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alexthemad
2010-03-23, 08:58 AM
Do animal companions need to be trained for their tricks? The way I read/understand they do, but my DM doesn't think so. He says that they are just like another character controlled by the player and they automatically know all tricks.

Now, I usually wouldn't argue my DM, but another player is already complaining that a druid is overpowered and going to break the game blah blah blah. So I just want to make sure that I play the druid correctly.

Douglas
2010-03-23, 09:09 AM
If Animal Companions automatically know all tricks and work like an extra character directly controlled by the player, then what the heck is the "Bonus Tricks" column in this table (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/druid.htm#theDruidsAnimalCompanion) for?

As far as RAW goes, you are correct and your DM is wrong. Your DM is free to houserule it otherwise, of course, but from the way you said it I think your DM may not be aware that how he's been playing Animal Companions is a house rule.

ericgrau
2010-03-23, 09:09 AM
Yes, it says so right in the Druid class description. It's on a table, in text, it refers to the handle animal skill. Yes he needs to learn tricks! He does, however, get bonus tricks for free without learning. He starts with 1 bonus but he can learn 6 more and I don't see why you wouldn't teach him. An animal companion that can only follow you around on command is pretty useless.

Arillius
2010-03-23, 09:13 AM
I'm not sure about all the systems but I think some even give you +4 to the training skill when its an animal companion

Vangor
2010-03-23, 09:17 AM
Your friend probably believes this because he feels the animal companion is simply an extension of the druid, but this is inaccurate. The companion is still a free, independent animal which the druid has befriended into assistance, unlike, say, a familiar which is an animal or creature bound to the actual service of the caster. In most situations the animal companion will play as though an extension of the druid, though, and Pushing this is usually not hard.

alexthemad
2010-03-23, 09:20 AM
That's what I thought. Thank you all for your quick input.

Darrin
2010-03-23, 09:28 AM
Do animal companions need to be trained for their tricks? The way I read/understand they do, but my DM doesn't think so. He says that they are just like another character controlled by the player and they automatically know all tricks.


Your DM is wrong as far as RAW is concerned. The number of tricks an animal can know is limited by their Int, max tricks = Int x 3. Being an animal companion does not increase an animal's Int, but it does allow them to learn bonus tricks.

Animals must be taught tricks with the Handle Animal skill. This includes animal companions, except for *bonus tricks* granted by the Druid's class level. These bonus tricks don't require training time or Handle Animal checks, and they don't count towards an animal's max tricks.

That being said, your DM is most likely making his life and your life easier with a house rule. Requiring training time tends to just add useless bookkeeping and slows down the pace of the game. Allowing animal companions to know all tricks speeds things up and allows you and the DM to use sort of a shorthand of general commands that are easier to adjudicate than the rather vague trick descriptions.

By RAW, animal companions aren't controlled as if they were characters. The trick descriptions are very limited in what the animal can do, and they require the DM to make a lot of judgements about how much an animal really understands and is capable of performing on its own. If he wants to be a stickler about issuing a specific trick for everything you want the animal to do, it becomes a huge pain in the tuchus. It's generally much easier for both the DM and player to control the animal similar to another character. It speeds up the game and prevents most rules headaches.

While the DM's houserule may make the animal companion more powerful, sticking too close to RAW here may be more trouble than its worth.

Sliver
2010-03-23, 10:03 AM
It's not RAW, but I believe it is generally assumed that at least the animal companion you start with at the beginning of the game is tough all the tricks you need at the backstory time.

Lysander
2010-03-23, 03:31 PM
It's not RAW, but I believe it is generally assumed that at least the animal companion you start with at the beginning of the game is tough all the tricks you need at the backstory time.

That seems like a fair assumption, up to the maximum limit. It becomes more of an issue if you ever need to replace your companion.