A ninjaphant?


Advice


So, I'm currently running a stealth based campaign, and a friend of mine is interested in joining. While we were chatting about what he might want to play, he sarcastically said he wanted to play a Druid with an elephant companion who constantly sneaks the elephant in with him.

So I laughed and said it was ridiculous. Ha ha ha.

But I thought.

And I thought.

And I thought.

Is there anyway to actually do this? What's the stealthiest you can make an elephant? I don't care what class(es) or what items, but is there a way to make a ninjaphant?


If you make it a summoners eidolon, it's ridiculously easy. A couple evolutions in skilled: stealth and you're done. The tricky part would be getting it to be effective in battle. It would have the large evolution, quadruped base form, and a trunk so... Combat maneuvers? Trunk-Fu?


There's an armour enchantment, lets you store bonded animals, like an Animal Companion in your armour, speak a command word, and POP, out it comes. It's called Hosteling

The elephant will be your run of the mill animal companion but you sneak into the fancy dinner party as a well dressed knight, and then BOOM, there's an elephant in the dining hall!

Any class that provides an animal companion, mount, etc... can benefit sa beast rider cavalier, nature mystery oracle, etc... will work.


...Is it even that much of a problem? I mean, the penalty for being large is only a -4 to stealth...but stealth is a class skill for ACs, and the penalty could be pretty much covered with only taking skill focus. Heck, by level 12, skill focus will more than cover the penalties.

You could also get it barding with the shadow property for only 3,750 gp, which gives another +5.


Proley wrote:

There's an armour enchantment, lets you store bonded animals, like an Animal Companion in your armour, speak a command word, and POP, out it comes. It's called Hosteling

The elephant will be your run of the mill animal companion but you sneak into the fancy dinner party as a well dressed knight, and then BOOM, there's an elephant in the dining hall!

Any class that provides an animal companion, mount, etc... can benefit sa beast rider cavalier, nature mystery oracle, etc... will work.

The people at the party might feel as though there's an elephant in the room. :P

But in all seriousnous, that's a really cool enchantment. Thanks!

@Lemeres- I've never seen the shadow property, so thanks!

Anyone got anything else?


Even better, there is a Druid spell, Carry Companion, from Knights of the Inner Sea. Druid 2, Paladin 2, Ranger 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 2, Witch 2 in fact. It turns any touched animal that has a helpful attitude towards you into a stone figurine, small enough to fit in your hand. The duration is permanent but can be turned back by placing the figurine on the ground, touching it and uttering the command word.


Daelen wrote:
Even better, there is a Druid spell, Carry Companion, from Knights of the Inner Sea. Druid 2, Paladin 2, Ranger 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 2, Witch 2 in fact. It turns any touched animal that has a helpful attitude towards you into a stone figurine, small enough to fit in your hand. The duration is permanent but can be turned back by placing the figurine on the ground, touching it and uttering the command word.

Is that Paizo material, or is it third party? I ask because I'm not familiar with that book.


Can Archetypes be taken by Alternate classes? You could make a Carnivalist Rogue build (or apply it to Ninja if it can) and have a pygmy elephant familiar-- young template or something to get it to the right CR for familiar.

Familiars use their masters ranks for skills, so voila-- sneaking elephant.


Master of the Dark Triad wrote:
Daelen wrote:
Even better, there is a Druid spell, Carry Companion, from Knights of the Inner Sea. Druid 2, Paladin 2, Ranger 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 2, Witch 2 in fact. It turns any touched animal that has a helpful attitude towards you into a stone figurine, small enough to fit in your hand. The duration is permanent but can be turned back by placing the figurine on the ground, touching it and uttering the command word.
Is that Paizo material, or is it third party? I ask because I'm not familiar with that book.

Knights of the Inner Sea is Paizo, one of their 32 page Player Companion books.


Things to consider:

Carry Companion spell is good.

Feats and Skill points spent on Stealth.

Elephant needs Cloak of Arachnida (14k), this gives unlimited Spider Climb. Slippers of Spider Climbing are a more limited and low cost alternative.

A Greater Hat of Disguise allows the Elephant to appear as halfing or other humanoid whenever it wants.

Ring of Invisibility is the ultimate in stealth. You'll need to alter it a bit so an elephant can use it.

Anthropomorphic Animal can be made permanent and would allow the Ring of Invisibility. Too bad it doesn't work with Animal Growth.

It would be even better if PF didn't limit the size of animal companions.

The latest creature you Awaken "serves you in specific tasks or endeavors if you communicate your desires to it." A Mammoth is just CR 9, but it has 14 hit dice. Awaken gives it 2 more, so it can grab a feat. Get a permament Anthropomorphic Animal on it first. Then use a Maximized Awaken and have it pick up some skills like Stealth. With its new feat it should take a weapon proficiency, and it can wear armor without penalty if you reduce the ACP down to 0. It will be a pretty awesome Huge Ninja to go with the companion.

You'll need a Rod of Maximize Spell to do the maximized awaken, btw (this gives it 18 Int and +3 Charisma). The only real problem is that if the Anthropomorphic Animal is dispelled, then you can't cast it again since it is no longer a valid target. Maybe a nice DM would let you research one that works on Magical Beasts or allow Anthropomorphic Animal to still work on Awakened Animals (which are technically magical beasts).


And so we enter the Wayback Machine...

*Swooshy ripply effect*


Rynjin wrote:

And so we enter the Wayback Machine...

*Swooshy ripply effect*

Ask a Ninja is always classic.

This reminded that there are no rules for the trunk in D&D!


Drachasor wrote:
Elephant needs Cloak of Arachnida (14k), this gives unlimited Spider Climb. Slippers of Spider Climbing are a more limited and low cost alternative.

You know, I thought your list would only be boring things like "make it small" or "make it not look like an elephant". But you, you are a great guy, you know that?

Can anyone draw us an elephant as the protagonist of Mission: Impossible?


I'm personally fond of the eidolon idea, but to be true to the concept you'd have to be 8th level for large size, then get a tail and just say its on the face. Take skilled stealth evolution and skill focus stealth and the stealthy feat, and you get a +20 to stealth.

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