Epinephrine
2009-05-01, 12:43 PM
Getting ready for 9th level soon, playing a druid in a Pathfinder campaign (we switched systems partway through, actually), and when I checked out the Animal Growth spell I was a little surprised at the nerfage.
1.) It now targets only 1 animal (rather than 1 per 2 levels)
2.) It no longer grants DR 10/Magic
3.) It no longer grants +4 resistance bonus to saves.
Now, I know it was a pretty awesome buff before - but it seems a bit weak now. Granted, the Strength/size increase do add to offense. Do you think it needs this big a reduction?
My thoughts:
1.) Number of animals. This seems fair - it always seemed a bit broken to ramp up your Animal Companion as well as a bunch of summons/charmed/commanded animals. It's a big buff, picking a target is fair.
2.) DR/Magic is (among?) the weakest DRs out there, and one of the main points is to allow the animal to harm things with DR/Magic. Summon Monster spellls summon Fiendish/Celestial creatures that get free resistances/DR/Magic; while it's true that the Nature's Allies hit a bit harder, it's still nice to have an option that lets them tank a bit better too.
3.) Resistance bonus? Less important. Honestly, this is probably overkill. Dire animals already have solid saves as far as summons go.
1.) It now targets only 1 animal (rather than 1 per 2 levels)
2.) It no longer grants DR 10/Magic
3.) It no longer grants +4 resistance bonus to saves.
Now, I know it was a pretty awesome buff before - but it seems a bit weak now. Granted, the Strength/size increase do add to offense. Do you think it needs this big a reduction?
My thoughts:
1.) Number of animals. This seems fair - it always seemed a bit broken to ramp up your Animal Companion as well as a bunch of summons/charmed/commanded animals. It's a big buff, picking a target is fair.
2.) DR/Magic is (among?) the weakest DRs out there, and one of the main points is to allow the animal to harm things with DR/Magic. Summon Monster spellls summon Fiendish/Celestial creatures that get free resistances/DR/Magic; while it's true that the Nature's Allies hit a bit harder, it's still nice to have an option that lets them tank a bit better too.
3.) Resistance bonus? Less important. Honestly, this is probably overkill. Dire animals already have solid saves as far as summons go.