animal companion help

[tim01300]

I know I've asked for help with this before and you guys are gonna yell at me, but I am getting F'ed up again here.

3.5 core game

One of my players is a 7th lvl druid who picked an animal companion wolverine. It's from the alternative animal companion list on page 36 PH so it gets Level -3.
So 7 - 3 means level 4. So from the bonuses listed listed on the same page it would get the bonus of 3rd-5th. +2 bonus HD.

So for determining base attack and saves do we go with Hitdice or level? or both? So a wolverine starts with a 3d8. So does it level with the druid? 7-3 would be 4 levels so now its a 7d8 and bonus 2 HD means its a 9d8 :smallredface: for determining saves and bonuses? Seems like a lot.

Or do I only go with Hitdice, it was 3d8, gets bonus 2 from druid bonus and its a 5d8.

I hope this makes sense. All help is greatly appreciated.

[Urpriest]

I know I've asked for help with this before and you guys are gonna yell at me, but I am getting F'ed up again here.

3.5 core game

One of my players is a 7th lvl druid who picked an animal companion wolverine. It's from the alternative animal companion list on page 36 PH so it gets Level -3.
So 7 - 3 means level 4. So from the bonuses listed listed on the same page it would get the bonus of 3rd-5th. +2 bonus HD.

So for determining base attack and saves do we go with Hitdice or level? or both? So a wolverine starts with a 3d8. So does it level with the druid? 7-3 would be 4 levels so now its a 7d8 and bonus 2 HD means its a 9d8 :smallredface: for determining saves and bonuses? Seems like a lot.

Or do I only go with Hitdice, it was 3d8, gets bonus 2 from druid bonus and its a 5d8.

I hope this makes sense. All help is greatly appreciated.

Hit dice and level are synonymous. What you are actually asking about is whether the wolverine gets extra hit dice according to the Druid's level, which is a very different question. The answer is that it doesn't. The Wolverine starts out with its original hit dice, and gets bonus hit dice according to the table. It doesn't get extra stuff beyond what the animal companion ability says it gets.

In general, if you don't understand this stuff (and I didn't point it out to you last time you asked for help) you really ought to read my Monster Handbook, link in sig. You need to understand how monsters work in order to play a Druid, or in order to DM.

[Gwendol]

Hit dice determines feats, BAB, etc.

[tim01300]

I guess you're right. I've been putting it off for too long. Thanks for the guide

[tim01300]

So after a quick read (and bookmarked page) my only question is why don't animal companions go up a size category like other monsters when their HD gets high enough? Would it make them unbalanced?

[Urpriest]

So after a quick read (and bookmarked page) my only question is why don't animal companions go up a size category like other monsters when their HD gets high enough? Would it make them unbalanced?

Animal companions don't go up in size for the same reason PCs don't go up in size when they take class levels: it's just a totally different mechanic. HD advancement isn't the same thing as bonus HD, since one is about representing exceptional animals in the wild while the other is the result of a class feature. If you want a larger animal companion, there is almost always a Dire option that fills the appropriate role anyway.