Druid ritual for new Animal Companion--details?

[Hiro Quester]

Has anyone ever worked out what the details of this ritual might be?

Playing a Druid8/Monk1 whose Animal companion was killed a few adventures back, and the fast paced action of the last couple of adventures has prevented my druid from taking the time for the 24 hour ritual to obtain a new Animal Companion.

I'm now about to take the time to replace it (with a tiger, mostly for Roleplaying reasons). My DM tells me that there are tigers in the area we are currently in, so this is possible.

He says I'll have to find a tiger, and he wants to role-play my interaction with it, convincing it to become my animal companion. I can get one, but if I don't do it well, it might require trying again with a different tiger, until I find a willing tiger friend.

Preparing locate animals and plants, and flying around in eagle wildshape should help locate a tiger. Charm Animal and Calm Animals should help get it into a mood to listen. Wild empathy and handle animal checks will probably play a role, too. While wildshaping into a tiger, and doing the formal tiger greeting (sniffing butts, taking in Tiger about the advantages of becoming my animal companion).

Charm Animal and Calm Animals, too. Eventually I'm going to have to show it that I'm not really just a funny-smelling odd-acting tiger, but a small forest gnome.

DM also wants me to supply some details of the 24 hour ritual.

Has anyone any good ideas to make the ritual interesting, fun for DM and me to role-play, not guaranteed of success, but not so difficult that it is likely to fail?

[HurinTheCursed]

You have already many ideas.

You could maybe

provide him food and water
give him a taste of you buff magic
change in tiger form (of the opposite sex to limit territorial aggressivity ?) to ease first contact

[Ruethgar]

The 3.0 book Master's of the Wild has a little more detail on getting animal companions by mundane rather than ritual means(Survival DC 10 to find the animal's regular territory and 30% chance per day with Survival and Detect Animals to find the one you're looking for, bribe it with food and become its friend). But as far as rituals go, I like Legeands and Lairs: Masterwork Anthology p86(also in Spells and Spellcraft)


The Ceremony: The ceremony begins at dawn with the druid setting out on a thoughtful walk in the forest. During this walk he must acquire the four leaves to be used in the ritual. Around noon and away from civilization and roads, the druid must find a place to write, such as the trunk of a large tree, a boulder, or a sandy surface. Once a suitable place is found, the druid takes out the chalk and draws a triangle inscribed in a circle. After completing the drawing, a smooth stone must be placed in the center. Then the druid takes seven steps away and sits down, placing the four leaves facing north, south, east, and west around him. The druid must then meditate on the desired animal companion for one hour. After meditation, the druid places some honey on his tongue, being careful not to swallow it. Then, holding the blade of grass with both hands, the druid blows through it like a whistle. The grass emits a shrill sound that echoes for miles around. If the desired animal companion is within 10 miles, it speeds to the druid with all haste, arriving in 1d4 minutes. The summoned animal is a fine specimen that has +2 to the ability score of the druid’s choice.

It is third party, 3.0, has a few other mechanical notations for Spells and Spellcraft ritual casting, and is limited by only being for a forested setting, but as fluff and description goes I liked this.

[Hiro Quester]

that's a very useful flavor of ritual, Ruethgar. Thanks.

I'll adapt something like that for the befriending ritual. Though DM won't go for the additional +2 to ability score (though it will get the regular boost of its abilities next time I gain a level).

Using survival to track and find the animal might also be folded in somehow.

The idea of, in addition to bribing it with food, showing it how powerful it can sometimes be when adventuring with me would be a good idea, too. I can prepare a few buff spells to cast, or share, with it.

I'm probably not able to change gender when in wildshape, though.

[Hiro Quester]

I have added to the Legends and Lairs: Masterwork Anthology, under “Druid Rituals” (p. 86) as the “initiating” ritual below:

Ritual for obtaining a new animal companion:

Material Components:
A piece of chalk, honey, four leaves from four different types of tree, a smooth round rock and a blade of grass.
Food suitable for the desired animal companion.

Initiating the ritual:

The ceremony begins at dawn with the druid setting out on a thoughtful walk in the forest. During this walk he must acquire the four leaves to be used in the ritual. Around noon and away from civilization and roads, the druid must find a place to write, such as the trunk of a large tree, a boulder, or a sandy surface.

Once a suitable place is found, the druid takes out the chalk and draws a triangle inscribed in a circle. After completing the symbol, a smooth stone must be placed in the center. Then the druid takes seven steps away and sits down, placing the four leaves facing north, south, east, and west around him.

The druid must then meditate on the desired animal companion for one hour.

After meditation, the druid places some honey on his tongue, being careful not to swallow it. Then, holding the blade of grass with both hands, the druid blows through it like a whistle. The grass emits a shrill sound that echoes for miles around.

If the desired animal companion is within 10 miles, it speeds to the druid with all haste, arriving in 1d4 minutes.


The ritual itself:

The animal arrives curious about the summons it received, but its attitude to the druid is indifferent.

At this point the druid can try to encourage a friendly attitude (see the diplomacy skill) by making a wild empathy check or handle animal check (DC 15) to improve the animal’s attitude.

The animal’s attitude can also be improved by communicating with it (e.g. using speak with animals spell, or being in a wildshape form of the same general kind as the animal). The druid must explain what being his companion entails, and what benefits he will provide.

The Druid then offers the animal the food he has brought.

If the animal eats the food the druid provides, it immediately gains the benefits of being an animal companion to the druid (as noted in The Druid’s Animal Companion), including the link with the Druid and the ability to share spells. If the effective level of the druid is high enough, the animal may also gain the increases to its natural armor, strength etc.. These benefits are temporary until the ritual is completed, and will be lost if the ritual is not completed as described below.

The Druid must then spend the next 23 hours with the animal, without interruption. He must be within 100 feet at all times. This is best accomplished using a wildshape form of the same or similar general type as the animal (which enables similar movement modes, movement speeds, and enables normal communication between the druid and animal).

During this time, the druid may show the animal the benefits of being his companion by providing buff spells to the animal (since the Share Spells ability of the druid’s animal companion will work, these may be self-buffs shared while the animal is within range).

During this time, the druid must serve the animal loyally as its companion, complying with the animal’s requests (within reason), before the animal will be willing to leave its home and travel with the druid. This is a test of the druid’s loyalty to the animal, symbolizing the loyal and trusting relationship the animal will have with the druid.

The animal will understand that it will be leaving its current home, so this may involve a last tour around its territory, hunting together, perhaps even meeting and saying farewell to its animal friends and relations.

Completing the Ritual

At the end of the ritual, the animal (DM’s discretion) must have moved its attitude towards the druid from friendly to helpful. It must willingly accompany the druid back to the location where it was initiated.

This can be accomplished by the druid’s actions over the 23 hours they spend together, impressing the animal with his devotion, strength, kindness, skill, or whatever else this animal values in a companion.

A DC 20 Wild Empathy check can also achieve this, if the animal isn’t yet totally convinced.

The animal must then return the druid’s loyalty, by providing food for itself and the druid to share. The druid must explain this part of the ritual to the animal, and the animal must willingly comply, without any use of handle animal skills or magic.

When the druid and the animal share a meal together, within seven steps of the symbol the druid inscribed to initiate the ritual, the animal becomes the druid’s official Animal Companion.


Any suggestions for improvements or amendments before I send this to DM?