they say dogs are man's best friend.....

[zainale]

so i have my pet dog in the game i am play and i come across or by a Collar of the True Companion which after a week becomes useless. could i in turn take that collar and using wondrous item creation turn it into a collar of anthropomorphic animal shape with the command word to turn off at will or would the spell mechanics of the spell not work.
now the thing is that i would before making the anthropomorphic collar. the dog would be intelligent if not smarter then i am . well anyways i would want to make it my apprentice train it in my class and use it to help me in my lab between missions and when i thought it learned enough and i have finished the collar of anthropomorphic shape i would give it to the dog. anyways planning ahead i would want to use it as my next pc if something happened to my main pc. i think this is all possible but i am not sure. is it all possible to make that collar of anthropomorphic shape.

the spell awaken turns the animal into a magical beast so does that stop it from being an animal?

if the spell Anthropomorphic Animal raises the animals int to three does it need to what if the intelligence is already above 3. it does not state that if its over three that it would fail.

if the item is creatable as a continuous effect would i have the mental command to temporarily turn it off so the dog could take its natural form like 3-5 times or something? or is that something else i would have to figure out?turn it off then on again counting as one use or with a time limit?

i have a rule mongering player that likes to slap stuff down so i have to cover my bases even though he is not the dm so if this is possible to do i would need to get my ducks in a row to settle any debates

[TPK]

There are 2 ways you can do this. I would suggest Alter Self as the crafting requirement. Now, since you want this to be permanently on with the option to turn it of use the item creation rules of (Spell Level X Caster Level X 2000GP) and since the spell is 1 min per level and you want it to be continuous double the cost. So n this cast 2nd level spell X 3rd level caster minimum X 2000GP = 12000GP doubled is 24000GP That is pretty expensive for what you are trying to do. But it is by the book. Now if you could find a 1st level spell that you could use instead the cost is gonna drop to 4000GP. But, if you are forced to drop this kind of cash on an idea then make sure you get the stat bonuses and other benefits from the spell.

The other way you can look at this is with a conversation with you ST you can discuss the outcome of the Collar of the True Companion. Frankly the pet dog being able to anthromorphize back and forth between shapes is not very powerful and he could just rule that this is a side effect of the collar and raised intelligence.

[Berti Blackfoot]

Generally it's ruled that after Awaken it ceases to be an animal companion, so yes you'd lose him. He would then be an NPC and may decide to follow the party around, but that is not guaranteed. And you certainly could not control him or "push" him ala Handle Animal. And at the very least he would demand to be fed something better than dog food or table scraps.

You could also sell it and buy/craft a "collar" of INT + 2 as opposed to a belt. Or if your PC is human you can take Eye For Talent, and apply the bonus to INT, and the DM can just retconn it for your dog (you didn't notice how smart he was).

With INT over 2 it would not be sentient, but would get more tricks and you can put skill points into Linguistics therefore it would understand Common (or whatever language). (Paladin mounts have 6 int, but again are not sentient).

This is all in a FAQ somewhere.

For the Anthropomorphic Animal it might be easier to get a wand to do that.

[zainale]

i have read most the boards and mostly its about casting or when to cast it or what order or how can i use this to be a bad guy. i am a normal guy with a pet dog not a companion dog or a caviler dog or a familiar dog. just a run of the mill dog that you gave a Collar of the True Companion to. at which time the dog would stop being a pet and become a npc that should be on good terms with you at that time i would offer to train it as an apprentice. at this time i would be training the dog as my apprentice if all went well and working on the collar of Anthropomorphic Animal.at this point while the dog has no hands it would only be able to take the knowledge and watch application of what i am teaching it. after after giving it the collar it could guide it in the labs and what not.

as for alter self and Polymorph the Component calls for a piece of the creature whose form you plan to assume. that would be difficult since you cant get the material for an Anthropomorphic Animal i assume they would not exist outside the spells duration.

the material component for Anthropomorphic Animal is just the thumb bone of a humanoid. and as a good character i would be willing to give up one of my own thumbs.

TPK: what does ST mean. all the forums short speak is new to me so so all that jazz is just letters to me.

Berti Blackfoot: as a pet dog i would give it dog food and treats and it might go out and hunt small creatures and enjoy those things. once you gave the dog the Collar of the True Companion it would become sentient and its own person but i am sure it would still enjoy or love all those old things it used to love and enjoy it's tastes have not changed. sure it can start asking to try new things and as a friend i would do my best to fulfill those requests for it. and as its own person it would start making friends with the other PCs first then with npcs. after a while of being an apprentice under my tutelage it could move into the shop part of the business and who wouldn't want to see or shop at a store that was being ran by a talking dog. this way my odd apprentice would be come part of that city or community making it safe for it when it starts walking about on its hind legs. once people get used to the talking dog you can send it to do small tasks relating to the business like paying the lord or picking up that months investments in the next town over of course it would need an interdiction to your business partners. most of this stuff is just RP enhancement. and development for a new character to join the party or new party encase my main PC dies or retires.

that's if a collar of Anthropomorphic Animal is even creatable as an item. if it is then i am in for this for the long haul if the DM approves. i am willing to sink a lot of money and in game time into this.

[Cevah]

Anthropomorphic Animal Target animal or tree touched
The creature’s Intelligence increases to 3, and it gains the ability to speak one language you know.
The animal’s size, type, and ability scores do not change.

Awaken Target animal touched
This spell does not function on an animal or plant with an Intelligence greater than 2.
Its type becomes magical beast (augmented animal).

Anthropomorphic Animal raises Int, making Awaken unusable.
Awaken makes it a magical beast, making Anthropomorphic Animal unusable.

This combo fails.

/cevah

[Cevah]

TPK wrote:

There are 2 ways you can do this. I would suggest Alter Self as the crafting requirement. Now, since you want this to be permanently on with the option to turn it of use the item creation rules of (Spell Level X Caster Level X 2000GP) and since the spell is 1 min per level and you want it to be continuous double the cost. So n this cast 2nd level spell X 3rd level caster minimum X 2000GP = 12000GP doubled is 24000GP That is pretty expensive for what you are trying to do. But it is by the book.

*Bzzzt*

By the book has formulas AFTER similar item.
Greater Hat of Disguise is 6,000 gp and does this.

/cevah

[zainale]

the animal that effected by the Collar of the True Companion is considered a augmented animal (still an animal right?) as such it can start taking lvls cant it just take animal soul as its first feat and allow a collar of Anthropomorphic Animal to affect it if it wanted?