Quote:
Originally Posted by Mailanka
Allies and Ally Groups are a major feature of most of the campaigns I run, as I go very NPC heavy, and I like to give my players the sense that they control large segments of society. So when an NPC says "You and what army?" the PC can say "This one!" and unleash his horde of managably-numbered allies on his foe.
A few things I have discovered in my research: Social Engineering has rules for very low-point allies, down to 5% of your point total, in case you're dealing with heroes with very large point totals. Supers also has rules for treating vehicles as allies, and I find the two go hand-in-hand nicely.
When it comes to Frequency of Appearance, I've settled on two numbers as my go-to values: 6 or less for "Is only there when I feel like it," and 15 or less for "Is always there unless I feel like making them absent."
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I run what I think are NPC heavy campaigns, but I actually don't ally very much. If you have the wealth for it, an employee is fine, and will generally behave well -- but he doesn't need to be an ally. Family members don't cost points under many circumstances (unless you're one of those guys who has a cousin for any given task). An ally should have rock solid, follow you anyway loyalty (or some other binding attribute).
I also balk at equipment as allies. I find it attracts far more munchkins than legitimate users. I like my allies to be people. There are legitament uses for the build though: one character in a game right now is baba yaga, and she has a vehicle Ally: her hut. Which is an RV. With Warp and Jumper. And fairly intelligent.