Cohort

COHORT [General]
Benefit: You gain a loyal minion that is either a monster with hit dice equal to half your own or NPC whose class level is equal to half your own (min 1). This minion does not acquire XP but is always half your own level. Should the selected minion have less than 1 racial hit dice, they automatically improve to 1 or more racial hit dice upon becoming a minion. This minion takes NPC class levels or racial hit dice but cannot take player class levels such as barbarian or wizard. Level adjustments raise a minion's effective hit dice for these purposes. This minion acquires its own equipment separately with an amount of wealth appropriate for its level. You may choose to share your wealth with your minion, but not vice versa. Your minion is loyal to you even willing to die to protect you although it will obey your orders above all else. If a minion is dismissed or dies you must wait 1 day per hit dice of the minion before you can acquire a new one.

Note: Commanding a minion is a standard action. A single command gets the minion to take a single action. Minions act on your turn. When a minion is present and you do not command it, it will act on its own to help you although the DM controls its actions and it takes only 1 action per round. The Druid and Ranger's Animal Companion, the Sorcerer and Wizard's Familiar and the Paladin's Special Mount grant this feat as a bonus feat instead of the normal benefits. However, in addition to this feat, the original special abilities granted to Animal Companions, Familiars and Special Mounts are also bestowed upon them and their masters by the classes. If a cross-class character has more than one of these abilities, they still have only 1 cohort but grant their cohort all the special abilities of their different classes.