Doomherald's page

Doomherald wrote:

So eventhough it specifically says you can pick vulture (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/druid/animal-companions#TOC-V ulture-Giant), youre saying it cannot.

Eagle, hawk, owl, vulture, kite, buzzard, osprey, condor, falcon, whatever. It still uses the same statblock - that of the bird AC.

You've linked to the giant vulture, which is something else. Unless you think an ant and a giant ant are the same thing?

Quote:

Nit-picking over things like this as a DM

<nitpick>I'm a GM, not a DM.</nitpick>

Sorry, I couldn't resist...

Well, if we want to be super RAW, like you suggest, NO companion can be utilized by the falconer, as it MUST BE LARGE. "Bird" is not on the list of LARGE animal companions.

The bird can be of any type of LARGE hunting or scavenging bird (even a vulture).

Bird (Eagle/Hawk/Owl)

Starting Statistics: Size SMALL; Speed 10 ft., fly 80 ft. (average); AC +1 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4), 2 talons (1d4); Ability Scores Str 10, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6; Special Qualities low-light vision.

4th-Level Advancement: Ability Scores Str +2, Con +2.

Though, at lv 7, a Roc would be LARGE.

Doomherald wrote:

Paz wrote:

Doomherald wrote:

read roc, it is a BIRD, explicitly stated

The falconer doesn't get any old bird as an animal companion, it gets THE bird animal companion.

PRD wrote:

the falconer must take the bird animal companion

So eventhough it specifically says you can pick vulture (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/druid/animal-companions#TOC-V ulture-Giant), youre saying it cannot.

Nit-picking over things like this as a DM is what makes your PCs have to make choices with their character to circumvent you to make the character they envisioned fleshed out. In this case, if you're going to give him so much hell, he just takes first level in druid, picks roc, the rest in ranger, which stacks. There ya go, youve forced him to multiclass around you to get the same result... ridiculous.

Taking a level of Druid would definitely allow your two classes to stack for the hit dice and other statistics of your animal companion. But it does not expand the list of available animals for a class that has a restricted list.

It does not need to, your companion, acquired at lv1 as a druid will remain your companion, it will increase as your ranger levels at 2nd, 3rd, etc increase.

It doesn't say you can pick vulture. It says you have to use the bird animal companion, which is a very clearly defined thing.

The Falconer first states "The bird can be of any type of large hunting or scavenging bird (even a vulture)."

Doomherald wrote:

read roc, it is a BIRD, explicitly stated

The falconer doesn't get any old bird as an animal companion, it gets THE bird animal companion.

PRD wrote:

the falconer must take the bird animal companion

So eventhough it specifically says you can pick vulture (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/druid/animal-companions#TOC-V ulture-Giant), youre saying it cannot.

Nit-picking over things like this as a DM is what makes your PCs have to make choices with their character to circumvent you to make the character they envisioned fleshed out. In this case, if you're going to give him so much hell, he just takes first level in druid, picks roc, the rest in ranger, which stacks. There ya go, youve forced him to multiclass around you to get the same result... ridiculous.

PFS FAQ goes into re-skinning for animal companions and mentions things like a lynx works as a "small cat" animal companion and is a valid way to role play your choices.

the question of whether the "bird" companion is referring only to the Bird one is legit. Its typically an Eagle, Hawk or Owl. Is the fluff text merely expanding Bird to cover ANY bird like an osprey , and a vulture, but you've got to use the Bird stats? In which case they can have a Condor or Roc, but they have a small one that uses the Bird stats , not the Roc stats.

** spoiler omitted **

or is it legitimately saying that you can choose any type of Bird as your animal companion?
that sounds like something that will fall under table / gm variation unless an faq or someone clarifies it. Its also more of a rules question than a PFS specific question, so asking for developer response / FAQ there could help.

And this isn't a question of , this is impossible in the game. If they had known that Falconer wouldn't work, they could have just chosen to be a Beast Master ranger, and gotten a Roc at 4th level. Falconer I hope just fits their creative vision of the character, and lets them have one at 1st level, with half as many hit points. Its a very toned down class feature.

** spoiler omitted **

at first level they get a Medium Roc, with 2hp ( half the...

read roc, it is a BIRD, explicitly stated: http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/monsters/roc.html

Rocs are terrifying, legendary BIRDS renowned for their ability to carry off elephants and other big animals. A typical roc is 30 feet long from beak to tail, with an 80-foot wingspan and weight of up to 8,000 pounds. While their beaks are hooked like an eagle's and designed for slashing and tearing, most rocs prefer to seize prey in their massive, clawed talons and drop them from great heights before feasting on the shattered remains. For this reason, they are often followed by flocks of scavengers like rooks, buzzards, and eagles hoping to steal portions of the roc's messy meals. The roc generally ignores such opportunists, but if the scavengers don't take care, they nevertheless may find themselves accidentally consumed by the feeding roc.

Rocs are equally comfortable over land and sea. While they are capable of sleeping in the air as they soar solo across great ranges in search of food, they generally return home to the mountains to roost and procreate. They prefer rocky crags that are completely inaccessible by terrestrial means, building vast nests of tree trunks and ruined masonry. Once a decade, a mated pair lays a clutch of 3–5 eggs and raises its young. Outside of mating, rocs are extremely antisocial, and may attack others of their kind in vicious aerial battles in order to establish their territorial boundaries. When a nest contains eggs or chicks, parents trade off in their long-ranging flights, with one restricting its wanderings to within a 10-mile radius of the nest.

Rocs are most commonly white but can be a number of different colors, from dark brown or gold to black or blood red. Their massive feathers are highly prized, and their eggs even more so. Due to their scarcity and the high risk involved in harvesting them, a single man-sized roc egg can net 4,000 gp if transported to market undamaged. A roc can be trained as well as any other animal, but its great size makes this a daunting task for most would-be trainers of human size. The same isn't true for giants—particularly cloud and storm giants, who often use trained rocs as guardians for their lairs. Rocs are even large enough to serve as mounts for the most prestigious of giants.

Rocs taken as animal companions by druids or rangers are typically newly hatched birds—a baby roc is the size of a person and ready for flight and hunting within minutes of hatching. Unfortunately for druids seeking animal companions of legendary size, an animal companion roc is limited to Large size—still large enough for a Medium druid or ranger to use the flying beast as a mount.

Today I had a player who was a ranger with the Falconer archetype. They used that archetype to get a Roc animal companion at level 1, "At 1st level, a falconer earns the trust and companionship of a bird of prey.". We looked at the rules and I am torn. The Falconer first states "The bird can be of any type of large hunting or scavenging bird (even a vulture)." This would make you think that you could get the Bird, Roc and Giant Vulture animal companions as pets with the archetype. But looking further it states "but the falconer must take the bird animal companion". This now implies that you may ONLY take the bird, not the Roc or Vulture. I think the concept of the Roc works for this archetype, but I'm not sure if she can actually use this in a PFS game. I looked around on the forums and found this post about it, but that basically boils down to being up to the GM interpretation. That is never a fun place to be in PFS, and I didn't want to tell her that she couldn't or could without getting more input on it. Personally, I think it would be ok, but my opinion does not decide PFS legality. So, is there any place I could check for an "official ruling" or anyone we could ask?

This is ridiculous at this point, what the hell are you guys arguing?

Im a 32yo veteran player looking to get into PFS.