Cult-less Hocus?

We had our first session last week, and one of my players surprised me by playing a Hocus who does not have a cult.  According to the player, he is just a very charismatic person.  He doesn't preach anything. He views himself as a very influential person in the community.

I'm having a hard time coming up with reasons for NPCs to be following him around the apocalypse.  He did not establish in the first session why these people follow him or what he provides them.  I guess I didn't ask enough questions.

Common beliefs are a great glue for NPCs to be attached to characters.  Does anyone have any ideas how I can tie some NPCs to him?

To add fuel to the fire: our hardholder has a small population (50 souls) 40 of which are his gang.  Doing the math, that means that at least 10 souls are an NPC-PC-NPC triangle. Do I have to figure all of that out now?  How much of this should I let them establish?

Thanks!

Hey Ahoapap
sounds like the player should perhaps be playing another playbook...
if you REALLY don't want followers, don't play a Hocus...

Here are some suggestions for you...

*Check out the Hocus PB, under followers suggest the player take the option
"your followers aren't really yours, more like you're theirs."
this may work well for this player...

? Questions for you to ask... position like this perhaps;
ask the player what the character does, what they believe in...then spring board of the answers. for example. I don't have a cult, I help the community... oh, how? I help organize food and do some work... ok, so you help out Tinder and Jex...they and the others have really taken a liking to you and appreciate your help they seems really interested in what you say when you work with them... Mission also works there with you, but do you trust him? why/why not - was it because of the time he/she ...... get the idea?

Ask the players questions, don't be afraid to make shit up, or use other NPC's that you've made up already or other players have introduced to get some triangles going also. Just because one player has a bunch of peeps in his crew doesn't mean 1 of them cant be a follower of the other pc!

As for the 10 people you have in triangles... good to keep track sure, but don't kill yourself on it - I update a "people and places of the apocalypse" after every game, takes a few mins, but perfect to add little notes on the npcs/pcs. Like Rolfball the Merc. is in Jax's Crew, but he's got the hots big-time for Jaeda! You can do the same on a scrap paper with the npc's and pc's names draw lines and make a note or two as per the relations.

Have fun, hope that helps
Hankle

The Hocus player choose options for his/her followers, right? What were those options? That would help us give you suggestions.

In a weird way, what the Hocus thinks about his/her followers can have (should have?) little to do with how they think about the Hocus.

The Hocus is less the head of the cult and more like the focus of the cult. There may be an NPC "leader" who has other plans for the cult, but the followers will always listen/be obsessed with the Hocus.

It doesn't matter that the Hocus doesn't preach. In fact, I can see the followers misconstruing off-the-cuff things the Hocus says.

It can be like Edward Norton's character in Fight Club.

Holy shit, I must not have read the playbook for the Hocus very well.  It gives the choice to characterize them as "your scene".  That's the choice he made.

I'll have to look at his sheet tonight and roleplay up some situations to describe his 'scene'. We are missing a player tonight, so we are going to do most of the session in flashbacks to establish character backstory.

Thanks!