As followers gain experience, they retain the abilities they possessed previously. So an experienced follower will always retain the abilities of an inexperienced, etc. ### Caretaker Maids and butlers who help make life just a little easier. They take responsibility for the cleanliness, good order, and effortless excellence of their employer’s affairs. This luxury service is most common for owners of estates. **Inexperienced.** Your caretaker cleans your laundry and maintains your equipment. Clothes and armor cleaned by your caretaker grant you an expertise die made to resist contracting diseases they might have carried, and to make first impressions while wearing them. If you own or rent a room your caretaker will clean it, or if they are with you abroad they will help set up camp. They are proficient with the sewing kit, and will use it as you direct (including to repair damaged items). **Seasoned.** As inexperienced. In addition, your caretaker knows the mending and prestidigitation cantrips and will use them at your direction. **Expert.** As seasoned. In addition, you can spend your Inspiration to declare that your caretaker has set you up for success, such as by providing you valuable information, hand-delivering you an important parcel, or taking the liberty of purchasing an item on your behalf. If your declaration is perilous or impossible, your caretaker faces the consequences of that action nonetheless. *Source: Manual of Adventurous Resources: Complete* ### Cleaner Cleaners clean up messes, but not things like muddy footprints or spilled food (at least, not exclusively). They are masters of covering the tracks of other espionage professionals, and can make bodies, evidence, and, if necessary, sometimes even witnesses disappear. **Inexperienced.** Once per day, a Cleaner can cover up the evidence of a minor crime or clandestine operation (something that would result in a fine, community service, or other minor punishment). Broken locks or doors can be quickly repaired, footprints can be covered, and investigators can be sent on wild goose chases. The DC of any Investigation, Persuasion, or Perception check to tie you to a single criminal act or covert operation increases by 5. **Seasoned.** Once per day, in addition to the benefits above, the cleaner can also cover for a number of additional creatures equal to your proficiency bonus. The cleaner can also cover more serious crimes, such as ones that would result in lengthy incarceration, exile, marking, or the like In addition, the DC penalty on checks imposed by the cleaner increases by 10. **Expert.** Once per day, an expert cleaner can thwart even magical means of detection. The DC penalty rises to 15. The cleaner can now cover up even the most egregious crimes or daring operations. Assassinations, thefts of priceless items, and so on can be concealed. In addition, there is a 75% chance that magical abilities or spells that would reveal your involvement fail to provide investigating parties with any useful information. *Source: Manual of Adventurous Resources: Complete* ### Courtier Courtiers are experts in body language and humanoid behavior. These educated advisors are well-versed in courtly etiquette and political intrigue, whispering in their master’s ear whether or not someone can be trusted or if they can be won over (whether with words or by gold). **Unlike other followers, you may only acquire a courtier by way of nobility.** This may be from your background, the results of a campaign’s story, or because you have gained the favor of royalty. **Inexperienced.** Once per day your courtier can evaluate someone you are conversing with to determine if they are lying or not, subtly messaging you cues. You gain a 1d8 expertise die on your next Insight check. **Seasoned.** As inexperienced. In addition, once per day your courtier can tell whether someone can be bribed, reasoned with, or if they just want their ego stroked, granting you advantage on either a Deception check or Persuasion check. **Expert.** As seasoned. In addition, once per week while in a city you can spend 1 hour with your courtier to automatically succeed on a Culture or History check. *Source: To Save a Kingdom* ### Cryptographer Cryptographers have just one job: codes. Creating them and breaking them are their stock in trade. **Inexperienced.** The cryptographer can invent ciphers and is able to teach a cipher they create to others. Anyone who knows the cipher can encode and read hidden messages made with it; the apparent text must be at least four times longer than the hidden message. Other creatures can detect the presence of the cipher if they spend a minute examining it and succeed on an Investigation check against a DC of 13. If the check succeeds by 5 or more, they can read the hidden message. A cryptographer can create one of these messages per day. In addition, the cryptographer has a +5 bonus with a d4 expertise die to decrypt unfamiliar ciphers. **Seasoned.** A seasoned cryptographer has learned to be more efficient with their text. A seasoned cryptographer can hide a secret message in text equivalent to the length of the message. In addition, the DC of the cipher increases to 16 In addition, the cryptographer has a +8 bonus with a d6 expertise die to decrypt unfamiliar ciphers. **Expert.** Expert cryptographers are seemingly unbound by the rules of language. When creating a coded message (which they can do once per day), a cryptographer can encode four times the amount of information into a message than its apparent length would suggest. The DC to discover the cipher rises to 19, but the actual contents of the message cannot be read by non-magical means unless the recipient knows the cipher. Even using magic, the reader must make a separate DC 19 investigation check to interpret the ciphered message's meaning. In addition, the cryptographer has a +8 bonus with a d8 expertise die to decrypt unfamiliar ciphers. *Source: Manual of Adventurous Resources: Complete* ### Digger Laborers specialized in breaking through thick clay and solid rock. As they gain experience, they become more versed in the lore of the earth. **Inexperienced.** Once per day, you can assign the digger to dig at a specific location. After 8 hours, the digger creates a 5 foot by 5 foot entrance into the earth surface. The entrance is 15 feet deep if soil or 5 feet deep if stone. If more than one digger is assigned to the same task, progress on the task is either expedited (time taken is divided by the number of diggers) or accumulated (all the diggers add their progress together). **Seasoned.** As inexperienced. In addition, the digger can identify most any rock, mineral, geological feature, or common subterranean magical phenomenon. **Expert.** As seasoned. In addition, the digger can help scour the digsite for precious objects. You gain advantage and a +5 bonus to your first Investigation check made in the digsite each day. *Source: Manual of Adventurous Resources: Complete* ### Inventor A tinkerer and fellow student of science eager to learn from you while performing the more dangerous experiments. **Inexperienced.** Once only, when you fail an Arcana or Engineering check, or a check using tools, you may have the inventor intervene. If you do, the check is instead a success, but the inventor is killed in the process. **Seasoned.** Once per day, when you fail an Arcana or Engineering check, or a check using tools, you may reroll that check and must use the new roll. **Expert.** Whenever you craft a magic item, you may have this follower work alongside you. If you do, you craft an additional magic item of the same type using the normal amount of gold costs, making separate checks for each item. No more than one of these followers can work alongside you at a time in this way. *Source: GPG #0 (Artificer article)* ### Operative Operatives are active information gatherers. They stake out sites or persons of interest, comb through records and occasionally even engage in a bit of interrogation or breaking and entering to find out what their employers wish to know. **Inexperienced.** Once per day, an Operative can produce information that could be discovered with a DC 15 Investigation or Perception check. **Seasoned.** Once per day, an Operative can produce information that could be discovered with a DC 20 Investigation or Perception check. **Expert.** Once per day, an Operative can produce information that could be discovered with a DC 25 Investigation or Perception check. *Source: Manual of Adventurous Resources: Complete* ### Prodigy Prodigies are gifted with exceptional talents entirely inaccessible to the vast majority of creatures. Those with elemental skills are most often associated with the Laboratory, Sacred Grove, and Temple strongholds, but may be available as free followers from other stronghold types, at the Narrator’s discretion. For each prodigy, choose a rare skill. **Inexperienced.** Once between the ends of each long rest, the prodigy makes a rare skill check for you as though you had access to and were proficient in that skill. **Seasoned.** Twice between the ends of each long rest, the prodigy makes a rare skill check for you as though you had access to and were proficient in that skill. **Expert.** Three times between the ends of each long rest, the prodigy makes a rare skill check for you as though you had access to and were proficient in that skill. *Source: GPG #22 (Mastering the Elements: Introducing Rare Skill)* ### Sailor Sailors form the crew on seafaring vessels, with duties including raising sails, keeping watch, and cleaning decks. **Inexperienced.** Once per day, you gain advantage on a Perception check made at sea. **Seasoned.** Once per day, you gain a 1d6 expertise die on Intimidation checks made at sea. **Expert.** If you have a ship, it can travel one-quarter faster than it could normally. *Source: GPG #9 (HEIRS OF COMMAND: MARSHAL ARCHETYPES)