Where does a Druid's Animal Companion come from?

[Hiro Quester]

My Druid's riding dog AC died last game. I need to obtain another. But where does the animal companion come from?

That is, does the 24 hour ritual to gain a new AC attract one from the local wildlife, such that the druid can only attract animals native to the geographical area she is in?

Or does she summon it from the primal energy that also supplies Nature's Allies when casting SNA spells, and thus she is not restricted by geography and current location? For example, could a druid in a tropical jungle island climate attract a brown bear, if they typically live in "cold forests"?

It might be somewhat "unnatural" to have a polar bear in the tropics (such that some druids might be motivated against choosing to introduce a non-native --possibly invasive-- species to an ecosystem). But is it impossible?


And in what condition does the animal arrive in? Is it (after the 24 hour ritual) already a loyal and trustable companion that will follow instructions (as much as it's able to)?

Or is it still a wild animal that needs possibly weeks of training before it can be trusted not try to eat the party bard in the middle of the night when it wants a snack?

[DrMotives]

In 3.0 it was clearly a normal animal in the local area that comes under the druid's power. In 3.5 the rules for them change considerably, and it's left vague. I can see it being ruled 2 ways, either the druid's power chooses and enhances a normal local animal into a companion which is instantly loyal, but must match the area you do the ritual in, or it's like a paladin's warhorse, and the druid just calls something out of thin air that could be anything the druid is familiar with. The familiarity rule is pretty forgiving though, as druids who've adventured would have seen a lot, and put lots of ranks in knowledge: nature.

[eggynack]

By the text, the companion comes regardless of environment, and it is loyal by nature. The underlying mechanical process just says that you pick a companion off the list, after all, and after that point there are few explicit limits (such as on aquatic companions, or companions that can only be taken by particular races or those of particular regions), and loyalty is fundamentally part of the class feature. After that point, you get to why the feature works in that manner, and I just don't think there's enough evidence to know for sure. However, the feature's nature as an extraordinary ability means that you're far more likely to be sending out a psychic call at which point the companion comes running than you are to be constructing a companion from the ether.

[Hiro Quester]

Thanks.

It does seem that the AC is found in the wild, rather than summoned. I just recalled that there's a Rules of the Game:Animals article about this. In Part Four, Skip Williams (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20070206a) talks about Animal Companions, and makes a similar interpretation:


You can use any convenient means to locate your intended companion. Because most animal companions aren't the kind you can find in a shop, finding the animal you want probably requires a trip into the wild and a few Survival or Knowledge (nature) checks.

After locating the companion, you must arrange to keep the animal nearby for the day-long ritual that binds the two of you together. Lucky masters choose companions that are friendly enough to stick around on their own , but sometimes you must tether or cage it to keep it from wandering off.

The ritual does not succeed unless the intended companion is friendly toward you (but a wild empathy check can solve that problem). The ritual also does not succeed if the intended companion is under any charm or compulsion effect.

So I guess this rules out getting whatever optimized AC you want. You are limited by the fauna of the current environment. So no brown bear if you are in a warm climate. It will have to be a tiger or something like that. Not idea, but I guess Ill have to live with that.

[Extra Anchovies]

Thanks.

It does seem that the AC is found in the wild, rather than summoned. I just recalled that there's a Rules of the Game:Animals article about this. In Part Four, Skip Williams (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20070206a) talks about Animal Companions, and makes a similar interpretation:

It's worth noting that Skip's Rules of the Game articles aren't particularly well-regarded, because they seem to follow a different set of the rules than, well, the rules themselves do. That is, if I'm not thinking of some other set of articles by one of the core authors.

[Hiro Quester]

It's worth noting that Skip's Rules of the Game articles aren't particularly well-regarded, because they seem to follow a different set of the rules than, well, the rules themselves do. That is, if I'm not thinking of some other set of articles by one of the core authors.

No it's these articles. I take them with a grain of salt.

But it's an interpretation and a defensible one that it seems many people (including our DM) share.

[Psyren]

Pathfinder provides a couple of means that work out identically in practice:


Finding a Replacement

In some cases, replacing an animal companion or familiar can be as easy as purchasing an animal of the desired type and declaring it your new companion. Attuning a familiar to its new master requires a ritual. Choosing an animal companion requires 24 hours of prayer. The ceremony can also be used to attract and bond with an animal appropriate to the local environment. However, you might want to wait for the campaign to present an appropriate companion, such as an animal you rescue from a cruel enemy that you tame with the ritual or ceremony. In terms of game mechanics, there is no difference between any of these options, and you should work with the GM to find a replacement method that is appropriate to the campaign.

In other words, the ritual can be to attract a local animal, or you can find/buy an animal you want elsewhere and use the ritual to bond with that instead.

[Chronos]

Personally, I see it as the animal coming from the local environment, but allowing non-native animals anyway. The ritual for calling the animal warps reality enough that there just happened to be a polar bear in the middle of the Amazon, who was very confused about where it found itself, but was inexplicably drawn to one particular clearing in the jungle where some hippie is kneeling and chanting.

[lsfreak]

Personally, I see it as the animal coming from the local environment, but allowing non-native animals anyway. The ritual for calling the animal warps reality enough that there just happened to be a polar bear in the middle of the Amazon, who was very confused about where it found itself, but was inexplicably drawn to one particular clearing in the jungle where some hippie is kneeling and chanting.

This is the interpretation I'd take in a normal D&D game, one that didn't have a very limited scope with a far "smaller," less connected setting.

[Hrugner]

I assumed it was a special permanent version of "summon nature's ally" and have always treated it that way. I guess I never had a rules based reason to do so.

[Zordran]

You can always hop on Wikipedia to see if any other animal will service. when you mentioned a brown bear in the tropics, I immediately thought of the sloth bear, which is a little on the small end compared to brown bears, but is still in the same weight class. This is one case where some real-world knowledge works well with D&D.

One caveat with sloth bears, though: they'll constantly be trying to get you to look under the rocks and plants and take a glance at the fancy ants, and maybe... try a few. Repeatedly following his suggestions will invariably lead to taking Vow of Poverty as your next feat.

[Rubik]

When a mommy animal and a daddy animal love each other very much...

[Killer Angel]

When a mommy animal and a daddy animal love each other very much...

I know it! It's the birds and the bees, right?!

[Ruethgar]

I think for 3.5 it is more to the effect of a SNA, but I prefer 3.0 for a more realistic approach. Masters of the Wild has actual listed rules for how to find a companion(also provides the ability to get an a over average one).