During the course of the Kingmaker campaign, the player characters will come in to contact with a wide variety of NPCs that can be allies, enemies, or something in-between. It is possible to forge an even deeper connection with some individuals the group will encounter. These special NPCs can be befriended and recruited as companions or followers for the PCs. Such companions can fill a variety of potential roles and assist the PCs in any number of ways ranging from guarding important locations to assisting the group with exploration or helping out with camping duties. Eventually they can even aid the group by serving leadership roles within the Kingdom or playing caretaker to the Kingdom while the PCs are otherwise engaged.

Each PC has the ability to recruit one follower over the course of the campaign. Recruiting a follower will generally involve earning their trust and admiration whether through influence encounters or undertaking certain actions or quests. Additionally some followers will trigger special personal story quests of their own over the course of the campaign. Once a PC recruits a specific companion, that PC’s player is then responsible for that companion’s further progression. While the companion’s initial starting point is obviously already defined, who that companion becomes will be shaped by his or her relationship to the PC. So as not to spoil any story surprises, no information about how to influence or recruit a companion will be provided here – that has to be sussed out in play of course! However, to allow some level of coordination and planning by the group since there is a gameplay element at stake, a very limited amount of information about the recruitable companions is presented in the table below, including a very basic description and a general starting level (to give an approximate idea of when the potential companion might be recruitable).