Companion HD question [3.5]

[Farlion]

Hi folks,

I was going over the books these days and discovered some interesting PrC. Namely Animal Lord and Tamer of Beasts (both in Races of the Wild).

Now I'm reading the prequisits for these classes and it sais: Ability to cast animal friendship

I can't find that spell... it sais it's a druid spell, but I can't find it. Where do I find it?

Second thing: Taking one level for Tamer of Beasts effectivly doubles the amount of HD you can have as companions. So if I take 9 levels of druid and 1 level of Tamer of Beasts, I can have a total of 2*(9+1) HD of companions. Cool thing.

Now animal lord gets animal bond at first level, which reads: Just as a druid you can gain a companion with HD of double your level as animal lord. Gee... if that is really so, level 1-3 animal lord can't have a companion if for example you take bear as your totem. Is that really so? Or can you just add your animal lord level to your existing druid level to determin the maximum amount of HD your companion can have?

Ok, now to sum up: I plan on making a druid 9/ tamer of beasts 1/ bearlord 10 character. Now, the question is, a polarbear can be picked as a bearlord, but can not be taken unless you are atleast level 10 druid. What applies?

And last but not least: does the animal companion template apply as if I were a level 20 druid, or just a level 9 druid? (both tamer of the beast and animal lord can upgrade their companions like a druid can).

Cheers,
Farlion

[Eldariel]

You must be thinking of Masters of the Wild, a completely different book from Races of the Wild. Biggest difference: Masters of the Wild is a 3.0 book. Both of those spells are from 3.0; back then the Druid mechanic for gaining "animal companion" was very different and involved the spell named "Animal Friendship" and was able to have a max of two x Level in HD as animal companions (only 1xHD follows him though), and there was no companion advancement; as you gained level you went to bond new animals.

So yeah, you're looking for spells from 3.0. If interested, you can find the 3.0 SRD here (http://www.zombler.org/files/srd30a/). A good guideline for converting them to 3.5 though is to simply make them require having an AC, as it's the mechanic that replaces the "Animal Friendship"-spell.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

The 3.0 animal companion mechanics are completely different from the 3.5 animal companion mechanics. You shouldn't try to mix the two because they're not even compatible. If you like the flavor of one of those 3.0 classes, find a version that's updated for 3.5. The 'benefit' that you're perceiving from using those 3.0 prestige classes is just a misconception, and is not compatible with a 3.5 druid or any other 3.5 class.

[Farlion]

Cool, that makes the problem alot easier!

Thanks guys!

Note to myself: Check version before reading!

Cheers,
Farlion