Animal Characters

mmadsen · Nov 5, 2002

The recent Narnia d20? thread brought up talking animals, naturally enough, and I'm wondering if anyone has used animals as characters in their game?

What would you recommend for PC Animals that should advance with the rest of the party? Animals using the Monster Manual quasi-class "get the shaft" when it comes to advancement (no Skill points, no Feats), and character classes don't always seem like a good fit, e.g. Lassie, Rin-Tin-Tin, and Benji are heroic dogs, not dog Fighters, Rogues, or Druids. The Awaken spell's mechanics also add complications; you can't have a 1st-level talking dog, for instance, since he gets extra Hit Dice.

My solution has been to create a full-fledged Animal class with separate subclasses for dogs, cats, etc. Just like the Monster Manual quasi-class it gets:

BAB: As Cleric (or Animal)
Hit Dice: d8, As Cleric (or Animal)
Good Saves: Fort and Ref
Skill Points: 4/level

Then I just pick appropriate Class Skills for that animal and Bonus Feats for that animal.

mmadsen · Nov 5, 2002

Faithful Hound Class

The Faithful Hound is designed as a "better dog" -- perfect for Lassie and the like. I was looking for something on par with a normal character class that would allow an animal to excel at "animal stuff".

BAB: As Cleric (or Animal)
Hit Dice: d8, As Cleric (or Animal)
Good Saves: Fort and Ref
Skill Points: 4/level

Skills
(From the Monster Manual's Dog entry)
Listen
Spot
Swim
Wilderness Lore

(Others)
Animal Empathy (Human Empathy? "Ooh, look at the doggie!")
Balance (show dogs)
Handle Animal (sheep dogs)
Heel (oh, sorry, Heal, and I guess dogs aren't good at that)
Hide (not as well as a cat or fox)
Intimidate (guard dog)
Intuit Direction
Jump
Move Silently (again, not as well as a cat or fox)
Perform (circus dog)
Search
Sense Motive ("smell" fear, a lie, etc.)
Tumble (circus dog)

Bonus Feats
Alertness -- guard dog
Armor Proficiency -- so he can wear a studded leather vest
Combat Reflexes
Disarm -- as police dog
Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack
Endurance
Improved Disarm, Improved Trip -- without Expertise
Improved Grapple -- so a terrier can bite and hang on
Improved Initiative
Lightning Reflexes
Improved Bull Rush -- only for a "riding" dog
Run
Skill Focus -- on dog skill
Toughness
Track -- no need, since they already have Scent
Trip -- as wolf
Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization -- with Bite, obviously

You could probably have some fun with the Foe Hunter Feat aimed at cats, rats (for terriers), badgers (for dachshunds), etc.

mmadsen · Nov 5, 2002

Not-So-Faithful Cat

If you like the Dog class, I also thought up a few ideas for a Cat class, following the same pattern. I don't see the same potential for a "better cat" as for a "better dog". I can't think of any epic cats, and I can easily see a cat as a Sorcerer rather than a super-cat. Nonetheless, I thought I'd go through the skills looking for cat skills.

BAB: As Cleric (or Animal)
Hit Dice: d8, As Cleric (or Animal)
Good Saves: Fort and Ref
Skill Points: 4/level

Skills
(From the Monster Manual's Cat entry)
Balance
Climb
Hide
Listen
Move Silently
Spot

(Others)
Animal Empathy (Human Empathy? "Ooh, kitty!")
Bluff (you never know what a cat's thinking)
Innuendo (if cats could talk...)
Intimidate (they can scare off some surprisinly big dogs)
Jump (seems natural)
Tumble (they do always land on their feet)

Bonus Feats
(From Monster Manual)
Improved Trip (not much use when you're tiny...)
Pounce
Improved Grab
Rake

(Others)
Alertness
Combat Reflexes
Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack
Improved Initiative
Lightning Reflexes
Weapon Finesse (Bite and Claws)

candidus_cogitens · Nov 5, 2002

I think my PC is going to try to find an NPC seventh level wizard to turn him into something cool, like a dog or horse.

Polymorph Other would work quite nicely, as long as you're not a spellcaster, since you could no longer do the verbal and somatic components of spells. Also, you might not want to do it if your new DEX CON and STR scores would be lower than the ones you currently have.

Orias · Nov 5, 2002

I once played a wizard who was permanently polymorphed into a dog. He could only cast Still Spells or spells without somatic components.

candidus_cogitens · Nov 5, 2002

Orias said:
I once played a wizard who was permanently polymorphed into a dog. He could only cast Still Spells or spells without somatic components.

You would also have to have the Silent Spell feat. So, you'd end up casting all spells from slots two levels higher than normal. OUCH!

Balgus · Nov 5, 2002

candidus:
You would also have to have the Silent Spell feat. So, you'd end up casting all spells from slots two levels higher than normal. OUCH!

Not really- since you retain your int, wis and cha, you have the capacity to speak. Whether the DM rules that you need vocal chords or not is up to him. But it is no stretch of the imagination that a dog is able to speak- if he has the proper int.

Originally posted by Orias:
I once played a wizard who was permanently polymorphed into a dog. He could only cast Still Spells or spells without somatic components.

That is why you go Psionics- you don't have any verbal or somatic components. But the list is really short.

mmadsen · Nov 5, 2002

Not really- since you retain your int, wis and cha, you have the capacity to speak. Whether the DM rules that you need vocal chords or not is up to him. But it is no stretch of the imagination that a dog is able to speak- if he has the proper int.

This came up a bit in the Talking Animals! thread from a few weeks back. Certainly Awakened Animals have both human intelligence and the vocal chords to speak. A Wizard polymorphed into a dog though? I don't know.

Orias · Nov 5, 2002

He was allowed to speak. For reasons of him still being able to do stuff, he was allowed to speak. As for psionics, I don't really like psionics, but I should give them a try in 3rd Edition sometime soon.

Paragon Badger · Nov 5, 2002

Use the d20 Modern Physical-based basic classes!

Seriuosly the Strong, Fast, and Tough Hero classes could all be applied easily. The talents gained by them are merely physical and could be applied to an animal.

Strong Hero Talent Trees
Extreme Effort (Boost of Strength)
Ignore Hardness
Melee Smash

Fast Hero Talent Trees
Defensive (Uncanny Dodge, Defensive Roll, Opportunist)
Increased Speed

Tough Hero
Damage Reduction
Energy Resistance
Unbreakable (Remain Conscious, Robust, Second Wind, Stamina)

All work well. Give a bull a couple levels in Strong Hero and it can break down any door. Give a badger couple levels in Tough and you have a tank. Give a squirrel a couple in Fast and you got a dodging machine.