Size catagories and animal companions

[Albions_Angel]

So I have a couple of questions. This NPC epic druid has an ex-companion awakened Dire Bear (who by my ruling had his added bonuses from being an AC converted to levels as one would advance any animal, so he kept his hit dice, but lost the strength/dex buff and ability to share spells, but gained the ability to level up by himself. He didnt take a class, but again, to me it makes sense that he would share "Timeless Body" which to my head is maintained by a series of herbal teas, magic, etc).

So this bear is over 1000 years old. It was an amazing specimen when it was trained, its since been awakened and gained 7 levels (its level 19, or 19 HD if you prefer) and its in perfect health.

So, how far can I push its size. If its above average, can I push it into "huge" from "large" (why is a Dire Bear large, when a Brown Bear is already large, and a Dire Bear is obviously a Dire Brown Bear, not a Dire Black Bear? That doesnt make any sense in RAW).

If not, what magic could it conceivably encountered that permanently raised it a size category? As much of this I can do without saying "Because the DM says so" the better. But if all else fails, this is an almost epic bear, with a druid literally older than the current pantheon as his friend and partner. I will pull rank if I have to.

[BowStreetRunner]

So, how far can I push its size. If its above average, can I push it into "huge" from "large" (why is a Dire Bear large, when a Brown Bear is already large, and a Dire Bear is obviously a Dire Brown Bear, not a Dire Black Bear? That doesnt make any sense in RAW).
Large Size actually has quite a range. A Brown Bear weighs more than 1,800 pounds and stand nearly 9 feet tall. Advancement is up to 10HD but still remains Large. On the other hand a Dire Bear is 12 feet long and weighs as much as 8,000 pounds. Advancement up to 16 HD remains Large but at 17-36 HD it is Huge (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/direBear.htm).

[Albions_Angel]

Ah, that wasnt in the monster manual. So the fact that, through awakening and gaining levels, my bear is now 19 hit dice, its huge and probably close to 15 feet long, 8 feet at the shoulder and 9000-10,000 lb? Thats suitable large. Probably close to 20 feet tall if it stands upright (4 foot long legs? Sound about right?) About double the size of a BIG real world grizzly. Sounds about right.

It just bugged me that a brown bear, squares wise, is the same size as a dire bear, which by its nature, is a giant version of a brown bear.

[eggynack]

This is a pretty easy problem to solve, actually, at least part way. The simple answer is to skip the dire bear. Instead, go with a dire polar bear, from frostburn, which according to the PHB II is available as a 16th level companion. It's huge right out of the box, full of all that bear glory. If you really need it to be a brown bear, you can always just say it's a brown bear, or take an additional step and strip it of the swim speed. Can't think of a way to get it to gargantuan offhand, and the advancement rules definitely don't work for this (because they're bonus HD, and operate off of a completely separate system), but if all you want is a huge bear, this is a beautiful option, and a perfectly rules legal one to boot.

[DrMotives]

So, how far can I push its size. If its above average, can I push it into "huge" from "large" (why is a Dire Bear large, when a Brown Bear is already large, and a Dire Bear is obviously a Dire Brown Bear, not a Dire Black Bear? That doesnt make any sense in RAW).

You could pull in the "Advanced Dragons" rules from the Draconomicon. For dragons that fail to reach Colossal size by great wyrm age, it has guidelines to say when they grow a size after so many extra HD. If you're just adding RHD to the bear, you can do the same thing. After a millennium of eating hunny pots, pic-a-nic baskets, and adventurers who don't sort their recyclables, that bear should be big enough to be featured in a dark ages epic poem. Huge size is about right for a bull elephant, also about right for the giant boar Hercules fought in his 12 Tasks. And a bear is bigger than a boar. The Russian bears from the Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfield would be Colossal size.

If the bear counts as a "small dragon" by Draconomicon standards, than adding 6 levels past its normal cap would add 1 size category. If you think it's "medium dragon", then 3 levels past its MM cap would increase it a size.

[Albions_Angel]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Oddly, despite home-ruling all the other crap I have, I dont like the idea of making a dire polar bear brown. Im going to go with the advancement making it Huge. Colossal is a little bit too far for me. This is a bear that, while 1000 years old, has never been seen by anyone but the party before. At least no one who lived.

The point is, this is the largest bear the party has ever seen. Easily. But small enough that they wont see it from 3 miles away, and so that it could hide in a forest (and be transported by his druid). At a later date, the party may encounter some much larger spirits in the shape of bears if they are lucky/stupid/have a death wish/wish to save the world/all of the above.