Handle Animal an enemy's pet?

[Flickerdart]

I cannot locate any rules that stop you from using Handle Animal on an enemy's mount, pet or even Animal Companion. This makes having an animal very dangerous and Handle Animal even more ridiculous, and seems like something that WotC should have thought of. There's got to be a rule that forbids this somewhere - but where is it?

[mootoall]

Look at the time it takes to Handle Animal. It is far from combat viable.

[Flickerdart]

Action: Varies. Handling an animal is a move action, while pushing an animal is a full-round action.

If you can't spare a move action in combat, you're doing it wrong.

[Vladislav]

Since the animal is hardly trained to go against its owner, most DMs would interpret such attempt to wrest control as "Push". DC 25 and full round action. And if you make it, he* gets to overrule you with a DC 10 check and a free action.

* assuming it's a Druid's pet we're talking about.

[deuxhero]

You're doing it wrong.


A Paladin should be screwing over armies of horses instead!

[Silva Stormrage]

Action: Varies. Handling an animal is a move action, while pushing an animal is a full-round action.

If you can't spare a move action in combat, you're doing it wrong.

I am pretty sure that in order to give commands to an animal it has to go through the excessively long training time.

[BobVosh]

He is asking for RAW, logic need not apply here.
Looks like you are right Flicker. Odd.


I am pretty sure that in order to give commands to an animal it has to go through the excessively long training time.

Actually to teach it a trick it is a long training time. After it learns it, according to raw apparently, anyone can spend a move action and a DC15 to make it use the trick.

[SowZ]

It is like trying to capture a trainers pokemon. They just bat it away...

[Frosty]

Doesn't the "Push" option already require that the animal be friendly towards you in some fashion? It really makes sense, or else you can just "Push" Dire Wolverines to defeat them and get exp for example.

[Flickerdart]

That's just the thing - I can't find any qualifiers on what state the animal must be in. I suppose the logical conclusion is that Handle Animal only conveys your intentions to the animal, but it is under no compulsion to actually do as you tell it. The language used could support that reading ("commanding an animal for Handle, but "get[ting] it to perform a task" for Push), but then Push can still be used on unfriendly targets.

[awa]

at least according to the srd it appears you are correct. Although a dm would well be within their rights to shut it down it does appear to be raw.

[Talya]

You're doing it wrong.


A Paladin should be screwing over armies of horses instead!

Unless he's a dwarven paladin. Then it's armies of sheep.


Oh wait, i missed the word "over" in there. My mistake. Carry on.

[Coidzor]

...

By RAW, if your handle animal is good enough you can "Push" Wild Owlbears into no longer attacking you? :smallconfused:

Awesome. :smallbiggrin:

[deuxhero]

Unless he's a dwarven paladin. Then it's armies of sheep.


Oh wait, i missed the word "over" in there. My mistake. Carry on.

Technically it's your mount and their "command others of [their] kind" ability.

[Coidzor]

Technically it's your mount and their "command others of [their] kind" ability.

Which is not very impressive. Has to do it at one standard action per creature and only up to Paladin Level/2 times per day.


Once per day per two paladin levels of its master, a mount can use this ability to command other any normal animal of approximately the same kind as itself (for warhorses and warponies, this category includes donkeys, mules, and ponies), as long as the target creature has fewer Hit Dice than the mount. This ability functions like the command spell, but the mount must make a DC 21 Concentration check to succeed if it’s being ridden at the time. If the check fails, the ability does not work that time, but it still counts against the mount’s daily uses. Each target may attempt a Will save (DC 10 + ½ paladin’s level + paladin’s Cha modifier) to negate the effect.