Animal Companion Feats

[TheCryingApple]

Hey guys, I'm a level 3 druid in a d&d 3.5 game, with no /real/ limits to the books I have available, and I want to make an interesting animal companion.

Since I've just recently reached level 3, my eagle animal companion currently has one feat that it can pick. Could you guys recommend a feat that gives a boatload of options to work with (now or down the line), or a feat that can emulate class levels that my animal companion can use?
Stuff like Bind Vestige, Shape Soulmeld, Martial study, Fey Heritage (as a prereq for Fey Legacy), or similar feats.

Since there are several threads out there that give optimized recommendations, I'd like to mention that this is NOT about what is the most reasonable or powerful choice for the character. Its about feats that would be strange or unexpected for an Animal Companion, but still work.

Are there any reasons (other than "no sane GM would allow it") that the feats listed above would not work?
And no Vow of Poverty, cause that's giving up nothing for something substantial.

[Rebel7284]

Wild Cohort? xD

[Coidzor]

I think you've hit upon the highlights.

I suppose Spellfire Wielder can give it a ranged blast attack that can be recharged using excess spells at the end of the day or an at-will magic item or a friendly Warlock, though that's one that has to be selected as a first level character.

If you're willing to go third party, there's some decent Aberration Blood (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?155474-Aberration-Blood-Expanded-WIP) inspired homebrew here in the Homebrew Subforum.

[Crake]

Hey guys, I'm a level 3 druid in a d&d 3.5 game, with no /real/ limits to the books I have available, and I want to make an interesting animal companion.

Since I've just recently reached level 3, my eagle animal companion currently has one feat that it can pick. Could you guys recommend a feat that gives a boatload of options to work with (now or down the line), or a feat that can emulate class levels that my animal companion can use?
Stuff like Bind Vestige, Shape Soulmeld, Martial study, Fey Heritage (as a prereq for Fey Legacy), or similar feats.

Since there are several threads out there that give optimized recommendations, I'd like to mention that this is NOT about what is the most reasonable or powerful choice for the character. Its about feats that would be strange or unexpected for an Animal Companion, but still work.

Are there any reasons (other than "no sane GM would allow it") that the feats listed above would not work?
And no Vow of Poverty, cause that's giving up nothing for something substantial.

Animals aren't capable of having a good alignment for exalted feats anyway, nor are they capable of making the sacred vow necessary for the sacred vow feat, lacking a high enough intelligence score, so that would be out anyway.

Realistically, being unable to speak or bargain would rule them out of being able to use bind vestige as well. Shape soulmeld is a bit tricky, but with appropriate magical communication (like speak with animals), that, and martial study could be seen as teachable to an animal. Fey heritage is equally fine, fey will mate with anything really, so there's nothing stopping that at all. Feytouched and half fey animals are totally a thing, so its not a stretch to imagine that an animal could have traces of fey heritage.

[eggynack]

Animals aren't capable of having a good alignment for exalted feats anyway, nor are they capable of making the sacred vow necessary for the sacred vow feat, lacking a high enough intelligence score, so that would be out anyway.

Exalted companion solves all of this just fine. Also helps with a lot of the other more... mentally involving combat feats. Ones that require more decision making than could be reasonably expected of an animal.

[TheCryingApple]

Animals aren't capable of having a good alignment for exalted feats anyway, nor are they capable of making the sacred vow necessary for the sacred vow feat, lacking a high enough intelligence score, so that would be out anyway.

Totally forgot that was in the requirements of Vow of Poverty. I saw it listed in one thread when I was searching, and it just struck me as annoyingly cheesy, so I mentioned it here without considering that it might not be allowable at all.


Realistically, being unable to speak or bargain would rule them out of being able to use bind vestige as well. Shape soulmeld is a bit tricky, but with appropriate magical communication (like speak with animals), that, and martial study could be seen as teachable to an animal. Fey heritage is equally fine, fey will mate with anything really, so there's nothing stopping that at all. Feytouched and half fey animals are totally a thing, so its not a stretch to imagine that an animal could have traces of fey heritage.

I see what you mean with bind vestige, but depending on how you interpret things, you can probably find SOME reasoning with fluff. For example, if you look at the spell "Speak with Animals," you will see that it is a spell with a range of personal, so the animals you speak to are not magically affected in any way, so they have a mode of communication that can be understood by those that recognize its existence. This means there COULD be a way that they make contact with vestiges, as vestiges speak in whatever language they are addressed in. But this really is pushing it.

Whats more difficult than explaining away that it COULD work, is HOW it came about. The DM might just say "So... your bird is summoning demons to grant it boons. I wonder where this poor, impressionable bird learned that sort of behavior"

To which my only response could be "I think it's half crow on its mother's side. Devious creatures, aren't they?"

[PacMan2247]

Underfoot Combat --> Confound the Big Folk is all that's springing into my mind immediately. They seem like the sorts of things that an animal companion could reasonably be trained to do, though I don't know how useful they'd be on a companion that isn't a wolf. Druid never really appealed to me as a class, so it's not something I've put a lot of thought into.

[eggynack]

Totally forgot that was in the requirements of Vow of Poverty. I saw it listed in one thread when I was searching, and it just struck me as annoyingly cheesy, so I mentioned it here without considering that it might not be allowable at all.

Again, exalted companion was likely an implied element of whatever build you were looking at. And, as a side note to that, said feat cost acts as a solid downside to VoP on your companion if you were seeking such a thing.

[Telok]

I've been looking into this, off and on, for a bit because I have a wizard character with a Quasit familiar who has basically lost almost all in combat utility at 10th level simply because of random AoE damage and the nasty penalties (the year and a day wait in specific) of familiar death.

Burning Blade, Douse the Flames, and Leading the Attack are available through Martial Study.
Quick Reconnoitre if it has 5 ranks each in spot and listen
Investigate, from Ebberon, has no requirements and could be hilarious. Also, Research and Urban Tracking.
You might want to check the applicability of Run and Fleet of Foot, depending on your DM's adherence to RaW.
Communicator from Complete Arcane, actually any of those 1/day SLA feats could be funny.
Simple Weapon Proficiency? Swarm Fighting? Dragon Hunter?

[TheCryingApple]

I've been looking into this, off and on, for a bit because I have a wizard character with a Quasit familiar who has basically lost almost all in combat utility at 10th level simply because of random AoE damage and the nasty penalties (the year and a day wait in specific) of familiar death.

Burning Blade, Douse the Flames, and Leading the Attack are available through Martial Study.
Quick Reconnoitre if it has 5 ranks each in spot and listen
Investigate, from Ebberon, has no requirements and could be hilarious. Also, Research and Urban Tracking.
You might want to check the applicability of Run and Fleet of Foot, depending on your DM's adherence to RaW.
Communicator from Complete Arcane, actually any of those 1/day SLA feats could be funny.
Simple Weapon Proficiency? Swarm Fighting? Dragon Hunter?

Looking at complete arcane right now, those abilities all seem super useful, but would fade quickly.
Communicator turns my birdo (im bad at names) into a biological ham radio. Not very powerful, but totally nifty. Now, since birdo doesn't speak common, would all of his messages end up being "SQUAWK," or is there a way I could make them understandable by the rogue or barbarian in the party?

Now, rechecking Fey Legacy, which I decided on going with, it seems as if it specifies character level as a prerequisite. Now one amigo of mine says this rules out animal companions outright, as they don't have character levels, only effective character levels. Is there any workaround for this? Any definition in a handbook somewhere? My DM okayed fey legacy, but under the impression (one that I had as well) that the requirement was 9 HD. I don't wanna scam the dude.

[Troacctid]

They don't have an ECL because they don't have a listed level adjustment, and ECL = HD + LA. However, they do have a character level, and it is equal to their total HD.

[Elkad]

I've been looking into this, off and on, for a bit because I have a wizard character with a Quasit familiar who has basically lost almost all in combat utility at 10th level simply because of random AoE damage and the nasty penalties (the year and a day wait in specific) of familiar death.

While I realize at some point your familiar spends a lot of time running your lab while you adventure, 10th level seems kinda early.
It's got improved evasion, the same base saves as you, is sharing all your buffs, and is wearing all your hand-me-down gear. You do give it gear, right?

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Leadership at level 6. :smallamused: Or Undead Leadership, Draconic Leadership, etc.

An extremely cheap pearl of speech, from the MIC, would allow your animal companion to speak in one language of your choice, and giving it an Int boost (whether via item or spell) would allow it to speak Common.

The Wild Talent feat (or Hidden Talent, but that's 1st level only) would allow your animal companion to take [psionic] feats, such as Speed of Thought. Hidden Talent would also grant it any 1st level power of your choice, including ones with amazing potential, such as psionic minor creation and control flames (which could be used on, say, an enemy's campfire to place the fire on a flammable tent or wagon).

[TheCryingApple]

The Wild Talent feat (or Hidden Talent, but that's 1st level only) would allow your animal companion to take [psionic] feats, such as Speed of Thought. Hidden Talent would also grant it any 1st level power of your choice, including ones with amazing potential, such as psionic minor creation and control flames (which could be used on, say, an enemy's campfire to place the fire on a flammable tent or wagon).

I've never really looked too far into psionics, but from the feats I've seen, there aren't too many useful ones that only require a power point pool. Hidden talent would be nice, but unavailable to me. My eagle doesn't really need move speed, as it has a fly speed of 80 ft, so speed of thought isn't of much value, but for a bear or maybe crocodile, I can see it being useful.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

I've never really looked too far into psionics, but from the feats I've seen, there aren't too many useful ones that only require a power point pool. Hidden talent would be nice, but unavailable to me. My eagle doesn't really need move speed, as it has a fly speed of 80 ft, so speed of thought isn't of much value, but for a bear or maybe crocodile, I can see it being useful.Speed of Thought applies regardless of which form of movement you use, including flight speeds.

If you ever use your familiar to do Flyby Attack touch spells, Psionic Fist could be nice. +2d6 expending your psionic focus in addition to the effects of the touch spell isn't bad at all.