Post/Author/DateTime	Post
MattHawk 04-23-05, 10:51 PM	This is just a quick question that would be easy to answer if Search actually worked, but it doesn't, so here it goes: Does Awaken give an animal LA, or is an awakened animal's ECL just its HD? A thread about a Awakened Fiendish Squirrel really got me wondering about this, because for reasons that are too complicated to explain, such a character would fit me perfectly with a particular group I play with :)
MythMage 04-23-05, 11:32 PM	Thanks to their generally mundane and simple nature (compared to D&D monsters), few animals would deserve a level adjustment. I considered a few sample animals (elephant, eagle, light warhorse) and I don't think any of them deserve a level adjustment. At the very least, I feel confident that a squirrel wouldn't require any. Just out of curiosity, what squirrel stats are you using?
Borris 04-23-05, 11:45 PM	There can be no such thing as an awakened fiendish squirrel. Awaken can only be used on trees or animals, and a fiendish animal's type changes to magical beast.
MattHawk 04-24-05, 12:22 AM	Squirrel: http://members.tripod.com/squirrel_nutkin/tsr.htm As I understand it, the fiendish part came after the awakened part - savage species has some rituals and such to impart templates/other forms upon creatures, and as the backstory went, the squirrel was a wizard's experiment as the ultimate infultrator/assassin :) [Edit] The thread in question: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=418143
JiCi 04-24-05, 11:20 AM	I have personnally asked this question to the D&D FAQ guy. He said that, since the awakened animal gains 2 additionnal HD, then it is a LA of at least +2. But you need to calculate the total HD and the LA for each special abilities, so animals should a +3 to +5 LA (+1 stats, +1-2 armor, +1-2 special)