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Inyssius Tor
2007-07-19, 06:58 PM
I really want to play a druid that takes on aspects of his environment, altering his mood and powers so that they fit, thematically, with his location.

I'm working on a set of environment-appropriate spells and Wild Shape forms, but right now my problem regards animal companions. A wolf (for example) wouldn't be particularly appropriate if I ended up underwater (for example), and it would take too long if I stopped for a full day to change companions each time I went somewhere new. Is there any way I can get a shape-shifting companion? I know that there's a Morphic Familiar variant for Changeling wizards, but I can't find anything similar for druids...

Quietus
2007-07-19, 07:17 PM
If your DM is letting you get a wild shape variant that picks up environmental stuff, ask them if you can spend a feat to let that ability extend to your companion. Wolf in water? Wolf's fur gets that waterproof-ish feel to it that many marine mammals have, grows gills, and its rear half is replaced by a tail. Dogfish!

Inyssius Tor
2007-07-19, 07:25 PM
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/storm_gallery/90760.jpg


I actually wasn't planning on using any variants, but that sounds pretty cool. Is it... real?

EDIT: and it turns out that the Vermin Shape feat keeps you from turning into animals. That's a shame...

Superglucose
2007-07-19, 11:46 PM
Mostly it'll take good Role Playing. Make sure you talk to your DM seperatley about it, just so he knows what you're doing. I tried something similar with a DM once, where I had a character who went insane whenever they were within 15' of a tavern, someone mentioned a tavern, etc. and my DM kept getting frustrated with my role playing, and eventually asked me why the hell my character was so random. When I explained the mentality, he let me keep playing it.

Worst comes to worse, it'll let your character be more true neutral than ever.

If I might make a suggestion, use the dragons as a good idea for how your character should act in certain enviroments. for instance, black dragons are CE (if I remember correctly) and live in swamps, so in a swamp your druid acts a little more CE, taking on the feel of the swamp.

Inyssius Tor
2007-07-20, 01:42 PM
Good idea.

So... nothing, then?

goken04
2007-07-20, 03:40 PM
Why not simply a chameleon for an animal companion? More fluff than crunch, but it gets the point across.

WhyBother
2007-07-20, 03:57 PM
Nothing in RAW occurs to me, except for a feat that allows you to have a vermin swarm as a companion. (Not even sure where I would have seen that.) Since bug are pretty versatile and found pretty much everywhere, you could just argue that they slowly change to adapt to new surroundings. Who really looks at them closely enough to tell? Even a "school" of tiny aquatic beetles isn't that much of a stretch.

Branching out a bit, you could try an unusual (another non-animal) companion like a small ooze. Other than that, You could just get something nebulous like a small dog, play him as a seal in water, a wolf in the woods, shorthaired and thin in deserts, longhaired in cooler climes.

Superglucose
2007-07-20, 04:09 PM
Is there a feat or something that will let you get an elemental as a companion? I know there's an Improved Familier feat that let my flame-based wizard (yeah yeah blast wizards suck, I know, but it was a lot of fun to roleplay a pyromaniac with fireball)have a small Fire Elemental.

You could ask your DM to let you have an elemental, which changed maybe? Like, if yuo're in a forest it's an air elemental, if you're in plains its a fire, under/above water water elemental, in the mountains/hills earth? Or maybe just take one of hte elementals?

Darrin
2007-07-20, 04:27 PM
I really want to play a druid that takes on aspects of his environment, altering his mood and powers so that they fit, thematically, with his location.


Mechanically, not sure how that'd work... all the environmental PrCs I've seen assume you pick one particular terrain or element and then get abilities related to it. Horizon Walker is the only thing I can think of where you get benefits from a variety of different terrains, but it doesn't mesh well with druid.



Is there any way I can get a shape-shifting companion? I know that there's a Morphic Familiar variant for Changeling wizards, but I can't find anything similar for druids...

In Dragon #326, there was a feat called Monstrous Companion, which allowed you to take magical beasts as an animal companion, but it required another feat (Savage Empathy) and the link wasn't quite as strong. No shapeshifters were listed as possible alternatives, but you could probably shoehorn one in somewhere.

Your best bet would be to pick up a Cohort with the Leadership feat, and just build or specify a Cohort that has alternate forms. Casting Awaken on an animal/tree would allow them to gain class levels (such as Druid or Master of Many Forms). They would no longer be eligible as animal companions, but they could still be cohorts.