Animal companions

[FleetingHeart]

Well, now that we have a working stealth command for Animal Companions (thank you mort!) and stealth is actually useful for them...I would like to suggest a few minor changes to animal companions.

The first is for Jungle Cats to have a decent stealth rating. 8 Hide/MS at level 5 is... bad. I recall the panther I had briefly around level 3 was a much better stealther than this.

Also, if possible, I would like to see camouflage and one with the land work on animal companions as well. Whether they simply get the bonus when the druid casts on themselves, or if the spells can simply be altered to allow casting on animal companions as well as your self.

[ScottyB]

Changing the spells' targeting types is not possible without requiring all casters to download the override in order to learn, prepare and cast the spell.

It would be possible to check whether or not the caster has a companion out, and to give them a bonus. Whether or not it's (1) desirable and (2) something someone wants to work on; is another matter entirely.

[lovethesuit]

What about that thing where familiars and animal companions share the spells of their owner?

Share Spells

At the master’s option, he may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts on himself also affect his familiar. The familiar must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit.

Share Spells (Ex)

At the druid’s option, she may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) she casts upon herself also affect her animal companion. The animal companion must be within 5 feet of her at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the animal companion if the companion moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the animal again, even if it returns to the druid before the duration expires.

Additionally, the druid may cast a spell with a target of "You" on her animal companion (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. A druid and her animal companion can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the companion’s type (animal).

[ScottyB]

What thing? Where are those quotes taken from?

[Lux Lucis]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/druid.htm
&
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/sorcererWizard.htm

(Note, it's in the animal companion and familiar sections).

I've seen it done on a server before (Narc's Bonds of Blood), so at least I know it's possible. Although, they did have a custom animal companion/familiar system there, so, as ScottyB said before... it may take just a bit too much time. Unless someone was capable of doing the work, and linking the current animal companion system with one druids/wizards/sorcerers use, so their companions can be affected by buffs cast upon themselves.

[ScottyB]

Narc's Bonds of Blood takes the "it's in PnP D&D 3.5e, we have to make it work like that if we can" position. That's a decision of the server team over there, and not a judgement; it was actually the first RP server I played on, so there's a little bit of nostalgia, thinking about it again.

Here, we make things canon when we want to, and we deviate when we want to.

It might be worth considering that modifying these spells might "open the floodgates" to requests for modifying all personal-targeted spells. Which I think would be a pain.

Oh, but let's not forget that there was also a much easier suggestion to up certain companions' skills. I just realized that there are 15 blueprints per companion (which means 15 total if it's just the Jungle Cat, 30 if there are two creatures, etc.) that would need to be updated, and companions are not fun to edit.

[FleetingHeart]

I'd gladly do the grunt work if given a brief primer on what needs to be edited.

[Random_White_Guy]

RwG to the rescue!

Potions can be used on familiars/henchmen/etc.

Find some of those, and they can easily be used on your familiar if needed! :D

[BoomdaddyBP]

Now that you say that RwG, I tried the other day on my wolf companion and it would not drink the potions (yes, I properly dragged the potion onto them). I will test it a couple more times and then bug report it if it still doesn't work.