An Intelligence of 2 is not enough to understand Einstein, but it is enough to understand that an order to attack a pack-mate is unusual and out of character.maybe I need to watch Animal Planet more, but don't some pack animals drive others out of their pack? I'm thinking if the companion sees the druid as their Alpha, then if the alpha says "Attack the mage." The int Animal will conclude that the mage is to be driven from the pack, abused as an Omega?
Single males, yes, if there's provocation. Not randomly out of the blue with no apparent reason. Also not an entire group. An alpha without a pack isn't an alpha.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Single males, yes, if there's provocation. Not randomly out of the blue with no apparent reason. Also not an entire group. An alpha without a pack isn't an alpha.An Intelligence of 2 is not enough to understand Einstein, but it is enough to understand that an order to attack a pack-mate is unusual and out of character.maybe I need to watch Animal Planet more, but don't some pack animals drive others out of their pack? I'm thinking if the companion sees the druid as their Alpha, then if the alpha says "Attack the mage." The int Animal will conclude that the mage is to be driven from the pack, abused as an Omega?
Like I said, I watch Discovery and History (and cartoon network) not Animal planet.
I didn't think it would respond to 'kill everyone' but 'kill bob' it might. It's a DM call as always. :-)
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Heck, dominating the mage and telling him to 'kill your friends' might allow the resisting character to pelt his friends with acid splash. He is following the order, just not effectively.You see, this I disagree with. If you are going to kill someone, than you are going to get down to doing it, not beat around the bush. This should be the case dominated or not.
Note 'resisting'. If you argue the character, forced to comply against his will, will automatically pull out the biggest gun in reply to 'kill them' then you might as well tell him to give you his character sheet. My approach allows the player to continue to (mostly) control his character.
Actually, my point was more than relevant to the current situation. And my point being, this is game --not real life--. In game, there are actual rules that dictate what an animal will do with a command (handle animal). In real life, as was your example, I don't get to roll my handle animal skill to influence the actions of my domestic animal.
And nowhere in the rules of the game does it state that an animal is an automaton that can be ordered around perfectly with no chance of confused commands by anyone with ranks in Handle Animal or a hot d20 (none of the checks are higher than DC 20, meaning anyone can push them on an uninjured animal if they roll well). Animals do have an intelligence score, and that means they do decide their own actions. The Handle Animal skill lets you guide those actions, but remember the adage: "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."
Irrelevant to my question. What animals will do has nothing to do with any of that. Please cease your straw men and answer the point, to wit, animals have an animal intelligence and thus will process commands through their intelligence. They are not robots or computer programs that follow orders to the letter regardless of conditions and ignoring extenuating circumstances. An Intelligence of 2 is not enough to understand Einstein, but it is enough to understand that an order to attack a pack-mate is unusual and out of character.So when was the last time you put on a suit of full plate armor, entered the abyss on a crusade for your God, and got your head lopped off by a demon and then resurrected by a friend, after they collected your body and teleported you all back to earth?As far as what the animal companion would do? It would do exactly what its' master told it to do. I could see that this would ESPECIALLY be the case if the animal companions intelligence is 3 or less. They are animal after all.So when is the last time your cat ever did exactly what you told it to do?
To be fair: You used a real world cat to compare it to a game where the animals do as they are told, provided they are trained to do so. He simply used a game world example against a real world example that would never happen in return.
As for the pack opinion I agree from a simulation point of view, but the game has no pack rules, and if the animal in question is not a pack animal does that come into play also. What if nobody at the table has a decent knowledge of which animals are pack animals and/or how they would respond in such a situation.PS: I am glad this discussion came up though. It has given me a few things to think about.
More thread necromancy from Foghammer. <<; (I think this is a better alternative to having people comment to tell me there is another thread somewhere, as happens so often elsewhere.) This has not come up in any of our games yet, but the thread about the summoner being dominated lead me to search for this thread. [Obviously,] having a druid PC, I am not DMing the game where I have an Int 6 companion, but I am the primary DM for my group and they look to me for advice on rules when things come up in game.
So yeah, my animal companion has Int 6 at level 13. Two from levels, +2 from swapping out the human racial feat for Eye for Talent (APG), and a base of 2. At Int 3, the animal is capable of understanding speech, and Int 6 is what familiars start with. I would say that this is a considerably intelligent animal, and understanding speech precludes learning tricks because those are very simplified commands that animals learn because they can't understand any languages.
IF, somehow, I manage to get myself dominated with my 21 will save, how would you have my companion - who has traveled with his master and other two party members for a very long time, even after attaining sentient level intelligence - react to the command to kill one of those party members?
And lets narrow it down further: What should be the ACs reaction to the druid attacking his friends, and what should be the reaction to the druid giving the AC the command to attack the same people?
More thread necromancy from Foghammer. <<; (I think this is a better alternative to having people comment to tell me there is another thread somewhere, as happens so often elsewhere.) This has not come up in any of our games yet, but the thread about the summoner being dominated lead me to search for this thread. [Obviously,] having a druid PC, I am not DMing the game where I have an Int 6 companion, but I am the primary DM for my group and they look to me for advice on rules when things come up in game.
So yeah, my animal companion has Int 6 at level 13. Two from levels, +2 from swapping out the human racial feat for Eye for Talent (APG), and a base of 2. At Int 3, the animal is capable of understanding speech, and Int 6 is what familiars start with. I would say that this is a considerably intelligent animal, and understanding speech precludes learning tricks because those are very simplified commands that animals learn because they can't understand any languages.
IF, somehow, I manage to get myself dominated with my 21 will save, how would you have my companion - who has traveled with his master and other two party members for a very long time, even after attaining sentient level intelligence - react to the command to kill one of those party members?
And lets narrow it down further: What should be the ACs reaction to the druid attacking his friends, and what should be the reaction to the druid giving the AC the command to attack the same people?
I would let it depend on how the party interacts with each other. If they are actually friends and the animal likes them it might hesitate or not attack. For your animal with an int of 6 I would most likely allow it to disobey the command or allow it to make a wisdom or intelligence check.