Help with my animal companion [Archive] - Wizards Community

Help with my animal companion [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
onyxserpent
09-02-05, 10:02 PM First of all, hello to everyone, and I just want to say this is my very first post on here!

I am currently playing a 6th level Druid (version 3.5). I had a black bear, but (it's a long story) we were forced to part ways. My DM set us up for a new adventure, which ended with the party rescuing an ape and a leopard!
Wounded and thirsty, the leopard was in bad shape. I helped him as much as I could, (calm animals/wand CLW/warp wood/create water/cat's grace) and before you knew it, he was beginning to like me, pouncing around proudly and at full strength.

Anyway, this is no ordinary leopard. It has these stats:

STRENGTH - 18 INTELLIGENCE - 2
DEXTERITY - 21 WISDOM - 14
CONSTITUTION - 17 CHARISMA - 8
*ALSO - +2 HIT DICE*
My questions are :

1- Since I am 6th level, I look at the chart on page 36 of the PHB, I see that my animal gets +2 bonus HD. My DM said this will stack with the +2 HD he gave the companion. A leopard starts at 3d8+6 HD. What will he be at now? Will it be 7d8+14?

2- According to the same chart, the leopard also gets +1 to his strength & dexterity scores which makes his STR at 19 and his DEX at 22. With a 19 strength, what will his full attack be? Normally, it's Bite +6 (1d6+3) and 2 Claws +1 (1d3+1).

3- (to go with #2) What will his base attack bonus be?

4- What will his Rake be at? Normally it's +6 (1d3+1). This would obviously increase also, right?

5- Would the animal get three feats (for it's 1st, 3rd, and 6th HD) ? Or would it get one feat since it was already at 3 HD, and it increased at least 3 more HD?

I have been playing for 2 years now, but this is the first time I ever had an animal companion, and it's a little confusing.
tarsia
09-03-05, 08:54 AM Let's see what I can recall without all my books...

As for 1) .. for the HD it should be 7d8+21 (with a con of 17 that's +3 HP per HD)

As for 2) and 3) and 4) . . . I'm going to make the assumption that the attack you listed is what the base leopards is in the book, not what it is after applying the modified stats you listed your DM as giving you.

Now leopards normally come with weapon finesse (bite).
For BAB, based on the table in the 'improving monsters' section of the monster manual, it's new BAB would be +5 .. I think. May want to double check that with someone.

So:
Bite: +11 (1d6+4)
2 Claw: +9 (1d3+2)
Rake: +9 (1d3+2)

From what I can recall and deduce.

Also, his AC would be 17 now instead of 15 (which is what the book lists) because of his new Dex.

Some skills would also get boosted by a +2 bonus because of the increased Dex.

And with the new HD come some more skill points, but I don't remember where to look that up.

Also his Reflex save would be 2 better from Dex, and Fort would be 1 better from Con. I don't know if improving HD also modifies its base saves.. but I would think it would.

As for 5) I believe the feat progression works as it does for everything else, so it would gain another feat at 6HD, and you can pick that one (assuming your DM agress on your choice I'm guessing) but the rest it should already have since a default leopard is 3 HD already.

Hope I didn't muck anything up too badly. :D
onyxserpent
09-03-05, 02:38 PM Ok,
1- on page 274 in the Monster Manual I see that the leopard already has two feats (alertness & weapon finesse). But it doesn't specify which weapon. Would it be claw or bite?

2- (QUOTE)Bite: +11 (1d6+4)
2 Claw: +9 (1d3+2)
Rake: +9 (1d3+2)(/QUOTE)

So how do you calculate the animals base attack bonus? I can't seem to find that.
I see on page 134 in the Player's Handbook that when you attack, your attack bonus (in melee) is your base attack + your strength modifier + your size modifier. In this case, there is no size modifier, and weapon finesse will make it my DEX modifier. So I add my DEX modifier (+6) to the +5 (if +5 is really my BAB) for a total of +11? I still can't understand how to calculate this. Where did the base attack bonus of +5 come from?

3- What feat would be a good selection for this leopard? Are there any good animal feats to suggest? :thinks:
tarsia
09-03-05, 03:25 PM From the base stats of a leopard, it's BAB is +2 and it's bite to hit is +6 ---that's leave a +4 unaccounted for, but that could only come from its Dex modifer, so that's why I'm assuming its bite is weapon finessed. Plus the bite is the main attack - many animals often have their main attack finessed because often their dex is better than their str.

I don't know what page it's on (I'm using the open source materials online for 3.5 to reference this) but there's a table titled: "Creature Improvement by Type" [it's in the increasing by HD section]. I'm pretty sure it's in the back of the Monster Manual somewhere. A lot of stuff is. :)

Anyway, according to the table, an animal's BAB is HD x 3/4 (as cleric). As a test I checked the leopards BAB per the book - 3 x .75 = 2 (round down), so that works out. So with the new HD of 7 . . . 7 x .75 = 5 (after rounding).

As for feats... well.. check out the back of the monster manual. There are some animal feats there. One that comes to mind is 'improved natural attack', which it could take given its new BAB which would increase the damage die by one step for one attack (most likely the bite, but that's up to you). There are also other things like 'trip' that it could take as well.
onyxserpent
09-04-05, 01:35 AM Thanks for your help... If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be all alone, waiting for answers.
I think I'm beginning to grasp it now.... We'll see tomorrow when I meet up with my DM. If you want, I'll let you know how it all works out.

By the way, any info on an online campaign to join? I would like to join one (any level) and I play 3.5 D&D.
tarsia
09-04-05, 03:04 PM Glad I could help. By all means, mentions how it goes.

Don't have any info on any online campaigns. I know they exist, but that's about it. :D
20goingon1232
09-04-05, 11:07 PM For Animal Companions, extra HD gives extra Feats and skill points (1/HD because of low Int), but not increased size or stat increase. Saves (high Ref and Fort, I think) and BAB (Med) increase accordingly.

So, for your leopard, it would have the following extra over the base (which your DM gave you) because of its AniCom status:
+2HD (going from 5-7), which also gives it +2 BAB, +1 Saves
+2 Natural AC
+1 Str/Dex
+1 bonus trick
+2 skill points
+1 feat at 6HD

Weapon Finesse in 3.5 do NOT need you to specify the weapon it applies to. It applies to ALL light weapons you can use. Natural and unarmed attacks are always considered light.
onyxserpent
09-06-05, 10:51 PM Hey, thanks for the help.

My animal companion is finally complete!
I misunderstood my DM, he did give me +2 to all ability scores (except for intelligence), but he gave me +2 hit ponts per hit die. The leopard only increased from the original 3d8 to 5d8, and his sheet looks like this:

STR- 19 Base attack/grapple- +3/+7 AC- 19
DEX- 22 Full attack- Bite +9 (1d6+4) HP- 48
CON- 17 - 2 Claws +4 (1d3+2)
INT- 2 Rake- +9 (1d3+2)
WIS- 14
CHA- 8

The story went like this:
A party of 5 of us are at war with LOTS of ogres, orcs, & goblins (led by the terrible Gorrath). Previously, throughout the day, we defeated a couple dozen orcs, but the one called Pet Clair got away. We knew we were in trouble, Clair would tell Gorrath about us five, and Gorrath would plan an attack with too many creatures for us to defeat. But, little did Gorrath know we were at the aid of Sir John, who had men lined up (on our side) ready to head out shortly.
I just completed my 24 hour prayer, exhausted and weak, and I didn't even get to pray for spells before we were attacked again. My new companion & I, close to the wagon, notice 12 orcs charging us from behind. I yell out, "they're attacking from the rear!" and that when the initiative began. That's when things got interesting....
I am not the greatest in melee, and I'm definitely not a tank. I couldn't rely on spells that I didn't have {I had neutralize poison [3rd], bear's endurance [2nd] and all my 0 level spells} so it was instantly time to see what the leopard could do.
I tell him "assist defend!" (bonus trick #1) as I took a five foot step closer to the wagon, in between the bars & the wagon (getting cover). The orcs charged, I was safe for that round; they didn't even notice me.
The second round, I called "attack!" (bonus trick #2) and the leopard did just that. There was an orc within five feet from us, and the leopard got a full attack on him, dropping him with his claws (max damage on bite & 1claw + bard music + prayer = dead orc). I stayed in my little spot for that whole battle, while the leopard protected me and became a menace to anyone who came near me. Out of the dozen, the leopard dropped five orcs, while the four others killed the rest.
It was a quick battle, but before you knew it, the 3rd wave arrived. Gorrath, 4 ogres, 12 orcs, and 10 goblins immediately ambushed us, and I could not hide from this fight.
Still in my little crevice, wand of cure in my hand, I had to crawl under and stabilize the Bard (he went to -9 from 2 hits). Then the Fighter fell, and he needed treatment also (we don't have a cleric). The only spell I ever casted that night was Summon Nature's Ally III (in lieu of the neutralize poison) to call a dire wolf, who attacked & quickly killed anyone who was trying to get at the leopard & I. Then Sir John's men arrived, and helped us defeat Gorrath, Pet Clair & the others.
To end the story, I didn't get hit once that night. More impressively, the leopard wasn't hit either.
20goingon1232
09-06-05, 11:02 PM Sounds about right. At low levels, anicomps are mean. In my level 1 campaign (we are level 3 now), the other druid's anicomp, a riding dog, (my druid didn't have one yet as I had to get clear of a few rules and DM hurdles with where I was taking my character first) made about 80% of the party's kills. And then it got eaten by hobgoblins... We had revenge on the little punks.

Now, both my druid and the other druid have anicomps (riding dogs). It is gonna be a fun session when combat starts...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
onyxserpent 09-02-05, 10:02 PM	First of all, hello to everyone, and I just want to say this is my very first post on here! I am currently playing a 6th level Druid (version 3.5). I had a black bear, but (it's a long story) we were forced to part ways. My DM set us up for a new adventure, which ended with the party rescuing an ape and a leopard! Wounded and thirsty, the leopard was in bad shape. I helped him as much as I could, (calm animals/wand CLW/warp wood/create water/cat's grace) and before you knew it, he was beginning to like me, pouncing around proudly and at full strength. Anyway, this is no ordinary leopard. It has these stats: STRENGTH - 18 INTELLIGENCE - 2 DEXTERITY - 21 WISDOM - 14 CONSTITUTION - 17 CHARISMA - 8 ALSO - +2 HIT DICE My questions are : 1- Since I am 6th level, I look at the chart on page 36 of the PHB, I see that my animal gets +2 bonus HD. My DM said this will stack with the +2 HD he gave the companion. A leopard starts at 3d8+6 HD. What will he be at now? Will it be 7d8+14? 2- According to the same chart, the leopard also gets +1 to his strength & dexterity scores which makes his STR at 19 and his DEX at 22. With a 19 strength, what will his full attack be? Normally, it's Bite +6 (1d6+3) and 2 Claws +1 (1d3+1). 3- (to go with #2) What will his base attack bonus be? 4- What will his Rake be at? Normally it's +6 (1d3+1). This would obviously increase also, right? 5- Would the animal get three feats (for it's 1st, 3rd, and 6th HD) ? Or would it get one feat since it was already at 3 HD, and it increased at least 3 more HD? I have been playing for 2 years now, but this is the first time I ever had an animal companion, and it's a little confusing.
tarsia 09-03-05, 08:54 AM	Let's see what I can recall without all my books... As for 1) .. for the HD it should be 7d8+21 (with a con of 17 that's +3 HP per HD) As for 2) and 3) and 4) . . . I'm going to make the assumption that the attack you listed is what the base leopards is in the book, not what it is after applying the modified stats you listed your DM as giving you. Now leopards normally come with weapon finesse (bite). For BAB, based on the table in the 'improving monsters' section of the monster manual, it's new BAB would be +5 .. I think. May want to double check that with someone. So: Bite: +11 (1d6+4) 2 Claw: +9 (1d3+2) Rake: +9 (1d3+2) From what I can recall and deduce. Also, his AC would be 17 now instead of 15 (which is what the book lists) because of his new Dex. Some skills would also get boosted by a +2 bonus because of the increased Dex. And with the new HD come some more skill points, but I don't remember where to look that up. Also his Reflex save would be 2 better from Dex, and Fort would be 1 better from Con. I don't know if improving HD also modifies its base saves.. but I would think it would. As for 5) I believe the feat progression works as it does for everything else, so it would gain another feat at 6HD, and you can pick that one (assuming your DM agress on your choice I'm guessing) but the rest it should already have since a default leopard is 3 HD already. Hope I didn't muck anything up too badly. :D
onyxserpent 09-03-05, 02:38 PM	Ok, 1- on page 274 in the Monster Manual I see that the leopard already has two feats (alertness & weapon finesse). But it doesn't specify which weapon. Would it be claw or bite? 2- (QUOTE)Bite: +11 (1d6+4) 2 Claw: +9 (1d3+2) Rake: +9 (1d3+2)(/QUOTE) So how do you calculate the animals base attack bonus? I can't seem to find that. I see on page 134 in the Player's Handbook that when you attack, your attack bonus (in melee) is your base attack + your strength modifier + your size modifier. In this case, there is no size modifier, and weapon finesse will make it my DEX modifier. So I add my DEX modifier (+6) to the +5 (if +5 is really my BAB) for a total of +11? I still can't understand how to calculate this. Where did the base attack bonus of +5 come from? 3- What feat would be a good selection for this leopard? Are there any good animal feats to suggest? :thinks:
tarsia 09-03-05, 03:25 PM	From the base stats of a leopard, it's BAB is +2 and it's bite to hit is +6 ---that's leave a +4 unaccounted for, but that could only come from its Dex modifer, so that's why I'm assuming its bite is weapon finessed. Plus the bite is the main attack - many animals often have their main attack finessed because often their dex is better than their str. I don't know what page it's on (I'm using the open source materials online for 3.5 to reference this) but there's a table titled: "Creature Improvement by Type" [it's in the increasing by HD section]. I'm pretty sure it's in the back of the Monster Manual somewhere. A lot of stuff is. :) Anyway, according to the table, an animal's BAB is HD x 3/4 (as cleric). As a test I checked the leopards BAB per the book - 3 x .75 = 2 (round down), so that works out. So with the new HD of 7 . . . 7 x .75 = 5 (after rounding). As for feats... well.. check out the back of the monster manual. There are some animal feats there. One that comes to mind is 'improved natural attack', which it could take given its new BAB which would increase the damage die by one step for one attack (most likely the bite, but that's up to you). There are also other things like 'trip' that it could take as well.
onyxserpent 09-04-05, 01:35 AM	Thanks for your help... If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be all alone, waiting for answers. I think I'm beginning to grasp it now.... We'll see tomorrow when I meet up with my DM. If you want, I'll let you know how it all works out. By the way, any info on an online campaign to join? I would like to join one (any level) and I play 3.5 D&D.
tarsia 09-04-05, 03:04 PM	Glad I could help. By all means, mentions how it goes. Don't have any info on any online campaigns. I know they exist, but that's about it. :D
20goingon1232 09-04-05, 11:07 PM	For Animal Companions, extra HD gives extra Feats and skill points (1/HD because of low Int), but not increased size or stat increase. Saves (high Ref and Fort, I think) and BAB (Med) increase accordingly. So, for your leopard, it would have the following extra over the base (which your DM gave you) because of its AniCom status: +2HD (going from 5-7), which also gives it +2 BAB, +1 Saves +2 Natural AC +1 Str/Dex +1 bonus trick +2 skill points +1 feat at 6HD Weapon Finesse in 3.5 do NOT need you to specify the weapon it applies to. It applies to ALL light weapons you can use. Natural and unarmed attacks are always considered light.
onyxserpent 09-06-05, 10:51 PM	Hey, thanks for the help. My animal companion is finally complete! I misunderstood my DM, he did give me +2 to all ability scores (except for intelligence), but he gave me +2 hit ponts per hit die. The leopard only increased from the original 3d8 to 5d8, and his sheet looks like this: STR- 19 Base attack/grapple- +3/+7 AC- 19 DEX- 22 Full attack- Bite +9 (1d6+4) HP- 48 CON- 17 - 2 Claws +4 (1d3+2) INT- 2 Rake- +9 (1d3+2) WIS- 14 CHA- 8 The story went like this: A party of 5 of us are at war with LOTS of ogres, orcs, & goblins (led by the terrible Gorrath). Previously, throughout the day, we defeated a couple dozen orcs, but the one called Pet Clair got away. We knew we were in trouble, Clair would tell Gorrath about us five, and Gorrath would plan an attack with too many creatures for us to defeat. But, little did Gorrath know we were at the aid of Sir John, who had men lined up (on our side) ready to head out shortly. I just completed my 24 hour prayer, exhausted and weak, and I didn't even get to pray for spells before we were attacked again. My new companion & I, close to the wagon, notice 12 orcs charging us from behind. I yell out, "they're attacking from the rear!" and that when the initiative began. That's when things got interesting.... I am not the greatest in melee, and I'm definitely not a tank. I couldn't rely on spells that I didn't have {I had neutralize poison [3rd], bear's endurance [2nd] and all my 0 level spells} so it was instantly time to see what the leopard could do. I tell him "assist defend!" (bonus trick #1) as I took a five foot step closer to the wagon, in between the bars & the wagon (getting cover). The orcs charged, I was safe for that round; they didn't even notice me. The second round, I called "attack!" (bonus trick #2) and the leopard did just that. There was an orc within five feet from us, and the leopard got a full attack on him, dropping him with his claws (max damage on bite & 1claw + bard music + prayer = dead orc). I stayed in my little spot for that whole battle, while the leopard protected me and became a menace to anyone who came near me. Out of the dozen, the leopard dropped five orcs, while the four others killed the rest. It was a quick battle, but before you knew it, the 3rd wave arrived. Gorrath, 4 ogres, 12 orcs, and 10 goblins immediately ambushed us, and I could not hide from this fight. Still in my little crevice, wand of cure in my hand, I had to crawl under and stabilize the Bard (he went to -9 from 2 hits). Then the Fighter fell, and he needed treatment also (we don't have a cleric). The only spell I ever casted that night was Summon Nature's Ally III (in lieu of the neutralize poison) to call a dire wolf, who attacked & quickly killed anyone who was trying to get at the leopard & I. Then Sir John's men arrived, and helped us defeat Gorrath, Pet Clair & the others. To end the story, I didn't get hit once that night. More impressively, the leopard wasn't hit either.
20goingon1232 09-06-05, 11:02 PM	Sounds about right. At low levels, anicomps are mean. In my level 1 campaign (we are level 3 now), the other druid's anicomp, a riding dog, (my druid didn't have one yet as I had to get clear of a few rules and DM hurdles with where I was taking my character first) made about 80% of the party's kills. And then it got eaten by hobgoblins... We had revenge on the little punks. Now, both my druid and the other druid have anicomps (riding dogs). It is gonna be a fun session when combat starts...