Companion is Too Big

[demigodus]

Having lost my Druid in a game, I'm trying to bring in a Healer (Miniatures Handbook). The problem is that sometimes our party has to squeeze through some spaces that a large sized creature physically can't go through. The DM house ruled it so that my companion is always with us; I don't have to summon it from celestia, but if it can't fit in where we are going, we have to leave it behind.

The game is lvl 16, and I'm going straight Healer, so all the companion options are on the table. I know that the Couatl has Change Shape so it can follow us wherever we go, but is there a way, via feats, spells, or items to make the other creatures be able to fit wherever? I honestly want a Lammasu for the Magic Circle Against Evil Supernatural ability, but if I can't find a way to reduce it to medium sized at will, for possibly 24 hours a day, I'm not sure if I can take it everywhere with me.

Given how few good things the class gets, I'd rather not have to leave one of my biggest class features behind when we travel into dungeons where I'm most likely to need it.

[Sidmen]

Just have someone cast Reduce Person (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/reducePerson.htm) on the critter.

Its a first-level wizard spell, so you should be able to pick up a wand for next-to-nothing.

[Studoku]

Just have someone cast Reduce Person (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/reducePerson.htm) on the critter.

Its a first-level wizard spell, so you should be able to pick up a wand for next-to-nothing.
Unfortunately, it only works on humanoids. There might be a reduce monster spell in a splatbook somewhere but I'll let someone with more books than me answer that one.

You could try asking your DM if you can have a companion with the dungeonbred template. It's a CR+0 template from Dungeonscape which reduces a creature's size by one catagory.

[Darrin]

See if you can get ahold of a Shrink Collar (10000 GP, A&EG p. 80). Put it on your mount to resize it to "small" whenever it can't fit.

Also, for a little more gold, same book: Phylactery of Change (11200 GP, A&EG p. 135). All day polymorph up to 7HD.

[demigodus]

See if you can get ahold of a Shrink Collar (10000 GP, A&EG p. 80). Put it on your mount to resize it to "small" whenever it can't fit.

Also, for a little more gold, same book: Phylactery of Change (11200 GP, A&EG p. 135). All day polymorph up to 7HD.

Thank you, this is perfect.

[Mithril Leaf]

Thank you, this is perfect.

Friends don't let friends use Phylactery of Change.

[Fizban]

The usual workaround is the psionic power Compression (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/compression.htm) which doesn't care about creature types, in item form to ignore the personal range and 1 round/level duration. If your DM lets you make continuous items of round/level spells then this should be pretty cheap at only 1st level.

The squeezing rules allow any creature to fit into a space one size smaller than itself, so a large companion should be able to follow you inside anywhere designed for medium creatures (at a -4 attack, -4 AC, and half speed penalty), or 5' wide openings. The Tunnel Fighting feat (Races of Stone) lets you ignore the attack and AC penalties, so you could just have an intelligent companion take that. Of course, if by squeeze you mean squeezing mediums through a 2-3 foot opening then that doesn't help at all.

The Smokey Confinement (Complete Mage) spell has been referred to as the "pokeball," though you'll need to recast it every time.

Aspect of the Wolf (Spell Compendium) is a 1st level spell that turns you into a wolf (medium size) for 10 minutes per level. Since the spell is narrow and already has a considerable duration it should be much more reasonable for prolonged/multi-use wondrous items, or you could have your companion take UMD and buy a wand.

[navar100]

Even though this isn't about the druid specifically, this is why I don't find the Animal Companion so enraging as other people here. As the game progresses, campaign dependent, there are some places the Animal Companion cannot go. Down the ladder into the dungeon, swamp, mountains, desert, frozen tundra, crossing a narrow single file bridge across a chasm, the village/town/city (Sure, bring your lion into town. See how well that goes.), the sewers.

Paladin has the same problem with his Mount. Cavalier too in Pathfinder.

[Croix]

Thank you, this is perfect.

O.o Why not just get a Wand of Reduce Animal (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/reduceAnimal.htm)? I comes from PBH and is a 2nd Druid or 3rd Ranger Spell... I, myself think it's much better than 10k on unnecessary and bad items. Believe me, Phylactery of Change a level 16 creature and then sit and watch it die... O.o No creature is worth losing 8 HD to polymorph into.

[Deadline]

O.o Why not just get a Wand of Reduce Animal (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/reduceAnimal.htm)? I comes from PBH and is a 2nd Druid or 3rd Ranger Spell... I, myself think it's much better than 10k on unnecessary and bad items. Believe me, Phylactery of Change a level 16 creature and then sit and watch it die... O.o No creature is worth losing 8 HD to polymorph into.

Unless there is something specific to the Phylactery of Change, polymorphing a creature with 16 HD into a creature with 7 HD doesn't actually reduce it's hit dice. The HD limit is simply a limit on how powerful your new form is.

Also, Reduce Animal and Reduce Person only work on animals and humanoids, respectively. So any companion that is a magical beast, outsider, elemental, etc. won't be affected.

[demigodus]

For everyone warning me about the Phylactery of Change, I was going to use the Shrink Collar. This DM sometimes throws dispels at us, or likes to make us pass through rooms where 1 school of magic is disabled, both of which would kinda screw over the phylactery's once-per-day option.

Though I'm not sure what would be so bad about the phylactery in a campaign where that didn't happen? Anyone willing to enlighten me?

[Person_Man]

It's also worth mentioning that a Large creature can squeeze (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/movementPositionAndDistance.htm) through any space that a Medium creature can move through. "Each move into or through a narrow space counts as if it were 2 squares, and while squeezed in a narrow space you take a -4 penalty on attack rolls and a -4 penalty to AC." Thus it's not impossible for a big companion to follow you everywhere, it's just an annoying penalty.

The Tunnel Fighting and Tunnel Riding feats (Races of Stone) negate this penalty. (There's also the Stoneback feat, which requires Tunnel Fighting. You cannot be Flanked if you have a ready shield and one side of your space is entirely in contact with a solid wall).

[demigodus]

The party has been through places where we have had to squeeze through before.

So a large creature couldn't even squeeze after us.

[Torvon]

That is exactly why my Paladin/Knight was a ... HALFLING.

With a medium mount.

:)