Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jedi_Dare_lonestar 06-18-06, 04:38 PM	I play D&D (i have 3 chars) anyone one of them is a Druid w/ a wolf as a familar witch is fine. My other two Char have there own animals that have been trained my Paladin has two trained wolfs ( i think there Artic wolfs) and my Rough Hawk for a while i wasn't useing them then i got stuck between a rock and hard spot so i started useing them and after the sesion was over i asked how much EXP my animals got and the DM looked at me and said " None animal don't get EXP or and they can't get any stronger" and i thought that was B.S. would someone tell me what they thank
utilitarian 06-18-06, 06:36 PM	Your DM is absolutely right! Trained animals which your character may have purchased or trained through the Handle Animal skill do not gain experience or advance. The only situations in which an "animal companion" advances is if you have that class feature (Animal Companion, Paladin Special Mount, Familiar, ect) or if you select a feat such as Wild Cohort.
Jedi_Dare_lonestar 06-18-06, 10:04 PM	ok, a couple thing then. why shouldn't animals be able to Adv? if you put time and money into them then they should get something out of it. The only thing i can do is have armor made for my animals and that runs me a butt load of money. The only thing i would like it for like ever three or four levels for something to happen there BAB go up 1d4 or something ok and how is it far that far that some animals "specail" as they may be get to go up?
Elric Lornhood 06-18-06, 11:44 PM	where is Wild Cohort? Don't think I ever heard of it.
utilitarian 06-19-06, 12:00 AM	I believe it's PHBII. Honestly I've only heard it talked about myself, so I can't give the specifics. Jedi_Dare_lonestar: Animals do not advance because they are of Animal Intelligence. A dog can't be more than a dog. Assuming that it is already in good shape physically (which all animals are assumed to be) It's not going to get any more out of "adventuring" with you other than learning a few tricks (via the Handle Animal skill) The second reason they don't is for a game mechanics reason. XP doesn't just appear out of mid air. Assuming you're using a standardized XP system from the RAW, the XP for the encounter is totalled, and split up amongst the recieving parties. The question then comes, who's xp are your animals taking? I doubt your party wants them sucking up equal portions of THIER xp, and I doubt you want to split your personal XP 4 ways. Bottom line, if you don't have a class feature which allows your animals to progress, they don't. The game just doesn't work that way otherwise everyone would spend all thier early gold on pets and animals and eventually end up with an unstoppable army of 15th level badgers or whatever. If you want better animals, just find and train bigger and stronger animals. Trade in your wolves for bears. You'll need increasingly higher Handle Animal checks to control those animals, but if you really want to go that route, that's your option. Honestly, I would have just rolled a druid o_O
Jedi_Dare_lonestar 06-23-06, 07:45 PM	ok you said that animals can't level up at all but what about monsters that have be cough and "taimed " besay tell me this i have a bearowl that i ought and taimed can i level that up and if no why not??
utilitarian 06-23-06, 09:11 PM	ok you said that animals can't level up at all but what about monsters that have be cough and "taimed " besay tell me this i have a bearowl that i ought and taimed can i level that up and if no why not?? Alright, first of all, I can barely understand what you're talking about here. Now I'm going to assume what you're saying is that you have caught and tamed an Owlbear. First of all, that's ridiculous. Owlbears are quite possibly one of the most difficult creatures to "tame" in existance (right up there with Hydras and Grey Renders) and the Handle Animal checks for them are off the chart. (DC 30 for an adult) So, right off the bat, I'm willing to wager that whatever DM is letting you "train" all these animals has very little idea what he's doing. Secondly, no, your "tamed" Owlbear doesn't advance in levels any more than your wolves or other animals do, because it is not a part of your character. Again, advancement does not simply appear out of nowhere. XP always comes from somewhere. Just tagging along with you does not somehow make an Owlbear, wolf, or any other kind of creature more powerful. A druid's wolf Animal Companion grows more powerful because of the bond it shares with the druid. A wizard's pseudodragon Familiar grows in prowness because of his own link with it. In both cases these creatures are PART of the class. This is why they advance. Let me paint you a scenero, according to the way you apparently think advancement works for "tamed" creatures. Utili the Gnome Bard purchases a dozen badgers in the first couple levels of his life. He trains them to follow him around and defend him. According to your misguided beliefs, these badgers somehow gain experience out of nowhere and grow more powerful as Utili advances. A score of levels later, Utili has advanced to a 14th level Bard, and because anything that happens to be following him around advances to, he now has a dozen 10th level badgers at his disposal. Utili becomes the single most powerful gnome bard in the history of the world. Do you see the problem? The bottom line is that if you "Tame" something, you have simply tamed it, it does not somehow become a part of your character and advance with him. A druid's animal companion is not simply a "Tamed" animal it is much more than that, which is why it advances.