Druid animal companions

[MeepoTheMighty]

From the SRD:

Animal Companion: A 1st-level druid may begin play with an animal companion. This animal is one that the druid has befriended with the spell animal friendship.

and

Animal Friendship

...

At any one time, the character can have only a certain number of animals befriended to the character. The character can have animal friends whose Hit Dice total no more than twice the character's caster level. The character may dismiss animal friends to enable the character to befriend new ones.

Okay, so my 5th level druid should be able to have a 10 HD animal companion, right?

So then why, in the discussion on legendary animals in Masters of the Wild, does it say the following:

For example, a 1st-level adventuring druid can have a 2-HD wolf companion (a CR 1 creature)..... At 6th level, she can maintain a 6-HD animal companion, such as a brown bear..

What am I missing? Why can't I have a 12-HD companion at 6th level?

 

[starwolf]

Simple,
ERRATA! Animal Friendship has been corrected.
A sedentary druid (i.e. NPC) may have up to twice his level in HD worth of animal companions.... but actively adventuring druids may only have their HD equivalent in animal companions.

However a 1st level druid can have a 2 HD companion.

 

[Caliber]

Hehe, I type slow. Disregard what I said.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Simple,
ERRATA! Animal Friendship has been corrected.
A sedentary druid (i.e. NPC) may have up to twice his level in HD worth of animal companions.... but actively adventuring druids may only have their HD equivalent in animal companions.

However a 1st level druid can have a 2 HD companion.

Then why don't they put that errata into the SRD??

Okay, I see it now, on the SRD on Wizard's site - why are they different??

And it's not much of a rule, anyways....

At most, the character can have animal friends whose Hit Dice total no more than twice the character’s caster level (though the demands of adventuring generally restrict a character to half that number).

Generally? Generally?

Either make it a rule, or don't. Jeesh. Don't give me generalizations.

 

[DM_Matt]

A Druid on the road can only maintain their HD worth of companions. A druid who sticks close to home can maintain twice that. A druid can transition between them, attracting and losing followers as his status changes.

As far as I know, that's the rules consensus.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Yeah, I understand that, I just don't like the wording of the spell.

 

[Rel]

We ruled in our campaign that if the Druid was going to be adventuring in the same "general geographic area" (a subjective term if ever there was one) that he could locate a 2HD/level companion who would stick with him until he left the area.

Of course, both the main animal companions the Druid acquired during our campaign were killed and transformed into undead.

It happens that I am a Rat Bastard DM.

 

[Skaros]

We ruled in our campaign that if the Druid was going to be adventuring in the same "general geographic area" (a subjective term if ever there was one) that he could locate a 2HD/level companion who would stick with him until he left the area.

Of course, both the main animal companions the Druid acquired during our campaign were killed and transformed into undead.

It happens that I am a Rat Bastard DM.

Nah, I imagine dead animal companions are pretty common.

In our campaign they haven't tended to last very long at all, as well.

They should change the wording in the druid class description to say that "At any one time, the character can have only a certain number of animals doomed to die a horrible death for the character..."

hah

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Nah, I imagine dead animal companions are pretty common.

In our campaign they haven't tended to last very long at all, as well.

They should change the wording in the druid class description to say that "At any one time, the character can have only a certain number of animals doomed to die a horrible death for the character..."

hah

Bah. Only because they nerfed them.

I'd imagine a 10-HD animal would hold up pretty well amongst a party of 5th level characters.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Animal Companions have low AC, and it takes up to three Greater Magic Fang spells to really help them out. I use them to draw AoOs against approaching opponents, but archers kill them too easily.

[mini-rant]Barkskin is useless for druids. It doesn't stack with natural armor from Wildshape and it doesn't synergize with Animal Companions.[/mini-rant]