Taming a Roc

[ReD_Exorcist]

So recently my party has found 3 roc eggs, We killed the mother of them, were giving away 1 egg for a quest and the 2 others we want to sell and keep 1 to train. I am the ranger of the group so I have the highest handle animal and have the Wild Empathy feat. Any advice of how to make it like me more and faster?. I am limited to the DMG, PH and MM books.

[Flash1191]

What you're looking for falls under the Handle Animal skill (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/handleAnimal.htm).

The "Rear a Wild Animal" section gives a Handle Animal DC of 15+HD to raise a wild animal from birth and domesticate it. That will let you teach it tricks.

With an HD of 18, you're looking at a skill DC of 33, and you can't try again if you fail, so you may want to look for ways to pump up your skill check before it hatches.

[Slipperychicken]

So recently my party has found 3 roc eggs, We killed the mother of them, were giving away 1 egg for a quest and the 2 others we want to sell and keep 1 to train. I am the ranger of the group so I have the highest handle animal and have the Wild Empathy feat. Any advice of how to make it like me more and faster?. I am limited to the DMG, PH and MM books.

You might want to double-check your math on this one.

[Grod_The_Giant]

With an HD of 18, you're looking at a skill DC of 33, and you can't try again if you fail, so you may want to look for ways to pump up your skill check before it hatches.
Not the easiest thing to do in core... your best bet is to hire a bunch of experts to make Aid Another checks.

[Metahuman1]

I'd also look at taking 20 on the check if the dm will let you, and of course, magic items to boost your check. The Experts idea can work too, probably less expensive. Each can get you a +2 to that DC 33 check. So, subtract your own modifier to the check and then get enough to meet/beat that by 1.

[fluke1993]

Can't take 20 on a check with consequences for failure.

[Berenger]

Disguise yourself as mama roc. Or bribe it with mastercraft snacks. :smallbiggrin:

[Subaru Kujo]

Disguise yourself as mama roc. Or bribe it with mastercraft snacks. :smallbiggrin:

Mastercraft deer more like.

[Metahuman1]

Also, don't forget you can't auto fail a skill check on a nat 1.

[Evandar]

The experts idea is a good one if you can find them. I have no idea how much that'd cost. Could a bard help to boost your save? How much do you actually have in Handle Animal?

I looked around for Handle Animal optimizations, which I figured would be non-existent and stumbled across this in a competition.


And here I was going to boost Handle Animal to push a titanic warbeast fleshraker (with appropriate feats so he can obliterate Tokyo) or a master trapster kobold with Leadership for a den of Tucker's Kobolds.

Alas, I am too late.

So close, yet so far. :smallfrown:

:elan: 'I almost participated.'

[Grod_The_Giant]

Trained Hirelings cost 3 sp/day (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#spellcastingAndServices).

A 3rd level Bard can use Inspire Competence to give you a +2 competence bonus. Grab a masterwork item for a +2 circumstance bonus, 50 gold) and a scroll of Greater Heroism (1650 gold, +4 morale bonus) and we're up to +8. Plus Aid Another checks, which as far as I can tell have no limit on how high they can be stacked...

[Eldariel]

Well, Rocs are a Druid 16 option for animal companion according to Sandstorm, which means they're available as Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a) on level 19 to anybody. So that's one option of "getting" one as a useful underling. Of course, yeah, otherwise you'll have to train it, handle it as a move action, etc.

EDIT: Oh, and Handle Animal Guide (http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1060781) if you feel so inclined.

[Slipperychicken]

Aid Another checks, which as far as I can tell have no limit on how high they can be stacked...

The limit is, much like free actions, when the GM gets fed up with it, or feels like additional helpers won't make a significant enough contribution to warrant the +2.

[Coidzor]

Optimizing Handle Animal? If Bubs (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7097263&postcount=38) can do it, you can find a way too.


Trained Hirelings cost 3 sp/day (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#spellcastingAndServices).

A 3rd level Bard can use Inspire Competence to give you a +2 competence bonus. Grab a masterwork item for a +2 circumstance bonus, 50 gold) and a scroll of Greater Heroism (1650 gold, +4 morale bonus) and we're up to +8. Plus Aid Another checks, which as far as I can tell have no limit on how high they can be stacked...

Assuming a level 9 Ranger base from the CR 9 of the Roc that gets us 12 ranks + Cha + 2 MW tool + 2 Inspire Competence + 4 Greater Heroism for 1d20+20+Cha. Assuming a conservative interpretation of only having two possible helpers that's 1d20+24+Cha. Then add in whatever one's Charisma modifier would be, which is probably in the -1 to +1 range.

If there's a Cloak of Charisma (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#cloakofCharisma) in the party, borrowing use of it gets +1, +2, or +3 to the check, or at least helps negate the penalty from a low Charisma.

Circlet of Persuasion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#circletofPersuasion) can get a +3 competence bonus for 4500 or less if you can borrow one.

So assuming a 10 Charisma, a +6 cloak of Charisma and a circlet of persuasion replacing the inspire competence routine and all of that, that nets us 1d20+28, so a fairly easy check to make, but still with the potential for failure. Being able to get 3 more assistants would take care of bumping it up the rest of the way though.

[Chronos]

We can probably justify a masterwork tool, too. I don't know what the equivalent would be for a roc, but for a dog it'd be something like a pronged collar, or an air horn or spritz bottle.

[ArqArturo]

Mastercraft deer more like.

How do you Mastercraft beef?.

[Grod_The_Giant]

How do you Mastercraft beef?.
Something like this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_beef)?

[ArqArturo]

Something like this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_beef)?

And then you craft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpaccio) this.

[dspeyer]

Not the easiest thing to do in core... your best bet is to hire a bunch of experts to make Aid Another checks.

Iffy...


In many cases, a character’s help won’t be beneficial, or only a limited number of characters can help at once.

Also, see other bonuses to handle animal (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7097263#post7097263)

[Spore]

I am really curious on how you want to train it to fly. You know, without wings and stuff.

Also rocs are animal companions (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/monsters/roc.html#_roc) if you take the PF rules.

[hamishspence]

Maybe look at the way real people have trained birds to fly, when their parents are not available as trainers.

[Spore]

Maybe look at the way real people have trained birds to fly, when their parents are not available as trainers.

Well, I never saw that and thus am genuinely curious.

[hamishspence]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falconry_(training)

Wikipedia doesn't say much:


Today experienced falconers know how to rear an imprint so that it has few or none of these undesirable behaviors, but it is time-consuming and requires unswerving dedication for a period of about three months. During that time, the eyass is not allowed to ever become truly hungry, and in nearly constant company and visual range of human beings, so that the arrival of food is not specifically associated with the arrival of humans. This bird is still very much imprinted on humans, but not food-imprinted, so the human is not considered something to be screamed at or attacked when hungry. In order to further assure that such correlations are not made, when it becomes ambulatory, some will take the bird to a separate room/area and allow it to "find" a plate of food, rather than having that food delivered to its face for it, as a parent bird would do. Finally, the young eyass is allowed to wander about at Tame Hack and enjoy more autonomy than would be possible with a chamber or parent-reared bird (owing to that the bird's affinity towards humans will keep it relatively close by, an affinity lacking in the chamber/parent reared eyass.) This provides the imprint eyass with an opportunity to learn to use its wings and develop musculature as well as the ability to fly in adverse conditions—advantages that the chamber-raised bird does not have.

the implication is- given the right environment and opportunity, the bird will learn to use its wings.

[lytokk]

At what point in the animals lifespan does that handle animal check occur? This is just a question for me, as I'm not entirely sure. Does it only occur when the animal reaches adulthood ex full HD? How quickly does a roc grow? When is it fullgrown. Normal birds is just a few months, but considering how much bigger a roc is, it may take years, at which point you're going to need to constantly make HA checks just to keep it around/not misbehaving.