Well I would ignore that rule (and hope my GM will too). I think the 2000 gp should be spend on something which means a lot to your druid, eg. your companion. I see a lot of good roleplaying for having an intelligent (and more individual) companion.
I think the reasoning i mostly based on the intelligence. Since the creature becomes a an individual it gains a free will. This way it can no longer serve as a companion since it wouldn't automatically follow you around.
Another concern however is the change to Magical Beast type. The extra hitpoints from going to d10 Hit dice is not that much, but going full BAB means quite much.
But remember, you CAN cast it on your animal companion as the rules is now, it just ceases to be an animal companion. If you have treated the companionen well as most druids would, that former companion might just choose to follow you anyway.
I would disregard the rule, however, mostly because I don't like to gain too many additional followers, since the rules would let you take a new companion. Fluff-wise an awakened companion is cool, but I would not change the type to magical beast from a balancing point of view.
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Awaken
The awakened animal or tree is friendly toward you. You have no special empathy or connection with a creature you awaken, although it serves you in specific tasks or endeavors if you communicate your desires to it.
It will still travel with and help you if you ask it, plus you can get another animal companion. This spell is underestimated and most people ignore it because of the XP cost.
Creative Director
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My take: An animal companion is an animal (not something else) that has bonded with a character. It gains additional powers and skills as a result of being a companion, and those exist as long as it remains a companion. If it loses its ability to be an animal companion, it reverts to a normal animal.
When you cast awaken, the animal targeted gains intelligence and is now a magical beast; it's no longer an animal, and can't be an animal companion. THe druid can still associate with it, and if he's been nice to the animal, the GM probably should let the awakened animal still adventure with the druid. I would treat the animal as a GM-controlled cohort (until the druid took Leadership to gain control of it). The druid would then be free to get a new animal companion as well.
NOTE: All of this mostly applies to the 3.5 version of animal companions and the awaken spell. In the final RPG, this won't be a problem, since animal companions work relatively differently and, I suspect, everything you want to do with "awaken" will already be covered by the rules for the animal companion.
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NOTE: All of this mostly applies to the 3.5 version of animal companions and the awaken spell. In the final RPG, this won't be a problem, since animal companions work relatively differently and, I suspect, everything you want to do with "awaken" will already be covered by the rules for the animal companion.
Oh please DO tell! spoil me silly! half-orc drd8/ftr1 large lion riders (with all mounted combat feats) want to know! :)
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Oh please DO tell! spoil me silly! half-orc drd8/ftr1 large lion riders (with all mounted combat feats) want to know! :)NOTE: All of this mostly applies to the 3.5 version of animal companions and the awaken spell. In the final RPG, this won't be a problem, since animal companions work relatively differently and, I suspect, everything you want to do with "awaken" will already be covered by the rules for the animal companion.
So do the halfing druids flying on dire bats and throwing fire around like paperplanes!
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I never liked the idea that the Awaken spell added Hit Dice and changed the creature Type. Now that the game is advanced enough to have subtypes like 'Augmented,' I think that a 3.5 version of Awaken should just change the Awakened Animal or Plant to 'Animal (awakened)' or 'Plant (awakened)' and keep the same rules for the Animal Type, but with Intelligence and Charisma scores bumped to base 10ish.
The spell should have *one* function. To give an animal or plant a human-like sentience.
It's just unnecessary and problematic for it to do other unrelated things, like add Hit Dice or change BAB or HD Type from d8s to d10s (and arbitrarily add Darkvision, as part of the Magical Beast type abilities!).
Too often, IMO, the rules are used as a straightjacket and get in the way. Yeah, whatever, an 'animal' is supposed to have an Int score of 2, but the whole point of magic is to do stuff that isn't normally possible, so making an 'Animal' that has an Int score of 10 doesn't seem any more unreasonable than generating 33,000 cubic feet of fire from a wad of bat poop. The rules should help the game, not get in the way via such pointless micro-management as forcing an Awakened Animal to adjust all of it's stats to a new creature Type just because it's 'too smart to be an Animal.' It's WAY easier (and more intuitive) to just say that 'creatures of the Animal Type have an Int score of 2, barring magical effects that temporarily or permanantly enhance or reduce that ability.'
And then there's the occasional templates that crop up in supplements that say something exponentially lame like 'Adjust the creature's Type to Construct, but HD, BAB and Skills remain unchanged.' Shyeah. Roight. 'Call it X, but keep using the rules for Y, which is French for ignore this rule, because it tells you to do nothing anyway.' At that point, it would be more interesting for the writer to just burn wordcount telling us about their summer vacation, rather than pretend to be generating meaningful game content.
/endhystericalrant
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Creative Director
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Oh please DO tell! spoil me silly! half-orc drd8/ftr1 large lion riders (with all mounted combat feats) want to know! :)NOTE: All of this mostly applies to the 3.5 version of animal companions and the awaken spell. In the final RPG, this won't be a problem, since animal companions work relatively differently and, I suspect, everything you want to do with "awaken" will already be covered by the rules for the animal companion.
We'll get around to more details in our blog eventually. Now isn't the time or place to say more. :-)
We'll get around to more details in our blog eventually. Now isn't the time or place to say more. :-)
Teaser.
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We'll get around to more details in our blog eventually. Now isn't the time or place to say more. :-)Teaser.
I agree. This ain't fair. Especially since I bundled my 3 PRPG copies with my 3 Bestiary copies to save on shipping... meaning I'm not getting this before bloody SEPTEMBER!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
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We'll get around to more details in our blog eventually. Now isn't the time or place to say more. :-)Teaser.I agree. This ain't fair. Especially since I bundled my 3 PRPG copies with my 3 Bestiary copies to save on shipping... meaning I'm not getting this before bloody SEPTEMBER!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Well you will have PDFs :)