Maximum number of followers

Everyone says the maximum number of followers is 6, but (believe it or not) I have 10 followers, all of whom are legitimate NPC followers. For the record, I am a Half-Ogre, and chose the "rare half-ogre birth" option. I am level 40, and good-aligned. I maxed out on charisma (20 points), and have a full bar of Persuasion. The strange thing is... I only have "expert" training in Persuasion, not "master."

Regardless.... my followers are:

Dog
Jayna
Sogg Mead Mugg
Chukka
Virgil
Magnus
Gar
Thorvald Two Stones
Dante
Tollo Underhill

I'm not sure if this is a glitch in my version of Arcanum (which I purchased on GOG.com), but it is true, and it's the second character I've used who gained 10 followers. (The other character was a Half-elf, also with high charisma and persuasion. What can I say... I like having more followers, even if it means my other stats are lower, lol.)

I started the game (with both characters) by adding Virgil (obviously), then Sogg, then Gar and Magnus. Once I gained some extra points in Charisma and got novice training in Persuasion, I added Jayna. When I accepted the Tax Quest in Dernholm, I added Dante. When I went to the Isle of Despair, I added Thorvald, who is a "free" follower and doesn't count towards your maximum number of followers. When I finished with the Black Mountain Mines, Chukka agreed to join me (by that time, I had maxed my charisma and persuasion stats, and had also obtained expert training in persuasion.) Then I went to Ashbury and added Dog (another "free" follower who doesn't count towards the maximum.)

Then I went to the Dernholm Dungeons, and Tollo agreed to join me even though my character is "good" aligned, AND even though I already had so many other followers.

In spite of having so many followers, I can still tell every character to "wait," and they will all rejoin me when I ask them to, even if i ask them ALL to wait at the same time. The only exception is Tollo. No matter what... once we're out of the Dernholm Dungeon, if I ask him to wait at any time, he will refuse to rejoin me because of my "good" alignment, regardless of whether I ask any of the others to wait. So far, though, I've managed to keep him in my party without needing him to wait for any reason.

I'm not sure if anyone else has had this many followers without using a summoning spell... but i must admit, it's fun to have 10 followers. The only downside is, no one else will join me later in the game, unless I get rid of my "extra" followers. I tried adding Raven, Sebatian, and (later) Z'an A'lurin, but the only way any of them would join me is if I disbanded most of my other followers. For some reason, getting other followers to join late in the game requires me to get rid of at least 3 or 4 of my original 10 followers, so that I only have the "normal" number of followers allowed. It's very strange.

While it's cool to have 10 followers, I do wish that i could add later characters instead, because Tollo, Dante, and Thorvald are all kind of boring. Quite frankly, Tollo is mostly useless. I'd rather have Raven, Z'an, or ANY of the later characters instead of Tollo.

Oh well... at least I have 10 followers. I guess that's better than 6, even if it's a glitch in my version of Arcanum, and even if it means I have to put up with Tollo.

 

Voiced characters are so much better.

 

which characters are voiced and which aren't? i know virgil is... i know sogg isn't...

 

It's a mental shortcut. When someone says that, he usually means the visibly in-game cap for followers that count towards that cap. It is known that some followers do not count toward it. Personally I recall Dog and

Spoiler

Arronax

as the two which ignore it altogether as well as Dante and Jormund which need to be ordered to wait, and be rerecruited when the cap is filled, or something of that nature. I don't count Murgo since he eventually leaves the party, same goes for Fawn and Thorvald in the UAP.

Your only evil follower is Tollo, who may not have an alignment check because the player was meant to meet him only if he was evil anyway. In the UAP, he only appears in the game if the player follows the evil path of the main plot.

Virgil, Magnus, Gar, Geoffrey Tarellond-Ashe, Torian Kel, Raven, Z'an Al'urin, Loghaire Thunderstone, Franklin Payne and

Spoiler

Arronax

 

Most of the "quest" characters (such as Lady Druella, Cynthia Boggs, and Swyft) will join my party when their quest originates, but they don't stay with the party after the quest ends anyway, so I didn't count them. Technically, when they join, I have eleven followers, though, even if it's only until the quest ends.

On the other hand, for the quest at Vooriden, Murgo tells me that my party is too crowded, so he won't help me repair the alter even though he doesn't stay with the group after the quest is completed.

I just thought I'd see if anyone else is able to get 10 followers. I don't remember ever being able to do it before, but my last 2 characters have both amassed 10. I'm not sure if my version of Arcanum somehow changed to allow this, but if so, I have no idea why. Other than adding new portraits, I haven't modified the game in any way.

 

there are what are commonly known as above and beyond followers. They can be clearly found listed at GameFaqs guides for arcanum. On top of that nothing beyond materials to make them limits a maker of mechanical followers. Well beyond what the game can handle.

Finally there is a well known spell exploit that allows you to make virtually the entire world your followers though how many you have actively following you at a time is best kept at a reasonable number.

Really there are alot of ways to have alot of different kinds of followers and have a rather bulky army for the final battle.

A real fun theme. make a dwarf and get every dwarf companion in the game. Including the one from the isle of despair which as long as you dont take into the dwarf city will stay with you. There is alot of good voice acting in the game centered around the dwarves. As well as the truth of Magnus. Something that many Magnus haters I imagine get to really see and appreciate.