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Well you want something readily able to communicate. An awakened animal companion could work but the best bet is the eidolon. The eidolon is definately interesting enough to be playable.
But what exactly would the wife playing have to do with 'compromising the game'?
the only problem I immediately see with this is that the player whose companion/eidolon it is is that they are supposed to have control over said creature in battle meaning that she wouldn't be doing anything except what that person tells her 'character' to do. However I have had situations like this rise before, it makes more sense from an RP standpoint, imo.
example: the party I was dming for requested to turn a skull into a skull that could house an elemental or fey spirit of some kind. (a la dresden files) they came up with appropriate spells, components, and prices so I let them and the skull became the character of one of the guy's friends who wanted to hang out without getting overly involved in the game since he didn't know how often he would be able to join.
another time we had someone capture & befriend a goblin who he made a follower. let someone take over the character instead of rolling up one and he became a goblin with character levels.
overall it's up to you as GM and your players, if the other people are willing to try it out there's no reason not to, unless you have some reason not to.
remember, the game is only limited to how you, as the GM, want to run it.
I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here. However, I think I'd really encourage her to create an equal party member if that were possible.
/ what gives me pause is that a familiar, animal companion, or eidolon are really just tools of X class. I mean, who would "control" the side-kick and determine its abilities?
But what exactly would the wife playing have to do with 'compromising the game'?
If the adventure path is designed for 4 people, then having a 5 PC party would be too easy (without changes). In theory.
In practice, I don't think the difficulty level is that finely tuned.
To answer the original question, I suspect either she or the rest of the party might get bored if she's playing a cat and everyone else is playing a regular PC race (for instance). An eidolon might be okay, though.
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Nothing breaks if you bring a 5th person into an AP.
That said: if you go with the familiar/eidolon/animal companion route, I recommend giving her autonomy, the wizard/summoner/Druid can make suggestions but can't "take control" of the other player. Furthermore for those sessions she's there give the other player access to the bonded item/summon monster SLA/domain options so you don't rob that character of too much power.
Honestly I think you'd be better off letting her play as a full character, dropping in the occasional bonus encounter while traveling to keep xp values up.
Good luck, hope this helped.
But what exactly would the wife playing have to do with 'compromising the game'?If the adventure path is designed for 4 people, then having a 5 PC party would be too easy (without changes). In theory.
In practice, I don't think the difficulty level is that finely tuned.
To answer the original question, I suspect either she or the rest of the party might get bored if she's playing a cat and everyone else is playing a regular PC race (for instance). An eidolon might be okay, though.
that goes back to the problem of who controls her actions? her summoner, aka controller/master, or her own free will?
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I have DM'd for a good long time, but never had this request. I am running Carrion Crown, a AP balanced for 4 players, and the four players have been selected. That being said, one gentleman has requested his wife be involved. I had to decline, as I don't want to compromise the game, but said she can definitely understudy for anyone who couldn't make it.
First of all, I have to say that personally, I'd run for 5 players and adjust the AP (if needed) rather than turn a player away. Especially the spouse of another player.
That being said, he wondered if she could perhaps PLAY AS the familiar/animal companion/eidolon etc. of another player. I have no idea as to the viability of such a request and thought I'd throw it out here for suggestions.
It works fine. Does she want to do this? If she does, does the player with the companion want it? She MUST have complete free will.
Do you think it's a good idea? Any suggestions for a character with an interesting enough "sidekick" to be playable?
I think that it's a great idea to involve her. It depends on what she would enjoy playing. I can have a fun session of roleplaying taking over the wizards ferret familiar, but can she? Talk to her.
As I said above, my advice is to adjust the AP for 5 players and run that way. My second choice would be to have her join in the running of the AP and run the monsters for me. Running a sidekick character would be a last choice.
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No where I've seen in an AP is there listed how many PC's its for. Levels yes, number of pc's no. Heck, RPGMP3 has Hal running two pc's and his DMPC through it, and they do fine. Five isn't a big difference from four, though six is pushing it. I've played two AP's with six, and then changes need to be made, but 5 shouldn't be that much easier.
Now, if you're saying that her being a possible noob will compromise things, I'm not touching that with a 10' pole...
Yep, just checked, the Haunting of Harrowstone says nothing about it being only for 4 players.
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The cats of the Harthing household would like to remind the humans who own them (and everyone else) that they have their own free will and personalities, thankyouverymuch. :) Nobody tells THEM what to do. (I imagine familiars are much the same.)
Seriously, though, I once played in a game where one of the new guys played an intelligent sword. He had so much fun he became a regular player. And I've seen enough significant others bring a hands-on project like sewing or cross-stich to fiddle with while waiting for *something* in game to happen. It can work out.
Hmm. I don't recall animal companions being considered "characters" for the purposes of unbalancing one's AP scenarios. The party would still have X amount of "characters" in PC form. Just sayin'.
Why not implement a two-session trial run and see how it works out?
I've been keen for an opportunity to do the same thing, I reckon playing as a familiar/eidolon etc could be great fun.
Companions/familiars dont count towards the Character count of a party as they are simply a class feature.
That is of course, assuming the companion IS actually a companion of one of the players, not just a player running a companion based stat block with no party 'owner'.
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I've been keen for an opportunity to do the same thing, I reckon playing as a familiar/eidolon etc could be great fun.
Me too, actually. What I want to try and do is create an angel-like eidolon and play the guardian-angel of the Summoner. Ideally, I need to write an archetype that makes the Summoner into the pet of the eidolon, somehow.
Years ago while playing 2nd there was a guy in the group who did this, and I think the only way it worked was because he was and we were as a group good role players. He played a pseudo dragon familiar for the wizard pc of the group who wanted a more powerful familar. The GM gave the dragon class levels for advancement, I believe he went up as a wizard as well. When advancing they shared stats, who ever rolled better for hp and such they could us either. The wizard pc wanted a more powerful familar, which he got, but he didn't have any control over it. Don't think the familar pc made it impossible to get things done in the wizard/familar relationship, he made it more interesting as the familar wasn't just a bump on a log anymore. This made great fun.
My 2cp
SGH
This idea has caught my interest. How would one divvy up treasure since technically, an animal companion is a class feature and technically not a player. But, I definitely am interested.
This idea has caught my interest. How would one divvy up treasure since technically, an animal companion is a class feature and technically not a player. But, I definitely am interested.
Well I guess as a group you'd need to nut this one out.
It would be a bit strange to tell a player "hey dude, you aren't really a player, you are a class feature" and likewise people just normally assume player at table = equal split regardless of their party role/utility. I'd be inclined to flick them an equal share, however the equipment needs of a familiar are pretty limited.
I'm running a Pseudo-Dragon (heavily gimped) with class levels on the PBP's here and I worked out pretty quick you end up low-maintenance; no armour, no weapons... those are big ticket items you no longer need to shell out for. You wont have a lot of gear slots.
Play a summoner. Essentially they are the sidekick for the Eidilion.
Doesn't that just mean you spend all your money on Ioun Stones?
Only so many planets you really want spinning about your head I suppose :p
I played an awakened animal companion to a player in a party I was in a few years ago. It was a blast for roleplaying. I ended up advancing in barbarian, gaining class levels, over time, which was also cool as I rarely play combat heavy characters.
Before we started, I sat down with the player who's animal companion I was, and we came up with our background, history, and the like. We both really enjoyed the experience, with some planning ahead of time it was great, because when does a DM have the time to roleplay an animal companion? Now granted, I gained class lvls and that generally doesn't happen unless you're a PC. Although I think I would have still had plenty of fun even without the class levels,
Where was my point in this? Oh yes... animal companions are playable if you like to roleplay and get along with the person whose animal companion you are.
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'“The Haunting of Harrowstone” is a Pathfinder Adventure Path scenario designed for four 1st-level characters.
By the end of this adventure, characters should reach 4th level.'It's in the opening page. The "Credits" one.
I am currently running it with 5 players as is and we are doing just fine. I ditched experience points and used the advancement track. So I would say let her play a PC. However I think the idea of playing a familiar or eidolon sounds like a lot of fun. Either way its cool and you should get her in the game.
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Here's an idea: if you do let her play the companion, treat her as the sentience of the companion and force them to agree on what to do a la cursed or sentient items. This may cause some tension if the couple is confrontational with each other, but if it works I think it would be interesting at least and awesome fun at most.
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If she is set on playing a kitty (or whatever) you could give her an animal with an advanced template of appropriate CR for your AP. Some girls get fixated on playing as something cute or social more than playing a heroic PC. So they want to play a cat, not a hero of the world because its cute and friendly. Hero of the world is more of a guy thing.
Disclaimer: these are generalities. This held true for my wife, but may not be true of the woman in question
I'm in a PbP now where I am a wizard and another player is a pseudo dragon ninja who pretends to be my familiar. Hilarity ensues.
Just let her in as a full PC. Trust me, it won’t make anything too broken. Just crank up the combats a tad.
It’s a game, the idea is to have fun.