WyvernRider101's page

Apologies for a slight detour, but I could actually use help on a related issue. One of my players runs a Hunter, and the PC just got to Level 11 so she can speak with her animal companion (Intelligence: 3). How do you folks handle communicating with an animal-level intelligence? In what sort of circumstances would being able to speak with an animal companion be useful? I don't want the player to feel like the new ability they've gained is completely useless, while still recognising the "known tricks" limitations.

Hunters being able to speak with their animal companions are useful, especially if your companion has an Int of 3 or higher, because that means they'll understand a language.

Although you should definitely be warned of the example above, with suggestion, when you use your empath ability, you only see through the companion's eyes. You don't smell what they smell, you don't hear what they hear.
If your companion is unassuming enough to get close to people without triggering suspicion, send it to eavesdrop and report back, because now you can understand what it's saying. If you send it ahead in a dungeon, and it comes back saying it smells almost nauseating (probably too big a word for an animal, but you get my point), you know to take precautions such as stuffing your nose so you can't smell, and the smell could hint that something is lurking ahead - some dungeon-based creatures have a stench.

Wouldn't teaching Druidic to your animal companion make you an ex-druid? Your animal companion is neither a druid nor a shifter.

Not teaching the animal the whole language, just the commands would be in Druidic. If I said "attack", it would be Druidic. Then if someone else said "attack" in Common, my hope would be the animal wouldn't understand.

I am playing a druid with an animal companion. Since Druidic rarely comes up, I thought I'd use it as the language in which I train my animal companion, because I thought it would help make it harder for NPCs or other players to command it if they tried.

I'm unable to find any information on this, though, so I turn to you all. If I train an animal in Druidic, can others command it using Common or another language? I know I can give my companion the Exclusive trick, and it does have that, I'm just paranoid about spells like dominate animal or something that forces control, so I'm trying to make it harder.