Useful Handle Animal Experiences?

[xebeche]

I'm curious what some of the more useful experiences people have had with the Handle Animal skill. I'm new to Pathfinder and D&D.

My character is a third level druid in the Kingmaker campaign. I chose the Weather domain over an animal companion, but would like to have an animal of some sorts as it fits the class. I'd like to have something that can perform useful tasks, maybe even attack, so long as it doesn't get one shotted at later levels. I think it would be fun to have a land based animal and flying animal to tag around with me, add flavor and perform certain roles from time to time.

Thanks!

[BigNorseWolf]

xebeche wrote:

I'm curious what some of the more useful experiences people have had with the Handle Animal skill. I'm new to Pathfinder and D&D.

My character is a third level druid in the Kingmaker campaign. I chose the Weather domain over an animal companion, but would like to have an animal of some sorts as it fits the class. I'd like to have something that can perform useful tasks, maybe even attack, so long as it doesn't get one shotted at later levels. I think it would be fun to have a land based animal and flying animal to tag around with me, add flavor and perform certain roles from time to time.

Thanks!

If it isn't an animal companion and its with you past level 5 you may as well have it wear a red shirt and take a daily bath in BBQ sauce.

Use a trained raven to talk to the party when you use wildshape to scout. Use natural spell and cast speak with animal and have the raven translate it into common.

[xebeche]

BigNorseWolf wrote:

If it isn't an animal companion and its with you past level 5 you may as well have it wear a red shirt and take a daily bath in BBQ sauce.

I was afraid of this... So, what is the use of the Handle Animal skill then?

BigNorseWolf wrote:

Use a trained raven to talk to the party when you use wildshape to scout. Use natural spell and cast speak with animal and have the raven translate it into common.

I'll keep this on my very short list of useful options. Thanks :)

[Almagafor]

Combat training mounts, training hunting dogs, raising owlbears and hippogriffs from cubchicks, training my displacer beasts to play fetch.

[Gruuuu]

Almagafor wrote:

Combat training mounts, training hunting dogs, raising owlbears and hippogriffs from cubchicks, training my displacer beasts to play fetch.

What's an Almaga for?

[otter cake]

Without 'handle animal' you can't get your nature-ally summons to do anything except just attack the nearest enemy.

[BigNorseWolf]

Its useful for druids and rangers to control their animal companion (until they raise said companions int to 3)

Its useful to peasants and farmers.

You can rear magical beasts with it, but that doesn't come up much for me.

[Morgen]

Handle Animal is a great and often underused skill. Lots of druids don't even like to say, read the description of what it does and use it properly. :/

There are plenty of wild animals to capture and train in the game and your not limited to just animals. Magical Beasts or other creatures with an intelligence of 1 or 2 are also subject to being raised. If your campaign gives you enough down time to actually train things you can keep a very exotic stable of things, and probably make good money selling off others to people who need/want them for security/pets/mounts/etc.

Sure in higher level encounters your pet dog probably won't survive a fireball, but lots of other things will.

And let's not forget about the trained war-hydra.... >:D

[xebeche]

otter cake wrote:

Without 'handle animal' you can't get your nature-ally summons to do anything except just attack the nearest enemy.

Perhaps the skill's use will reveal itself in time. As I have no companion it doesn't help there, also Summon Nature's Ally duration is crumby at low levels. I'm now considering it's use at the third level.

BigNorseWolf wrote:

You can rear magical beasts with it, but that doesn't come up much for me.

I'll have to look at the bestiary. I'll keep a look out for them on my adventures.

Morgen wrote:

If your campaign gives you enough down time to actually train things you can keep a very exotic stable of things, and probably make good money selling off others to people who need/want them for security/pets/mounts/etc.

I hadn't thought of training animals to sell its services. I'll talk to my DM.

Really appreciate the feedback.

[cranewings]

I let druids and rangers with the skill get animals to do impossible things, like cross rivers that ordinarily would kill the animal. I know it isn't really what the skill is for, but I think rangers and druids should be good for that kind of thing.