Training animal without any class feature that grant one

[Kazikal]

Hello, the whole issue started when I took the bard class feature that let me use the Perform check to use Handle Animal.
Since I obviously have a great bonus, I'd like to go around with a big big cat because it is cool and it also helps.

Now, looking at the Handle Animal skill, I can also train a wild animal which has more hit dice than me. Well, I don't really plan to have one with higher HD than me, but just to know if this is correct.

But here it is the problem:
- Is the animal considered as a NPC for determining the CR of the group and to split the experience of the encounters?
- And if it is so, does it take "levels" meaning it can advance (without the control of the player of course)?
- Is there an official rule?

Please share your thoughts ^^

[Mabven the OP healer]

It is not an npc, but an animal under the player's control (to the extent that his handle-animal skill allows him to control it), it does not get any experience and it can not take levels or advance.

[Cryage]

I dont even believe cohorts from the leadership feat is taken into consideration for xp

[Adamantine Dragon]

Cohorts do gain XP, but their XP is a proportional amount of their leader's XP. It doesn't get XP from the party's pool.

My understanding is that there's no way in RAW to train a "wild animal". You can train domesticated ones, and you can raise wild ones from birth (and domesticate them) and then train them.

If there's a way to train a "wild animal" I'd sure like to know that since my witch wants to do that.

[Kazikal]

Ok, thanks.

However with "train a wild animal" I was referring to raise for example a little tiger from the birth ^^

[blackbloodtroll]

Since the training requires resources, so just think of your pet like a piece of equipment as far as advancing your character. You want it to be better, you got to pay. A scroll of awaken will change this up a bit.

[The Bald Man]

Something important to consider is action economy. A character with no special class abilities related to the animal has to spend actions to have the animal perform.

I don't have the material in front of me, but I think in general it takes a move action from the PC to instruct the animal to attack a certain foe. The Guard trick is an exception in that you don't have to spend combat actions to make that work.

For that reason, among others, it makes sense that they wouldn't eat up party xp.

[Adamantine Dragon]

For buffer/debuffers or battlefield controllers who don't full attack, and don't need to move around much, a combat trained animal is worth checking into. The big problem is that they don't level with you so you have to keep replacing them.

I think the "standard" way to deal with this is to take leadership and awaken an animal so it can become a cohort. Some GMs may not aallow this.

Another option I've thought about but never done also exploits the leadership trait. In that approach a cohort takes the role of animal trainer and supplies the PC with a steady supply of trained animals as the PC levels. This is a bit hard to do if the PC is leveling quickly, but in campaigns which cover years, it could work.

[Kazikal]

Yeah, for a bard like me which focus on support it was cool.
I liked the concept of having the same animal for roleplaying purpose, but if it doesn't advance he will die soon even if I put much effort on him.
Since I'm not much in "ehi, this pet is not needed anymore, going to get a new one", I'm abandoning the idea :P

[HappyDaze]

I've seen what a small pack of three riding dogs (used as hunting dogs rather than for riding) can do when directed by Handle Animal. At 3rd level it was pretty damn impressive, but by 5th level it was almost obsolete.

OTOH, when a low-to-medium level character buys an elephant (or many elephants) and trains it/them for combat be afraid.

[Foghammer]

If you have Wild Empathy, you can essentially make animals helpful towards you as if using diplomacy on an NPC. Handle Animal by itself doesn't work that way, though.

Buying a young animal works, but you have to wait for the thing to mature. That sucks, especially if the animal is offed by a stray spell or crossbow bolt.