Follower Rules

Some training option, features or traits grant characters followers. Followers are NPCs that aid the player character and are an integral part of their build and XP expenditure, different types of followers have different rules which determine what they can do in combat, how they advance and what happens if they are downed or badly injured.

While a character may have several followers, each character can usually only be accompanied by one follower at any given time- dubbed their ‘Active’ follower.

Followers are largely divided into two sub-groups;

Autonomous Followers; Have their own Action Points and Initiative in combat, but require a Command free action to operate effectively every round. Most autonomous followers require some sort of resource to function or heal if downed.

Dependent Followers; Do not have Action Points or Initiative of their own in combat, instead, they function by using the AP and Initiative of the character controlling them.

Followers vs Allies

The line between Follower and an NPC that is friendly and aids the PCs (even if they have been hired to do so) can be blurry. It is ultimately up to the GM and the players to decide which category an NPC falls into, and its entirely possible a single NPC crosses the line from Ally to Follower and vice versa over an adventure or campaign.

All followers are allies, but not all allies are followers. Here are a few helpful hallmarks of each type of NPC that can help differentiate them.

Followers

  • Have their XP expenditure and build determined by their controlling PC.

  • Will stay with the party unless given reasons to leave.

  • May require a Command Free Action to function effectively in combat.

  • Have their actions in combat determined by the PCs.

  • Use more complex/complete follower character sheets

Allies

  • Have their XP expenditure and build determined by the GM.

  • Will leave the party unless given reasons to stay.

  • Do not require input from the PCs to act in combat.

  • Have their actions in combat determined by the GM.

  • Use Bestiary style NPC statblocks.

Humans

Human followers are friends, family or hirelings that follow a particular character around - while they can be powerful and able to do any of the things the PCs can do, GMs should be careful not to let a human follower eclipse the PCs. Human followers can and should have opinions, thoughts and feelings of their own- but should never make decisions for the party and should defer to the PCs when it is time to make a significant decision.

Human followers should also have lines they are unwilling to cross and beliefs that color their actions and opinions - carelessly trampling over those or mistreating a human follower might lead them to leave the party.

  • Finding a Human Follower; A player can speak with their GM about having a Human Follower during character creation - or they can find and recruit an NPC as a follower through their adventures.

  • Traits; A human follower can have a single positive trait from the PC traits list.

  • Maintenance; As humans, Human Followers need to have a room and supplies provided to them while staying with the party.

  • Equipment; Human Followers can be equipped just as a PC would, but they have Four Hand Slots, Three Ammunition Slots, An Armor Slot, a Clothing Slot, Three Accessory Slots and Three Belt Slots. Additionally, a human follower can only have Implant Bulk up to half of their Endurance + Vitality Rank.

  • In Combat; Human Followers are Autonomous companions and need a Command to be effective in combat. If not Commanded they can only take the following actions in their turn; Flick, Free Move, Go Prone, Hide, Walk, Brace, Disengage, Reposition and Stand-up.

  • Advancement; Human followers are trained by the PC controlling them to gain XP and then can spend that XP as a PC would - though they can have a maximum of Six Training Trees. Training a human follower takes at least an hour of downtime. For each hour spent, the PC can make a skill test determined by the GM based on the follower’s skillset (A follower that functions as a Sharpshooter, for example, might require Dexterity(Aim) tests) and grant the follower 1XP per success. A human follower can not have more than half of the total XP of the Player Character controlling them and no more than 250 XP - though the second limit can be increased through training.

  • Wounds; Human Followers can take Wounds or Injuries like PCs and have a number of maximum wounds determined by their XP level. 2 Wounds up to 500 XP, 3 Wounds from 501 to 1000 XP and 4 wounds at 1001 XP. It takes a human follower a week to heal from a wound.

  • Death; Human Followers die if they reach their maximum number of wounds. The Death of a human follower is a major event and should be treated as such by the GM and the PCs. A PC can eventually find a new human follower that can start at the same XP level as the previous one (albeit without the same gear)- but this should be a story development the player and their GM can discuss and coordinate.

Animals

Animal followers are creatures with animal intelligence and instincts that can be taught to recognize humans as allies and follow orders. They are usually combat and utility pets that carry out specific actions when commanded. When not commanded, however- animals will often revert to their instinctive behaviors which may or may not be appropriate given the situation.

Unlike humans, animals might not have specific opinions or beliefs, but they will have natures which can inform their behavior and will usually be unconstrained by social norms and considerations - which the GM can use to create interesting scenarios.

  • Finding an Animal Follower; A player can speak with their GM about having an Animal Follower during character creation - or they can find and recruit an animal as a follower through their adventures. Additionally, certain character creation options will allow players to start with a more, rare animal follower.

  • Traits; Animal Followers can have a size trait, a movement trait and two additional traits from the special list at the end of this section. Rare animal followers can have one more additional trait.

  • Maintenance; Animal followers need to have a room, kennel and supplies provided to them while staying with the party.

  • Equipment; Animal followers usually have an Armor Slot, a Clothing Slot, Three Accessory Slots and Three Belt Slots. Though traits may change this. Animal followers can get basic implants to replace lost body parts or as part of the story, but otherwise have no implant bulk allowance.

  • In Combat; Animal Followers are Autonomous companions and need a Command to be effective in combat. If not Commanded they will be controlled by the GM that turn and act based on their nature.

  • Advancement; Animal followers are trained by the PC controlling them to gain XP and then can spend that XP as a PC would - though they can have a maximum of Six Training Trees. Training an animal follower takes at least an hour of downtime. For each hour spent, the PC can make an Insight(Empathy) test which requires Proficiency in Animal Handling and grant the follower 1XP per success. An Animal follower can not have more than half of the total XP of the Player Character controlling them and no more than 250 XP - though the second limit can be increased through training.

  • Wounds; Human Followers can take Wounds or Injuries like PCs and have a number of maximum wounds determined by their XP level. 2 Wounds up to 500 XP, 3 Wounds from 501 to 1000 XP and 4 wounds at 1001 XP. It takes an Animal follower a week to heal from a wound.

  • Death; Animal Followers cannot normally die unless the GM and Player agree this is what should happen and account for it. Animal Followers will normally be rendered unable to move or fight for at least one week while they heal back a wound.

Mechs

Mechs are autonomous mechanical units equipped with complex processing that can operate with minimal human intervention. While useful and powerful, Mechs can be vulnerable to datacrafters and arc weaponry, and their complexity makes them hard to repair on the field.

Unlike Human followers, Mech will follow orders unflinchingly and while they may have simulated personalities, they have no true beliefs or opinions of their own - on the other hand, Mechs can be a significant credit investment which can be fully lost if a Mech goes down on the field and cannot be retrieved.

  • Finding a Mech Follower; A Mech follower can be purchased during character creation, during an adventure or even crafted. Additionally, a defeated Mech frame can be used to get a head start in crafting a new mech- counting towards 50% of the required successes and materials for a new frame of the same type. (You cannot combine multiple frames into one, however.)

  • Traits; Mech followers have different traits and abilities depending on their frame and mods.

  • Maintenance; Mech followers to not need to eat or a place to sleep, but they do need power. A Mech Follower needs either a facility with power or a single Power Cell to recharge during each long rest.

  • Equipment; Mechs cannot equip any gear normally but can mount different weapons. Humanoid Mechs, however, have two hand slots which work in the same way as a PCs. Mechs are considered to be proficient with any weapon they hold or have mounted, but require mods to gain any other proficiency.

  • In Combat; Mech Followers are Autonomous companions and need a Command to be effective in combat. If not Commanded they can only take the following actions in their turn; Flick, Free Move, Go Prone, Hide, Walk, Brace, Disengage, Reposition and Stand-up.

  • Advancement; Mech followers advance through Mods, requiring only Credits to become more powerful. The number of mods a Mech follower can have can be increased through PC training options.

  • Wounds; Mech Followers can only be healed via the Repair action and cannot take wounds (but can take Injuries). In the event a Mech Follower is forced to take a wound, they are instead knocked Out of the Fight. When a Mech Follower is knocked Out of the Fight, it needs to be repaired over an hour of downtime by spending half of the Mech’s cost in components.

  • Death; If a Mech Follower is forced to take a wound while already Out of the Fight, or cannot be carried to safety after a mission while downed, they are destroyed. Their memories can be saved if the PCs have made a backup or can extract the Mech’s data core, but their frames and bodies must be rebuilt from scratch. A mech’s data core can also be transplanted and installed into another frame over an hour of downtime.

Turrets

Turrets are autonomous mechanical units equipped with simple processing that can operate without human intervention. Useful as weapons platforms that can hold a position, turrets can be vulnerable to data crafters and arc weaponry and need to be set-up to be used. Luckily, they are simple and easy to repair.

Turrets are simple and straightforward, have few abilities not tied directly to combat and are immobile, which means a character may end up going through several turrets in their careers.

  • Finding a Turret Follower; A Turret follower can be purchased during character creation, during an adventure or even crafted. Additionally, a destroyed Turret frame can be used to get a head start in crafting a new turret- counting towards 50% of the required successes and materials for a new frame of the same type. (You cannot combine multiple frames into one, however.)

  • Traits; Turret followers have different traits and abilities depending on their frame and mods.

  • Maintenance; Turret followers to not need to eat or a place to sleep, but they do need power. A Turret Follower needs either a facility with power or a single Power Cell to recharge during each long rest.

  • Equipment; Turret cannot equip any gear normally but can mount different weapons as mods.

  • In Combat; Turret Followers are Autonomous companions and need a Command to be effective in combat. If not Commanded they will automatically fire their weapon at the closest available hostile target.

  • Advancement; Turret followers advance through Mods, requiring only Credits to become more powerful. The number of mods a Turret follower can have can be increased through PC training options.

  • Wounds; Turret Followers can only be healed via the Repair action and cannot take wounds (but can take Injuries). In the event a Turret Follower is forced to take a wound, they are instead knocked Out of the Fight. When a Turret Follower is knocked Out of the Fight, it needs to be repaired over an hour of downtime.

  • Death; If a Turret Follower is forced to take a wound while already Out of the Fight, or cannot be carried to safety after a mission while downed, they are destroyed. Their memories can be saved if the PCs have made a backup or can extract the Turret’s data core, but their frames and bodies must be rebuilt from scratch. A Turret’s data core can also be transplanted and installed into another frame over an hour of downtime.

Drones

Mechs are dependent mechanical units equipped with simple processing cores that can perform very simple tasks by themselves, or much more complex ones with direct human intervention. As simple mechanical units, they are easy enough to repair back to a functional state on the field.

  • Finding a Mech Follower; A Drone follower can be purchased during character creation, during an adventure or even crafted. Additionally, a defeated Drone frame can be used to get a head start in crafting a new drone- counting towards 50% of the required successes and materials for a new frame of the same type. (You cannot combine multiple frames into one, however.)

  • Traits; Drone followers have different traits and abilities depending on their frame and mods.

  • Maintenance; Drone followers to not need to eat or a place to sleep, but they do need power. A Drone Follower needs either a facility with power or a single Power Cell to recharge during each long rest.

  • Equipment; Drones cannot equip any gear normally but can mount different weapons. Drones are considered to be proficient with any weapon they have mounted, but require mods to gain any other proficiency.

  • In Combat; Drone followers are Dependent followers and use their controller’s AP and reactions. If not given any AP, Drones may only make a walk action towards their controller.

  • Advancement; Drone followers advance through Mods, requiring only Credits to become more powerful. The number of mods a Drone follower can have can be increased through PC training options.

  • Wounds; Drone Followers can only be healed via the Repair action and cannot take wounds or injuries. In the event a Drone Follower is forced to take a wound, they are usually knocked Out of the Fight instead. When a Drone Follower is knocked of the fight, it can be repaired over a minute.

  • Death; If a Drone Follower is forced to take a wound while already Out of the Fight, or cannot be carried to safety after a mission while downed, they are destroyed. Their memories can be saved if the PCs have made a backup or can extract the Drone’s data core, but their frames and bodies must be rebuilt from scratch. A Drone’s data core can also be transplanted and installed into another frame over an hour of downtime.

Powered Armor

Powered armors are dependent mechanical units that function as essentially wearable mechs. Powered armors allow characters wearing them to have a second pool of Hit points corresponding to the Power armor and can use the Powered Armor’s physical attributes in place of their own.

Powered Armor can still be worn and moved if severely damaged, but may become a liability rather than an asset if that happens. While functional though, they provide a massive power boost to any character trained to wear them.

  • Finding a Powered Armor; A Powered Armor follower can be purchased during character creation, during an adventure or even crafted. Additionally, a defeated Powered Armor can be used to get a head start in crafting a Powered Armor counting towards 50% of the required successes and materials for a new frame of the same type. (You cannot combine multiple frames into one, however.)

  • Traits; Powered Armors have different traits and abilities depending on their frame and mods.

  • Maintenance; Powered Armors do not need to eat or a place to sleep, but they do need power. A Powered Armor needs either a facility with power or a single Power Cell to recharge during each long rest.

  • Equipment; Powered Armors cannot equip gear directly, instead they may mount accessories or weapons- otherwise they take up the owner’s gear slots and count as Armor.

  • In Combat; Powered Armor is fully dependent on the character wearing it, it takes no actions on its own, it simply empowers the character’s actions.

  • Advancement; Powered Armor advance through Mods, requiring only Credits to become more powerful. The number of mods a Powered Armor can have can be increased through PC training options.

  • Wounds; Powered Armors can only be healed via the Repair action and cannot take wounds or injuries. If a Powered Armor would take a wound or injury, the character wearing it is wounded or injured instead. If a Powered Armor is knocked Out of the Fight- it can still be worn but the Player Character gains no benefit from it, only penalties.

  • Death; If a Powered Armor is forced to take a wound while already Out of the Fight and not being worn, it is destroyed.