Shattered Kingdoms

[Hum Hel][Slayne][Cabal] Barago - The dark knight ?

or...

Their actions can be permanently set to "here, bearing a standard with the colors of Slayne."

Oh man, that would be awesome to have little cohorty slaves. Like everyone I mentored or invested into my religion untill they were mentors I'd get a bonus for...that would be sweet.

Definitely a good idea.

Go back to your hole!

Fun! The possibilities are endless, and...I really don't see any negatives to counter.

For showing affiliations...perhaps add a new eq slot? Banner or insignia, which could be used not only to show one's Exemplar, but organizations as well - if one was so inclined - rather like the religious symbol slot.

Any way it's handled, I can't wait to see it in.

I think the concept is great. There is already a good tradition of knight-squire relationships in the game. This has always traditionally been mainly of benefit to the squire, although the historical role of the squire was as a servant-companion to the knight. Adding some type of cohort bonus would make it more desirable to take on a squire.

Some comments:

1) I don't think a game mechanic outing cohort relationships is necessary. One should introduce one's self as ""My lord, my name is Sir Tristram de Lyoness; and King Mark of Cornwall is my liege." If one wishes to keep it a secret, I do not see why that should be forbidden.

-If there is a suspicion that without public knowledge, people will take strange cohorts then I suggest making the relationship expire and require a face-to-face meeting for renewal once per year. These could be covert meetings if desired.

2) The concept of bonuses despite death or distance is an interesting enticement to the system, but it does not build any interdependence on the players. Here is what I suggest:
-keep bonuses as suggested while characters are alive but not in the same room.
-remove bonuses from the exemplar while cohort(s) are dead.
-add PK bonuses to cohorts while they are in the same room/group as their exemplar.

Reasoning: Let the cohorts level/explore in peace regardless of what the master does. If cohorts die, the master should have some motivation to keep them alive or help them return to life. If the master needs assistance, his cohorts should be available and able to help at least a little.

My concern is that if you make exemplars lose benefits from their cohorts dying, you give enemies a reason to kill them. I don't want to create a system that encourages the killing of low-level characters.

You are a beautiful man, and while I may be xmas drunk, I still want to make sure I endorse your idea that doesn't promote the killing of one's lowbie cohorts.

One way to do it would involve a change to the greet system.

greet frank
You tell Frank 'My name is (name) (title), (exemplar)'s apprentice.'

greet all
You say 'My name is...'

Perhaps it is a big enough deal that the adventurers guild would make a posting to the realms about when an exemplar chooses a cohort?