Part VI: How to Play Dungeons and Dragons (Remastered!) - Optimize Your Adventure Party; The Power of Followers and NPCs

If you're playing a tabletop roleplaying game, you know the importance of having a party of characters - the adventuring party. But beyond the characters who are the primary focus of play, there are other followers, hirelings, minions, pets, and sidekicks that can bring even more flavor to your game. In this blog post, we'll explore what cohorts, followers, hirelings, minions, pets, and sidekicks are, and how to make sure they work with your game. So gather your party and let's begin! Special thanks to @webJWF for this week's question of the week. MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE Articles on RPGBOT.net DnD 5e Ranger Subclasses Breakdown Pathfinder 1st Edition Practical Guide to Animal Companions Pathfinder 2nd Edition Practical Guide to Animal Companions DnD 3.x Heroes of Horror ( affiliate link ) Leadership Feat DnD 5e Dungeon Master's Guide ( affiliate link ) – Overrun is detailed on page 272 under the "Action Options" section Essentials Kit ( affiliate link ) Player's Handbook ( affiliate link ) Tasha's Cauldron of Everything ( affiliate link ) Pathfinder 1st Edition Leadership Feat Pathfinder 2nd Edition Core Rulebook ( affiliate link ) Minion General Rule on Archives of Nethys Other Stuff Charles Barkley as a sidekick Chelliax on PathfinderWiki Dragon Magazine #28 PDF on Wizards.com Elminster on Forgotten Realms Wiki OldSchoolRoleplaying.com – Henchman and Hirelings in DnD The Mummy on IMDB Way of the Wicked, by Fire Mountain Games on DriveThruRPG ( affiliate link ) If you enjoy the show, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts , Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. It's a quick, free way to support the podcast, and helps us reach new listeners. If you love the show, consider joining us on Patreon , where backers at the $5 and above tiers get ad free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT.Podcast, can chat directly to members of the RPGBOT team and community on the RPGBOT.Discord, and can join us for live-streamed recordings. Support us on Amazon.com when you purchase products recommended in the show at the following link: https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra Twitter: @RPGBOTDOTNET Facebook: rpgbotbotdotnet Bluesky:rpgbot.bsky.social Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games Twitter: @GravenAshes YouTube@ashravenmedia Randall James @JackAmateur Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati