Protecting your weak willed animal companion

[backpackjack]

Any thoughts on how to bes protect my weak willed animal companion. Apparently have a 2 intelligence makes one's AC quite vulnerable to scads of tactics. Is there a way to make one's AC more loyal, or more impervious to spells designed to woo it away or to take advantage of its weak mind. I invest so much into the big beast ony to find it "romanced" away but some clever caster or some highly skillful confuser. Your help is much obliged.

[Coidzor]

Well, here's some initial thoughts for your perusal.

What tactics are you getting hit with that are especially inconveniencing you?

It's not the intelligence but the Will save of animals that is usually targeted. Though if you can get some way to protect it from Int ability damage, that'd be good as 2 points of Int Damage and your AC's in a coma until a spell is cast or a day passes.

So a cloak or collar or harness of resistance might be in order. An item to buff its wisdom would also be good and if you can swing it, some DMs will houserule otherwise, a +2 int item will make 'em sapient enough that you won't even need to get them to perform and learn tricks to control them.

Your animal companion should already be plenty loyal, so unless they're being magically compelled or charmed, your DM is just messing with you.

[Psyren]

Will is based on Wisdom, not Intelligence... animals actually are decent in this regard. (Certainly they have more than most non-wis-based PCs do.)

[JeminiZero]

See if you can customize your Companion's feat selection. This might invovle Magic Jar to exert precise control over your Companion, and having it UPD power stones of Psychic Reformation to swap feats.

Once thats possible, see if you can access MoI, and pick up the feat Shape Soulmeld: Planar Ward, for a semi-permanent Protection against Evil effect. However, soulmelds can be removed to Negative Levels (and can be suppressed by Dispel as per normal magic items, but thats less of an issue), so see if you can also get Enduring Life and Lasting Life from Libris Mortis to counteract that.

[Darrin]

Well, other than throwing your animal companion in an Otyugh Hole... Dragon #323 had a couple tricks that might help:

Courage (DC 20): +2 untyped bonus on Will saves vs. fear effects when owner is within 20'.

Loyalty (DC 25): +2 morale bonus on Will saves vs. enchantment spells and effects.

Both tricks require the trainer to have wild empathy.

If you can get the animal companion to pick up the Iron Will feat, the Cumbrous Will feat in Savage Species might be interesting: before making a will save, you can decide to add an untyped +6 bonus to your saving throw. Regardless of the outcome, you're shaken for the rest of the encounter. (Shaken is a fear effect, and there are a few ways to make yourself immune to fear or the shaken effect.) While it's listed among the monster feats, and thus intended to be used by non-humanoid creatures, I'm not entirely sure how an animal would decide to use it, other than "WILL SAVES BAD, USE IT!".

[Lev]

Bring out your companion after the caster is intercepted by tentacles, brambles or whathaveyou.

[Eldariel]

Dire Animals also have inherently good Will-save progression. Other than that, casting Owl's Wisdom and Superior Resistance on your AC is always a good precaution.