Say I'm playing a druid. I have a dog companion. Who controls the actions of the companion? Me or the DM? Is their a book or rule on this? He keeps trying to make my dog kill random people. How dose this work?
I have ran my companion threw "boot camp"
1) he dose not attack unless I attack it 1st or tell him to other wise
2) he has 3 int
3) I have casted almost every spell on my spell list on him and so has the arcanist ( wake up prepare new spells to help with boot camp) kingmaker lots of down time. Spells like fly, spider climb, even weird stuff like monkey fish. Improved spell share is awesome.
The reason I do this is to expose him to things that a hard DM might have a problem with. Like spider climb. Yeah you casted it on him but he doesn't know what to do. We'll go up the wall now. It's a dog he doesn't know how, BAM YES HE DOSE!! He can fly properly with out any of those "DM negatives" for a flying dog.
How is a companion suppose to be controlled in a game.
The animal should be doing anything you do not tell it to do. How the animal does what you tell it to do is not in the rules.
Why is your GM having your companion attack random people? That makes no sense. Even with the attack trick it should not attack unless someone is an apparent enemy. That is basically someone that is about to attack the party.
Even then, a trained animal companion would only attack without command if it was given the Defend command. I would recommend having your GM do a little research into police/military dogs to get an idea on how a trained animal companion would act. This is the closest thing in our world to compare with a Pathfinder AnC.
As for who controls the AnC, that's purely up to the GM. Especially if this is a home game.
There are no set rules on the matter. Even in PFS there is table variance. As far as the GM having your dog attack random targets... That's ridiculous. Even wild dogs/animals do not simply attack people without provocation, unless they're rabid. I would suggest asking your GM why he is having your AnC act in such a manner.
I believe that RAW for Druid/Ranger animal companions it is the GM who has the final say on the companion's behaviour as it is, technically, an NPC. If you want it do anything beyond an instinctive reaction then you will need to train it for that behaviour.
However, the best (my interpretation of 'best' may differ from yours) GMs I have gamed with always allow the animal companion to be essentially under the complete control of the player, aside from in the odd and rare situation where it the GM decides that the animal reacts differently. This is generally for story narrative or to disallow 'auto-telepathy' style control.
The animal companion is a class feature, not an added extra. It is no more reasonable (in my eyes) for the GM to have complete control over your companion than it would be for him to have control over which spells a wizard casts. That said, it can easily be abused.
If you play your animal companion in a reasonable and balanced manner then you might expect the GM to allow you to get on with it. If you try to make the companion into a PC-clone with full shared sensory input and priorities, expect your GM to start over-ruling your control.
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Say I'm playing a druid. I have a dog companion. Who controls the actions of the companion? Me or the DM? Is their a book or rule on this?
The rules for control of companions were discussed at length in Ultimate Campaign.
Nonsentient Companions: A nonsentient companion (one with animal-level intelligence) is loyal to you in the way a well-trained dog is—the creature is conditioned to obey your commands, but its behavior is limited by its intelligence and it can't make altruistic moral decisions—such as nobly sacrificing itself to save another. Animal companions, cavalier mounts, and purchased creatures (such as common horses and guard dogs) fall into this category. In general they're GM-controlled companions. You can direct them using the Handle Animal skill, but their specific behavior is up to the GM.
It sounds as if you and your GM need to have a discussion on this subject. I would not be having fun with a companion that I have so little influence over.
Sentient Companions: A sentient companion (a creature that can understand language and has an Intelligence score of at least 3) is considered your ally and obeys your suggestions and orders to the best of its ability. It won't necessarily blindly follow a suicidal order, but it has your interests at heart and does what it can to keep you alive. Paladin bonded mounts, familiars, and cohorts fall into this category, and are usually player-controlled companions.
QUOTE="DesolateHarmony"]
Say I'm playing a druid. I have a dog companion. Who controls the actions of the companion? Me or the DM? Is their a book or rule on this?
The rules for control of companions were discussed at length in Ultimate Campaign.
** spoiler omitted **
It sounds as if you and your GM need to have a discussion on this subject. I would not be having fun with a companion that I have so little influence over.
Sorry my phone is acting up. But he dose have 3 int. I agree I have always played with a animal companion. I know different strokes for different folks. I am just use to playing and going at it to kill the baddies. No interference there hasn't been a moment when he just had to attack people. Or act out side of his normal attitude. I don't think there is a point to play a companion class and the GM takes away 1/3 of your character. And tells you your animal isn't a bodyguard. Or it continues to attack people who are already dead and waste it's turn attacking a corps.sucks the fun out of the game for the PC.
Arcanine, it sounds as if your GM needs to do a little research into how an actual animal acts. Wild animals do not maul or savage a corpse, unless it's eating said corpse, let alone a trained animal. See my post above reference some suggestions to your GM for real life references.
As far as Int 3 animals... there has been a big debate on that here on the boards. Paizo's stance is that unless something changes the animal type to Magical Animal, regardless of an animal's intelligence they are not necessarily considered sentient. This is just information for you to consider if your GM says your AnC is not Sentient even with an intelligence of 3.
Personally I think animal companions as a class feature could really benefit from obtaining the Magical Beast subtype; however, there are a lot of people who would argue against it. There is a very vocal group on these boards that argue AnC's are highly OP. I only agree when they are put into the hands of folks who make them OP, which you can do with just about anything in this game. I digress...
Unfortunately, you are not going to find any actual rules to support your stance. In this situation, your GM holds all the cards. Granted, I believe your GM could stand to be enlightened on animal behavior.
Look, it's not that hard. Handle Animal. When you want your pet to do something you have to give it a command. If you taught it the trick it's DC 10, if you didn't it's DC 25. You teach it the tricks for what you want. Down will make your dog stop fighting. Heel should do the same (as it switches to following you). Teach your dog the appropriate tricks and use Handle Animal on it, that simple.
As for who controls it, that doesn't actually matter. It can't do anything unless you give it a command. They're really sort of mindless beasts that way. I think it's one of many things under the control of the GM but usually delegated to the player to ease play speed but I'm too lazy to hunt for a rule at the moment.
Normally, yes, that is exactly how it works; however, the OP is having problems with his/her GM doing things with his AnC that makes no sense. i.e. Mindlessly attacking things without provocation. Which is why he/she has come to ask for help.