So I'm statting up a character for a game, who has a doggie animal companion, and I had a question.
Is the dog supposed to have trip? Since the hyena and wolf (which is more powerful than the dog) get trip, I would have assumed the dog AC would get it as well. Am I missing something, or is this a mistake?
Do not think it is. Dogs do not have the trip ablity. So do not gain it. Besides they are included more as a mount for small pc's
I have a char with a Doggy companion too :) He doesn't have trip, but the rules do say that if it advances to medium size it gets trip, I believe, but I am not totally sure. I think it might be because small size creatures are not likely to succeed trip attacks with their low strength and small size.
They do not gain trip with advancement. Dogs in the beastry also do not have trip. It is an ablity they do not gain
The dog is in there more or less as a paladin mount for small races. In every way save dex the wolf is better. However the wolf is not a common mount
In 3.5 dogs that were trained for war had the trip ability. I'm not sure about pathfinder.
I can find nothing in the handle animal that says anything about trip. All I can find is
Fighting (DC 20): An animal trained to engage in combat knows the tricks attack, down, and stay. Training an animal for fighting takes 3 weeks.
Combat Training (DC 20): An animal trained to bear a rider into combat knows the tricks attack, come, defend, down, guard, and heel. Training an animal for combat riding takes 6 weeks
Hunting (DC 20): An animal trained for hunting knows the tricks attack, down, fetch, heel, seek, and track. Training an animal for hunting takes 6 weeks.
They do not gain trip with advancement. Dogs in the beastry also do not have trip. It is an ablity they do not gain
The dog is in there more or less as a paladin mount for small races. In every way save dex the wolf is better. However the wolf is not a common mount
The riding dog absolutely has trip. I'm assuming that the druid equivalent (which is also used for paladins and rangers) is meant to straddle both categories, which is why it seems so strange it was left out.
Animal companions have their own system for determining stats, it is easiest to assume your companion is a brand new critter that you just summoned/found/whatever.
You could absolutely flavor it as taking your faithful hound as your animal companion. But it would be just that, flavor.
The instant you make the decision you can forget whatever stats and abilities it had : it now has the dog animal companion profile.
Or keep your regular dog and get an AC one on top. Or get a wolf and say it's your dog on steroids.
Animal Companions being different from their baseline isn't exactly a rare occurence. Bears were a big offender until the fairly recent Grizzly addition. Elephants AC are merely Large. Etc.
Also, almost ten year necro : nice.
Or depending on the current timeline your comapnion could be a puppy born to your guard dog.
The riding dog absolutely has trip. I'm assuming that the druid equivalent (which is also used for paladins and rangers) is meant to straddle both categories, which is why it seems so strange it was left out.They do not gain trip with advancement. Dogs in the beastry also do not have trip. It is an ablity they do not gain
The dog is in there more or less as a paladin mount for small races. In every way save dex the wolf is better. However the wolf is not a common mount
This. It's a little odd that the riding dog has trip but the companion version does not. It's definitely relevant if you have a character with a riding dog NPC who intends to take Animal Ally at some point. Just another example of animal companions not really representing their original animals so much as animal-shaped blobs of raw druidism.
You could absolutely flavor it as taking your faithful hound as your animal companion. But it would be just that, flavor.
The instant you make the decision you can forget whatever stats and abilities it had : it now has the dog animal companion profile.
Or keep your regular dog and get an AC one on top. Or get a wolf and say it's your dog on steroids.Animal Companions being different from their baseline isn't exactly a rare occurence. Bears were a big offender until the fairly recent Grizzly addition. Elephants AC are merely Large. Etc.
Also, almost ten year necro : nice.
It was a wonderful sale.
Technically here are the exact stats for a Dog animal companion.
Dog
STARTING STATISTICSSize Small; Speed 40 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4); Ability Scores Str 13, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
4TH-LEVEL ADVANCEMENT
Size Medium; Attack bite (1d6); Ability Scores Str +4, Dex –2, Con +2.
To these stats, you add up the animal companion stats and progression. Therefore no trip. Personally I am using a wolfdog for my Gnome cavalier character. I think it is well balanced if you want to keep you mount of a manageable size for running into dungeons with it. You can also use a wolf and not use the 7th upgrade to keep it medium, but I feel using a wolfdog is better than doing this. Unless you really want trip.
Edit: Just realized OP posted this 10 years ago, lmao.