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Hey there rules forum. I cannot wrap my head around what happens to my Paladins effective Druid level, please help me out here. THIS IS NOT A SUPER MOUNT BUILD
Okay, Animal Ally gives my grumpy old Paladin a dog at effective Druid Level 2. But then according to Animal Ally..
If you later gain an animal companion through another source (such as the Animal domain, divine bond, hunter's bond, mount, or nature bond class features), the effective druid level granted by this feat stacks with that granted by other sources.
So what happens if I choose the mount option for Divine Bond? Do I suddenly get my Paladin level added to that pre existing effective Druid level? While technically that'd be effective Druid level 7, I'd rather just assume it gets brought up to 5 and I have a full animal companion.
Nope. It goes up to lvl 7 animal companion (although your pet does begin to advance at double your char lvl after that, which is interesting).
Think of it more as a caster level then as a character level. While both are normally the same, the caster lvl can be boosted beyond your character lvl with feats and abilities and such.
If you wanted to cheese this, think of an Aasamar Nature Oracle who gains a pet at 1.5x speed.
You legally could go Aasamar oracle from lvl 1, take this feat at lvl 5, then nature bond at lvl 7 to get a pet at 2.5(-3)x lvl speed :p
Maybe a lvl of cavalier/druid for an exotic mount? Wonder what the most optimal way of doing this is?
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Nope. It goes up to lvl 7 animal companion (although your pet does begin to advance at double your char lvl after that, which is interesting).
Think of it more as a caster level then as a character level. While both are normally the same, the caster lvl can be boosted beyond your character lvl with feats and abilities and such.If you wanted to cheese this, think of an Aasamar Nature Oracle who gains a pet at 1.5x speed.
You legally could go Aasamar oracle from lvl 1, take this feat at lvl 5, then nature bond at lvl 7 to get a pet at 2.5(-3)x lvl speed :p
Maybe a lvl of cavalier/druid for an exotic mount? Wonder what the most optimal way of doing this is?
So the dog would suddenly be a 7th level animal companion?
That might be interesting, I really don't want to cheese anything. Just trying to give my paladin a dog without GM fiat.
Based on the RAW and John Compton's statement here:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2q9f7&page=3?The-ARG-race-restriction-and-f avored-class#141
You would indeed wind up with a 7th level companion, but thereafter your companion's effective level would be limited such that it would only ever have one more HD than you. So, at 12th level, your companion would be at most level 16.
But, the above has yet to be codified in an official FAQ as far as I know, and I frankly think it is pretty silly. If you were at my table, I would rule that your animal companion would go to 5th level, and I would let you retrain the feat since it is now clearly superfluous.
My main basis for that ruling is how the Boon Companion feat works (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/boon-companion).
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Based on the RAW and John Compton's statement here:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2q9f7&page=3?The-ARG-race-restriction-and-f avored-class#141
You would indeed wind up with a 7th level companion, but thereafter your companion's effective level would be limited such that it would only ever have one more HD than you. So, at 12th level, your companion would be at most level 16.
But, the above has yet to be codified in an official FAQ as far as I know, and I frankly think it is pretty silly. If you were at my table, I would rule that your animal companion would go to 5th level, and I would let you retrain the feat since it is now clearly superfluous.
My main basis for that ruling is how the Boon Companion feat works (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/boon-companion).
Actually I don't think Animal Ally becomes useless, it's the only way I know of to gain a medium animal for a medium Paladin, RAW. If there's another way to do it within the rules I'd like to know.
Actually I don't think Animal Ally becomes useless, it's the only way I know of to gain a medium animal for a medium Paladin, RAW. If there's another way to do it within the rules I'd like to know.
The second type of bond allows a paladin to gain the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve her in her crusade against evil. This mount is usually a heavy horse (for a Medium paladin) or a pony (for a Small paladin), although more exotic mounts, such as a boar, camel, or dog are also suitable. This mount functions as a druid's animal companion, using the paladin's level as her effective druid level. Bonded mounts have an Intelligence of at least 6.
I don't see anything in the RAW that states you MUST take a mount of a size you can actually ride. It just says what is typical. Since a dog is expressly called out as a suitable product of the ability, I don't see it as requiring GM fiat.
In places where you MUST take a mount you can ride, the rules generally say so - as in the Beast Rider cavalier archetype, for example.
... come to think of it, I think that makes taking animal ally in the first place completely superfluous :P
Owner - D20 Hobbies
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I believe the correct interpretation (and if you prefer alternate RAW) is this:
A 5th level Paladin with Animal Ally (2nd level EDL animal) and later gains Divine Bond for an Animal Companion. His EDL will be 5th level and Animal Ally will be doing nothing.
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However if you were a 5th level Cleric with Animal Ally your EDL is 2nd. Then you gain 5 levels in Paladin and take Divine Bond for an Animal Companion. Your EDL is (5-3)+(5) = 7th. This effectively makes your Animal Companion = to your Character Level - 3 no matter how many levels you take in your Animal Companion class.