Handle Animal while Wild Shaped?

[atomn]

Can a Druid use the Handle Animal skill to direct their animal companion while Wild Shaped? Handle Animal says: "Handle an Animal: This task involves commanding an animal to perform a task or trick that it knows." Would a roar or a gesture in animal form count or does it have to be a verbal or physical command in humanoid form? Thanks!

 

[moritheil]

Can a Druid use the Handle Animal skill to direct their animal companion while Wild Shaped? Handle Animal says: "Handle an Animal: This task involves commanding an animal to perform a task or trick that it knows." Would a roar or a gesture in animal form count or does it have to be a verbal or physical command in humanoid form? Thanks!

It's a class ability to handle your animal companion as a free action. I don't think you lose that class ability.

 

[atomn]

It's a class ability to handle your animal companion as a free action. I don't think you lose that class ability.

I think that class ability is in relation to the type of action the Handle Animal skills requires. (The Handle Animal skill allows characters to handle animals as a move action, while a druid or ranger can handle her animal companion as a free action.) But it doesn't say whether the use of the skill changes with the different form (human-like or Wild Shaped).

 

[Moon-Lancer]

While it doesn't make sense that a druid can command a animal companion while wildshaped, theirs nothing prohibiting it.

If the intent was that this was not possible, than it would have been stated.

*edit*
changed the whole darn thing.

 

[lukelightning]

I say sure, why not? Heck, I'd give you an ad-hoc bonus if you were wildshaped into a similar animal.

 

[frankthedm]

I say sure, why not? Heck, I'd give you an ad-hoc bonus if you were wildshaped into a similar animal.

If there are any immature players at the table, the comments generated by being the same animal as one's 'compainion' might not be worth it.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

good point. Theres no rule that forbids it. If it was the designers intent to forbid it, they would have.

Its one thing to gain a feature that may be at odds with another feature that come from two very different places, but its another to have a pure druid have two conflicting abilities such as wildshape and handle animal, and not state that they conflict.

 

[moritheil]

I don't even see a potential conflict.

Link (Ex)

A druid can handle her animal companion as a free action, or push it as a move action, even if she doesn’t have any ranks in the Handle Animal skill. The druid gains a +4 circumstance bonus on all wild empathy checks and Handle Animal checks made regarding an animal companion.

In no way is this language-based, so losing the ability to speak common should not matter one bit.

A druid loses her ability to speak while in animal form because she is limited to the sounds that a normal, untrained animal can make, but she can communicate normally with other animals of the same general grouping as her new form.

 

[frankthedm]

Its one thing to gain a feature that may be at odds with another feature that come from two very different places, but its another to have a pure druid have two conflicting abilities such as wildshape and handle animal, and not state that they conflict.

They don't give much warning to the wizard who casts invisibility and then realizes he can't read any of his scrolls since those are also invisible.

The commands one gives an animal are normally quite tied to one's own form. Though for the actual animal compainion, it does not seem unreasonable letting the commands 'translate'.

 

[moritheil]

The commands one gives an animal are normally quite tied to one's own form.

I'll disagree with that specific assertion because Link is a special ability that the companion gets. It seems we come to the same conclusion, though.