Can Druids cast the Heal Animal focus spell on an Arboreal Sapling Animal Companion?

[Reticent]

HEAL ANIMAL FOCUS 1
UNCOMMON DRUID HEALING NECROMANCY POSITIVE
Cast [one-action] to [two-actions] somatic
Range touch or 30 feet (see text); Targets 1 willing living
animal creature
You heal an animal’s wounds, restoring 1d8 Hit Points to
the target. The number of actions spent Casting this Spell
determines its effect.
• [one-action] somatic The spell has a range of touch.
• [two-actions] somatic, verbal The spell has a range of 30 feet
and restores an additional 8 Hit Points to the target.
Heightened (+1) The amount of healing increases by 1d8, and
the additional healing for the 2-action version increases by 8.

Okay, so I DO have a degree in Biology- but I don't really think I need to go into too much detail to explain the problem here.

Thoughts?

[Luke Styer]

Reticent wrote:

Okay, so I DO have a degree in Biology- but I don't really think I need to go into too much detail to explain the problem here.

I DO have a degree in English, and I’m not sure what you’re asking.

[manbearscientist]

No. I'd recommend having such a Druid learn a spell that heals a plant creature instead.

[thenobledrake]

It says "targets 1 willing living animal creature"

Both biologically and from game rules view points, a plant is not an animal.

What can be healed by this spell are creatures with the animal trait.

[Reticent]

Luke Styer wrote:

Reticent wrote:

Okay, so I DO have a degree in Biology- but I don't really think I need to go into too much detail to explain the problem here.

I DO have a degree in English, and I’m not sure what you’re asking.

An Arboreal Sapling, despite being an "Animal Companion", is not an animal, and therefore would presumably fail to meet the requirements of the "Targets" section of the spell. (Anything that is a plant is not an animal, both literally and in common usage of the terms.)

So for purposes of the rules does falling under the heading of "Animal Companion" supercede the biological reality of not being an animal? Particularly with regard to a focus spell whose design intent seems to be primarily to be available for healing one's Animal Companion.

[Luke Styer]

Reticent wrote:

So for purposes of the rules does falling under the heading of "Animal Companion" supercede the biological reality of not being an animal?

Biology has nothing to do with this question. This turns entirely on creature traits, and “ An arboreal sapling has the plant trait instead of the animal trait.”

Quote:

Particularly with regard to a focus spell whose design intent seems to be primarily to be available for healing one's Animal Companion.

More accurately it heals one’s Animal Companion who has the Animal trait. One’s Arboreal Sapling companion does not.

[Perpdepog]

I'd be interested to hear the answer too, since this also applies to the riding drake, which is a dragon, and was an animal companion I was looking at trying out for a future character.

I could see arguments either way. Either it is intended to work on your animal companion regardless of type so they are a bit harder to put down, or their trait being different and not working with animal-themed spells is a trade-off for the more exotic abilities they can have from their other type.

Though the sapling and drake seem fairly in line with stuff animal companions should be able to do, so I'm more inclined to the first idea than the second.

[Castilliano]

The spell, if it were limited to animal companions, would perhaps work on these non-animals, except that's not the phrasing. The spell heals animals so it's in an Animal Druid's best interests to keep to animals. Since the Order's purpose is tied to animals, one might wonder why a member would ever choose a non-animal (thematically, not mechanically) anyway.

Is it a bit unfair in terms of mechanical symmetry? Yep, kinda, since I doubt the developers accounted for this by making those companions stronger (as then they'd be "must-haves" for any non-Animal Druid). Yet there are some instances where the "Dragon" or "Plant" traits are superior (perhaps inferior occasionally too).

I might allow a variant that allowed you to heal your AC (and no other dragons/plants/etc.), though that wouldn't extend to guest Druids or their (actually are) animal companions.

Just realizing the ridiculous amount of healing available to a party that takes the effort to pick up Heal Animal & bring an AC along. I guess they'd need it when the AoEs come en masse.