Followers in Play

Followers are NPCs. They live on your side of the Line — you portray them, you say what they do, you decide their fate. A little blurring is fine; if a player starts playing one like a second PC, pause and reset.

Followers should be sources of stress as well as utility. They get scared. They freeze, flee, panic. Tell the player when this happens. If the PC gives an order, the player can spend 1 Loyalty to push past the fear. Otherwise, the follower is either Defying Danger (if they'd do it absent fear) or needs Persuading.

Even unafraid, followers resist orders when they're miserable, when the order is foolish or distasteful, or when it conflicts with their instinct, tags, or cost. A warrior follower will fight — but not if they're soaked and starving and have had enough of this crap. Reveal that to the player and let them choose: spend Loyalty, Persuade, or do something else.

Play up instincts and tags as trouble. A wolf with "to fill its belly" chomps the bait. A gambler crew member sneaks off to a dice game. This makes Loyalty valuable — if a follower always just does what they're told, there's no reason to pay their cost.

Resolve with a single move at most. The PC isn't there to give follow-up direction, so zoom out and pick one move to represent the action. If you can't decide, it's Defy Danger. Have the player roll when the outcome would become known to the PC.

Keep them in mind during action. They don't just stand there. Make GM moves with or against them. They only trigger player moves when ordered — if the PC ignores them, you decide what they do.

Clear communication is hard in combat. A few words or hand signals is all a PC gets. Give leeway to long-established followers (Rhianna's crew can read "Hari, behind you!" as "turn and attack"); demand more from new ones.

When a PC orders a follower to Defend on a 7+, the follower holds the Readiness but the player decides when and how to spend it. Consider whether the follower would actually do what's asked — if not, the player spends 1 Readiness and 1 Loyalty.

When reduced to 0 HP and the source was lethal, you pick: they're dead immediately, they trigger Death's Door (the PC's player rolls), or they're dying and will die soon without intervention. It's not your job to protect NPCs. Let things burn. The Ranger's Animal Companion is an exception — Loyal to the End dictates that move.

The group tag means multiple individuals sharing tags, HP max, armor, damage, instinct, cost, and a Loyalty pool — but each member has their own current HP. They typically Outfit with the same gear. Direct them as a unit; when one stands out, flesh them out with a name, trait, maybe an extra tag, and you can direct them individually thereafter.

When a group attacks one foe, roll once (likely advantage) and one attacker's damage +1 per additional attacker. When attacking multiple foes, roll once and roll damage separately against each.

Between sessions, review followers. Revise instincts, costs, and tags that no longer ring true. Add new tags for demonstrated skills. Adjust HP and damage as appropriate. Write them up as threats if they've become ongoing trouble.

Followers stop being followers when the relationship was situational and the situation ends, when they lose nerve or move on, or when they shift allegiance. A messy breakup might mean they become a threat — even betray their former PC.