Captain Source Battlecry! pg. 82Whether it’s your personal prowess, your fearsome reputation, or your skill at bringing out the best in others, you inspire people to flock to your banner. You might hold an official position in a military, guild, or other institution, or you might operate outside of formal structures. Regardless of your role, you are the type of person that others instinctively turn to for guidance in dangerous or chaotic situations.
A captain is always accompanied by at least one follower, who stays by their side through thick and thin and relies upon them to excel in combat. Followers can fill a variety of roles, from eagle-eyed scouts or stalwart bodyguards to capable medics.
Click here to see a list of followers. Click here for follower rules.Uncommon Archetype Dedication Source Battlecry! pg. 82Archetype CaptainPrerequisites Charisma +2; you don't have an
animal companion,
construct companion, or other companion that functions similarly
You become trained in your choice of
Diplomacy or
Intimidation; if you are already trained in both of these skills, you become trained in a skill of your choice. You also gain your choice of the
Group Impression or the
Group Coercion skill feat. If you already have both of these skill feats, you gain another 1st level skill feat for which you qualify.
You also gain the assistance of a dedicated follower, who has agreed to accompany you on your journeys. They have the
minion trait and begin as a novice follower.
See followers for more information.
Special Once you have a follower, you can never take a feat or class feature that grants an animal companion or another companion that prevents you from having an animal companion.
Archetype Source Battlecry! pg. 82Archetype CaptainPrerequisites Captain Dedication
Another follower joins you in your travels. They are a
novice follower that has the
minion trait.
Special You can select this feat more than once, gaining an additional follower each time, to a maximum of four total followers.
Multiple Followers
The captain archetype gives you the opportunity to have multiple followers at one time—up to four followers— but only one of those followers, your “active follower,” participates in combat or exploration activities; the rest hang back, ready to be called upon if needed. As soon as you gain a second follower from the captain archetype, you also gain Call Follower to switch your active follower.
Exploration Source Battlecry! pg. 83
You spend 1 minute calling for a different follower, switching your active follower for another of your followers.
Archetype Source Battlecry! pg. 82Archetype CaptainPrerequisites Captain Dedication
Your followers' skills have developed over the course of your adventures. All your followers become
experienced followers. Additionally, your followers have grown accustomed to the perils of battle, developing the confidence to attack foes without your direction. During an encounter, even if you don't use the
Direct Follower action, your active follower spend can still use 1 action that round on your turn to Stride or Strike. They can do this at any point during your turn, as long as you aren't currently taking an action. If they do, that's all the actions they get that round—you can't Direct them later.
Archetype Source Battlecry! pg. 82Archetype CaptainPrerequisites Captain Dedication
You accept anyone who would follow you on your adventures. You can take followers from any common ancestry, and from uncommon or rare ancestries at the GM's discretion. Your follower gains the traits, size, Speeds, languages, and other special abilities listed in their ancestry. For example, elf followers have the elf and humanoid traits, a 30-foot speed, low-light vision, and the typical languages for elves. Followers don't use their ancestry's Hit Points or attribute boosts and flaws. They also don't gain abilities that would allow them to use actions beyond the standard ones available to a follower, such as
Activating an Item or
Casting a Spell.Follower Ancestries
Since humans are the most populous ancestry in Golarion and don’t have any special abilities, they are presented as the default ancestry for followers. The GM can consider giving captains the Leader of All feat for free if humans aren’t the most common ancestry in their campaign setting, or if they aren’t concerned with players choosing to avoid human followers in favor of more mechanically powerful options.
Archetype Skill Source Battlecry! pg. 83Archetype CaptainPrerequisites Captain Dedication; expert in
Diplomacy or
Intimidation
Between your daring adventures, people seek you out. A loyal cadre of retainers joins you. These individuals don't function as followers and won't accompany you into dangerous areas or situations. However, they can train by your side, assist you in creating items, or help you spread your heroic tales.
When you are in a place where your cadre could reasonably assist you, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to all skill checks to
Craft,
Create a Forgery,
Earn Income, and
Subsist, as well as other downtime activities at the GM's discretion. Your cadre also helps you train, making
retraining faster than normal. For every 5 days you spend retraining, you make a week's worth of progress.
Archetype Source Battlecry! pg. 83Archetype CaptainPrerequisites Captain Dedication
You can provide tactical guidance to help your follower act more efficiently. You can spend 2 actions to
Direct your Follower instead of 1. If you do, your follower gains an additional action.
Archetype Source Battlecry! pg. 83Archetype CaptainPrerequisites Experienced Follower
Your followers' training has made them veterans of battle. They all become
veteran followers.Archetype Source Battlecry! pg. 83Archetype CaptainPrerequisites Captain Dedication
You and your follower fight in tandem. Whenever you and your active follower are adjacent to the same foe, you are both
flanking that foe with each other, regardless of your actual positions.
Archetype Source Battlecry! pg. 83Archetype CaptainPrerequisites Veteran Follower
Your followers' abilities have soared to new heights. All your followers become
exceptional followers.Archetype Skill Source Battlecry! pg. 83Archetype CaptainPrerequisites Captain Dedication; legendary in
Diplomacy or
Intimidation
Your fame has spread throughout the lands. When you first attempt to
Coerce or
Make an Impression on an intelligent creature, the GM rolls a secret DC 11 flat check to see if they have heard of you. On a success, you gain a +2 circumstance modifier to the skill check for that action. The GM can adjust this flat check as appropriate for circumstances in which you may be more or less known.
You can also leverage your notoriety and your network of assistants and admirers to earn money. You can
Earn Income using the skill you used to meet the prerequisites of this feat. When you do, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to the check; this bonus increases to a +3 if you have the
Cadre feat, as your retainers praise your deeds and find those who might pay to meet you.
Archetype Source Battlecry! pg. 83Archetype CaptainPrerequisites Captain Dedication
When you have an active follower in an encounter, you are
quickened; you can use the extra action only to
Direct your Follower.