This idea mainly comes from a Dragon ball mobile game kinda like this called “DragonBoyOnline”, and it can come in handy for a lot of things, and maybe for some specific clan features that require sacrificing a loved one…👀.
Anyway, you can level up a disciple just like your own character, the only difference is that it’s an npc, that follows you and even defends you.
You can have friendship ranks from “acquaintance” to “brother/sister from another mother”.
In DBO you could fuse with your disciples, just like Vegeta and Goku. And I think the same could be done with a lot of ninjutsu: that curse mark twin guy.
But that’s not really the focus, it’s just one idea for companion interaction. While another clan may need to sacrifice their disciple to advance into whatever (can only sacrifice at max relationship rank)
They can start off with varied stats, so it doesn’t feel like a cheap accessory. At level zero, you may find a disciple with 10 fortitude, while another has 15 and blah blah. Depending on ur build, u may have a grinding bias that’ll make you want to find the best one.
Thoughts?