The Nature Knight, how would this work in AL - How would you rule it?

[aarduini]

I'm a fan of knights. I have maybe 6 characters that have at least one level of Paladin. My favorite feature of the paladin class is the find steed spell. I find it to be very flavorful and thematic without being over powered.

I love the concept of a savage knight riding a feral animal. I already have a Paladin of he ancients riding a Dire Wolf that is 14th level. He's a hell of a lot of fun, powerful (but not too powerful), and I got a great mini for it (I paint too). with that said, I want to take it a step further.

I'm thinking a Ranger or Barbarian/Druid. For the mount, I want to use Animal Friendship and Speak with animals. I figure if I keep the animal healthy and heal him when he's injured he will become used to being my mount. Then when I get awakened, he will become my true companion.

As a DM in AL, would you allow it? I DM a lot. I would.

 

[aarduini]

17 views and no comments? I guess I'm alone in my desire for a proper savage knight. He he. I'm trying to get a feel if i'm going to be denied my mount whenever I play outside my normal circles.

 

[devlin1]

Expect table variation.

 

[KahlessNestor]

AFB, so others can comment, but I see several problems.

1. Is Awaken in 5e? Is it even legal in AL? I know it isn't in PFS. It also turns your animal into an NPC, removing it from your control.

2. The only way to get an animal companion is via Beastmaster Ranger. You can't take creatures out of modules.

3. Most animal companions are medium, so the only way to ride is if you're small. Unless you chose like a hirse or something, if that's an option.

So, yeah, that's a lot of DM fiat that I probably wouldn't allow at my AL table, and probably take a lot of convincing to even allow at a home table. Not to mention that animal is super squishy.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[RulesJD]

I'm thinking a Ranger or Barbarian/Druid. For the mount, I want to use Animal Friendship and Speak with animals. I figure if I keep the animal healthy and heal him when he's injured he will become used to being my mount. Then when I get awakened, he will become my true companion.

As a DM in AL, would you allow it? I DM a lot. I would.

A few problems:

1. Find Steed is a spell with specific effects, so you won't get the same obedience or even actions out of a animal you happen to find.

2. AL doesn't like unusual things being brought from table to table, aka the animal companion you want without having to be an actual Beastmaster Ranger. Find Steed gets you around this, but I wouldn't expect too many DMs to permit you to just hand waive the requirement of actually finding and taming a wild animal at their individual table.

3. Awaken would help your plan, except it is a 5th level spell, which means Rangers never get it. It requires at least 9 levels in a full caster before you get it, which if you're multiclassing Barbarian/Druid is a looooong wait.

 

[aarduini]

Tanks for your responses. Let me address your concerns and explain why I would allow it.

1 - Find steed does not have specifics around it. There is all kinds of animal variants used for find steed. A 5th level paladin pre-gen created by AL had a Paladin with a bear as a steed. They purposely left the animal type up to the DM approval.

2 - The character's main class will be Druid. Animal Friendship, Animal handling and speak with animals are intended to be used to get around the animal's wildness. I would require the character to spend those slots at the beginning of the day to negotiate with the animal and then animal handling just before a battle. I would make the check easier the more time the character has the animal. The animal isn't intelligent(This is before awakened), so he is only a mount in combat. He can't attack if you are riding him.

3 - When the animal is awakened, it says the animal will stay with the character for 30 days. I personally think that this is cool and would allow it because I believe this is what was intended for the Druid. Older editions used Animal Friendship for how the Druid got his animal companion. Awakened is a 5th level spell, so the druid won't getting till almost tier 3. Its great flavor and an opportunity for role play. Find steed is a spell that gives the Paladin a companion. I don't see why animal friendship and awakened shouldn't give the druid a companion.

 

[RulesJD]

Tanks for your responses. Let me address your concerns and explain why I would allow it.

1 - Find steed does not have specifics around it.

2 - The character's main class will be Druid. *snip* The animal isn't intelligent(This is before awakened), so he is only a mount in combat. He can't attack if you are riding him.

3 - When the animal is awakened, it says the animal will stay with the character for 30 days. I personally think that this is cool and would allow it because I believe this is what was intended for the Druid. Older editions used Animal Friendship for how the Druid got his animal companion. Awakened is a 5th level spell, so the druid won't getting till almost tier 3. Its great flavor and an opportunity for role play. Find steed is a spell that gives the Paladin a companion. I don't see why animal friendship and awakened shouldn't give the druid a companion.

1. Yes, Find Steed does have specifics. Namely that it makes the creature intelligent + telepathic bond + spell sharing + undying loyalty. That is a massive difference that no amount of animal handling can match until the Awaken spell comes online.

2. Agreed on this point, which is also part of the 3rd comment. The fact that the creature isn't intelligent is a huge impact.

Lastly, and most importantly, the Paladin can get their Find Steed extremely easily by just recasting the spell. If/when your low AC/HP animal companion gets slammed by a Fireball, you'll be kind of screwed. Especially if you're stuck in a dungeon or terrain where beasts would not exist, which is most places in D&D.

 

[aarduini]

1. Yes, Find Steed does have specifics. Namely that it makes the creature intelligent + telepathic bond + spell sharing + undying loyalty. That is a massive difference that no amount of animal handling can match until the Awaken spell comes online.

Understood, I thought you were talking about restrictions. The fact that the befriended animal doesn't have those abilities makes it more fun. That's why I would do an animal handling check before each battle. I think the more I feed it, heal it and treat it well, the more loyal it will become.

Lastly, and most importantly, the Paladin can get their Find Steed extremely easily by just recasting the spell. If/when your low AC/HP animal companion gets slammed by a Fireball, you'll be kind of screwed. Especially if you're stuck in a dungeon or terrain where beasts would not exist, which is most places in D&D.

That's another restriction that gives me reason to allow it. If this happens the druid has to use more resources to find another animal.

 

[KahlessNestor]

But in AL you are not allowed to take things from the module that aren't specifically listed as such. Yoh also aren't allowed to just say "I have an animal companion...just because..." if it isn't a part of your class. The closest you can get is to buy a horse or riding dog. You start throwing in animal companions on classes that aren't allowed them and you start crowding out the table and stealing other players' time on the spotlight. This happens all the time in PFS.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[aarduini]

But in AL you are not allowed to take things from the module that aren't specifically listed as such. Yoh also aren't allowed to just say "I have an animal companion...just because..." if it isn't a part of your class. The closest you can get is to buy a horse or riding dog. You start throwing in animal companions on classes that aren't allowed them and you start crowding out the table and stealing other players' time on the spotlight. This happens all the time in PFS.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

Well, technically there is nothing that says you can't, and I'm willing to bet the AL Admins won't make a ruling on this and leave it to the individual DMs. That's why I was asking who would allow and who wouldn't. If I was DMing, I would allow it but I wouldn't let the character use it like a full time summoned animal. The creature is wild. It wouldn't be comfortable in a city or around the druids friends. I imagine the druid would be spending a lot of time keeping the animal happy.