Animal Ally stacking with class granted Animal Companions

[jmclaus]

RAW, I believe that you can:

1. Take a class without an animal companion for 4 levels.
2. Take the animal ally feat.
3. Begin taking levels in a class with an animal companion.

For example, you could be a fighter 4 / druid 7. Animal Ally says your companion has an effective druid level of 8, your character level minus 3. Your 7 levels in druid will also give you a companion with effective druid level 7. The feat stats that the 2 effective druid levels will stack, giving you an animal companion whose effective druid level is 15.

Has there been anything specific to PFS (or just general errata) that disallows this?

[BigNorseWolf]

It would have to be on both lists to stack but otherwise i don't see why not. Boon companion would do almost the same thing, with any critter, with 1/3rd the feat investment.

[Chess Pwn]

Animal ally only counts non-animal granting class levels as one level can't grant druid levels twice.

[jmclaus]

I want to agree with you Chess Pwn, but I haven't found anything saying that. Animal Ally specifically refers to character level, which includes your druid levels.

Boon Companion has the language about not exceeding character level, so it can't be abused like this. It also only gives you 4 levels whereas Animal Ally can give you 8 at level 11.

[FLite]

I believe last time this came up, there was a rule made that you cannot have an AC with more than 1 more HD than you.

By the way, it is more effective if you do Oracle. Take animal ally, then after that take Oracle Mystery that gets you a matching AC. Now you have (CL x 2) -3 not (CL x 2) - 7

[Chess Pwn]

There was a clarification, the issue at had was for Familiars because it was possible to gain 2 familiar levels per level, that a level can only be used once. So if you take a druid level you have it going into the character level option or it's removed from that and it's granting a druid level, but it can't increase both.

[dragonhunterq]

Surely it falls foul of the "same source" no stacking rule. You can't count a level twice.

[BigNorseWolf]

AHh right. Missed that you were trying to go over your level limit.. yeah no

[jmclaus]

Jared, that was specifically about the FCB for Oracle.

I'm aware of the same source not stacking rule, but I thought that was specifically for bonuses and so doesn't apply here.

Chess Pwn, could you link me to the Familiars ruling?

[FLite]

Nope. It applies to everyone.

John Compton wrote:

Related Point: Can I have an 18th-level animal companion at level 12?
A character’s effective druid level for determining the abilities of her animal companion (based on Table 3–8 on page 52 of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook) cannot increase her animal companion’s Hit Dice above her actual character level + 1. An animal companion receives no additional abilities for its level unless it has the requisite number of Hit Dice; a character can increase her effective druid level further, though these effective levels do not grant any benefit until the character’s actual level increases. For example, a 12th-level aasimar oracle with the nature mystery and the bonded mount revelation could theoretically have an “18th-level” animal companion; however, her animal companion would only be “16th-level” for all abilities because the animal could not have more than 13 Hit Dice.

This is a conscious modification to how the rules work for the few cases that would allow a character to have an animal companion with a higher effective level than she does—primarily related to oracles’ use of the aasimar and elf alternate favored class bonuses. Such characters can still receive considerable benefits from such an investment of favored class points, but the mechanical edge is not as overwhelming for an ability that is persistent and potentially game-changing. The above information will be included in an FAQ entry, and a note will appear in the Additional Resources entry for Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide.

Note the word "primarily" in the second paragraph.

Linkage

[BigNorseWolf]

Prerequisites: Nature Soul, character level 4th, must not have an animal companion or mount that advances as an animal companion.

Benefit: You gain an animal companion as if you were a druid of your character level –3 from the following list: badger, bird, camel, cat (small), dire rat, dog, horse, pony, snake (viper), or wolf. 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.

your fighter level 4 would start stacking with your druid but druid levels don't stack with druid levels.

[Kitty Catoblepas]

BigNorseWolf wrote:

AHh right. Missed that you were trying to go over your level limit.. yeah no

If he's looking to go over the level limit, doesn't the Huntmaster feat allow that (the purpose of the feat, from what I can tell) for certain animals?

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/advancedRaceGuide/coreRaces/humans.html# huntmaster

[BigNorseWolf]

Huntmaster is only one level though, and only on the poor animal companion choices.

[Tindalen]

Effective Druid level 15 would give you a 12 HD animal companion, that is within the level +1 limit stated by Mr. Compton. The feat states that your effective druid level = character level -1. Not class levels that do not grant an animal companion.

Yes, this would work. Just like it does for the diabolist's imp companion.

[Squiggit]

So this would likewise mean that, say, a sacred huntsman wouldn't gain anything from the 4th level feature of the animal domain?

[Argendauss]

Also, you'll need to pick thus up at lvl 5 when you get a feat or retrain your lvl 1 or 3 feat for 5 days at lvl 4. I can't think of a way to get a non-combat, non-teamwork feat at 4.