If my druid character dies but my animal companion lives, could he using the "serve" trick stay with the group permanently as I make a new character? I could not find anywhere it saying it is not allowed.
I think it could in theory, but it would lose any benefit it received from being an animal companion.
Such as?
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No.
In-game, the animal companion's main loyalty is to the druid. The Serve trick indicates they treat the ally as Friendly. Being Friendly is not a good enough attitude to follow the ally, sans druid into danger. I could see them sticking around until you get out of whatever dungeon you're in, but not indefinitely.
Out of game, it's a class feature. Class features shouldn't stick around after the character dies even if they forgot to specify what happens to an animal companion when the druid dies.
The "loses the benefits of being an animal companion" option is tempting but ultimately hard to implement since depending on level some of the companions are actually less powerful than their non-companion versions (eg the roc). I might allow it on a case-by case basis with animals that have lower-powered and domesticated versions (eg dogs, birds, maybe the small cat).
No.
In-game, the animal companion's main loyalty is to the druid. The Serve trick indicates they treat the ally as Friendly. Being Friendly is not a good enough attitude to follow the ally, sans druid into danger. I could see them sticking around until you get out of whatever dungeon you're in, but not indefinitely.
Out of game, it's a class feature. Class features shouldn't stick around after the character dies even if they forgot to specify what happens to an animal companion when the druid dies.
The "loses the benefits of being an animal companion" option is tempting but ultimately hard to implement since depending on level some of the companions are actually less powerful than their non-companion versions (eg the roc). I might allow it on a case-by case basis with animals that have lower-powered and domesticated versions (eg dogs, birds, maybe the small cat).
What if the animal has been with the group from say level 1-7, that's a lot of rapport with the other characters and other characters feeding it etc. Where else would the animal go? if its Master's last words were to serve its ally.
This is the Rules Questions Forum, so the answer is that a character's class features do not stick around after they die.
If my druid character dies but my animal companion lives, could he using the "serve" trick stay with the group permanently as I make a new character? I could not find anywhere it saying it is not allowed.
Rules wise once your druid dies the animal companion becomes a normal animal again and loses all the benefits of being an AC.
That said, nothing in the rules says that animal will forget the bonds it may have formed with the group while traveling with them and it may just stay with the 'pack/herd' it knows. That ruling, however, would need to come from your GM and is not covered in RAW.
But it would just be a normal animal of it's type and your party would need to use Handle Animal for interactions with it per normal.
That becomes a story issue for you and your GM and not a rules question.
The rules are mostly silent, but in principle I agree with wierdo, class features shouldn't usually stick around after the death of a character without a very good reason.
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What if the animal has been with the group from say level 1-7, that's a lot of rapport with the other characters and other characters feeding it etc. Where else would the animal go? if its Master's last words were to serve its ally.
Animals don't understand last wishes. And rapport built with other humanoids while under the influence of the divine bond with a druid may not stick, particularly if the animal would normally be wild or solitary.
If the GM thinks it makes sense - and isn't unbalanced - for the animal companion to stick around, great. But teaching them one trick isn't going to ensure that the druid's tiger follows you around loyally for the rest of its life.
Cavall also brings up an interesting point that at least some of the animal's tricks are learned directly through the companion bond, meaning it would forget at least some if not all of its training.
Incidentally, my own druid made arrangements for her domesticated triceratops companion to be returned to its herd in the event of her death.
For some reason I can't seem to find the rules that state this. Anyone have a link?
Rules wise once your druid dies the animal companion becomes a normal animal again and loses all the benefits of being an AC.
Nor can I
Sounds like I will have to talk to my GM and see how he rules it.
RAW also don't say that an AC loses its special powers when dismissed. Can a druid create an army of powerful animal allies via bind, bestow abilities, release, rinse, repeat?
I say no because the power boosts implicitly come from the nature bond and therefore go away when its released, whether voluntarily or by the druid's death. And also because that would be ridiculously broken.
What is a dead guy's effective druid level? You need this to properly determine the AC's stats.
Hmm you say an animal doesnt understand last wishes, does an animal with an INT 3 (my dino) soon to be 4 at level 8 not have enough intelligence to stay with the group? If it were a 6 INT would that be enough? Seems like a grey area. Wouldn't make sense for say a 6INT dino to just go back off into the wild. Its grown up with the group since level 1.
I'd say the animal companion should be able to stick around for some time at least. It would be heartbreaking if the Druid was raised from the dead only to find her trusted companion had skedaddled.
But the second a player tried some shenanigans, say used Reincarnate, called a new AC and argued that the old one should stick around, I'd put a stop to it.
I'd say the animal companion should be able to stick around for some time at least. It would be heartbreaking if the Druid was raised from the dead only to find her trusted companion had skedaddled.
But the second a player tried some shenanigans, say used Reincarnate, called a new AC and argued that the old one should stick around, I'd put a stop to it.
How quickly a companion/familiar reverts to normal when its druid/wizard dies is up to the GM (and this is probably why RAW leave it implicit rather than spelling out a particular time frame). The important thing is that they do revert, else shenanigans.
doesn't the animal companion lose all benefits from being an animal companion of the druid dies and just become a normal animal?People keep claiming that, but no one has yet to show anything from RAW.
Let me play devil's advocate for a moment and ask you to show me in RAW where it says animal companions do NOT lose their powers when a druid dies.
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Once dismissed, an animal familiar is just a normal animal of its type (a special familiar from the Improved Familiar feat reverts to a normal creature of its type). Whether or not it wants to remain with you is up to your GM and probably based on how you treated the creature while it was your familiar.
Not directly related to animal companions but rather relevant never-the-less.
If your pet Fluffy the tiger wants to stick around with the party after your untimely death, because they've been treating it well and have proven themselves as a repeatable source of noms? Sure, why not? But without the druid there, it isn't going to have much reason to risk itself in combat, especially against weird freaky things. And without the animal companion bond, it's not going to be any different than an ordinary animal of its type and size.
So at this point, it is no different than any of the ordinarily purchasable animals available.
Once dismissed, an animal familiar is just a normal animal of its type (a special familiar from the Improved Familiar feat reverts to a normal creature of its type). Whether or not it wants to remain with you is up to your GM and probably based on how you treated the creature while it was your familiar.Not directly related to animal companions but rather relevant never-the-less.
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So at this point, it is no different than any of the ordinarily purchasable animals available.
That FAQ also contains this line:
Dismissing a familiar is ending a link between your soul and it, so it should probably take about an hour.So if you no longer have Druid levels and your party no longer contains your soul, what is the animal linked to?
Itself, of course. I'm certainly not suggesting it retain animal companion levels, because it honestly shouldn't.
Hence why it should be treated no differently than a purchased animal companion of the same type; just one the party has history with.
I'm still comfused, why sould anyone, ever, get to use a deadguy's class features?
Exactly.
I'm still comfused, why sould anyone, ever, get to use a deadguy's class features?
Class features? Of course those are gone. But you'd use a dead PC's gear too, wouldn't you? The Wizard's spellbook is a class feature too, and it doesn't simply go up in smoke upon their demise. Neither does our orphaned tiger.
It isn't a class feature anymore. But it still is a creature. It's sitting there, mewling and licking its dead friend's face. It's got to go somewhere. Maybe it'll follow the other party members. Maybe it'll go its own way. It's still trained, but also free-willed.
It's worth point out that the Nature Bond ability is (Ex), not magical. So reverting to a tiger's natural state of being should probably be a gradual process. But given that we have no explicit rules on the issue, it falls to the GM to say what happens next. A logical narrative would probably be that the Tiger does follow the party, at least for a while. But in due time its wild instincts should take over, and unless another PC adopts and (re-)trains the animal, it'll leave.
(And show up months later as a Deus-ex-machina to prevent a TPK.)
Similar precedents on this:
In WotW even if it is a 3rd party, there is a really big Dire Tiger that it's stated that he has grown so big by being an animal companion, even though its master is now dead. For what I recall, it seems to have kept all the levels that it advanced while being an animal companion, but none of the other special features.
In RoW there is a dead witch familiar of a dead witch that could be resurrected so it could teach the spells it knows. Not an animal companion anyway.
So that means that when it loses it's abilities granted by the druid that it then becomes a standard member of it's species? Because that could ADD power to it in many situations. Frankly, I think that interpretation is capable of causing more problems.
Cavall: Did I say that I think that? It really seemed like people were implying that it would become a normal member of it's species. Is that not what was being implied?
I don't see why a dead Druid wouldn't still have levels of Druid. Nothing in the dead condition says you lose class levels.
If you have are making a new Druid, Hunter, or Beastmaster Ranger, within a gaming session (or be resurrected/raised), and the group's policy is that you don't lose a level when coming back, I don't see why you'd have to make up a new companion, unless the GM says otherwise. I really don't see why the group would go through the added trouble of making you retrain your companion.
If you die, and are coming back with the ability to use whatever feature/item is in question, I see no reason the party couldn't use your +X sword or level 6 spell book or animal companion until your return (especially if that's the prior PC's desire) in the interim. This is particularly true if the animal was very well-treated by the party and even more true if it has Intelligence 3+.
The trick would be basing the interim encounters on the appropriate CR, until the party gets back to its full contingent of PCs.
But in the same way that if you are now creating a new wizard and your old fighter's +X sword had been in temporary party use [if you originally said you were planning a replacement paladin or whatever], I would make some next-of-kin NPC come calling. In the case of an animal companion, I would have nature itself call to your animal companion if you don't have the appropriate class feature going forward.
If the player of the old PC is going to run the companion until a new PC gets created, one downside of this method is that if you die early in a session, this means the pet classes get yet another benefit over the other classes.
If a wizard casts a mage armor on a monk and then dies, does the monk still have mage armor? Why should the animal companion cease just because the Druid dies?
Keeping an animal companion doesn't require concentration.
The animal would be under the control of the DM. If the party wants it to do anything they'll have to use handle animal checks. I'd say the original player should have the least control of it since their new character is a stranger.
If I were Mr Wolf the Companion I wouldn't care less about the party and that cheap last order my master gave me 'out of the trick' (out of the blue) before dying. Either I go wandering the forest again with fond memories or stay ever vigilant over his grave, with bond powers or not.
'Serve the party' is a plain no. You really need to have a more convincing reason.