Retainers and Sidekicks are Followers, minor characters controlled by the player, not the GM. A hero must have relationships with his followers. (Leader, Mentor, Overlord, Lover, et cetera.)

In a contest, a follower may:

• Use one of his abilities directly, instead of (or in addition to) the hero's.
• Augment the hero or another character's action with one of their abilities (the least risky option for them).
• Provide their AP for the hero to use in an Extended Contest (p. 67).
  • If a follower is involved in a contest with the hero, and the Hero suffers defeat, the follower suffers a defeat one step worse than the PC. In other words, if a hero receives a marginal defeat, his followers that were involved receive a minor defeat.

Retainers

For starting characters, gaining a basic follower (retainer) costs either one Hero Point OR one of your 10 "freebie slots". In return for this investment, you gain:

• One Follower with an Occupation Keyword at 17
• A Relationship of some kind (friend, leader, lord, cousin) with that follower at either
  • 17 (if it's a typical follower for your character's occupation) or
  • 13 (if it isn't).

Sidekicks

For starting characters, gaining a Sidekick costs either three Hero Points OR one of your 10 "freebie slots" and 2 Hero Points. In return for this investment, you gain:

• One Sidekick with an Occupation Keyword at 17
  • Three other skills at 13 under the Sidekick, with 15 points to distribute among them
• A Relationship of some kind (friend, leader, mentor, lover) with the Sidekick at either
  • 17 (if it's a typical sidekick for your character's occupation) or
  • 13 (if it isn't).

Following Orders: Followers will obey and perform the task they are hired to do, usually without complaint or problem. If you ask a follower to act beyond his duty, however, you may have to roll your relationship to the follower against a resistance that varies depending on how outside their expected duties the request is.