Author Topic: How about @familiar for animals companions?  (Read 8138 times)

LoLJohnFerro

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #25 on: June 13, 2009, 08:15:55 AM »
Animals can talk if a werewolf and a were raven and anyother were creature can talk then with enough magic and a awken scroll you can make any animal talk . :|

That isn't a good comparison at all. Actually, it's a really bad one. A werecritter has human intelligence. An animal does not. Intelligence is important when considering the ability for speech.

Please take note that not all weres are humans a good many are just animals and nearly all weres can talk.

Axel

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #26 on: June 13, 2009, 09:02:41 AM »
Please take note that not all weres are humans a good many are just animals and nearly all weres can talk.

Okay, I'll take note. Now, what is your point? That were-creatures are able to speak says nothing about animals being able to speak in general.
« Last Edit: June 13, 2009, 12:22:45 PM by Axel »

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #27 on: June 13, 2009, 10:52:52 AM »
Uhm... What about Awakened animals? They can speak one language from whoever awakened them, plus one more language of their awakener for every positive point of Int bonus.

ethinos

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #28 on: June 14, 2009, 12:27:25 AM »
Actually, werecritters didn't start off as half-animals unless Ravenloft has a weird take on it. They all can change into animal or hybrid form. They also started out with a human (or similar demihuman) intelligence. Otherwise, all werewolves and the like started off as a normal person at some point. Critterweres are different, such as wolfweres. The are wolves that can turn into humanlike forms. I don't remember their Int scores, but they may not be of humanlike intellect. Someone needs to point me to some online bestiary if there was ever an exception to this rule.

Oh, and since we don't have Awakened animals here, that argument is a rather moot point. Pretending that your animal companion is Awakened would be cheesing.
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Emomina

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #29 on: June 14, 2009, 01:31:48 AM »
According to Denizens of Dread (Ravenloft's monster manual), Wolfweres have an INT of 14, and speak Sylvan and the local domain language.
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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #30 on: June 14, 2009, 01:34:50 AM »
Oh, and since we don't have Awakened animals here, that argument is a rather moot point. Pretending that your animal companion is Awakened would be cheesing.
What about the temporary effects of a certain 5th Level Druid spell, then?

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #31 on: June 14, 2009, 04:59:11 AM »
What about the temporary effects of a certain 5th Level Druid spell, then?

Argument for:  Awaken (NWN) is clearly inspired by Awaken (d20), which expressly allows the target to speak a language.
Argument against:  Awaken (d20) provides bonuses to Int and Cha, while Awaken (NWN) provides bonuses to Str, Con, and Wis.  Also, in d20 an awakened creature can't be a companion at all...

Still, within the context of NWN I can't see how it would hurt to allow companions under the effect of Awaken to talk.  It's not like the druids can possess their animals and send them off on some message-delivering chore :)

ethinos

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #32 on: June 15, 2009, 01:27:22 AM »
What about the temporary effects of a certain 5th Level Druid spell, then?

The Awaken spell in NWN is a simple buff spell that neither raises intelligence nor confers the ability to speak. Even if it did raise the Int to something capable of speaking (8 or so), that doesn't automatically grant the knowledge of speech. You'd need to learn one first, and to be honest, I am not even sure most animals even have the right vocal functions to even reproduce the sounds for human-like speech. Animals won't be speaking anytime soon in PotM.

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failed.bard

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #33 on: June 15, 2009, 02:57:13 AM »
Awaken
Transmutation
Level: Drd 5
Components: V, S, DF, XP
Casting Time: 24 hours
Range: Touch
Target: Animal or tree touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

You awaken a tree or animal to humanlike sentience. To succeed, you must make a Will save (DC 10 + the animal’s current HD, or the HD the tree will have once awakened).

The awakened animal or tree is friendly toward you. You have no special empathy or connection with a creature you awaken, although it serves you in specific tasks or endeavors if you communicate your desires to it.

An awakened tree has characteristics as if it were an animated object, except that it gains the plant type and its Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores are each 3d6. An awakened plant gains the ability to move its limbs, roots, vines, creepers, and so forth, and it has senses similar to a human’s.

An awakened animal gets 3d6 Intelligence, +1d3 Charisma, and +2 HD. Its type becomes magical beast (augmented animal). An awakened animal can’t serve as an animal companion, familiar, or special mount.

An awakened tree or animal can speak one language that you know, plus one additional language that you know per point of Intelligence bonus (if any).

XP Cost
250 XP.

In 3.5 PnP, the awaken spell also allows a tree to speak, and they definately don't have the right vocal capacity for it.

ethinos

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #34 on: June 15, 2009, 03:25:14 AM »
In 3.5 PnP, the awaken spell also allows a tree to speak, and they definately don't have the right vocal capacity for it.

I never said that the 3.5ed Awaken spell didn't allow for speech. In fact, I never mentioned it or its effects. What I was talking about was strictly the NWN version which operates simply as a buff spell. The parts about the vocal capability only applied when I mentioned if the Int score somehow got raised to a level that would support complex speech, since the NWN version does not confer any ability to speak in its description.
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DarkWyvern

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #35 on: June 15, 2009, 10:58:54 AM »
It's simple folks. We don't have awakened companions here.

Druid/Ranger Companions are natural animals of the wild that are befriended by the druid ranger. They make animal noises (Communication) but they do not speak like a normal person.

While the 3.5 Awakening spell may allow the companion to speak, the spell in game which we use does not. It effects Strength, Constitution, Wisdom (Which does not effect speech) and a bonus to attack. Therefore, using it and using the @companion to make your companion talk will be considered cheesing. So please don't do it. :D


Thank you.

failed.bard

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #36 on: June 15, 2009, 11:20:16 AM »
  This may not be the right thread for it, but is there a way to make emote animations work through the @ commands?  With a familiar you can possess and do i that way still, but with companions and summons you can't.

DarkWyvern

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #37 on: June 15, 2009, 11:49:36 AM »
Yes you can do the @companion then post *Growls low* and such things as that.

LoLJohnFerro

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #38 on: June 15, 2009, 11:54:48 AM »
Dragons dont growl they rawr!

Kaspar

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #39 on: July 09, 2009, 09:42:50 AM »
  This may not be the right thread for it, but is there a way to make emote animations work through the @ commands?  With a familiar you can possess and do i that way still, but with companions and summons you can't.

Necroing this thread. I think this idea here would be a really good addition.

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #40 on: July 09, 2009, 02:54:09 PM »
You can already do that.  type @animal and emote something, the little words pop over the companion's head.

This won't get put in, but is there any way we could ever get 'possess companion'?  Here's the thing.  Stealthy druid, the stealth buffs and the stealthy feat, and a panther familiar - with high hide and move silently.  We should be able to go anywhere and stealth it up, but I can't get the panther to enter stealth mode, so it's sort of worthless as a sneak.

The 'possession' might be taken advantage of, of course, but even if people used them to convey messages to other druids or whatnot, what difference is that from "Lassie", as long as only emotes are used?

If possession's not an option, how about putting the companion in the same mode as the owner?  If I'm stealthed, he's stealthed.  When I unstealth or tell him to attack, he unstealths and restealths upon finishing the attack.
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failed.bard

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #41 on: July 09, 2009, 03:01:36 PM »
  Animations.  The question is/was, is there a way to make the animations play?
  I am fully aware you can put ** and [] around what you make the summons say in order to write an emote, but currently, only familiars can play the animations, and you're required to posess them and emote directly to get them.

LoLJohnFerro

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Re: How about @familiar for animals companions?
« Reply #42 on: July 12, 2009, 10:24:44 PM »
You can already do that.  type @animal and emote something, the little words pop over the companion's head.

This won't get put in, but is there any way we could ever get 'possess companion'?  Here's the thing.  Stealthy druid, the stealth buffs and the stealthy feat, and a panther familiar - with high hide and move silently.  We should be able to go anywhere and stealth it up, but I can't get the panther to enter stealth mode, so it's sort of worthless as a sneak.

The 'possession' might be taken advantage of, of course, but even if people used them to convey messages to other druids or whatnot, what difference is that from "Lassie", as long as only emotes are used?

If possession's not an option, how about putting the companion in the same mode as the owner?  If I'm stealthed, he's stealthed.  When I unstealth or tell him to attack, he unstealths and restealths upon finishing the attack.


Just bring this back this is a good idea btw and should be looked into I hate having a panther with out being able to stealth it.