Animal Companion... or player. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Animal Companion... or player. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Monsco
08-08-06, 01:20 AM I want everyones opinion on this idea i'm throwing around.

I want to play as the animal compainion of a druid. This animal has had awaken cast on it (Im still looking for a story/loophole for that) so its smart, but never talks. The druid is another player. we've talked about it, and he thinks its cool. I wanted anyones opinions on anything about it.

oh, and a backstory/loophole would be cool to. :mage:
Zheon
08-08-06, 01:46 AM wow i think thats actually a really good, origional idea. maybe you could talk the DM into making you closer to the power level of a player, too. i mean, animal companions are still just companions. maybe a few more HD and human level intelligence. overall, i like the idea.
Alric
08-08-06, 01:48 AM Do you want the abilities from it? A way around it may be to not be one at all. Instead be a wolf or whatever, and then just level on your own. Then you could take the companion abilities as feats. If your just a companion you wouldn't level on your own and all you would get is the companion abilities and it would probably suck for you.

I am not sure how you would do a wolf with class, but thats the way I would try to do it. The other player wont take an animal and you will be an awaken animal with class. The DM would probably let you use a feat to get share spell and there you go.
red_scare87
08-08-06, 02:41 AM It's a very interesting idea to say the least.

Maybe you should check out the Rhydan race from the RPG Blue Rose, it may be closer to what you want. Just shift some flavor stuff around, and you've got it.

...Rhydan are basically just awakened animals...more or less.
Heatseeker
08-08-06, 03:03 AM How about this!! (For the backstory, I mean...)

Plotpoint A falls down the old well in his secluded little homeville. Plotpoint B saves him and all that crap.

Or you could do something real. Like this--

One day while this guy was young, he saw a herbalist (Plotpoint A) come to town. this dude's mother was really sick. so this dude had plotpoint a come down to his home and heal her. now this dude was absolutely fascinated. So Plotpoint A Took in dude and taught him in the ancient ways of the drudic arts. Seven years into the future, Dude and Plotpoint A are about to say their goodbyes. As their hands are shaking, or hugs are being exchanged, or whatever, some google-eyed ghost face killer comes out of nowhere and Easy-Off BAM! Plotpoint A's cut down.:ghosted:

Meanwhile, On some other far-off plain, A druid and his Celestrial wolf companion (whom had Awaken cast on him previously) Were travelling through the great places of Their world. When, once again, Came that very same ghost-faced killer. But this time, however, our ghastly little friend missed slightly, And The druid had time enough to activate a prepared Gate rune and let the wolf escape Before he got his one-way ticket to celestia or wherever. The shock of this wolf's best friend (And alpha male) Shocked him enough to never speak again. (yet obvously not enough that he couldn't save his own hide. :dancin: )

Moveing on, The wolf and the dude both meet because they're trying to get this really slippery turkey. (Who's actually a level 68 Sorcerer/10 Master of many Forms, but that's not important unless you want it to be.) Being a Druid, He and the wolf naturally get along. Through a game of scharades on the wolf's part, they realize that both of their Alpha males (I hate the term "master) have been killed by the same jerk. So they team up to bring him down.

Now for the Ghost Faced killer's story. He's After The All, A book containing the histories of all the plains, gods, everything, Every Divine and Arcane secret and spell, and so much information on everything there is and is to be, written by the god before gods, Whom was overthrown by the gods and his son, Pelor, and locked away in the final layer of the infinite layers of the abyss. The ghost faced killer is killing random High-level druids because it is said that the secret to where the ancient artifact lay is engraved on the heart of "the one who is truly one with everyting." It is said when this "chosen one," you could say, is killed, his chest will burst forth with the still beating heart, and the heart will land peacefully in the killer's hand. And here's a plot twist that you never expected--It's not engraved on the heart of the main Character! (Actually, it's engraved on the heart of a level 2 gnome ranger/wizard with a squirrel companion, whom you might or might not encounter within the campaign.)

Howzzat?

There might be some flaws, I know, and lord knows how many times it's been used, but I still like it anyway, ya know? You might or might not include ressurection spells in your game, and you might not like the whole mythology of the story, so adjust as needed. or get over it and do as i say. In fact, just do as i say. forget the adjustment bit. yeah... :dragon:

So that's my :twocents: worth.
geekling
08-08-06, 05:05 AM So I'm going to be the fly in the ointment here and state that this might well not be a very good idea.

Of course, much of it depends on the kind of games you play in your group.

But assuming that this is for a long running, RP heavy campaign with more players that just you and the Druid.

Any character that is built around the premise of 'never talks' is one of those things that just brings nothing to the other players and has a tendency to either get ignored of quickly merely become anyoing to the rest of the group depending what the player does to make up for this lack of IC communication.
kelvinaw273
08-08-06, 06:59 AM I'll add to that fly, unbfortunately, with the fact that:

1) You have no hands

2) You cannot use conventional items like armour or weapons, shields or other items like wands

3) You cannot cast spells or become a spellcaster

4) You cannot use certain skills such as disable device, open lock etc.

5) You are effectively limited in class to being a ranger-equivilent (fighting and scouting) - but you have no missile caperbility.

6) Lastly, you are detracting from the ranger/druid's character because they would normally control their own animal companion as an extension (and perk) of their character.

I give this 10/10 for originality, but only 2/10 for practicability.

That said, you might try a psychic warrior type character class with this creature. It would give you benefit to a host of beneficial powers that might make up for your lack in other areas.
Analysis
08-08-06, 07:47 AM ... a friend planned something like this, but with him as my familiar. He was supposed to be a talking owl (able to grip small things with his claws) based on Merlin's owl in the old Disney King Arthur movie... :)

The idea is nice, but consider some option that lets you communicate. Maybe telepathy? A wolf with psychic warrior levels? :)

EDIT: You beat me to it. :D
Alric
08-08-06, 01:33 PM Actually animals can wear armor and they can also wear magic items. You can't use a weapon though. What you could do is be a fighter and get weapon focus and weapon spec bite, combat reflexes, trip(animal version), improved natural armor, improved natural attack, multi attack, dodge, improved critial, thoughness, improved faint, improved grapple, improved initative, mobility and a whole lot of other things if you get into other books.

So theres really no reason you couldn't be a decent fighter. If you really wanted to you could also be a spellcaster if you got the metamagic feats to allow you to cast without speaking or using your hands and stuff. Your probably better off with a fighter though.

You could even be a rogue, get skills like jump, hide, tumble, swim, balance, spot, listen, climb, move silently. Then you can sneak up and sneak attack people with a bite. You can't disarm a trap or pick a lock but you can do everything else.
Serin Ghar
08-08-06, 08:49 PM As for weapons for your animal character, if you really wanted to, you could take a look at Lords of Madness. There's a mouth sword in there for Beholders. You might be able to talk to your DM to see if some crazy druid somewhere... ever thought of making something like that for an animal.

Sure, it would look silly, a wolf with a sword in his mouth fighting... but quite frankly, it looks silly when the intended Beholder does it, too.

There's also a weapon enchantment that allows animals, or creatures without hands to use the weapon. I forget what book its in though.

When you get enough money (and if the DM allows) you could always get a Cloak (Jacket? Coat?) of the Naga in Savage Species. It's pricy but it gives you two arms.
Erloas
08-08-06, 09:51 PM well there is also the possibility that you, the animal companion are a primate. That solves some of the issues such as lack of hands. Then you could use sign-language to talk, or it might not even be that unlikely that you would be able to talk, maybe not fluently but at least enough to get by. It might also be possible to level up a primate as a character class, maybe not every class but many of the melee oriented classes wouldn't be out of line.
geekling
08-09-06, 04:39 AM When you get enough money...

What money?

Animal companions don't get share of treasure. Neither does the wizard's familiar, or paladin's mount.
Nor do they get XP, an animal companion 'level' up when the PC owning it does. Animal companions, like the familiars, mounts, summoned creatures are not even part of the XP/CR/ECL calculations.
Fatalis_902
08-09-06, 09:44 AM I hate to be the wet blanket/rules lawyer here, but it says on page 202 of the PHB under the Awaken spell description "...An awakened animal can't serve as an ANIMAL COMPANION, familiar, or special mount." Sorry, but your idea of being the druid's awakened animal companion is right out.
nhs_boy
08-09-06, 07:48 PM I think you'll run into trouble if there's a large player group (for reasons mentioned by other people above).

It sounds like a great idea, though, for a 2-3 player campaign, either:
Druid and animal companion (nature-loving campaign)
or
Druid, stalwart hero ally, and animal companion (played high / epic style so there's no question of bickering)

Might have to try one of those sometime.

As a side note, a useful conceit I've found for allowing something to talk that really shouldn't is having the entire campaign be a tale that is being told by that character (and taking the assumption that said character learned how to speak / gained intelligence in the meanwhile).
That way, you can get plenty of dry 'narrative comments' from the 'dumb animal' which keeps the players entertained OOC, yet avoids the standard 'talking animal' cliche IC.
Pidmon
08-10-06, 12:29 AM In a campaign I'm running (two worlds merging, a Modern and a DnD world) one of the player's DnD sides is a redeemed fiendish panther. I allowed her to use her claws and jaws as magic weapons, as if the person casting the spells used Magic Fang rather than the equivilent. Of course, the other players are a psuedodragon sorceror and a human... So you can hardly call my idea typical.
arjomanes
08-10-06, 10:58 AM Well you could be an animal ally, rather than strictly an animal companion. Maybe the druid's animal companion is a friend or relative? Your younger brother? I like the psychic warrior idea with an animal, especially since communication is essential in a good game. Mutes, vows of silence, etc get tiring after a short time.
Tanus
08-11-06, 03:10 PM You could just RP it saying that you chose to stay with your Druid friend after he Awakened you. You just wouldn't get the abilities.

Also, Monk might be a good class for an animal to take since you wouldn't have to wear armor and would get enhanced natural attacks.
kelb_panthera
08-16-06, 02:16 AM Forgive me if I sound like a rules lawyer here, but PHB pg 202 says that an awakened animal can't be a companion, not an animal companion can't be awakened; of course, that means if the companion link was severed for whatever reason it could never be reestablished. The bonuses you'd get would be lost forever if the druid died or decided to take a new animal as his companion.

As for never talking, that's fine if you don't want any of the treasure that your group aquires. In fact, your complete lack of equipment could make up for your better than average abilities (animal companion abilities + class features for whatever class you take.) If, on the other hand, you want to get more than experience for your troubles, you're gonna need to say something to somebody IC. :D

As for Kelvinaw's coment about not being able to use items, that's simply not true, they'd just have to be specially made items. There's a section in one of the core books on the matter, but I can't remember where. :rolleye2:

Kelvinaw is, however, at least partially right about you not being able to be a spellcaster. Since you have no hands, somatic components could be a bit tricky; and since you don't talk verbal components are gone; and if you don't share in the group's treasure then you don't have much for material components. :D
Untamed_Soul
08-16-06, 08:08 AM As for the obvious hindrances you would have, I think it would be a great roleplaying experience. I know by saying "roleplaying" I probably got a few odd stares since the wolf can't talk, but when speak animals is cast you could no doubt talk then. Also roleplaying isn't just about speaking, it's how you act. I would encourage a player who came to me with this idea to really try it, it's different, it's a workable idea, and again it gives life to an animal companion that is most of the time just used as a meat shield by most players.

I would work out the mechanics with your DM as whether you leveled on your own or not though as it would suck to only level when the Druid did. As for not having hands, or abilities to hold equipment.... I say good. I always enjoyed playing the Monk in one of the Campaigns that had no love for material objects. One it fit with his personality, two it saved me as a player from keeping track of weight encumbrances.
thegreenronin
08-16-06, 10:31 AM I was in a short lived campaign where one of the pc's was an awakened elephant. His backstory was that a druid awakened him to guard his herd but he got tired of guard duty so eventually became an adventurer.

He was a beast in combat, but we eventually partywiped against a group of mindflayers.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Monsco 08-08-06, 01:20 AM	I want everyones opinion on this idea i'm throwing around. I want to play as the animal compainion of a druid. This animal has had awaken cast on it (Im still looking for a story/loophole for that) so its smart, but never talks. The druid is another player. we've talked about it, and he thinks its cool. I wanted anyones opinions on anything about it. oh, and a backstory/loophole would be cool to. :mage:
Zheon 08-08-06, 01:46 AM	wow i think thats actually a really good, origional idea. maybe you could talk the DM into making you closer to the power level of a player, too. i mean, animal companions are still just companions. maybe a few more HD and human level intelligence. overall, i like the idea.
Alric 08-08-06, 01:48 AM	Do you want the abilities from it? A way around it may be to not be one at all. Instead be a wolf or whatever, and then just level on your own. Then you could take the companion abilities as feats. If your just a companion you wouldn't level on your own and all you would get is the companion abilities and it would probably suck for you. I am not sure how you would do a wolf with class, but thats the way I would try to do it. The other player wont take an animal and you will be an awaken animal with class. The DM would probably let you use a feat to get share spell and there you go.
red_scare87 08-08-06, 02:41 AM	It's a very interesting idea to say the least. Maybe you should check out the Rhydan race from the RPG Blue Rose, it may be closer to what you want. Just shift some flavor stuff around, and you've got it. ...Rhydan are basically just awakened animals...more or less.
Heatseeker 08-08-06, 03:03 AM	How about this!! (For the backstory, I mean...) Plotpoint A falls down the old well in his secluded little homeville. Plotpoint B saves him and all that crap. Or you could do something real. Like this-- One day while this guy was young, he saw a herbalist (Plotpoint A) come to town. this dude's mother was really sick. so this dude had plotpoint a come down to his home and heal her. now this dude was absolutely fascinated. So Plotpoint A Took in dude and taught him in the ancient ways of the drudic arts. Seven years into the future, Dude and Plotpoint A are about to say their goodbyes. As their hands are shaking, or hugs are being exchanged, or whatever, some google-eyed ghost face killer comes out of nowhere and Easy-Off BAM! Plotpoint A's cut down.:ghosted: Meanwhile, On some other far-off plain, A druid and his Celestrial wolf companion (whom had Awaken cast on him previously) Were travelling through the great places of Their world. When, once again, Came that very same ghost-faced killer. But this time, however, our ghastly little friend missed slightly, And The druid had time enough to activate a prepared Gate rune and let the wolf escape Before he got his one-way ticket to celestia or wherever. The shock of this wolf's best friend (And alpha male) Shocked him enough to never speak again. (yet obvously not enough that he couldn't save his own hide. :dancin: ) Moveing on, The wolf and the dude both meet because they're trying to get this really slippery turkey. (Who's actually a level 68 Sorcerer/10 Master of many Forms, but that's not important unless you want it to be.) Being a Druid, He and the wolf naturally get along. Through a game of scharades on the wolf's part, they realize that both of their Alpha males (I hate the term "master) have been killed by the same jerk. So they team up to bring him down. Now for the Ghost Faced killer's story. He's After The All, A book containing the histories of all the plains, gods, everything, Every Divine and Arcane secret and spell, and so much information on everything there is and is to be, written by the god before gods, Whom was overthrown by the gods and his son, Pelor, and locked away in the final layer of the infinite layers of the abyss. The ghost faced killer is killing random High-level druids because it is said that the secret to where the ancient artifact lay is engraved on the heart of "the one who is truly one with everyting." It is said when this "chosen one," you could say, is killed, his chest will burst forth with the still beating heart, and the heart will land peacefully in the killer's hand. And here's a plot twist that you never expected--It's not engraved on the heart of the main Character! (Actually, it's engraved on the heart of a level 2 gnome ranger/wizard with a squirrel companion, whom you might or might not encounter within the campaign.) Howzzat? There might be some flaws, I know, and lord knows how many times it's been used, but I still like it anyway, ya know? You might or might not include ressurection spells in your game, and you might not like the whole mythology of the story, so adjust as needed. or get over it and do as i say. In fact, just do as i say. forget the adjustment bit. yeah... :dragon: So that's my :twocents: worth.
geekling 08-08-06, 05:05 AM	So I'm going to be the fly in the ointment here and state that this might well not be a very good idea. Of course, much of it depends on the kind of games you play in your group. But assuming that this is for a long running, RP heavy campaign with more players that just you and the Druid. Any character that is built around the premise of 'never talks' is one of those things that just brings nothing to the other players and has a tendency to either get ignored of quickly merely become anyoing to the rest of the group depending what the player does to make up for this lack of IC communication.
kelvinaw273 08-08-06, 06:59 AM	I'll add to that fly, unbfortunately, with the fact that: 1) You have no hands 2) You cannot use conventional items like armour or weapons, shields or other items like wands 3) You cannot cast spells or become a spellcaster 4) You cannot use certain skills such as disable device, open lock etc. 5) You are effectively limited in class to being a ranger-equivilent (fighting and scouting) - but you have no missile caperbility. 6) Lastly, you are detracting from the ranger/druid's character because they would normally control their own animal companion as an extension (and perk) of their character. I give this 10/10 for originality, but only 2/10 for practicability. That said, you might try a psychic warrior type character class with this creature. It would give you benefit to a host of beneficial powers that might make up for your lack in other areas.
Analysis 08-08-06, 07:47 AM	... a friend planned something like this, but with him as my familiar. He was supposed to be a talking owl (able to grip small things with his claws) based on Merlin's owl in the old Disney King Arthur movie... :) The idea is nice, but consider some option that lets you communicate. Maybe telepathy? A wolf with psychic warrior levels? :) EDIT: You beat me to it. :D
Alric 08-08-06, 01:33 PM	Actually animals can wear armor and they can also wear magic items. You can't use a weapon though. What you could do is be a fighter and get weapon focus and weapon spec bite, combat reflexes, trip(animal version), improved natural armor, improved natural attack, multi attack, dodge, improved critial, thoughness, improved faint, improved grapple, improved initative, mobility and a whole lot of other things if you get into other books. So theres really no reason you couldn't be a decent fighter. If you really wanted to you could also be a spellcaster if you got the metamagic feats to allow you to cast without speaking or using your hands and stuff. Your probably better off with a fighter though. You could even be a rogue, get skills like jump, hide, tumble, swim, balance, spot, listen, climb, move silently. Then you can sneak up and sneak attack people with a bite. You can't disarm a trap or pick a lock but you can do everything else.
Serin Ghar 08-08-06, 08:49 PM	As for weapons for your animal character, if you really wanted to, you could take a look at Lords of Madness. There's a mouth sword in there for Beholders. You might be able to talk to your DM to see if some crazy druid somewhere... ever thought of making something like that for an animal. Sure, it would look silly, a wolf with a sword in his mouth fighting... but quite frankly, it looks silly when the intended Beholder does it, too. There's also a weapon enchantment that allows animals, or creatures without hands to use the weapon. I forget what book its in though. When you get enough money (and if the DM allows) you could always get a Cloak (Jacket? Coat?) of the Naga in Savage Species. It's pricy but it gives you two arms.
Erloas 08-08-06, 09:51 PM	well there is also the possibility that you, the animal companion are a primate. That solves some of the issues such as lack of hands. Then you could use sign-language to talk, or it might not even be that unlikely that you would be able to talk, maybe not fluently but at least enough to get by. It might also be possible to level up a primate as a character class, maybe not every class but many of the melee oriented classes wouldn't be out of line.
geekling 08-09-06, 04:39 AM	When you get enough money... What money? Animal companions don't get share of treasure. Neither does the wizard's familiar, or paladin's mount. Nor do they get XP, an animal companion 'level' up when the PC owning it does. Animal companions, like the familiars, mounts, summoned creatures are not even part of the XP/CR/ECL calculations.
Fatalis_902 08-09-06, 09:44 AM	I hate to be the wet blanket/rules lawyer here, but it says on page 202 of the PHB under the Awaken spell description "...An awakened animal can't serve as an ANIMAL COMPANION, familiar, or special mount." Sorry, but your idea of being the druid's awakened animal companion is right out.
nhs_boy 08-09-06, 07:48 PM	I think you'll run into trouble if there's a large player group (for reasons mentioned by other people above). It sounds like a great idea, though, for a 2-3 player campaign, either: Druid and animal companion (nature-loving campaign) or Druid, stalwart hero ally, and animal companion (played high / epic style so there's no question of bickering) Might have to try one of those sometime. As a side note, a useful conceit I've found for allowing something to talk that really shouldn't is having the entire campaign be a tale that is being told by that character (and taking the assumption that said character learned how to speak / gained intelligence in the meanwhile). That way, you can get plenty of dry 'narrative comments' from the 'dumb animal' which keeps the players entertained OOC, yet avoids the standard 'talking animal' cliche IC.
Pidmon 08-10-06, 12:29 AM	In a campaign I'm running (two worlds merging, a Modern and a DnD world) one of the player's DnD sides is a redeemed fiendish panther. I allowed her to use her claws and jaws as magic weapons, as if the person casting the spells used Magic Fang rather than the equivilent. Of course, the other players are a psuedodragon sorceror and a human... So you can hardly call my idea typical.
arjomanes 08-10-06, 10:58 AM	Well you could be an animal ally, rather than strictly an animal companion. Maybe the druid's animal companion is a friend or relative? Your younger brother? I like the psychic warrior idea with an animal, especially since communication is essential in a good game. Mutes, vows of silence, etc get tiring after a short time.
Tanus 08-11-06, 03:10 PM	You could just RP it saying that you chose to stay with your Druid friend after he Awakened you. You just wouldn't get the abilities. Also, Monk might be a good class for an animal to take since you wouldn't have to wear armor and would get enhanced natural attacks.
kelb_panthera 08-16-06, 02:16 AM	Forgive me if I sound like a rules lawyer here, but PHB pg 202 says that an awakened animal can't be a companion, not an animal companion can't be awakened; of course, that means if the companion link was severed for whatever reason it could never be reestablished. The bonuses you'd get would be lost forever if the druid died or decided to take a new animal as his companion. As for never talking, that's fine if you don't want any of the treasure that your group aquires. In fact, your complete lack of equipment could make up for your better than average abilities (animal companion abilities + class features for whatever class you take.) If, on the other hand, you want to get more than experience for your troubles, you're gonna need to say something to somebody IC. :D As for Kelvinaw's coment about not being able to use items, that's simply not true, they'd just have to be specially made items. There's a section in one of the core books on the matter, but I can't remember where. :rolleye2: Kelvinaw is, however, at least partially right about you not being able to be a spellcaster. Since you have no hands, somatic components could be a bit tricky; and since you don't talk verbal components are gone; and if you don't share in the group's treasure then you don't have much for material components. :D
Untamed_Soul 08-16-06, 08:08 AM	As for the obvious hindrances you would have, I think it would be a great roleplaying experience. I know by saying "roleplaying" I probably got a few odd stares since the wolf can't talk, but when speak animals is cast you could no doubt talk then. Also roleplaying isn't just about speaking, it's how you act. I would encourage a player who came to me with this idea to really try it, it's different, it's a workable idea, and again it gives life to an animal companion that is most of the time just used as a meat shield by most players. I would work out the mechanics with your DM as whether you leveled on your own or not though as it would suck to only level when the Druid did. As for not having hands, or abilities to hold equipment.... I say good. I always enjoyed playing the Monk in one of the Campaigns that had no love for material objects. One it fit with his personality, two it saved me as a player from keeping track of weight encumbrances.
thegreenronin 08-16-06, 10:31 AM	I was in a short lived campaign where one of the pc's was an awakened elephant. His backstory was that a druid awakened him to guard his herd but he got tired of guard duty so eventually became an adventurer. He was a beast in combat, but we eventually partywiped against a group of mindflayers.