Two Questions: Familiars and Toughnes


Rules Questions

Silver Crusade

Okay, two questions that came up last week that I promised my group I'ld get answers for.

1) Can you take Toughness multiple times? I had a player ask this, I told him no because, unlike previous editions, the feat lacks the wording that indicates it can be taken multiple times, I believe I am correct but said I would check.

2) Is there a platypus animal companion stat block? I had a character playing a druid decide she wants a platypus as her companion, I know Paizo published 3.5 stats for it as a familiar in an issue of Dragon, but didn't know if it had made the transfer over, especially so I can see the level 4 upgade.


1. You can not take Toughness more than once, but remember that it gives you an extra hit point for each hit die after the third.

2. Platypus is an option for a familiar, but it is not a good combat animal. RAW, it is not a legal choice for a base Druid.


Previous editions allowed you to stack Toughness because it was a flat +HP and didn't scale with level. Pathfinder changed this so that now it scales, but removed the "you can take this feat multiple times" part. I would say no, you can't stack it but you still get a much better deal than older editions.

I can't see a platypus specifically on the Animal Companion list. You could "re-skin" an existing companion easily though. The Giant Toad has a land and swim speed as well as poison (which kind of works as platypus are the only venomous mammal), and the Snapping turtle could work as a poison-free alternative. Use the stat block for a Toad/Turtle and just call it a Platypus.


You're free to make a giant platypus or take a creatures animal companion block and turn it into a platypus


As far as reskinnig goes, I think that one of the alien animal options from Fires of Creation is very similar. I suppose that you could also see if you can apply templates to the platypus familiar.


In the Bestiary 4 under Small familiar you have the Platypus which can be found HERE in the PRD

As indicated earlier, not sure it's legal for a druid by RAW, but the GM can always overide this.

Silver Crusade

Alright, thanks. I figured I was right on toughness, but am always open to being mistaken if I am.

I'll see what I can do about the platypus, either reskinning or somesuch. Originally she wanted a mini-Groot, but balked at finding out she had to be an elf.


Ah! But there are two other ways. First of all, the Supernaturalist allows you to take a plant companion. Another option is the Leshy Warden.


If she just wants a platypus to hang out with you might suggest using the feats Familiar Bond and optionally Improved Familiar Bond to get a platypus familiar just like a wizard would have. Admittedly it's a two- or three-feat investment (Iron Will is a prereq), but then she can have a real animal companion, by which I mean something combat-worthy.


You should let the player know that unless you are running a water based game, the platypus is a SLOW creature. If you're spending the majority of time in woods, underground and urban areas, that 10' speed is going to be a real drag.

A familiar is more workable, as you can just pick it up and run. A druid can take an animal domain and pick up a familiar. At 3rd level, they can take improved familiar and take a celestial/infernal platypus.

EDIT: Fuzzy-Wuzzy , the trait House of Green Mothers Pupil can be substituted for Iron Will prerequisite when taking Familiar Bond.

Sovereign Court

Is what she's after really an animal companion? As in, a beast that fights for you? If she wants a platypus, maybe she's better off with one as familiar instead - that might be closer to what she wants from the critter.

Dark Archive

platypus familiar is in the "Animal Archive" accessory


graystone wrote:
You should let the player know that unless you are running a water based game, the platypus is a SLOW creature. If you're spending the majority of time in woods, underground and urban areas, that 10' speed is going to be a real drag.

It wouldn't be unreasonable if you are making a medium platypus anyway to increase its land speed. Bigger things being able to move faster isn't crazy. I would probably leave the swim speed alone, as it is pretty good and the idea that larger size is counteracted by increased drag makes sense.


Dave Justus wrote:
graystone wrote:
You should let the player know that unless you are running a water based game, the platypus is a SLOW creature. If you're spending the majority of time in woods, underground and urban areas, that 10' speed is going to be a real drag.
It wouldn't be unreasonable if you are making a medium platypus anyway to increase its land speed. Bigger things being able to move faster isn't crazy. I would probably leave the swim speed alone, as it is pretty good and the idea that larger size is counteracted by increased drag makes sense.

I don't see a reason to increase the speed though as the base creature just isn't build for fast land movement. Even if someone insisted in buffing it, a 15' or 20' speed isn't exactly swift.

If anything, I'd say a case could be made for boosting swim speed as a larger tail/webbed digits would actually help in water. Dragging a large tail across the ground isn't a big help in land speed.


graystone wrote:
I don't see a reason to increase the speed though as the base creature just isn't build for fast land movement.

A medium human has a base speed of 30', a halfling 20', so at least sometimes in the game, size matters for how fast you can go.


And a halfling can go 30, oread 20, and merfolk 5. So often speed doesn't care about size.


Chess Pwn wrote:
And a halfling can go 30, oread 20, and merfolk 5. So often speed doesn't care about size.

Exactly this. For instance, looking at Animal Companions a Megafauna (Archelon) is 15' at large, a large Giant Tortoise is 10', a large Walrus is 10'. Some animals JUST aren't built for swift land speed. A platypus is built for swift water movement, not land speed.


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Val'bryn2 wrote:

Alright, thanks. I figured I was right on toughness, but am always open to being mistaken if I am.

I'll see what I can do about the platypus, either reskinning or somesuch. Originally she wanted a mini-Groot, but balked at finding out she had to be an elf.

The ARG says "Typically, only members of the section's race can take the listed archetype. . . Because adventurers are often societal outliers, sometimes these archetypes feature a theme that is the exception to the norm for racial tendencies."

PCs are not typical, so there is nothing stopping her from taking it except the GM. You can easily say that she learned to be a Treesinger from her elf friend or maybe she was adopted.

In my opinion, racial restrictions are things that belong in the trash bin with 1st and 2nd edition D&D anyway.

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