ive just joined a campaign which has set me at a lvl 15 druid, this is a core only campaign 3.5 edition with only the 3 core rule books(monster manual, dungeonmasters guide and players handbook).
i want my druid to more of a buffer, buffing his animal companion to awesome status.
i would like to hear your suggestions on the best animal companion i could have within these rules and how some of the mechanics of animal companions work.
for instance do animal companions get to use all feats including the general feats that characters use like power attack and improved unarmed strike? and do their stats increase with bonus HD like abilities scores?
also how does share spells work? if your animal companion moves more than 5 feet away from you they lose the benefits of the spell cast? how is this good, shouldnt you just buff the animal independently so you dont have to stay next to your animal all the time?
ive just joined a campaign which has set me at a lvl 15 druid, this is a core only campaign 3.5 edition with only the 3 core rule books(monster manual, dungeonmasters guide and players handbook).
Why do DMs do this? Honestly, you'll be steamrolling everyone except a good, prepared wizard. (Clerics can come close but core-only the druid is stronger.)
Still, let's go with the parameters of the request.
i want my druid to more of a buffer, buffing his animal companion to awesome status.
i would like to hear your suggestions on the best animal companion i could have within these rules and how some of the mechanics of animal companions work.
The suggestion I'd have is to play a gnome (second only to human for best druid race in the core book) with the standard Core Druid 20 feat loadout (in order, Spell Focus Conjuration, Augment Summoning, Natural Spell, Extend Spell, Quicken Spell, and two free feats (probably Multiattack and Improved Natural Attack if you enjoy wild shaping a lot). This druid loadout works for everything the druid has to offer all at once.
for instance do animal companions get to use all feats including the general feats that characters use like power attack and improved unarmed strike? and do their stats increase with bonus HD like abilities scores?
I'm probably going to get corrected on this, but as I understand it the bonus HD operate similarly to gaining a level in a class and come with feats every 3 HD and stat increases every 4 (total, again, so add the animal's HD to the bonus HD to get the results.) Note that IUS is not worth it on animals since natural weapons and unarmed strikes follow different rules.
also how does share spells work? if your animal companion moves more than 5 feet away from you they lose the benefits of the spell cast? how is this good, shouldnt you just buff the animal independently so you dont have to stay next to your animal all the time?
Ride your animal companion. (Another reason why I like gnome: you can ride your wolf or riding dog from level 1 and only keep staying atop your beast as levels increase.) You buff it independently if you aren't planning on fighting alongside it or from its back. It also lets you double-up on healing spells and similar instantaneous effects. Finally, if you're in tight quarters, it lets you buff yourself AND it at the same time to basically double up on your buffed actions. This is especially obvious once spells like Animal Growth enter the picture.
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How do i choose muiltiattack and improved natural attack, they arnt in the general feats lists? unless can you pick feats from the monster manual?
You can. And once you start levelling up, you'll want to switch out the riding dog (trained for war, it's better than the wolf) for a bear or dinosaur.
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for instance do animal companions get to use all feats including the general feats that characters use like power attack and improved unarmed strike? and do their stats increase with bonus HD like abilities scores?
I'm probably going to get corrected on this, but as I understand it the bonus HD operate similarly to gaining a level in a class and come with feats every 3 HD and stat increases every 4 (total, again, so add the animal's HD to the bonus HD to get the results.)
According to the animal companion entry, they gain feats and skill points, but ability points are never mentioned. I assume that this absence is related to the animal companion gaining a Str/Dex increase instead.
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= My most popular campaign item; for all your adventuring convenience.Show
Zauber's Mutable Rod: This rod has a number of useful functions that make it easier to live in the wilderness. It is made of polished wood, with five studlike buttons on one end. Each button produces a different effect when pressed. Unless otherwise noted, the rod’s functions have no limit on the number of times they can be employed. • When button 1 is pressed, one end of the rod produces a small flame, equivalent to a candle. • When button 2 is pressed, the rod unfolds into a two-person tent, complete with bedrolls and warm blankets. • When button 3 is pressed, the rod becomes a one-handed hammer, suitable for pounding pitons into a wall. • When button 4 is pressed, the rod becomes a sturdy iron spade. • When button 5 is pressed, the rod becomes a wooden bucket able to hold 2 gallons of liquid. Once per day, it can be commanded to fill with fresh water. If the rod is seriously damaged or broken in any of its alternate forms (button 2, 3, 4, or 5), it reverts to its basic rod form and cannot be activated for 24 hours. Moderate conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Rod, minor creation; Price 375 gp; Weight 2 lb.
As animal companions gain HD (specifically), they gain additional feats / skill points. Since these are HD gains and not levels, they do not gain ability score increases.
As animal companions gain HD (specifically), they gain additional feats / skill points. Since these are HD gains and not levels, they do not gain ability score increases.
Mechanically speaking, BAB, saves, skill points, hit points, and the acquisition of feats and ability points are all tied to Hit Dice, rather than actual levels (it just so happens that the vast majority of levels include a Hit Die). Animal companions are actually the odd one out here in not providing the normal ability points, since ability increases are provided separately by the animal companion benefits.
The difference between levels and Hit Dice is made most obvious with the monster classes, which often include levels that do not grant a Hit Die (or any of its features) or advanced feat and ability point acquisition.
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= My most popular campaign item; for all your adventuring convenience.Show
Zauber's Mutable Rod: This rod has a number of useful functions that make it easier to live in the wilderness. It is made of polished wood, with five studlike buttons on one end. Each button produces a different effect when pressed. Unless otherwise noted, the rod’s functions have no limit on the number of times they can be employed. • When button 1 is pressed, one end of the rod produces a small flame, equivalent to a candle. • When button 2 is pressed, the rod unfolds into a two-person tent, complete with bedrolls and warm blankets. • When button 3 is pressed, the rod becomes a one-handed hammer, suitable for pounding pitons into a wall. • When button 4 is pressed, the rod becomes a sturdy iron spade. • When button 5 is pressed, the rod becomes a wooden bucket able to hold 2 gallons of liquid. Once per day, it can be commanded to fill with fresh water. If the rod is seriously damaged or broken in any of its alternate forms (button 2, 3, 4, or 5), it reverts to its basic rod form and cannot be activated for 24 hours. Moderate conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Rod, minor creation; Price 375 gp; Weight 2 lb.
The companion gains the full benefit from increased Hit Dice, including increased base attack, base saves, skill points, and feats. The animal companion, however, does not increase in size (any more than you do when adding Hit Dice for your class levels).
So, the full benefit from increased Hit Dice includes ability score increases. Just because the list of what is included doesn't specifically mention it does not seem to indicate that the animal companion doesn't get it. It would be like saying there is a horde of treasure. Your party takes all of it, including the worthless rocks that were part of it, and the DM saying, oh, so you only took the rocks?
I've always thought that they aquire new feats / skills as per HD increase, but since they're getting static bonuses to ability scores, that they were ineligible for stat points as was mentioned previously.
The companion gains the full benefit from increased Hit Dice, including increased base attack, base saves, skill points, and feats. The animal companion, however, does not increase in size (any more than you do when adding Hit Dice for your class levels).
So, the full benefit from increased Hit Dice includes ability score increases. Just because the list of what is included doesn't specifically mention it does not seem to indicate that the animal companion doesn't get it. It would be like saying there is a horde of treasure. Your party takes all of it, including the worthless rocks that were part of it, and the DM saying, oh, so you only took the rocks?
Given the unfortunate lack of a full example in the article, and the absence of a specific mention of ability point acquisition, I had a cursory pan through some of the likely books (some of the Complete, Races, and environmental books) where I remembered seeing example druids and their like. I mainly focused on prestige classes, which typically include an example character.
Many of the example animal companions simply didn't cross over an appropriate HD threshold for one reason or another, but of the applicable examples I found, the beastmaster (Complete Adventurer), forest reeve (Complete Champion), nature's warrior (Complete Warrior), wavekeeper (Stormwrack), and wild plains outrider (Complete Adventurer) all avoiding adding any ability increases other than those automatically granted to Strength and Dexerity, as did the companion of a sample raptoran from page 83 of Races of the Wild (who wasn't associated with a prestige class).
I only found one example (in the lord of tides prestige class in Sandstorm) where an animal companion seemed to have gained an additional ability point from its Hit Dice.
Obviously, I didn't check every possible source out there, and the sample size is limited (since only creatures that crossed an appropriate 4 HD threshold due to their additional animal companion Hit Dice were valid), but the official examples clearly favoured one method over the other.
The kraken stirs. And ten billion sushi dinners cry out for vengeance. - Good Omens
= My most popular campaign item; for all your adventuring convenience.Show
Zauber's Mutable Rod: This rod has a number of useful functions that make it easier to live in the wilderness. It is made of polished wood, with five studlike buttons on one end. Each button produces a different effect when pressed. Unless otherwise noted, the rod’s functions have no limit on the number of times they can be employed. • When button 1 is pressed, one end of the rod produces a small flame, equivalent to a candle. • When button 2 is pressed, the rod unfolds into a two-person tent, complete with bedrolls and warm blankets. • When button 3 is pressed, the rod becomes a one-handed hammer, suitable for pounding pitons into a wall. • When button 4 is pressed, the rod becomes a sturdy iron spade. • When button 5 is pressed, the rod becomes a wooden bucket able to hold 2 gallons of liquid. Once per day, it can be commanded to fill with fresh water. If the rod is seriously damaged or broken in any of its alternate forms (button 2, 3, 4, or 5), it reverts to its basic rod form and cannot be activated for 24 hours. Moderate conjuration; CL 9th; Craft Rod, minor creation; Price 375 gp; Weight 2 lb.
