Boon Companion HD

[ossian666]

Rereading Boon Companion it says "abilities" are calculated as if you were 4 class levels higher. Does that mean it doesn't impact size, attacks, and hit dice because the actually level is still the same, but it would improve its feats, skills and class benefits?

[Torquar]

Pretty sure it's everything. It's basically designed to compensate for up to four levels of multiclassing.

[ossian666]

I thought so but I just reread it today because I am looking at building a character and it says "abilities" not increases its effective level or anything...can be kind of misleading.

[Aroach1188]

It should be everything. It exists to make a rangers animal companion useful, or allow druids/cavaliers to multiclass

[concerro]

Abilities are everything. In short you use the chart as if the druid or ranger was four level higher, but the druid's effective level can not exceed the character's total HD.

PRD and CRB wrote:

An animal companion's abilities are determined by the druid's level and its animal racial traits. Table: Animal Companion Base Statistics determines many of the base statistics of the animal companion. They remain creatures of the animal type for purposes of determining which spells can affect them.

Note that you are told to reference the table which tells you everything the animal companion gets.

[ossian666]

Gotcha...guess I was kind of looking at it more like Magical Knack where you get the abilities of being a higher level but you aren't ACTUALLY a higher level.

Magical Knack