Badger Animal Companion 4th-Level Advancement: Is it "Dire"?

[Paynes Rumbelly]

Sorry if this has been discussed already. But, I've searched for quite a while now.

I'm playing a Dwarf Ranger and thought it was most fitting to have a badger as an animal companion.

At the badger's 4th level advancement, it grows from size Small to size Medium, which is Dire Badger size. Is it now a Dire Badger or simply a big ol' "regular" badger? Or, am I over-complicating things and 'Dire' is a fancy fantasy word for 'Big', not necessarily a different species of creature.

The only reason I ask, is because of this segment found in the Dire Badger description:

"[..] — but unlike typical badgers, a dire badger’s claws are capable of tunneling through solid rock."

While not THAT big of a deal, I forsee a scenario where I would want my animal companion to burrow through some stone to escape in the future. This would include a stone floor or wall, would it not?

:Edit

*Burrow (Ex)

A creature with a burrow speed can tunnel through dirt, but not through rock unless the descriptive text says otherwise. Creatures cannot charge or run while burrowing. Most burrowing creatures do not leave behind tunnels other creatures can use (either because the material they tunnel through fills in behind them or because they do not actually dislocate any material when burrowing); see the individual creature descriptions for details.

*Note: Burrow details were not included in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook so the details were obtained from d20srd.org.

[MrSin]

Well, the thing is that text is just fluff. The mechanics are all in its statblock. It doesn't actually do any better ingame at going through rock than a regular badger unless you give it that power yourself.

Talk it over with your GM if you want that power for some reason.

Edit: Cookies may help!

[Paynes Rumbelly]

Thanks, MrSin. Sorry if I'm sounding ignorant now, but under the burrow description it reads:

*Burrow (Ex)

A creature with a burrow speed can tunnel through dirt, but not through rock unless the descriptive text says otherwise. Creatures cannot charge or run while burrowing. Most burrowing creatures do not leave behind tunnels other creatures can use (either because the material they tunnel through fills in behind them or because they do not actually dislocate any material when burrowing); see the individual creature descriptions for details.

Format: Burrow 30 ft.; Location: Speed.

*Note: Burrow details were not included in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook so the details were obtained from d20srd.org.

So, is descriptive text the "fluff" you are talking about, or is it giving the descriptive text of Badger, Dire a point of reference for mechanics in-game.

And, I noticed the Note. (Ha.) That means this is the best we've got for an official rule, right?

[MrSin]

Oh! Then I guess they can? I'm not keen on how that works actually. Guess I didn't read close enough.

[Skylancer4]

It wouldn't be a 'dire' badger, it would be a regular badger being advanced a size due to the animal companion mechanics so the burrow description doesn't come into play.

[Paynes Rumbelly]

Skylancer4 wrote:

It wouldn't be a 'dire' badger, it would be a regular badger being advanced a size due to the animal companion mechanics so the burrow description doesn't come into play.

Thanks, Skylancer4. That's what the rule-junky in me thought, as well. Alas, a Small Cat does not turn into a Tiger when it reaches its advancement. I guess it's just a... Big Small Cat?

I understand it's a game, but it just seems a bit silly that an "advanced sized" badger, whose Str and Dex increase as it grows in level (thus making it stronger than a Dire Badger) does not have the same ability as a dire badger. I guess a dire badger's claws must be made out super-keratin! Haha.

I was hopeful because it would be fun surprising some foes by sending a 4ft-tall badger through a dungeon wall...

[wraithstrike]

I just look at it as the connection with the druid, making the companion better than it would normally be.