Animal Companion feats

[Pinotage]

I seem to recall there being someting written somewhere that animals trained for war could wear armor. Am I missing something? I thought that armor proficiency on many animal companions wasn't required.

Pinotage

 

[cmrscorpio]

I seem to recall there being someting written somewhere that animals trained for war could wear armor. Am I missing something? I thought that armor proficiency on many animal companions wasn't required.

Pinotage

I believe you are remembering in the PHB where it tells you that certain animals like warhorses and wardogs are ridden easily into combat, without needing the constant Ride checks to control like regular horses.

I don't know of anything that makes any animals proficient in armor by default. Unless someone else can find something that says otherwise, I believe animals need to have armor proficiencies in order to use them without penalty just like all other creatures.

[edit] The Monster Manual II has a template called Warbeast that grants an extrordinary ability called Combative Mount that gives the animal proficiency in all barding. The template explicitly states that you are to assume that "war creatures" like the warhorse are assumed to already have that template. [/edit]

 

[Hypersmurf]

I don't know of anything that makes any animals proficient in armor by default. Unless someone else can find something that says otherwise, I believe animals need to have armor proficiencies in order to use them without penalty just like all other creatures.

The Animal Type description states: "Proficient with no armor unless trained for war."

That's in a Core book, which suggests it's not referring to the MM2 template. Unfortunately, it doesn't go into detail about what exactly is entailed.

I've seen two suggestions in the past - one is that it costs a trick for War Training (proficient with all armors, riding dogs can trip, horses and ponies can make proper hoof attacks); the other is that it costs a trick for War Training, Light (proficient with light armor, riding dogs can trip, horses and ponies can make proper hoof attacks), and then extra tricks for Medium and Heavy armor.

Warhorses are obviously trained for war by default.

-Hyp.

 

[akbearfoot]

Not trying to hijack the OPs thread, I'm just currently making a druid who is also focuses on animal companions. So I'll add my ideas in and see what others think.


I'm about to start a ebberon setting druid, for the age of wyrms campaign. So please no spoilers.

I originally designed a progression for a druid focused on wild shaping with warshaper/natures warrior, but decided to go back to mostly druid levels because sofar nobody in the group wants to play a healer.

Was thinking of taking Skill focus(handle animal) and Beast Totem(ECS) as my 1st level feat + human bonus feat...at 3rd I'll take Natural spell, and at 6th I'll take a level of beastmaster and the Totem Companion(ECS) feat. That will give me an effective druid level of 9th and allow me to have a Displacer beast companion with 3rd level companion bonuses.

at 9th I was planning to take companion spellbound so I can share spells at 30ft and by then I'll have a decent list of buff spells to share. The cool thing about the displacer beast is that even though its a magical beast, I can still cast animal based spells on it, as per the totem companion feat.

Seemed like a pretty sweet concept to me, to have an large 8HD pet with 3 attacks 10ft reach, 50% miss chance, and evasion at 6th level. It also has a 5 int and can SPEAK common. The alignment says usually lawful evil instead of -always- like most other monsters, so Im not sure if I can attract 1 with a non-evil alignment, I am hopeing so.

Comparing it to some of the dire animals it does less damage, but gets more attacks and has way more surviveability imo. Plus it can actually communicate with the group by speaking which I think would add a fun RP dynamic as the displacer beast can hurl his own insults at people for being dumb

1 thing to note is that the Totem companion feat has ambiguous wording...it says there is a minimum level requirement, but it's not listed as 'minimum character level'...Instead it just shows the chart that refers to effective druid level and references the chart in the PHB. So the way I read it is effective druid level will qualify you to take the feat at lvl 6, instead of waiting to lvl 9 because of the beastmaster bonus.

No word yet from the DM if he will let natural bond give effective bonuses or not, but I doubt it. I haven't written the character up for him yet to look at and approve, but sofar he said he didn't have a problem with me getting a displacer beast companion.

 

[Zurai]

Was thinking of taking Skill focus(handle animal) and Beast Totem(ECS) as my 1st level feat + human bonus feat...at 3rd I'll take Natural spell, and at 6th I'll take a level of beastmaster and the Totem Companion(ECS) feat.

You do not qualify for Natural Spell at 3rd level.

 

[ShadowChemosh]

As a druid's animal companion increases in hit dice, it gains feats as normal. So once a druid hits 3rd level, and his wolf jumps from 2HD to 4HD, it gains a feat at 3HD; similarly, when the druid hits 6th, the wolf hits 6HD as well, and gains another feat.
....

Just to point out that not only do Animal Companions not gain a size increase they also don't gain feats due to their bonus hit dice.

Per the FAQ
The animal companion rules - or, for that matter, pretty much any other effect that grants a creature bonus Hit Dice - don’t use the monster improvement rules presented in Chapter 4 of the Monster Manual. The rules in Monster Manual are for creating tougher versions of existing monsters, not for increasing the statistics of creatures who gain Hit Dice. An animal’s normal advancement line has absolutely nothing to do with the benefits it gains from being an animal companion, and vice versa.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Just to point out that not only do Animal Companions not gain a size increase they also don't gain feats due to their bonus hit dice.

You know, you're absolutely right, up until the part where you say "they also don't gain feats due to their bonus hit dice".

Bonus HD: Extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which gains a Constitution modifier, as normal. Remember that extra Hit Dice improve the animal companion’s base attack and base save bonuses. An animal companion’s base attack bonus is the same as that of a druid of a level equal to the animal’s HD. An animal companion has good Fortitude and Reflex saves (treat it as a character whose level equals the animal’s HD). An animal companion gains additional skill points and feats for bonus HD as normal for advancing a monster’s Hit Dice.

-Hyp.

 

[ShadowChemosh]

You know, you're absolutely right, up until the part where you say "they also don't gain feats due to their bonus hit dice".
.....-Hyp.

Oops my bad. Guess thats what I get for only reading the FAQ and not double checking the PHB.

Now back to the Feat thread already in progress....

 

[akbearfoot]

Wow, I can't believe I missed that...Could have sworn natural spell was one of the feats you can take early, but gain no benefit until you qualify for it.

OK so...

1st Beast totem, Skill Focus(handle animal)
3rd Companion Spellbound
6th Totem Companion
9th Natural Spell

Of course then I have to weigh the benefit of having the cool pet at 6th level vs being able to wild shape freely and still use magic for 3 extra levels. Not sure which is better

 

[Slaved]

If you really want feats that need skill points there is Open Minded.

You could also take feats from either the Book of Nine Swords or Magic of Incarnum.

With the first you can get a once per battle option plus an extra class skill and then you can follow up with a stance, +2 to everyones will save would be funny.

With the second you can get any of a host of very useful soulmelds. You can even spend more feats to be able to bind them and get further special abilities! A tripping wolf with sphinx claws could be very crazy!! And what animal companion does not want spell resistance? Basically just pick out whatever the animal is weakest against or could use some boosting in and pick whichever gives you a boost in that area.