Animal Companions? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Animal Companions? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Raidst
11-15-05, 03:50 AM Hey everyone, I've been playing D&D since the revision of 2nd, amazingly, I've never played a druid and have just started a campaign as one...I've found numerous contradictions in books and supplements regarding their animal companions. I need these, and as many other tidbits as you can contribute, answered:
1. the phb states that an animal companion takes the type magical beast, other books such as
masters of the wild refute this, which is true?

2. are the bonus hd granted a companion actual HD?
a. if so do they gain the benefits of these hd (feats and skills, etc.)?

3. if both are true can they gain the bonus ability scores in int?
I'm really lost here so all the information you could give me would help....
thanks.
Jack Greylock
11-15-05, 05:27 PM 1. I don’t think this is the case in 3.5. It is true with Familiars but I don’t think it is true with Animal Companions.
2. Not sure what you mean by actual hit dice. If you mean that they get to roll another D8 to add to their hit points then yes. If you mean they gain feats and skills do to the increased hit dice, then yes. If you mean that they get larger do to the hit dice increase, then NO.
3. Yes they gain all the benefits of a charcter their level in hit dice. So at 4 hit dice they gain a stat bonus, as well as the bonus they get to Str and Dex for your druid levels
Ogre4Hire
11-15-05, 05:54 PM 1. Yes, if you're playing 3.5, Animal Companions are Magical Beasts [Augmented Animals]. In 3.0 (which is what Masters of the Wild is) they were simply animals and didn't get any bonuses at all (Druids simply got to have bigger animals)
Seeker95
11-15-05, 07:18 PM (Some of this is repeat of previous answers)

1. It is not a Magical Beast. It is an Animal.
This entry in the First Printing 3.5 PHB was changed with the Errata, and is not present in the current SRD or the Second Printing of the 3.5 PHB.

2. Yes. They are "actual HD".
2a. They do not get Feats, Skills, or any other benefit of advancement not explicitly listed in the Druid description.

3. No. See 2a.
StormCrow42
11-15-05, 07:18 PM 1. Yes, if you're playing 3.5, Animal Companions are Magical Beasts [Augmented Animals].
Ah, someone who has fallen for the trap of forgetting to read the errata. The errata states that a druid's animal companion isn't a magical beast, it's just a normal animal.

As for the OP's questions:

1. As I posted above, the PHB errata takes precedence over either, your animal companion is an animal. Masters of the Wild is a 3.0 book and animal companions have undergone SIGNIFICANT changes in rules between the two, so don't use MotW for guidance on how they work.

2. Yes, your companion gains skill points (1/level) and feats and stat bumps as appropriate. Some DMs feel the stat bumps from the table on page 36 are all that your companion receives, due to the description of the bonus HD line of the table (which would have answered your question about skills and feats). Expect some variation here, both views have valid arguements.

3. All animals have an INT of 1 or 2, so I don't believe that would be a valid use of your (debatable) stat bump, unless the animal started out with an intelligence score of 1.
StormCrow42
11-15-05, 07:19 PM 2a. They do not get Feats, Skills, or any other benefit of advancement not explicitly listed in the Druid description.
Except of course that the rules on page 36 of the PHB say that they DO gain skills and feats.
Seeker95
11-15-05, 07:24 PM Except of course that the rules on page 36 of the PHB say that they DO gain skills and feats.We are not in disagreement here. The entry in the PHB limits the gains associated with HD advancement. However, the animal does not gain the "Advancement Benefits" normally associated with the animal. A wolf companion does not get bigger (size increase, leading to stat increases, etc.) as it gains Druid-related HD.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Raidst 11-15-05, 03:50 AM	Hey everyone, I've been playing D&D since the revision of 2nd, amazingly, I've never played a druid and have just started a campaign as one...I've found numerous contradictions in books and supplements regarding their animal companions. I need these, and as many other tidbits as you can contribute, answered: 1. the phb states that an animal companion takes the type magical beast, other books such as masters of the wild refute this, which is true? 2. are the bonus hd granted a companion actual HD? a. if so do they gain the benefits of these hd (feats and skills, etc.)? 3. if both are true can they gain the bonus ability scores in int? I'm really lost here so all the information you could give me would help.... thanks.
Jack Greylock 11-15-05, 05:27 PM	1. I don’t think this is the case in 3.5. It is true with Familiars but I don’t think it is true with Animal Companions. 2. Not sure what you mean by actual hit dice. If you mean that they get to roll another D8 to add to their hit points then yes. If you mean they gain feats and skills do to the increased hit dice, then yes. If you mean that they get larger do to the hit dice increase, then NO. 3. Yes they gain all the benefits of a charcter their level in hit dice. So at 4 hit dice they gain a stat bonus, as well as the bonus they get to Str and Dex for your druid levels
Ogre4Hire 11-15-05, 05:54 PM	1. Yes, if you're playing 3.5, Animal Companions are Magical Beasts [Augmented Animals]. In 3.0 (which is what Masters of the Wild is) they were simply animals and didn't get any bonuses at all (Druids simply got to have bigger animals)
Seeker95 11-15-05, 07:18 PM	(Some of this is repeat of previous answers) 1. It is not a Magical Beast. It is an Animal. This entry in the First Printing 3.5 PHB was changed with the Errata, and is not present in the current SRD or the Second Printing of the 3.5 PHB. 2. Yes. They are "actual HD". 2a. They do not get Feats, Skills, or any other benefit of advancement not explicitly listed in the Druid description. 3. No. See 2a.
StormCrow42 11-15-05, 07:18 PM	1. Yes, if you're playing 3.5, Animal Companions are Magical Beasts [Augmented Animals]. Ah, someone who has fallen for the trap of forgetting to read the errata. The errata states that a druid's animal companion isn't a magical beast, it's just a normal animal. As for the OP's questions: 1. As I posted above, the PHB errata takes precedence over either, your animal companion is an animal. Masters of the Wild is a 3.0 book and animal companions have undergone SIGNIFICANT changes in rules between the two, so don't use MotW for guidance on how they work. 2. Yes, your companion gains skill points (1/level) and feats and stat bumps as appropriate. Some DMs feel the stat bumps from the table on page 36 are all that your companion receives, due to the description of the bonus HD line of the table (which would have answered your question about skills and feats). Expect some variation here, both views have valid arguements. 3. All animals have an INT of 1 or 2, so I don't believe that would be a valid use of your (debatable) stat bump, unless the animal started out with an intelligence score of 1.
StormCrow42 11-15-05, 07:19 PM	2a. They do not get Feats, Skills, or any other benefit of advancement not explicitly listed in the Druid description. Except of course that the rules on page 36 of the PHB say that they DO gain skills and feats.
Seeker95 11-15-05, 07:24 PM	Except of course that the rules on page 36 of the PHB say that they DO gain skills and feats.We are not in disagreement here. The entry in the PHB limits the gains associated with HD advancement. However, the animal does not gain the "Advancement Benefits" normally associated with the animal. A wolf companion does not get bigger (size increase, leading to stat increases, etc.) as it gains Druid-related HD.