Just need a bit of Druid Help.

[Metahuman1]

I'm applying for a game, and I'm leaning towards, rather than making my life miserable trying to just straight up build a melee type, building a Druid and beefing the crap out of the animal companion so that I can use it as a melee type.

I'm planning on using a Strong Heart Halfling for Race, and riding it to get best benefit of Shared Spell. (AT higher levels I might see if the party Wizard wouldn't be so kind as to do Greater Mighty Wallop on my Club after I use Shillelagh on it, and maybe invest in some mounted combat feats so that it can do a butt load of damage just for giggles.)



Anyway, what I need help with is Building the Animal Companion up.

I want to know if there's a way I can have the character's companion become a Magical Beast for the Full BAB and D10 Hit Dice, and how to up the companions intelligence too "at least roughly human average smart.", so that it can be a case of "It's loyal too me but it's rational enough to understand having an objective and needing to do something it's not fond of, like follow me down into a dungeon, too achieve that goal.".


If possible, a way to get it to take actual class levels would also be snazzy, cause I think the idea of a Bear or a Dinosaur or something of the sort that does kung fu via Tome of Battle is hilariously stupid but awesome. XD!



Anyone know how to go about doing these things?



Oh, 2 other notes: 1: I'm seeking none evil options. 2: DM is a stickler for Roleplaying EVERYTHING, including and especially flaws.

Thanks!

[jdizzlean]

w/o homebrew, your companion will never get class levels.

w/ dm approval you can apply templates to your comp, and there are several that can then make it a magical beast, but you'll have plenty of spells that can give you better than a straight d10 in hd, such as animal growth, so i wouldn't focus on just getting a higher HD.

otherwise, you can look into some feats:
Exalted/Celestial Companion

there is also the beast heart adept in dungeonscape which allows you to take magical beasts as a companion, but it's levels dont stack w/ druid for choosing one, and you won't get spell/wild shape progression either

[MeimuHakurei]

The easiest thing to do is to get a Fleshraker Dinosaur (Monster Manual III) and cast Venomfire (Serpent Kingdoms) on it. Now you got a pouncing AC who deals uncapped bonus acid damage with each strike.

[Metahuman1]

w/o homebrew, your companion will never get class levels.

w/ dm approval you can apply templates to your comp, and there are several that can then make it a magical beast, but you'll have plenty of spells that can give you better than a straight d10 in hd, such as animal growth, so i wouldn't focus on just getting a higher HD.

otherwise, you can look into some feats:
Exalted/Celestial Companion

there is also the beast heart adept in dungeonscape which allows you to take magical beasts as a companion, but it's levels dont stack w/ druid for choosing one, and you won't get spell/wild shape progression either

D10 HD is a lesser concern. Full BAB and upgraded intelligence are a MUCH higher priority's.

What book is Celestial Companion in?


I want What Other Templates are good for making a bigger/badder/tougher customer of a companion, and also making it smarter?

[Metahuman1]

The easiest thing to do is to get a Fleshraker Dinosaur (Monster Manual III) and cast Venomfire (Serpent Kingdoms) on it. Now you got a pouncing AC who deals uncapped bonus acid damage with each strike.

Makes it damage heavy. Right up until the DM tells me the Fleshraker won't go in the Dungeon until it get's a high enough intelligence to be on human average level so I can explain "Doing something your not fond of to accomplish a goal." to get it too go.

Ergo the need to get it treated as a magical beast and get it a not insubstantial Int Boost.

[Uncle Pine]

I want to know if there's a way I can have the character's companion become a Magical Beast for the Full BAB and D10 Hit Dice, and how to up the companions intelligence too "at least roughly human average smart.", so that it can be a case of "It's loyal too me but it's rational enough to understand having an objective and needing to do something it's not fond of, like follow me down into a dungeon, too achieve that goal.".
Playing as an Arcane Hierophant (RotW) fixes both these issues. Dipping into any arcane spellcasting class and grabbing Sanctum Spell will qualify you with minimal loss of druid casting.
Slapping a +Int item on your animal companion fixes the latter.
The Plant Companion ACF (Dragon #357) gives you a companion that can be brought without issues inside dungeons (but isn't a magical beast, nor an animal).



If possible, a way to get it to take actual class levels would also be snazzy, cause I think the idea of a Bear or a Dinosaur or something of the sort that does kung fu via Tome of Battle is hilariously stupid but awesome. XD!
Animal companions can't gain class levels, but they can take Improved Unarmed Strike, Snap Kick, Martial Study, Martial Stance, and the likes just fine.

[Metahuman1]

Playing as an Arcane Hierophant (RotW) fixes both these issues. Dipping into any arcane spellcasting class and grabbing Sanctum Spell will qualify you with minimal loss of druid casting.
Slapping a +Int item on your animal companion fixes the latter.
The Plant Companion ACF (Dragon #357) gives you a companion that can be brought without issues inside dungeons (but isn't a magical beast, nor an animal).



Animal companions can't gain class levels, but they can take Improved Unarmed Strike, Snap Kick, Martial Study, Martial Stance, and the likes just fine.

Arcane Hierophant is, interesting as a prospect.


But the game is starting at level 2, going straight for the dungeon, and will be causing the problem of having an animal companion with me right out the gate at that level, so, something I can snag as a feat right away to get the magical beast type is something I still sort of need.

[Eldariel]

Exalted Companion is in BoED and does this job admirably. It brings it up to 3 Int, which does a lot of nice things (humanoid intelligence).

[Uncle Pine]

Especially if the game starts at 2nd level, Exalted Companion might just be the thing you're looking for, at least initially and if playing a NG character fits your general plan. Your druid level for your celestial animal companion will be 1, which is way more useful than what you'd get if the game started at 1st level. :smalltongue:

After that, if you're interested in Arcane Hierophant you'll either have to wait until 8th level to get in due to BAB restriction (with a Druid 6/Arcane spellcaster 1 entry) or dip into something like Duskblade, which gives you both full BAB and arcane spells (Druid 4/Duskblade 1 is enough to qualify in this case).

[Vizzerdrix]

The watchspider isn`t fantastic, but is a medium sized magical beast that a druid can get without feat investment and even light fluff issues. They are raised as guard animals and have a int of 3 to start, and an okay dex poison.


EDIT: I think it may be druid lv -3. Havent looked at it in a while.

[Metahuman1]

Possible on the Exalted Companion. Though I am seeking an option that doesn't require Exalted Alignment. Neutral Good isn't a problem for me though, in fact it's my go too Druid Alignment.



Are there any options outside of that one?


Also, are there any options for an "In Addition too.", to further raise the animal companions Int?






I'll keep the spider as a fall back option, buuuuuuuut I'm NOT a fan of spiders in general.

[Endarire]

Eggynack wrote a Druid guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?439991-Being-Everything-Eggynack-s-Comprehensive-Druid-Handbook).

[Eldariel]

Are there any options outside of that one?

Well, there are some creatures you can access with Exalted Companion but that feat is about the only real option.


Also, are there any options for an "In Addition too.", to further raise the animal companions Int?

Well, the usual; items, Wishes, etc. can increase a creature's intelligence. Of note is that the creature qualifies for Vow of Poverty, which contains inherent stat boosts so there's one option too (saves you the trouble of gearing up your companion). It's not bad since you can Air Walk it and such so it has no lack of meaningful options. You can also kung-fu it up by just taking the Martial Study + Stance feats as it advances. Warbeast template [Monster Manual II] would be one more hit die to that end. Probably, anyways.

Exalted Companion also opens up a number of very intelligent creatures as companions. Asperi has 13 Intelligence, for example.


Other than that, Arcane Hierophant is about the only option; you can enter with Magical Training, Dragonsblood Pool + Sanctum Spell. Of course, you also need to pick up Obtain Familiar -feat so it's rather feat intensive to do this without taking an arcane class level.

[Metahuman1]

Well, there are some creatures you can access with Exalted Companion but that feat is about the only real option.



Well, the usual; items, Wishes, etc. can increase a creature's intelligence. Of note is that the creature qualifies for Vow of Poverty, which contains inherent stat boosts so there's one option too (saves you the trouble of gearing up your companion). It's not bad since you can Air Walk it and such so it has no lack of meaningful options. You can also kung-fu it up by just taking the Martial Study + Stance feats as it advances. Warbeast template [Monster Manual II] would be one more hit die to that end. Probably, anyways.

Exalted Companion also opens up a number of very intelligent creatures as companions. Asperi has 13 Intelligence, for example.


Other than that, Arcane Hierophant is about the only option; you can enter with Magical Training, Dragonsblood Pool + Sanctum Spell. Of course, you also need to pick up Obtain Familiar -feat so it's rather feat intensive to do this without taking an arcane class level.

Alright, Exalted Companion it is then.


Vow of Poverty. Hmmmmmm, That is a thought.



As for Arcane Hierophant, I, Think I'll just take a level of Wizard and make sure I've got a 12 Int. This is already going to be a feat starved character. (The DM is a stickler about a flaw has to REALLY be biting you all, the, time, or it's not worth a feat. So I might have to do this with out flaws. Ergo Strong Heart Halfing instead of a Ghostwise Halfling for telepathy with the animal companion, or Gnome for the Con boost. )


Now, riddle me this. Does Arcane Hierophant stack in any way with Exalted Companion in terms of upgrades? Or is it a case of "Once you pick one you basically don't need the other."?

[Uncle Pine]

The benefits from Arcane Hierophant are simply added on top of whatever you already have: for example, if you were a Druid 6/Wizard 1/Arcane Hierophant 1 with Exalted Companion and a celestial (-1 druid level) bison (-3), your companion would have all the stats of a normal celestial bison PLUS +2 HD, +2 natural armor, +1 Str/Dex, +2 tricks, link, share spell, and evasion (from your druid/arcane hierophant levels) PLUS +1 natural armor, a flat base Int score of 6*, Alertness, improved evasion, share spell, and empathic link (from your wizard/arcane hierophant levels).

*Please someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I haven't found anything that would suggest that if you have a familiar/companion familiar with an Int score that is already higher than the one listed the familiar retains it. As written, it seems an Int 13 familiar serving a 1st-2nd level wizard would be "dumbed down" to Int 6.

[liquidformat]

Here are all your possible options as I have noticed some have been overlooked.

-Exalted Companion: as said previously a solid choice, you can either add celestial template to animals or choose from the list. Blink dog makes for an interesting animal companion. This option doesn't go live until at least 4th level so you will have 2 levels of possible issues exploring dungeons. Like said above if you take VoP it might be possible to get it on your animal companion too which is very powerful.

-Beast totem+Totem Companion: Eberron specific feat chain that will net you a magical beast to replace your animal companion. It doesn't come on line until level 7 or later and I think the choices aren't great and some are in the wrong level tier (see krenshar). Displacer beast is probably the best choice.

-Arcane Hierophant: While a cool and pretty powerful option it only partially fixes your problem since it makes your companion smarter but doesn't increase bab.

-Elven Hound: I believe this was introduced as an animal companion in RotW, if I remember correctly (afb) it is a first level animal companion for elves and a 4th level one for everyone else. It is a magical beast so it would get full bab and d10 hd though it still only has int 2...

-Brainfarting on the name of the class but there is a 3.0 prc similar to beast master but it is based around having magical beast companion. Granted it isn't going to help with any of the druid parts of your build...

-Take leadership and get a half celestial animal as cohort. See if dm will let you treat it as your animal companion if you have exalted companion + leadership. If you combine this with arcane heirophant and can have class levels on the cohort companion it will probably be more powerful than you...

Other things to look at: Warbeast template should help out a lot, it allows the animal companion to be battle trained and wear armor. If you allowed to have a magebred animal companion say yes very powerful enhancement.

[Elkad]

*Please someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I haven't found anything that would suggest that if you have a familiar/companion familiar with an Int score that is already higher than the one listed the familiar retains it. As written, it seems an Int 13 familiar serving a 1st-2nd level wizard would be "dumbed down" to Int 6.


AFAIK the rules are silent on if it keeps the higher intelligence. However, since the familiar uses the better of its own or yours for skills, HD, saves, and BAB, doing the same for intelligence is completely reasonable.

I allow it at my table.

Edit: It says the same (use higher) for both hitpoints and intelligence HERE (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050906a)