Can a spider-critter be an animal if it's got an Int of 2?

[Knight Otu]

Octopus and Squid are both in the SRD.

Now I feel stupid.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Well, it's for a product, so I want to try to hew toward official-dom. I want spiders that can be a drow druid's animal companions.

Okay, this makes more sense to me.

Nothing in the type rules object to semi-intelligent spiders being animals instead of vermin, just like a semi-intelligent slime monster would not be an ooze, but rather an aberration, because oozes have an Int of - too, if I recall correctly.

But a semi-intelligent ooze wouldn't be an animal. Neither, IMO, would a semi-intelligent spider. It'd be a magical beast or an aberration itself.

This doesn't help you, of course, because you specifically want the animal type in order to have them as companions. RAW, I can't see this flying. To hew as closely to the rules as possible, I'd suggest you create a feat "vermin companion" and have some of the drow take that. It could allow you to treat a vermin as having an Int of 1 for the purposes of bonus tricks only, and select them as animal companions.

 

[RangerWickett]

I think I'll just go with:

Animal Intelligence: Unlike most vermin, [CREATURE]s are about as intelligent as a dog. They can be trained as well as a wild animal, and can be chosen as a druid or ranger's animal companion as if they were animals.

Thanks for the work around idea!



Now for the one that I really think is pushing the envelope too much. It's a swarm of small, semi-intelligent spiders that operate as a single creature. They live in a special mass of webs of different types, which can be contracted and stretched to act like muscles, with the spiders themselves forming the "hard bits." I'd be okay with it being a magical beast if that's necessary, but I just like the mental image of a drow druid having, like, a tiger-shaped companion that's made out of spiders. Maybe a template that you could apply with a feat . . .

 

[Knight Otu]

Yeah, I'd say that's more of a template, and Magical Beast. After all, with such specialized webs, and way of living... extreme 'mimicry' beyond what's normally seen in nature, I'd say.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

for the one that I really think is pushing the envelope too much. It's a swarm of small, semi-intelligent spiders that operate as a single creature. They live in a special mass of webs of different types, which can be contracted and stretched to act like muscles, with the spiders themselves forming the "hard bits." I'd be okay with it being a magical beast if that's necessary, but I just like the mental image of a drow druid having, like, a tiger-shaped companion that's made out of spiders. Maybe a template that you could apply with a feat . . .

Before I continue, let me give due credit to a very cool image.

That said, I definitely think a feat and template are the way to go. This route also has the benefit of giving purchasers of the product a cool new template to play with outside of the product itself. I'd go with aberration, though, myself. I can't imagine the web creature as anything so normal as a magical beast.

So a template added to the creature. Then a feat to add the creature (specifically) to a druid's animal companion list (make sure to specify how the template affects the druid level of the critter it's applied to.)

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Aha..

ECS, Vermin Companion Feat {Prereq: Child of Winter feat, Drd 3rd}

Monstrous Spider, small is on the level-0 list.

ECS, Vermin Shape Feat.. Wildshape into Vermin forms.

IIRC, Swarm Companion is a Feat in a Dragon mag somewhere.

You could declare these racially granted feats for your chosen race.

Also.. *very cool image*

 

[Nonlethal Force]

I think I'll just go with:

Animal Intelligence: Unlike most vermin, [CREATURE]s are about as intelligent as a dog. They can be trained as well as a wild animal, and can be chosen as a druid or ranger's animal companion as if they were animals.

Thanks for the work around idea!

There ya go. Simple, straight to the point, an obvious exception but it is stated out in the open so people can take it or leave it. Your own creation. Sounds alot like my earlier suggestion.

 

[LokiDR]

Well, it's for a product, so I want to try to hew toward official-dom. I want spiders that can be a drow druid's animal companions.

Modify the druid. In the Eberron Campaign Setting, there is a feat called 'Child of Winter' that lets you treat vermin as animals with int 2, including charm and new summon nature's ally. This seems like a more reasonable path than inventing a new monster.

 

[Cheiromancer]

I think I'll just go with:

Animal Intelligence: Unlike most vermin, [CREATURE]s are about as intelligent as a dog. They can be trained as well as a wild animal, and can be chosen as a druid or ranger's animal companion as if they were animals.

Thanks for the work around idea!

Very elegant solution. Props to Knight Otu for suggesting it.

One of the advantages of it is that if there's a ranger with favored enemy: vermin, he'll still be able to get his bonus. It's nice that if it has the anatomy of a spider and looks like a spider, you can fight it like a spider. Fewer irritated players this way.

Now for the one that I really think is pushing the envelope too much. It's a swarm of small, semi-intelligent spiders that operate as a single creature. They live in a special mass of webs of different types, which can be contracted and stretched to act like muscles, with the spiders themselves forming the "hard bits." I'd be okay with it being a magical beast if that's necessary, but I just like the mental image of a drow druid having, like, a tiger-shaped companion that's made out of spiders. Maybe a template that you could apply with a feat . . .

I don't think you could fight it like a spider, or any other kind of large vermin. So it shouldn't be a vermin. I think it is of a level of weirdness equivalent to a gibbering mouther, so why not call it an aberration? Some kind of template would definitely be involved, imho.

 

[blargney the second]

Cool idea! Animal Cunning might be a slightly more accurate description. They're not exactly what I'd call "Intelligent", y'know?

-blarg