Animal Companion mechanics

[Ashling]

Question for you animal companion experts. I've never played a class with an animal companion, and in researching I have found some conflicting information that I'd like clarified. Does an animal companion lose some of the feats and abilities listed for that animal under its bestiary entry, or does it gain those features in addition to its animal companion statistics?

For example, The entry for Velociraptor on pg 59 of Bestiary 4 says that they have weapon Finesse, Improved Initiative, and Evasion however none of these abilities are listed on the Velociraptor animal companion entry on pg 54 of the Core Rulebook. I have read guides that say high dex animals get weapon finesse for free, but don't point to any specific rule listed that supports this claim.

Also, if velociraptors do get evasion from lvl 1, do they then get improved evasion when the animal familiar gains that ability at lvl 3?

Thanks in advance for the help and advice!

[Wolventad]

Ignore the bestiary entries - animal companions have nothing to do with their bestiary entry, only that under the animal companion rules.
As such, velociraptors don't get any of the feats listed in their bestiary entry, nor do they get evasion. They only get the abilities listed in the animal companion stat block.

[Claxon]

Yeah...bestiary entries are basically meaningless when it comes to animal companions.

That being said, animal companion progression eventually grants evasion and you can pick up weapon finesse as feat for it, but it doesn't start with them.

[Pizza Lord]

Ashling wrote:

I have read guides that say high dex animals get weapon finesse for free, but don't point to any specific rule listed that supports this claim.

I believe this was the case in 3.5, but it applied to tiny and smaller animals, not just animals with higher Dex. Many such animals do have Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat (listed with a 'b') but others just have it as a normal feat, so that doesn't seem to be the case here.

It's possible it might be listed somewhere hard to find, but I don't see anything granting creatures automatic Weapon Finesse (or its equivalent) in general. Those guides may have been referring to the animals that get it as a free bonus feat, like snakes and such, but the rules for animal companions have been modified a bit from when many guides were written, and the rules have altered a bit to counter certain combinations and abilities (like pounce) to prevent one type from dominating.

Combat Maneuver Bonus wrote:

Special Size Modifier

Creatures that are size Tiny or smaller use their Dexterity modifier in place of their Strength modifier to determine their CMB.

Tiny and smaller creatures do apply Dex instead of Str for CMB checks, but that's not Weapon Finesse and doesn't apply to attack rolls.

Familiar Basics wrote:

Attacks: Use the master’s base attack bonus, as calculated from all his classes. Use the familiar’s Dexterity or Strength modifier, whichever is greater, to calculate the familiar’s melee attack bonus with natural weapons. Damage equals that of a normal creature of the familiar’s kind.

Familiars with higher Dex than Str seem to technically get Weapon Finesse (not that I think it would actually count as having the feat if there was something that checked for it), and that seems to apply to any size familiar (unless the particular familiar or archetype might override it).

I see nothing about animals in general or animal companions though.

[blahpers]

Many Tiny or smaller creatures have Weapon Finesse, but not for free. If you want your animal companion to have Weapon Finesse, I suggest having it take the feat.

Also, add me to the chorus of "don't look at the full bestiary entry when statting animal companions unless the animal companion stat block specifically references the bestiary entry". You might have to look up, e.g., a hippo's sweat ability, but only because the animal companion stat block mentions it.

[Oyabun_Kyuubi]

Another thing to remember is that Animal companions unlike Wizard familiars do not gain Intelligence. So a Druid/ranger still needs to use the Handle animal rules for commanding them. (they gain more tricks than a normal creature which is 3xint score but reguardless during a fight you cant command your bear or raptor to attack a particular creature unless they know the attack trick) So remember to treat them as if they were a normal animal with specific perks (this of course can be circumvented if you become a Raptor and directly speak to your animal companion).

[Ashling]

Thanks for all the clarification, folks! Big help! :)