RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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If you have the feat Boon Companion
"Benefit: The abilities of your animal companion or familiar are calculated as though your class were four levels higher, to a maximum bonus equal to your character level."and a Robe of Arcane Heritage
"The wearer treats her sorcerer level as 4 higher than normal for the purpose of determining what bloodline powers she can use and their effects."in which order do you apply their bonuses? For example, a sorcerer with the Sylvan bloodline has an animal companion at sorcerer level -3. Do you add boon companion to get it to sorcerer level and then add the 4 levels from the robe or do you add the robe first and get no benefit from boon companion as it can not go over your level?
I'm not sure there is a hard and fast rule for this - I'd be tempted to apply the feat first, becasue it's innate, and then add the magic item bonus as it is more impermanent. So in that case they would stack, to a point.
Thought the convolutions required by having a robe that adds 4 levels to your animal companion or familiar can get kind of wacky - if the robe gets destroyed, removed or suppressed what happens to your companion? Could anti-magic kill Fluffy if he's already wounded when his extra HD disappear? You'd need to keep two sets of stats for your AC - one "normal" and one "augmented."
I thought there was a rule that you can choose in which order effects on you work.
Same with the question: What comes first, bleed damage or fast healing. I think you can choose if you're the one bleeding.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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If you have the feat Boon Companion
"Benefit: The abilities of your animal companion or familiar are calculated as though your class were four levels higher, to a maximum bonus equal to your character level."and a Robe of Arcane Heritage
"The wearer treats her sorcerer level as 4 higher than normal for the purpose of determining what bloodline powers she can use and their effects."in which order do you apply their bonuses? For example, a sorcerer with the Sylvan bloodline has an animal companion at sorcerer level -3. Do you add boon companion to get it to sorcerer level and then add the 4 levels from the robe or do you add the robe first and get no benefit from boon companion as it can not go over your level?
I would say you should be able to apply the boon companion feat first (since it is permanent and affects your companion only) and then apply the robe's 4 levels (since it can be taken off or sundered). Even if the robe were removed, you'd still have Boon Companion working in the background, keeping your effective druid level for fluffy at your character level, so I'd say it should apply first.
Sylvan
Your ties to nature have more to do with creatures than with capriciousness.
Associated Bloodline: Fey.
Bloodline ArcanaSee bloodline powers.
Bloodline PowersYour magic shows a kinship to that of the beast-talkers and shapechanger fey.
Animal Companion (Ex): At 1st level, you gain an animal companion. Your effective druid level for this ability is equal to your sorcerer level – 3 (minimum 1st).
This bloodline power counts as your bloodline arcana and also replaces laughing touch.
Fey Wings (Su): At 15th level, you can grow insectlike wings from your back and become one size category smaller (as if you had used reduce person), gaining a fly speed of 60 feet with average maneuverability. You can maintain this form for 1 minute per level. This duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be used in 1-minute increments.
This bloodline power replaces fey magic.
So for this wildblooded variant your animal companion counts as both your bloodline arcana and as a bloodline power.
Robes of Arcane Heritage
Aura moderate necromancy; CL 9th
Slot body; Price 16,000 gp; Weight 1 lb.
DescriptionThese elegant, dark purple and royal blue robes are usually decorated with gold stitching depicting a sorcerer bloodline, though some indicate a family tree. The stitching changes to match the sorcerer bloodline of the wearer. The wearer treats her sorcerer level as 4 higher than normal for the purpose of determining what bloodline powers she can use and their effects.
Construction RequirementsCraft Wondrous Item, speak with dead, creator must be a sorcerer; Cost 8,000 gp
So the robes increase your sorcerer level by 4 for the purposes of determining what bloodline powers you can use.
Nowhere do the robes say that they increase your bloodline arcana by 4 levels. This definitely is one of those weird corner cases. I am inclined to think that they do not stack to allow a character to have an AC at their level +4.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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Hmm, good catch, CapGM. It IS listed as a Bloodline Power though, even though it also takes up your Bloodline Arcana. This one is definitely a tough call, now that you've pointed that part out. I would probably still allow it in my game, but I could definitely see it being a contentious point.
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Personally, I'd say the maximum benefit clause from Boon Companion kicks in no matter which order the bonuses are applied in.
Personally, I'd say the maximum benefit clause from Boon Companion kicks in no matter which order the bonuses are applied in.
This is how I see it also.
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RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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The unbalancing thing about allowing the Robes of Arcane heritage to stack with Boon companion is that you allow a sorcerer to get an AC stronger than a druid's AC at the same level.
But the robes allow that just by themselves - the AC goes from sorc level -3 to sorc level +1.
I agree that it seems a bit powerful. Was there ever an "Official" ruling?
I am also interested in hearing opinions, preferably from a developer point of view, about this dilemma. I'm having a sylvan gnome, who has boon companion and now I fear the feat was a big mistake.
I'd allow it after all the Nature Oracle [Elf or Aasimar] can have a Animal Companion 1.5 times their level. A 10th level Aasimar Nature Oracle would have a level 15 Animal Companion.
Why can't they spend the favored points on it.
No I have not looked it up yet, but I saw this in another thread, and I wonder if people are missing a restriction.
Technically you can, but you can't boost your effective druid level above your character level, so any points spent on that are simply going to waste.Why can't they spend the favored points on it.
No I have not looked it up yet, but I saw this in another thread, and I wonder if people are missing a restriction.
why not?
Technically you can, but you can't boost your effective druid level above your character level, so any points spent on that are simply going to waste.Why can't they spend the favored points on it.
No I have not looked it up yet, but I saw this in another thread, and I wonder if people are missing a restriction.
Why can't you do it, other than it might be game breaking?
I am not asking if its fair. I am asking if the rule specifically deny it.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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There's nothing in the rules saying you can't use your favored class bonuses to get a bonded mount that will go higher than your character level. The only thing that specifically doesn't let you go over your own class level is Boon Companion.
In fact, you could go Oracle of Nature 19/Sylvan Sorcerer 1, take 18 favored class bonuses in Oracle (+9 levels to your mount) to get a bonded mount of level 29, and wear robes of arcane heritage to get you another +4 levels, to 33.
Not that companions/bonded mounts can actually increase past 20th level in Pathfinder, so there's really no reason to do any of this. The VERY BEST you can hope for is to take Sylvan Sorcerer 1/ Oracle of Nature 10, with 10 favored class boosts and the robes to have a 20th-level animal companion at level 11. After that, your companion wouldn't increase in power at all. And you can't choose any companion other than a camel, horse, pony, wolf, boar, or dog. Your mount might be stronger than it should be, but it won't be game-breaking, and its usefulness will decrease as you increase in level after level 11.