Druidic advancement of animal companions [Archive] - Wizards Community

Druidic advancement of animal companions [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
J_Strauss
07-11-05, 09:26 AM Hi !

This question was probably asked a thousand times either in this or in the character forum but since the search function doesn´t work for me and a quick look didn´t bring up anything useful, I have to ask again:

Do druidic animal companions automatically increase in size according to the number of their hitdice and the advancement steps given in the Monster Manual ?

For example: a 2nd level druid has a wolf as an animal companion (surprise, surprise). It has 2 hitdice. Now the druid earns some experience and advances to level 3. So his animal companion gets 2 additional hitdice. According to the MM a wolf with 4 hitdice is large.
So does the wolf now get all the large size adjustments (+8St, +4 Con, -1 AC, ...) IN ADDITION to the improvements he gains from the levelling of the druid (+2 nat armor, +1St/Dex...) ?

If this is discussed elsewhere, I´m happy with a link !

If you answer this yourself, it would be nice if you could cite the official rule(s) you´re referring to.
I couldn´t find something like "additional hitdice don´t change the size of the companion". It only says "Remember that extra Hit Dice improve the animal companion’s base attack and base save bonuses." There is nothing that indicates that companions don´t "grow".

Can you help me ?

Greetings,
J_Strauss
StormCrow42
07-11-05, 06:24 PM Druid animal companions do not grow in size when they improve. They DO get the feats, ability and skill bonuses for gaining hit dice. I'm fairly certain that the official FAQ has this answer in it.
Slagger the Chuul
07-12-05, 05:25 AM I'm fairly certain that the official FAQ has this answer in it.

It definitely does; you can find the download here. (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/er/20030221a)

Incidentally, the changes in 3.5 aim at avoid the problem of having giant animals following you around everywhere (which was a problem in 3.0, when your animal companion was usually a normal animal of its kind).

In speculation, I'd guess that the idea for having an animal companion improving with your druid levels came from the rules for familiars and the concept of legendary animals.
Agent Rasp
07-12-05, 08:52 AM As mentioned, animal companions do not increase in size as they gain HD.

However, if that druid you mentioned wants an animal companion that is larger than the norm for its kind, I wouldn't see any problem with him attracting it. I would just require him to be of a high enough level to acquire an animal companion of that CR.

For example, a Large, 4 HD wolf is CR 2 (unless I've misread something). All of the creatures on the "Level -3" section of the druid's list of potential animal companions are also CR 2 -with from 3-5 HD and of Medium or Large size- so it shouldn't be any problem to fit an advanced wolf in there as well.
J_Strauss
07-12-05, 04:36 PM Now I did find the relevant passage in the FAQ and have forwarded the information to our party druid.

Thank you for your help,
J_Strauss

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
J_Strauss 07-11-05, 09:26 AM	Hi ! This question was probably asked a thousand times either in this or in the character forum but since the search function doesn´t work for me and a quick look didn´t bring up anything useful, I have to ask again: Do druidic animal companions automatically increase in size according to the number of their hitdice and the advancement steps given in the Monster Manual ? For example: a 2nd level druid has a wolf as an animal companion (surprise, surprise). It has 2 hitdice. Now the druid earns some experience and advances to level 3. So his animal companion gets 2 additional hitdice. According to the MM a wolf with 4 hitdice is large. So does the wolf now get all the large size adjustments (+8St, +4 Con, -1 AC, ...) IN ADDITION to the improvements he gains from the levelling of the druid (+2 nat armor, +1St/Dex...) ? If this is discussed elsewhere, I´m happy with a link ! If you answer this yourself, it would be nice if you could cite the official rule(s) you´re referring to. I couldn´t find something like "additional hitdice don´t change the size of the companion". It only says "Remember that extra Hit Dice improve the animal companion’s base attack and base save bonuses." There is nothing that indicates that companions don´t "grow". Can you help me ? Greetings, J_Strauss
StormCrow42 07-11-05, 06:24 PM	Druid animal companions do not grow in size when they improve. They DO get the feats, ability and skill bonuses for gaining hit dice. I'm fairly certain that the official FAQ has this answer in it.
Slagger the Chuul 07-12-05, 05:25 AM	I'm fairly certain that the official FAQ has this answer in it. It definitely does; you can find the download here. (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/er/20030221a) Incidentally, the changes in 3.5 aim at avoid the problem of having giant animals following you around everywhere (which was a problem in 3.0, when your animal companion was usually a normal animal of its kind). In speculation, I'd guess that the idea for having an animal companion improving with your druid levels came from the rules for familiars and the concept of legendary animals.
Agent Rasp 07-12-05, 08:52 AM	As mentioned, animal companions do not increase in size as they gain HD. However, if that druid you mentioned wants an animal companion that is larger than the norm for its kind, I wouldn't see any problem with him attracting it. I would just require him to be of a high enough level to acquire an animal companion of that CR. For example, a Large, 4 HD wolf is CR 2 (unless I've misread something). All of the creatures on the "Level -3" section of the druid's list of potential animal companions are also CR 2 -with from 3-5 HD and of Medium or Large size- so it shouldn't be any problem to fit an advanced wolf in there as well.
J_Strauss 07-12-05, 04:36 PM	Now I did find the relevant passage in the FAQ and have forwarded the information to our party druid. Thank you for your help, J_Strauss