Natural Bond [CAdv] and Alternative Animal Companions

[DnDNerd]

Lg

i have a question, does any one know how to get the natural bond feat in Living Greyhawk. In the rules its says its limited, i REALLY want this feat for my char. ill have a 10hd tiger at 6th level if i can get it.

 

[FireLance]

i have a question, does any one know how to get the natural bond feat in Living Greyhawk. In the rules its says its limited, i REALLY want this feat for my char. ill have a 10hd tiger at 6th level if i can get it.

Sorry, but the feat won't do this. Your effective druid level is still capped at your character level. So, a 6th-level druid with Natural Bond does not gain any advantage from this feat. A 6th-level druid/1st-level fighter with Natural Bond would have an animal companion as if he was a 7th-level druid, and could select a tiger as an animal companion.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Sorry, but the feat won't do this. Your effective druid level is still capped at your character level. So, a 6th-level druid with Natural Bond does not gain any advantage from this feat.

Unless his effective druid level is already reduced somehow - for instance, if he has a 4th-level animal companion like an ape.

A 6th-level druid/1st-level fighter with Natural Bond would have an animal companion as if he was a 7th-level druid, and could select a tiger as an animal companion.

No, he couldn't.

"A druid of sufficiently high level can select her animal companion from one of the following lists..."

A tiger companion requires a druid of sufficiently high level... namely, 7th.

Natural Bond adds three to your effective druid level for the purpose of bonus hit dice, extra tricks, special abilities, and other bonuses the companion receives.

It doesn't add three to your effective druid level for purposes of determining what alternative animal companions are available.

A Drd6/Ftr1 with Natural Bond could have a normal animal companion with bonuses as if he were a 7th level druid (6, +3 for Natural Bond, capped at 7 for character level), or a 4th-level animal companion with bonuses as if he were a 6th level druid (6, -3 for a 4th level companion, +3 for Natural Bond), but he can't have a 7th-level animal companion (like a tiger) at all, because he isn't 'a druid of sufficiently high level'.

-Hyp.

 

[FireLance]

Well, I'm not going to argue with Hyp's interpretation of the RAW. I will, however, point out that this interpretation gives a boost to the higher-grade animal companions of pure-classed druids, which are already quite powerful, and is thus more in line with the "metacap-breaking" feats such as Sudden Empower and Sudden Maximize, rather than the "multiclass-catchup" feats such as Practised Spellcaster.

IMC, I would probably house-rule it to increase the effective druid level for all purposes related to the animal companion, provided it does not increase the effective druid level (before adjustments for higher-grade animal companions) to more than character level. The "order of operations" IMC would be:
1. Natural Bond
2. Increases to effective druid level which explicitly increase it above character level (such as the Beastmaster class ability)
3. Adjustments to effective druid level for having a higher-grade animal companion

 

[DnDNerd]

oops

ya sorry about that what i meant to say is at 7th level i'd have a 10 hd tiger

Druid 6
+ Beastmaster 4 (1 level + 3 bonus special abilaty)
This means i could pick a tiger from the list

and for the bonuses

+ natural bond 3
- 6 (High Level Animal)

= 7

meaning my efective level does not exceed my actual level

but my question still remians unanswered does any one know how to get the natural bong feat in living greyhawk.

Peace

 

[Thanee]

Can, then, a 10th level druid with a Wolverine companion and the Natural Bond feat apply the 9th-11th adjustments to the companion, since 10 -3 +3 does not exceed his character level?

I would say no.

It's not the level of the druid that gets lowered for 'higher level' animal companions, but the effect the druid's level has on the animal companion. At least, that's how I would see it.

Bye
Thanee

 

[DnDNerd]

no one has answered my question yet

 

[Hypersmurf]

It's not the level of the druid that gets lowered for 'higher level' animal companions, but the effect the druid's level has on the animal companion.

That's exactly what gets raised by Natural Bond, so the two cancel out

-Hyp.

 

[MacMathan]

Interesting idea. I had always though of it as more of catch up skill for multi-classed druids and rangers.

It makes for some very tough animal companions with a straight druid. Not that it matters from a rules stand-point but would this allow the animals to have more HD than the Druid himself?

It looks like it would. Then my worry, from a DM/balance stand point, would be the already powerful druid class also having a 5hd friend at level 4. That pretty much means the animal will be as tough or tougher than the melee types in the party so they may feel over shadowed.

It would think it would be somewhat like allowing leadership companions at or above the PCs level rather than 2 or 3 behind.

I think it may fly as written but I do not know if I would allow it IMC that way. It will be interesting to see if there is any coherent errata or clarification from WoTC.(not holding my breath

 

[Len]

I had always though of it as more of catch up skill for multi-classed druids and rangers.

I'm sure that's how it was intended. But we can't let a loophole go unexploited, can we?