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Reading through an old Dragon magazine (357), I discovered a class acts that I wish I had read while playtesting was ongoing.
Basically, it allowed a Druid to take a mobile Plant Companion, as an alternative to an Animal Companion. But the best part was the ability to evolve a Plant Companion as the Druid advanced in level, granting it various options and abilities.
Something like this would have been great to apply to the standard Animal Companion, allowing a Druid to "evolve" his Animal Companion as he advanced instead of forcing a Druid to abandon one companion for a more powerful one in order to be of service.
The article allowed such options/abilities as Blindsight, Darkvision, Tremorsense, Scent, Swift, Growth, and Bonus Feat, as well as others more suited to plants then an animal.
Any thoughts?
Well, in 3.5 , a Druid actually evolves his Animal Companion; he has to dump it if he wants a bigger Animal Companion later (thus, all the tables for Alternate Animal Companions arised). In PFRPG, the Expanded Rules for Animal Companions here follow a slightly different mechanics (and better, IMHO, although some Animal Companions can still be polished a little); a Druid never abandons his Animal Companion anymore (except if it dies and it cannot be raised from the dead), the choice he makes at first level determines the kind of animal he takes - the stronger he is, the later it gains its abiliites (more or less).
I think you are referring to the old 3.0 mechanics, where effectively the Druid was more of a 'shepherd', with a lot of small animals around him which were dumped at later levels for more powerful animals.
But it's true that the idea of a 'Plant Companion' is interesting... perhaps allowing it with an advanced Feat (like the Vermin Companion from Eberron Campaign Settings)?
Its true that low end animal companions could be evolved, but the sad truth is that unless your dungeons stayed very small and you werent willing to devote a few slots to spells like Reduce Animal, you traded in for the biggest, sexist upgrade you could. Which usually ended for most somewhere between Dire Tiger and T-Rex.
The plant companion works fine, although there are a few questions raised by some of its abilities, if memory serves me. Also, it takes time for it to evolve, so make a note of that; it won't be that great in a rushed save the world game.
While I love its mechanics, and think the idea is interesting, the execution would be very difficult for an anima companion to have the evolutionary aspects without starting to fly in the face of the reverence for nature that most druids are supposed to have. Even if it is a bit hypocritical, nature says its okay. Example: you can graft a brance from one tree into another, even if its a totally different species, and it will grow! No complex chemicals, surgery, or genetic manipulation needed. Can you do that with an animal? Nope.
Now, an aberration based "anti-druid" might be able to benefit from something like that, for those very reasons. Imagine something that looks like it was once a wolf, but under the warper's twisted care, it now has skin like an aligator (natural armor), a hunched back bulging with oversized muscles (str bonus), its tail has a scorpion tip dripping poison, and from its open mouth dangles both a long purple tounge (grapple bonus) but strands of a viscous translucent drool (anti-couagulant, gives it bleed damage on bites).
you traded in for the biggest, sexist upgrade you could.
I don't understand that part. How do you do sexist upgrades with animal companions? Do you use an extra trick to teach it to pee standing up?
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From the Dragon article, I liked the idea of performing a ritual that evolves your companion, though the effect does not take place until you advance a level. The sheer number of options presented in the article make a animal companion anything but run of the mill.
No two Animal Companions would be the same.
you traded in for the biggest, sexist upgrade you could.I don't understand that part. How do you do sexist upgrades with animal companions? Do you use an extra trick to teach it to pee standing up?
I do beleive you caught me in the most awesome typo in the history of my life. Amazing what a missing "e" can do.
I do beleive you caught me in the most awesome typo in the history of my life.
I don't know. I once tried to post asking about the prone condition. Boy, did the purists come out of the woodwork to flame me ;-P
From the Dragon article, I liked the idea of performing a ritual that evolves your companion, though the effect does not take place until you advance a level. The sheer number of options presented in the article make a animal companion anything but run of the mill.
No two Animal Companions would be the same.
So you can actually make a plant animal companion? Like a leaf wolf?