The Legend Begins...

[rahimka]

A surly Druid with Charisma as a dump stat takes a Deinonychus animal companion (Charisma 14). Right from level 1 he's a bit jealous of the thing's greater popularity among his teammates and NPCs.

Things only gets worse as the little raptor puts its first stat advancement into Intelligence and begins to UNDERSTAND that it's likable and charming.

Sh*t really hits the fan when the Druid hits 8th level and his companion reaches 7HD, thus earning a new feat: Leadership! Now the (medium sized) raptor has it's own 5th lvl cohort in the form of a Bard who goes around singing the praises of his reptilian leader and dismissing the Druid completely, "I don't work for you!"

One more level and the raptor has started attracting a group of followers. A small cult is forming around this charismatic lizard...

The Druid finds himself pushed more and more to the side in the tales of his COMPANION'S adventures:

"Did you hear about the dinosaur who saved those dwarven orphans?"

"I heard the heroic beast slew an entire band of marauding orcs and saved a whole village..."

"OMG! Are you that druid who works with him?! What's he like in real life? Can you introduce me?!"

[Thurbane]

Have to say, this is pretty awesome. :smallsmile:

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/bc/89/8d/bc898d6784ccbe7bd68afc09bd4862ec--velociraptor-tattoo-shoulder-tattoo.jpg

[Ellrin]

One more level and the raptor has started attracting a group of followers. A small cult is forming around this charismatic lizard...

https://i.imgur.com/x3pBsXc.jpg

[ZamielVanWeber]

If the druid is exalted good there is a feat that will make your animal companion a celestial animal which would push their int to 3.

[arkangel111]

Or pathfinder...

[Firest Kathon]

I think you read it the wrong way around. An animal is not forbidden to raise its intelligence, but one which raises its intelligence store above 2 changes it type and would usually become a magical beast (see e.g. Wizard familiars).

Magical Beasts are similar to animals but can have Intelligence scores higher than 2.
However, that general rule is superceded by the Druid class description, which states:

They remain creatures of the animal type for purposes of determining which spells can affect them.
(Although it could be discussed if they remain animals or become magical beasts which still count as animals for the purpose of spells).

[ZamielVanWeber]

First, that still means it exists in a weird spot being unable to legally qualify for any type (it was not explicitly changed but also cannot be an animal).

More importantly, this line about animal companions:

A 1st-level druid’s companion is completely typical for its kind except as noted below.
The section below says nowhere that its int is above other members of its kind so you cannot adjust int. Also I am not convinced it even gets stat points for gaining HD since that is not listed in the specific rules for advancing animal companions.

[Fouredged Sword]

It can take leadership regardless of it's int.

[ShurikVch]

Celestial Deinonychus ... Leadership feat
the raptor has started attracting a group of followers. A small cult is forming...This reminded me:
https://images.alphacoders.com/221/thumb-350-221361.jpg

Know Your Meme (http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/raptor-jesus), Uncyclopedia (http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Raptor_Jesus), and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/The-Church-Of-Raptor-Jesus-110644078967528/)

[ZamielVanWeber]

It can take leadership regardless of it's int.

Does the animal companion count as a character? It is a living thing, but is also a class feature. If it is an NPC generated by a class feature it qualifies for leadership (possibly better than the druid ironically) but if it is simply a creature generated by a class feature, or a class feature that involves a creature, then it would not. I honestly am not sure.

[Fouredged Sword]

If you have 6HD, you qualify for leadership. There are no other requirements. 3.5 does not have different rules for NPC and PC's.

[Yanisa]

What about Pathfinder gets around the Intelligence restriction for animals? The only thing I can find in the PFSRD is the Drake Companion entry, but those are dragons..

Well according to the lead designer from Pathfinder:

Note that while the monster guidelines talk about a maximum Int for an animal, this only applies to the creation process. Giving an animal a higher Intelligence score does not somehow transform it into a magical beast, unless the effect says otherwise, such as in the case of awaken. Animals can grow to have an Int higher than 2 through a variety of means, but they should not, as a general rule, be created that way.
From this blog post/FAQ (http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/v5748dyo5lc1y), emphasis mine. And the PF-community generally accepts word from the authors as RAI.

One could use the same argument for 3.5.

[Thurbane]

Comedy/just-for-fun thread ends in RAW arguments. What are the odds? :smallsigh:

[legomaster00156]

As far as Pathfinder is concerned, it is also definitely a thing that an animal companion's INT can rise above 2, because of this line.


Animal companions with an Intelligence of 3 or higher can select any feat they are physically capable of using. GMs might expand this list to include feats from other sources.

[ericgrau]

So the animal companion gains int 3 and maybe it's no longer an animal. I don't think that prevents it from being an animal companion. Sure animal companions are usually animals, but it's not a big stretch for them to be former animals. They're already superior in many ways. It's more of a debate when the druid tries to cast animal-only spells on his int 3+ companion.

I was wondering more where you found a Deinonychus (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/dinosaur.htm#deinonychus) with cha 14. I see 10. Though you could always magic item it. Also when the druid reaches 8th level it has 4 HD from the effective druid level adjustment.

Now a dire weasel OTOH has cha 11 and no adjustment to its level.


http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/30800000/Smart-Ass-toon-patrol-30855176-886-1108.jpg

[rahimka]

LOL, so much rules squabbling. To clarify a few things from my first post:

1) I should have specified Pathfinder, not 3.5

2) In Pathfinder, it's pretty established you can add the first stat increase for an Animal Companion to Int. It's actually almost always a REALLY GOOD IDEA, because that means it can take ANY feat it's physically capable of and meets the pre-reqs for (instead of the limited set available to default Animal Companions)

3) The Pathfinder stats for the Deinonychus, are indeed Charisma 14. Which also happens to make it an especially great choice for Celestial Servant (smite evil!). That feat incidentally DOES explicitly change the creature type to Magical Beast. Obviously Raptor Jesus would love it if "his" Druid spent on a feat on that (as an Aasimar or a Human w/Racial Heritage feat as well), but as we all know their relationship is a little tense...

[NontheistCleric]

Does the animal companion count as a character? It is a living thing, but is also a class feature. If it is an NPC generated by a class feature it qualifies for leadership (possibly better than the druid ironically) but if it is simply a creature generated by a class feature, or a class feature that involves a creature, then it would not. I honestly am not sure.

Any creature is a character. The only distinction is whether it is a PC or an NPC. It may be an NPC whose service is obtained through a class feature, but that doesn't make it any less of a character.