Animal Companion Feats & Ability Scores

[iwatt]

Not exactly on topic, but IMC I allow players to roll 5x4d6 drop the lowest for the abilities of their animal companions. Dosn't seem unbalanced, granted that since I've started using the rules the only PCs with this feature are Rangers. Truth is, animal companions stop being effective in combta past 6-7th level. Keeping them competitive means investment in magic items and a lot of buff spells. Usually my PCs have better thing to do with money and during combat, than focusing in upgrading their Animals.

 

[kenobi65]

How about changing size?... if they get all the benefits of being "improved" does that also include size? ... it would make sense, but would also result in BIG bonusses...

Nope. Animal companions don't get bigger, regardless of how many additional HD they get.

 

[Len]

How about changing size?... if they get all the benefits of being "improved" does that also include size? ... it would make sense, but would also result in BIG bonusses...

No, I don't think that does make sense. Monsters don't grow bigger in old age (except dragons). Adding hit dice represents an especially big & tough individual that is larger throughout its life.

The FAQ clarifies that animal companions don't grow when they gain hit dice. (Which makes me think I may be wrong. )

Given that animal companions don't get all of the benefits of extra monster hit dice, I'm inclined to believe that they only get the benefits that are stated in the rules for animal companions. Which doesn't include the size or ability bonuses. (They still get far more ability increases than monsters.)

(DM Gord: If you're reading this, please don't take it seriously when Devora levels up. )

 

[atom crash]

It doesn't change the rule for an animal companion, though. 1 feat per 3HD, +1 ability point per 4HD, which can be placed anywhere but in Int.

When the ranger in my campaign levelled up and her animal companion got bonus HD, I totally forgot to add the ability point boost. She'll be glad to hear that Spot the Wolf-hound got an extra point of Con and thus 4 extra HP.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

When the ranger in my campaign levelled up and her animal companion got bonus HD, I totally forgot to add the ability point boost. She'll be glad to hear that Spot the Wolf-hound got an extra point of Con and thus 4 extra HP.

Nice. Con is one of the best choices, too. They already get str/dex for being a companion, but those extra hp can be a lifesaver. A better fort save is never bad, either.

As far as the question above, no, animal companions never gain size. It's not just animal companions, though. Familiars and Paladin Special Mounts are the same. Creatures that gain bonus HD through class features never gain size increases. Size Advancement is a DM tool used to create particularly powerful specimens of a certain critter, (for example, a DM might want to create an "alpha male" dire wolf to lead his pack of dire wolves, and Advance it a size-category,) not a means of ordinary animals growing, for whatever reason.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

Not exactly on topic, but IMC I allow players to roll 5x4d6 drop the lowest for the abilities of their animal companions. Dosn't seem unbalanced, granted that since I've started using the rules the only PCs with this feature are Rangers. Truth is, animal companions stop being effective in combta past 6-7th level. Keeping them competitive means investment in magic items and a lot of buff spells. Usually my PCs have better thing to do with money and during combat, than focusing in upgrading their Animals.

If it were a Druid it would not be so cut and dried. When my druid hits 7th level and upgrades to a Dire Wolf, she will be tripping the bejezuz out of every Medium humanoid we meet. My party is a little odd because we do not have an optimized tank. Who is the optimal choice to buff is pretty situational.

 

[Pickaxe]

If it were a Druid it would not be so cut and dried. When my druid hits 7th level and upgrades to a Dire Wolf, she will be tripping the bejezuz out of every Medium humanoid we meet. My party is a little odd because we do not have an optimized tank. Who is the optimal choice to buff is pretty situational.

Apologies for the hijack, but I'm curious as to what people think of changing out animal companions (for druids, mainly), especially whether or not to upgrade. I have a 4th level halfling druid with a riding dog. Do others prefer the wolf or another animal? Do you swap out at 4th/7th/10th, and for what? It seems that the potential swap at 4th is not great, because you can have a 4HD dog instead of a 3 HD leopard. At 7th, you can get the brown bear or the dire wolf. I like the wolf's trip, but how about the multiple attacks of the bear?

And, to go back to the topic, we do give the animal companion an ability boost every 4 HD. I added an extra point to Strength, because at 6th I can get him up to 18, but I will put the next boost into Con (if I don't swap out).

--Axe