I keep seeing the name of this ability (feat? trait? alternate class feature?) come up whenever someone mentions animal companions. What is it and where does it come from? I can't seem to find it in the PRD.
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I keep seeing the name of this ability (feat? trait? alternate class feature?) come up whenever someone mentions animal companions. What is it and where does it come from? I can't seem to find it in the PRD.
I know its crazy talk, but googling "boon companion pathfinder" might just work
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Prerequisites: Animal companion or familiar class ability.
Benefit: The abilities of your animal companion or familiar are calculated as though your class were four levels higher, to a maximum bonus equal to your character level. If you have more than one animal companion or familiar, choose one to receive this benefit. If you lose or dismiss an animal companion or familiar, you may apply this feat to the replacement creature.
Special: You may select this feat more than once. The effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a different animal companion or familiar.
Its really good for a multi class druid, its REAAAAALY good for a ranger: it makes their animal companion as good as a druids.
Now for a useful answer...
I am sorry if my anwser seemed snippy.
Honestly a lot of the questions that happen could be anwsered by 3 seconds of a search.
looking for a clarification? awesome
Want to know how one thing works with another? happy to help.
Again I am sorry, however at least try before you ask.
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Now for a useful answer...I am sorry if my anwser seemed snippy.
Honestly a lot of the questions that happen could be anwsered by 3 seconds of a search.
looking for a clarification? awesome
Want to know how one thing works with another? happy to help.
Again I am sorry, however at least try before you ask.
I can't seem to find it in the PRD.
They did try. They just did not know where to look, and even thought feat is on d20pfsrd, it is not in the PRD.
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It's a kind of nit-pick, but I've played with GMs that would nit-pick the RAW vs. the RAI like this...
By the RAW, this feat doesn't affect familiars even though it should. Since it says...
The abilities of your animal companion or familiar are calculated as though your class were 4 levels higher, to a maximum effective druid level equal to your character level.
Now again, I know this is nit-picking, but by that wording, especially noting what I bolded... If you take this as a wizard/sorcerer/witch/etc. for a familiar then the max level being your DRUID level... means nothing. The familiar doesn't get any abilities as a druid.
I realize they probably saved word count by not saying "Druid or wizard level" but... as I said, I've gamed with some very very RAW heavy GMs over the years that would totally jump on this and make it therefore worthless to an arcane caster.
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The books can't fix your GM. I'm sorry.
I realize they probably saved word count by not saying "Druid or wizard level" but... as I said, I've gamed with some very very RAW heavy GMs over the years that would totally jump on this and make it therefore worthless to an arcane caster.
Does it matter?
I can't see why anyone would take it for a familiar. The familiar gains +2 int, +2 NA, and some kind of lesser special ability.
The familiar gains far less from catching up than anyone else. Throw the wizard his bone. He's burning a feat to talk with his familiar faster instead of on raising DCs. Besides, there would otherwise be no feat that does, and druids do have the ability to gain a familiar.
The feat is great, brings up every ones animal companion to where it should be. Kind of sad its not built into the classes and that its a feat you have to take at fifth.
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Eh, if we're worried about the RAW saying "to a maximum effective druid level" blah blah, then you could interpret it the other way as well. It doesn't say it raises your effective druid level. Here... I'll parse it a different way:
The abilities of your animal companion or familiar are calculated as though your class were 4 levels higher,[...]
No matter what your class is, it is treated as 4 levels higher for the purposes of calculating your chosen animal companion or familiar's abilities.
[...]to a maximum effective druid level equal to your character level.
Exception: If you're a druid, this bonus caps at your character level.
So a wizard with a familiar doesn't get capped, and could have their familiar treated as if they're level 5 when the wizard is actually level 1.
Is this useful? Not really. Is it RAW? As much as the previous interpretation (more or less). Is it RAI? As much as the previous interpretation (no).
I see on the link that it is in the Animal Archive book released this year, but I have seen it mentioned for a long time... What book did it originally appear in?
It was in Seeker of Secrets, but not sure if that was the original PF appearance of it. I think it was, but not 100% on that.
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By taking this, does it mean that a wizard's familiar also gains the abilities of a druid animal companion of his level?
It is customary, if asking a new question, to make your own thread instead of necroing a four-years-buried one.
There is nothing in the text of Boon Companion to suggest that your familiar suddenly also becomes an animal companion. You simply treat it as if you were higher level. Which means it becomes a better familiar, not that it becomes a level 4 animal companion in addition to being a familiar.
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It is customary, if asking a new question, to make your own thread instead of necroing a four-years-buried one.
No matter what I do, somebody says I am doing it wrong.
I post to an old thread and people tell me "don't necro old threads, create new ones!"
I start a new thread and people tell me "use search to post to old threads, don't start new ones!"
There is nothing in the text of Boon Companion to suggest that your familiar suddenly also becomes an animal companion. You simply treat it as if you were higher level. Which means it becomes a better familiar, not that it becomes a level 4 animal companion in addition to being a familiar.
It specifies druid levels in the text. "The abilities of your animal companion or familiar are calculated as though your class were 4 levels higher, to a maximum effective druid level equal to your character level."
It is customary, if asking a new question, to make your own thread instead of necroing a four-years-buried one.
No matter what I do, somebody says I am doing it wrong.
I post to an old thread and people tell me "don't necro old threads, create new ones!"
I start a new thread and people tell me "use search to post to old threads, don't start new ones!"
There is a difference between resurrecting a thread a few weeks dead and one several years dead. Especially considering that the rules do change so the one several years dead may no longer have any purpose as the rules changed.
There is a difference between resurrecting a thread a few weeks dead and one several years dead. Especially considering that the rules do change so the one several years dead may no longer have any purpose as the rules changed.It is customary, if asking a new question, to make your own thread instead of necroing a four-years-buried one.
No matter what I do, somebody says I am doing it wrong.
I post to an old thread and people tell me "don't necro old threads, create new ones!"
I start a new thread and people tell me "use search to post to old threads, don't start new ones!"
You know, I agree with you, but I have been told I'm wrong for not searching and they post a link to somebody asking a related-but-not-the-same question from 2009 or something.
Owner - D20 Hobbies
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"The abilities of your animal companion or familiar are calculated as though your class were 4 levels higher, to a maximum effective druid level equal to your character level."
Prerequisites: Animal companion or familiar class feature.
Once you get to understand the rules, several things become clear:
- Word count is primarch, "effective druid level" is shorter than "effective druid level or arcane caster level".
- Effective Druid level is a thing unrelated to druids, it means "levels in a class giving your an animal companion" just like "Arcane Caster Level" is the same thing for classes giving you a familiar.
- The rules are not designed to be read in a rigid way.
TL;DR
It increases your familiar by 4 levels, it doesn't give you an animal companion.
It is customary, if asking a new question, to make your own thread instead of necroing a four-years-buried one.
No matter what I do, somebody says I am doing it wrong.
I post to an old thread and people tell me "don't necro old threads, create new ones!"
I start a new thread and people tell me "use search to post to old threads, don't start new ones!"
Looking at the threads you've started the only one I came across was asking how did the multipliers work for charging mounted lance crits, which has been explicitly answered in other threads.
So it's not been advocated as far as I can see to POST on old threads, but to search for answers in older threads before posting a new post. If your question hasn't been answered by an old thread, create a new thread.
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"The abilities of your animal companion or familiar are calculated as though your class were 4 levels higher, to a maximum effective druid level equal to your character level."Prerequisites: Animal companion or familiar class feature.Once you get to understand the rules, several things become clear:
- Word count is primarch, "effective druid level" is shorter than "effective druid level or arcane caster level".
- Effective Druid level is a thing unrelated to druids, it means "levels in a class giving your an animal companion" just like "Arcane Caster Level" is the same thing for classes giving you a familiar.
- The rules are not designed to be read in a rigid way.
TL;DR
It increases your familiar by 4 levels, it doesn't give you an animal companion.
+1 to everything here.
There's a reason why you probably shouldn't necro really old threads: a lot may have changed in that timespan.
I see it often enough, that someone will quote an old argument from years ago that was settled years later elsewhere.
It's just good practice to do some research before you post a question. Pathfinder has been around almost a decade. Most questions have been asked and answered already.
Same protocol goes for really any forum online.
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It is customary, if asking a new question, to make your own thread instead of necroing a four-years-buried one.
No matter what I do, somebody says I am doing it wrong.
I post to an old thread and people tell me "don't necro old threads, create new ones!"
I start a new thread and people tell me "use search to post to old threads, don't start new ones!"
I've been there.