> I found the best solution to this borrows from Ars Magica: run one session
>that effectively drags all the primary characters off-stage for a while, THEN
>run another using just the followers that stayed behind. Even one session of
>thinking of a follower as a real character will change the way that follower
>is viewed forever...
I think the major reason I cannot accept the 'faceless Follower' concept (I allow followers a 25-word writeup, which must include the 2 'Follower" abilities/keywords, the extras usable only when the Followers are acting independently, raisable by using the Hero's HP) is the origins of all my Followers. They are all ex-RQ characters (as are all my characters), who just weren't important enough to rewrite as characters in HW. Admittedly, a couple of them were never actually PLAYED in RQ, but most of them has as much history as characters as the Heroes. One of them was played all the way from RQ1...
I would agree fully with the above idea, actually PLAYING Followers occasionally does wonders for them, and for the Hero - it's easier to remember who they are if they've actually DONE something on their own, and a hero should have heroic (small 'H') followers. As for the predictable problem of who gets the HP award for their actions, that's easy - the Hero gets all the applause. How often does Gabrielle get the credit instead of Xena? Or, even better example, is the superb movie Galaxy Quest, when 'Dr. Lazarus' saves the suffocating crewmen, they all shout "Hooray! Commander Taggart has saved us!" - supporting cast never get the credit.
Wulf
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