You have been taken by the Mists

Author Topic: Animal Companions  (Read 15445 times)

dark_majico

  • Guest
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #25 on: March 13, 2015, 04:49:10 PM »
OCTOPUS!!!


Dark Dreams

  • Undead Slayer
  • ***
  • Posts: 179
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #26 on: March 15, 2015, 10:03:38 AM »
My personal motivation for asking about this is I'd like to use a Crag Cat as an animal companion for my ranger at some point if possible.

Merry Munchkin

  • Dark Lord
  • *****
  • Posts: 941
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #27 on: March 15, 2015, 10:35:47 AM »
Dude have any of you ever been on a dungeon run with a bunch of friends? The buff class uses the melee class as a meat shield, and the meat shield does things like trigger traps or run into things recklessly. That's what friends do when they're out grave robbing.

You need a newer class o' friends -- you wouldn't need to do this if you picked up a friendly neighborhood rogue and had him/her take care of your traps and stuff.  No need to blow up your familiars and animal companions either.


Burleigh Burrowell - RIP

Bluebomber4evr

  • Head DM, Developer and Ravenloft Trivia Guru/Community Council
  • Administrator
  • Dark Power
  • *
  • Posts: 20622
    • http://www.nwnravenloft.com
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #28 on: March 15, 2015, 01:36:30 PM »
My personal motivation for asking about this is I'd like to use a Crag Cat as an animal companion for my ranger at some point if possible.
Crag cats are magical beasts. They can't be animal companions.

Bluebomber4evr: The Justice, not you, since 2002

Ehver

  • Dark Lord
  • *****
  • Posts: 699
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #29 on: March 15, 2015, 02:15:30 PM »
My personal motivation for asking about this is I'd like to use a Crag Cat as an animal companion for my ranger at some point if possible.
Crag cats are magical beasts. They can't be animal companions.

They're magic?!

Whut...
Ilinca Cristescu - Urban Witch
Player Faction: The Mistraiders

A normal snake

  • SsSSSSsssss
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 3749
  • Ssss
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #30 on: March 15, 2015, 03:34:13 PM »
Dude have any of you ever been on a dungeon run with a bunch of friends? The buff class uses the melee class as a meat shield, and the meat shield does things like trigger traps or run into things recklessly. That's what friends do when they're out grave robbing.

You need a newer class o' friends -- you wouldn't need to do this if you picked up a friendly neighborhood rogue and had him/her take care of your traps and stuff.  No need to blow up your familiars and animal companions either.
I am the rogue. It's just faster to disarm a trap by touching the box. These dudes are all about efficiency.


Crag cats are magical beasts. They can't be animal companions.
That's surprising, they seem like cougars.

Bluebomber4evr

  • Head DM, Developer and Ravenloft Trivia Guru/Community Council
  • Administrator
  • Dark Power
  • *
  • Posts: 20622
    • http://www.nwnravenloft.com
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #31 on: March 15, 2015, 04:13:03 PM »
My personal motivation for asking about this is I'd like to use a Crag Cat as an animal companion for my ranger at some point if possible.
Crag cats are magical beasts. They can't be animal companions.

They're magic?!

Whut...

Crag cats are magical beasts. They can't be animal companions.
That's surprising, they seem like cougars.

They're immune to enchantment spells, which is an extraordinary ability, which classifies them as magical beasts as per the D&D rules. Naturally Bioware screwed up and made them animals, but they technically should be magical beasts.

Bluebomber4evr: The Justice, not you, since 2002

Zee Captain

  • New to the Mists
  • *
  • Posts: 8
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #32 on: March 15, 2015, 09:24:19 PM »
What about the lions? Those would be neat to have as a companion addition, or camel or lizard :D

dazza555

  • Undead Master
  • ****
  • Posts: 266
  • Calibardbarian
    • http://morningstarani.deviantart.com
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #33 on: March 15, 2015, 09:42:20 PM »
... Or a raptor!

Jeebs

  • Dark Lord
  • *****
  • Posts: 952
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #34 on: March 16, 2015, 12:14:13 AM »
Personally, given the setting, I would like to see ravens available as companions.

Bluebomber4evr

  • Head DM, Developer and Ravenloft Trivia Guru/Community Council
  • Administrator
  • Dark Power
  • *
  • Posts: 20622
    • http://www.nwnravenloft.com
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #35 on: March 16, 2015, 03:36:37 AM »
I actually wouldn't mind seeing extra animal companions, but they're not absolutely necessary to update and they'll take up a lot of space.

In other words, don't get your hopes up, guys.

Bluebomber4evr: The Justice, not you, since 2002

Merry Munchkin

  • Dark Lord
  • *****
  • Posts: 941
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #36 on: March 16, 2015, 10:10:46 PM »
I am the rogue. It's just faster to disarm a trap by touching the box. These dudes are all about efficiency.


You. Have. No. Idea. How. Much. Pain. Those. Three. Sentences. Just. Caused. Me.   :bawling:


Burleigh Burrowell - RIP

whatdoesitmater

  • New to the Mists
  • *
  • Posts: 21
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #37 on: March 16, 2015, 11:14:31 PM »
I actually wouldn't mind seeing extra animal companions, but they're not absolutely necessary to update and they'll take up a lot of space.

In other words, don't get your hopes up, guys.

Simple solution, give the PC the ability once per level to set the appearance of their familiar, animal companion to something close to the default model. this way, you could have the look of a raven, or an owl, or a seagull, or a finch or any of the other birds CEP gives, and the stats are the same for the falcon/hawk of the normal choice. Same for the bear animal companion- the PC could choose to have a black, brown, polar bear, yet the stats are of the standard bear model. DMs could even do this in game, without any scripted requirements. The change would hold until the PC levels up and selects the familiar/companion for the new level. We are talking the RP look here- not game mechanics. Personally I don't care what the difference is for a polar bear  from a black bear or a the standard bear animal companion. I know I'd rather have a black bear for my druid than the standard brown/grizzly model.

A normal snake

  • SsSSSSsssss
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 3749
  • Ssss
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #38 on: March 16, 2015, 11:48:22 PM »
I actually wouldn't mind seeing extra animal companions, but they're not absolutely necessary to update and they'll take up a lot of space.

In other words, don't get your hopes up, guys.

Simple solution, give the PC the ability once per level to set the appearance of their familiar, animal companion to something close to the default model. this way, you could have the look of a raven, or an owl, or a seagull, or a finch or any of the other birds CEP gives, and the stats are the same for the falcon/hawk of the normal choice. Same for the bear animal companion- the PC could choose to have a black, brown, polar bear, yet the stats are of the standard bear model. DMs could even do this in game, without any scripted requirements. The change would hold until the PC levels up and selects the familiar/companion for the new level. We are talking the RP look here- not game mechanics. Personally I don't care what the difference is for a polar bear  from a black bear or a the standard bear animal companion. I know I'd rather have a black bear for my druid than the standard brown/grizzly model.

I like that idea. As long as the basic animal is the same, let the appearance be different. Have a list of animals to choose from for each type. This way you could have a bit of flavour, but also keep the animal being identifiable to an animal type so you're not making a bear look like a mouse or something goofy.

Syl

  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 2592
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #39 on: March 17, 2015, 12:29:12 AM »
I am the rogue. It's just faster to disarm a trap by touching the box. These dudes are all about efficiency.


You. Have. No. Idea. How. Much. Pain. Those. Three. Sentences. Just. Caused. Me.   :bawling:

Disarming traps is a lost skill I swear sometimes lol

Monica O'Sullivan: Master explorer
Tsubaki Yamamoto: Shadow Thief
Roesor Cryso: A slave for the Masters.
Sokol: An Unlikely Hero

Amon-Si

  • Inventor of the cat
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 2418
  • Freelance troublemaker
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #40 on: March 17, 2015, 12:42:45 AM »
I am the rogue. It's just faster to disarm a trap by touching the box. These dudes are all about efficiency.


You. Have. No. Idea. How. Much. Pain. Those. Three. Sentences. Just. Caused. Me.   :bawling:

Disarming traps is a lost skill I swear sometimes lol

Not lost... but underrated, sadly.

A normal snake

  • SsSSSSsssss
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 3749
  • Ssss
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #41 on: March 17, 2015, 12:44:37 AM »
You. Have. No. Idea. How. Much. Pain. Those. Three. Sentences. Just. Caused. Me.   :bawling:

Negative energy protection and elemental protection are alternative forms of remove trap!

Syl

  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 2592
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #42 on: March 17, 2015, 01:05:18 AM »
You. Have. No. Idea. How. Much. Pain. Those. Three. Sentences. Just. Caused. Me.   :bawling:

Negative energy protection and elemental protection are alternative forms of remove trap!

hehehe... for those weak elemental traps maybe * evil grins tinkering with deadly electrical*

Monica O'Sullivan: Master explorer
Tsubaki Yamamoto: Shadow Thief
Roesor Cryso: A slave for the Masters.
Sokol: An Unlikely Hero

Bluebomber4evr

  • Head DM, Developer and Ravenloft Trivia Guru/Community Council
  • Administrator
  • Dark Power
  • *
  • Posts: 20622
    • http://www.nwnravenloft.com
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #43 on: March 17, 2015, 11:15:24 AM »
I actually wouldn't mind seeing extra animal companions, but they're not absolutely necessary to update and they'll take up a lot of space.

In other words, don't get your hopes up, guys.

Simple solution, give the PC the ability once per level to set the appearance of their familiar, animal companion to something close to the default model. this way, you could have the look of a raven, or an owl, or a seagull, or a finch or any of the other birds CEP gives, and the stats are the same for the falcon/hawk of the normal choice. Same for the bear animal companion- the PC could choose to have a black, brown, polar bear, yet the stats are of the standard bear model. DMs could even do this in game, without any scripted requirements. The change would hold until the PC levels up and selects the familiar/companion for the new level. We are talking the RP look here- not game mechanics. Personally I don't care what the difference is for a polar bear  from a black bear or a the standard bear animal companion. I know I'd rather have a black bear for my druid than the standard brown/grizzly model.

I like that idea. As long as the basic animal is the same, let the appearance be different. Have a list of animals to choose from for each type. This way you could have a bit of flavour, but also keep the animal being identifiable to an animal type so you're not making a bear look like a mouse or something goofy.
Eh, the new animal companions I was thinking of would animals that are substantially different than what's currently being offered: snake, hyena, camel, skunk, weasel, fox, rhinoceros.

But your idea isn't bad for the current stuff. Hell, we could probably script it to change more than the appearance: the name, creatue weapons, stats, and portrait can all be changed on the fly.

We could probably even do that for the new types I was thinking of adding.

Edit: I would still need to ask Soren if it's feasible to do this, but I'm more enthusiastic about doing it, at least.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2015, 11:19:38 AM by Bluebomber4evr »

Bluebomber4evr: The Justice, not you, since 2002

Feronius

  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 2082
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #44 on: March 17, 2015, 11:48:35 AM »
I definitely hope it is feasible. Being able to have a regular dog as an animal companion, simply using the wolf template, would be great.

Syl

  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 2592
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #45 on: March 17, 2015, 12:34:19 PM »
It would have been nice to have them as a pet....

though the big thing i wish for on ANimal companions is that their skills went up also as they leveled.

I don't remember if they do.

by skills i mean their actual skills like spot hide parry and blah...I would ask for feats but thats to much lol

Monica O'Sullivan: Master explorer
Tsubaki Yamamoto: Shadow Thief
Roesor Cryso: A slave for the Masters.
Sokol: An Unlikely Hero

Dark Dreams

  • Undead Slayer
  • ***
  • Posts: 179
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #46 on: March 18, 2015, 03:24:38 PM »
My personal motivation for asking about this is I'd like to use a Crag Cat as an animal companion for my ranger at some point if possible.
Crag cats are magical beasts. They can't be animal companions.

Dire animals are also magical creatures (they are fictitious animals) but they're on there. And Crag Cats... there's nothing special about 'em. Sure, they're immune to like one effect in PnP, but that has nothing to do with this.

EO

  • Assistant Head DM/Developer
  • Head DMs
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 22498
  • The one and only, the one everyone wants to be!
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #47 on: March 18, 2015, 03:27:21 PM »
Dire animals are also magical creatures (they are fictitious animals) but they're on there. And Crag Cats... there's nothing special about 'em. Sure, they're immune to like one effect in PnP, but that has nothing to do with this.

Actually, Dire Animals count as Animals in DnD. Ex: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/direWolf.htm

It's really a matter of DnD mechanics and what is classified as what. Some of it may seem inconsistent but them's the rules.

Bluebomber4evr

  • Head DM, Developer and Ravenloft Trivia Guru/Community Council
  • Administrator
  • Dark Power
  • *
  • Posts: 20622
    • http://www.nwnravenloft.com
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #48 on: March 18, 2015, 03:30:26 PM »
My personal motivation for asking about this is I'd like to use a Crag Cat as an animal companion for my ranger at some point if possible.
Crag cats are magical beasts. They can't be animal companions.

Dire animals are also magical creatures (they are fictitious animals) but they're on there. And Crag Cats... there's nothing special about 'em. Sure, they're immune to like one effect in PnP, but that has nothing to do with this.
I'm going by the definitions in the D20 SRD. Dire Animals are still classified as animals under those rules. Crag cats are immune to a class of spells, which is an extraordinary effect. Animals cannot have those in the rules; any animal that has extraordinary or supernatural effect, or INT over 2, is classified as a magical beast. Magical beasts cannot be animal companions.

Bluebomber4evr: The Justice, not you, since 2002

Crimson Shuriken

  • Happy Shoulders
  • Dark Power
  • ******
  • Posts: 1025
  • Flying through the air with deadly intent!
Re: Animal Companions
« Reply #49 on: March 18, 2015, 03:56:12 PM »
I believe the embolden parts make Crag Cats too much for a Ranger to have as animal companion.
I think the impression NWN gives of Crag Cats is a bit less than what they are, so since its topical and I knew where to grab the stats from:

CRAG CAT
Medium-sized Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 2d10+6 (17 hp)
Initiative: +4 (Dex)
Speed: 40 ft., climb 40 ft.
AC: 17 (+4 Dex, +3 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 13
Attacks: 2 claws +8 melee, bite +6 melee
Damage: Claw 1d4+6, bite 1d4+6
Face/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Pounce, rake 1d4+6
Special Qualities: Nondetection, spell turning, leap, slow fall
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +1
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills: Balance +7, Climb +18, Hide +7, Jump +20, Listen +5, Move Silently +7, Spot +5
Feats: Multiattack, Skill Focus (Jump)
Climate/Terrain: Temperate and cold hills and mountains
Organization: Solitary or pack (3-6)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 3-4 HD (Large)
The fabled Hunter-of-Man is a many-fanged, sure-footed predator of the North. It may be found anywhere except deep
forest, but prefers the rock ledges and cliffs of the high country near the mountains. Its cry sounds like a sudden, human
scream of terror. It also often causes such sounds from its victims as it hunts, for it prefers human flesh to all other prey.
Though these cats are usually solitary hunters, they avoid fighting each other, and may be found in family groups of two
parents and 1d4 cubs in spring, or in hungry packs of 1d4+2 adults in severe winter weather. Cubs are half strength and
lack the pounce and leap special abilities.
COMBAT
A crag cat is an intelligent hunter who knows its territory well. A crag cat usually stalks and traps its prey, avoiding
counterattacks and ambushes. It often attacks when prey is asleep, exhausted, or otherwise weakened.
Pounce (Ex): A favorite attack form is the pounce from above. This is the only time the crag cat can use its rear
paws in combat (which have the same Attack and Damage characteristics as the front paws) as well as its front paws.
Rake (Ex): A crag cat that pounces on an opponent can make two rake attacks (+8 melee) with its hind legs for
1d4+6 damage each.
Nondetection (Sp): A crag cat can’t be detected or traced by magic, though many folk say they can “feel” when one
is near or watching. A crag cat is cloaked in a permanent aura of nondetection (caster level equal to the crag cat’s Hit Dice).
Spell Turning (Sp): A crag cat is cloaked in a permanent aura of spell turning (caster level equal to the crag cat’s Hit
Dice). Enchantments act as feeblemind spells if turned.

Leap (Ex): A crag cat has no limit on how far he can jump. Additional distance for Jump checks is doubled.
Slow Fall (Ex): A crag cat takes damage from a fall as if it were 120 feet shorter than it actually is.
Skills: A crag cat receives a +8 racial bonus to Jump checks.


I'm so casual, my shoes look like feet.