge + TWF with spinning swords, yes not light weapons at all. Such were taken for style points and slight reach bump.
In a theoretical exercise in which she would be employed as a "PC", truly at that level she pales in comparison when you bring such chars as Bloodbeard (plain PF barb for most part with a splash of runescarred berserker lately), Malluma (should he gain levels), Ysl (the same deal as Malluma), Xavash, Bor, Ivar, Phobos, Nightmare when buffed with DMM quicken (though the char prefers plain, if stylish, nuking from afar) or any full caster.
Her only more powerful trick is str damage via one power, even then it works only on one weapon and eats precious actions.
Self buffer she is with psywar's PP pool (low compared to actual psi-gishes), with no means of getting extra actions. The only exceptions are her 2-3 powers which with a hefty (6point big) augmentation can be manifested as swift, which of course leaves much less place for actual combat bonuses.
The other thrall, aka Ether (Sheet here) is a plain PF Seer with her focus (power selection-wise) being utility, heck for simplicity's sake she took psionic talent 4 times ! Complete waste of feats at this level but it works because she was made with 3 goals in mind - simplicity and utility and…novelty.
She has NEVER been employed in any game in a combat situation (she is simply too fragile for that), the only way she ever impacted any games ….let me see she acted as a sort of DM-hint-giver via some of her 'divination powers' sensitivity to psychic impressions, object reading, remote viewing, divination. Truth to be told a wiz with/without the spontaneous divination brings so much divination to the table but prepared casters = much more paperwork. Psionic powers are lacking in the mid-lvl range of divination effects are are downright incapable of replicating arcane/divine in many ways as far as this branch is concerned with the only notable exception being …2 lvl 2 powers and 2 lvl 8-9 powers (sensitivity to psych. impressions, object reading, hypercognition, metafaculty).
The point is, thralls are either locked away in Aegis' plane or accompanying her. There was not a single event where only thrall was used with the SOLE exception of one unofficial event in which I tried to showcase what Uruk was capable off, showing his buff routines and similar. No awards for those were granted. The game was not registered. No XP nor DM coins for me. Nothing. No impact on the setting. Basically a long cutscene.
A thrallherd establishes a resonance with his thrall and suffers if the thrall is killed. For 48 hours following the loss of a thrall, a thrallherd suffers one negative level. This negative level may not be healed by any means until 48 hours have passed since the thrall’s death, at which point it fades naturally. Should the thrallherd’s new thrall die while the thrallherd is still suffering a negative level, he acquires an additional negative level, and the duration of any negative levels gained through losing a thrall resets to 48 hours from the time the most recent thrall was lost.
PF fixed the whole 'sacrifice' the thrall idea. The believers cannot be used effectively as sacrifice fodder too…besides NPCs from lvl 1-6 are not that useful when you're lvl 15 or so, they are novelty, background to the actual PC. And they were always employed in such manner, with the minor exception being the provision of the 'avoid planar' effect spell while the party sought to kick Night Terror's undying ass.
Believers arrive and are replaced at a rate of the thrallherd’s leadership score per day, with the lowest level believers arriving first.
2. the concept of the cohort in general. there is literally no risk in such a scenario. Cohort dies? you don't lose much.
There are numerous way of bringing back…someone to life. We use APs to save our PCs. We have spells at our disposal which make death a semi-temporary inconvenience at this point. So far only Balt died (maybe intentionally or maybe he run out of the old-styled APs due to his need of using them to speed up infusion casting time). Your char…(Quinn) I am not sure about it if that was simple refusal of using APs or something else. The point is. 2 actual longer-term fatalities in the whole history of BM II.
