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My group just started a new game, I am playing a Sylph Sky Druid, since I must take an AC with a fly speed, if I take one at all, I decided on the Griffon via Monstrous Mount. My DM like me found the feat Monstrous Mount Mastery pointless, so is going to allow me to use it as a flying mount without that feat, and without the half speed while flying so long as its load is light. Since I cannot gain a Griffon until level 5, with the prerequisite's being 5 ranks in ride & handle animal (those are what I am going with anyway), and my OCD needing to make everything flow, the idea of having an AC that I know I will get rid of as soon as something better comes along is not a route I can choose. I instead decided to take a Domain, Animal>Feather, a Sylph Sky Druid makes great use of the +1 to Fly Maneuverability, and who doesn't like +1 perception per two levels, and I still gain my animal companion a level before I can use it. Pick up Boon Companion and its fully powered, plus while some of the spells are pointless as I get them as a Druid anyway, I get to take them without using a druid slot of that level.
So to my Question's.
Normally when an animal becomes a magical beast "Awaken" it can no longer become an animal companion, and if it was an animal companion, it immediately stops being one, via the feat Monstrous Mount, you can get a companion that is a magical beast, albeit with animal HD, BAB, and so on, while I can still affect it with spells that normally only affect animals, I am curious on the Type would it change to Animal, or would it remain a Magical Beast? If it became an Animal, would it be considered a unique creature, would you be able to wild shape into a Griffon if it is considered an Animal?
Would the +5 speed from Like the Wind racial trait be active while in a wild shape, polymorph makes you lose traits that depend on your normal form to use (I will lose Darkvision while being an Animal), I am thinking +5 to speed, which you can acquire from a feat as well would not be form dependent? Obviously if you were small with a speed of 20, and turned into a tiger with a speed of 40 you would get 40, but if you had something that gave you +5 to speed then would you would turn into a tiger with a speed of 45. I am a Sylph, Native Outsider Medium and have a speed of 30, I gain +5 to my base speed because of an alternate racial trait, would the +5 only apply while I am a sylph, if I took fleet to get +5 speed would that work while wild shaping? would it stack with like the wind to make my base speed as a sylph 40? (probably not taking fleet, just asking)
Has breeze-kissed been officially fixed anywhere yet? I have seen a lot of speculation that it should work with a mental attribute + caster level, some speculation that it should work like hydraulic push (so again caster level + mental) and someone said the person who created it said he overlooked it, but maybe it should use charisma, but that his opinion was in no way official. Or should it just use your normal CMB? If it does use your mental + caster level, would bonuses to attack still apply, eg heroism?
I saw this post from Sean K Reynolds...
http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/v5748dyo5le1h?NPC-Codex-Preview-Animals-Cant-Vo te#29
(Looks like its not linking, via preview, just copy and paste)
Has it been overruled anywhere? I could see a 2nd bite attack, the creature learns to rip at the bitten spot better than before, though I can also see it being a bit overpowered giving that wording to what could be already considered the best animal companions, griffons get all them big cat goodies except grab, which my DM said he would allow me to get with a feat if I want...I want. Am considering when I get it at level 5, giving it the feats Acrobatic +2 on acrobatic and fly, improved flight, granting it good maneuverability instead of average which gives it another +4, and grab as its third feat...Opinions?
Is their any feat for a Sylph or Druid to add a template to their animal companion? I could totally see a Paladin build taking griffon as their mount, and they get to add the celestial template at level 11, not to mention starting with an int of 6, when they smite they may not get a bonus to atk (low cha), but all of their attacks gain + to dmg equal to their HD, that's 5 on a pounce, 6 with the rewording on multiattack, or 7 with haste. All of the classes who get animal companions have them use their class levels as a druid, sometimes at -3, you would think a druids animal companion would be the shining example, otherwise it would say, "druids gain an animal companion, use their druid level as a paladin to determine the power of the animal" or something like that. I know Aasimar can take celestial companion, that and the +2 on wisdom & charisma (wild empathy, handle animal) make them great druids, but being a 15 point race its often not an allowed option. I get the roleplay reason behind druid AC not getting the celestial template if they revere nature instead of being NG and revering a good deity, of course planar wild shape debunks that theory but there should be some sort of template that is equal to make the druid AC on an equal level, like a template depending on alignment, similar to Summon Monster. I know the druid thing on AC is considered options, and steeds are not considered as good as others maybe, but big cat, griffon, and roc can all be viewed as "more exotic mounts"...oh so that makes the steeds include some of the best AC's...
On a side note, not a question, but recently found out about how much weaker SNA is than SM, giving the druid the ability to spontaneously cast SNA then making it weaker than SM, and not allowing it to qualify for the feat to make it a standard action, someone said because druids should not be summoning celestial creatures, what if you are a NG druid who worships a NG deity, and can gain the celestial template while in an Animal Wild shape via planar wild shape... someone else said that it needs to be weaker because druids can do it spontaneously, clerics spontaneously cast cure spells, and they don't get weaker, in fact they get them more quickly than druids after level 1 (I am fine with this, clerics should get cure spells faster than druids, just making a point). Am a little curious what you all think is the reasoning behind this.
If I were GMing:
I'd have you take a normal animal companion, probably a bird. But, in the fiction, it would be a tiny griffon cub. I mean, flight, talons, whatever, the stats work just fine for a griffon cub and it's balanced.
Then when you attain the level you need for the feat (or however you're getting the upgrade) ... wait... what's this?
GRIFFON IS EVOLVING.
And then you have your griffon.
Makes sense in the fiction and is totally fair.
The statblock is not the monster!
Good luck!
That would be nice Mythic Evil Lincoln
I may talk to my DM about doing something like that, see if he goes for it.
Oh forgot something I was going to ask. More just to know as I don't intend to go this route, but if you take AC as your Nature Bond as a sky druid, you are required to take a flying AC. If you do the route I did, and take a Domain, and that domain grants you an AC, are you required to take a flying AC?
This is my first post, I realize now that I posted it in the wrong section, and should have put it under Rules Question I think, anyone know how to move it over there, as I know copy / paste would be against the rules as it would be spam.