Advancing Animal Companions
- Thread starter Stalker0
- Start date
I follow the rule where animal companions do not like to leave there home land (ie Forests, Desert, Swamp) or you can only have ½ lvl in HD. So When my Druid moves from one place to another She lets her animals go and gets new ones when they get to the place. I don’t have her spend a day looking for one. Just over the course of traveling she casts the spell and in a day gets a new animal of that land type. So this really dose not affect me. But if She found a animal that could go anywhere then she may want to keep it but I too would not make her spend xp for the +1 HD.
Wippit Guud
First Post
Well, in a PbP game, I'm playing a druid who's dire wolf companion is his mount, and he's going windrider to bind it as his chosen mount. Upping the HD of it is a good thing for a bound mount. Once she gets to max HD (if she ever does), I can release her as a companion, she's still my bound mount, and I have all this room for more animals.
Which means I can add to the conspiracy of 24 ravens that follows him around
Which means I can add to the conspiracy of 24 ravens that follows him around
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MadScientist
First Post
I'm another DM who had always house ruled animal companions so they could be advanced instead of dismissing them and finding a new companion. I did this long before MotW came out. I prefer the idea of a Druid/Ranger keeping their companions around for a long time.
That being said I think paying 200 XP to do this is really quite reasonable. It's not alot of XP, actually it's almost trivial beyond 3rd level, and teaching an animal new tricks takes alot of time (2 months per trick). I think the XP cost is well worth this saved time and I will probably use the MotW rule in my next campaign (assuming I ever find the time to get it going......).
That being said I think paying 200 XP to do this is really quite reasonable. It's not alot of XP, actually it's almost trivial beyond 3rd level, and teaching an animal new tricks takes alot of time (2 months per trick). I think the XP cost is well worth this saved time and I will probably use the MotW rule in my next campaign (assuming I ever find the time to get it going......).
whatisitgoodfor
First Post
Sorry, but that is wrong. It requires 2 months to train an animal to perform tricks. You can train the animal for all of his tricks simultaneously.
Saeviomagy
Adventurer
I was under the impression that the animal friendship spell automatically taught the animal simple tricks, not that subsequent training was necessary.
Furthermore, advancing your animal can have a significant advantage over simply selecting a new one - an advanced creature will often go up a size category, which can vastly improve it's utility.
Furthermore, advancing your animal can have a significant advantage over simply selecting a new one - an advanced creature will often go up a size category, which can vastly improve it's utility.
isoChron
First Post
Hm, doesn't it say that the animal to be bound has no other tie to anyone ? I don't have the books here but I think it's not possible to take an animal companion or a paladins mount as the windriders chosen mount.
The 200XP-rule is plain silly in my little world. Just let the animal take own XP from actions and it will advance with time. Or better the DM tells you sometimes that your companion behaves somewhat more experienced tougher.
But .... !!!!
If you ever plan to awaken that animal don't advance it !
As awakened animal (now magical beast) it gains ability points, HD and it's intelligent enough to take class-levels. So if your wolf (1HD) becomes awakened it is a 3HD Magical Beast. Now he can take a level as ranger or fighter and gets all benefits like a character at said level (feats, skillpoints, BAB, class abilities, savingthrows ...). And you can talk to him because he is able to speak one or more languages (No more speak with animals).
If you advance an animal before awakening it just gets HD ... no skillpoints (animals don't become smarter...) and no feats (they also don't learn anything new) and no better defense or attack (ok, if they change their size category they get stronger or something). I never understood why a wolf become large in a short period of time just because a druid spend 200XP ...
Just my 2 cents
Bye
Wippit Guud
First Post
isoChron said:
Masters of the Wild, page 78:
"This creature may not be the bonded companion (such as a familiar, paladin's mount, or animal companion) to anyone else at the time, and if the intelligence is 3 or higher, it must aslo agree to this relation."
Well, his mount isn't bonded to anyone else, it's bonded to him. Besides, that's just flavor, as he could be released as an animal companion and bonded as a chosen mount at the same time anyways.
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