Wild Things: A Preview
Today, we’re doing something unusual here at Necromancers of the Northwest: giving you a look at some of the content of one of our books…before it actually releases. Next Monday, May 25th, we’ll be putting out our latest book, Wild Things: Options for Animal Companions. This 29-page book attempts to draw animal companions into the spotlight, giving them a taste of the customizability and options for fine-tuning that player characters have now enjoyed for years.
We go about this task in several ways, but the first and foremost of them is by presenting 7 new animal companion classes, which aren’t player classes that grant an animal companion, but rather classes for the animal companions themselves.
Much in the same way that animal companion archetypes, from Paizo’s Animal Archive, envisioned the Hit Dice and abilities granted to an animal companion by default as a class and provided archetypes for it, this book envisions the default animal companion as a class and provides seven all new classes, including the fearsome beast, the hunting companion, the noble steed, the sage animal, the sly varmint, the spirit guide, and the stalwart sentinel. For today, we’ll take a look at the first ten levels of three of these new animal companion classes.
Fearsome Beast
Larger and more aggressive than other animal companions, fearsome beasts are powerful melee combatants who love to join the fray on their master’s behalf. As a result of specialized training combined with a reckless, often brutish, nature, fearsome beasts can deliver powerful attacks, though these aggressive tactics can leave them vulnerable to attack themselves.
Hit Die: d10
Class Skills
A fearsome beast’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Fly (Dex), and Swim (Str).
Skill Ranks Per Hit Dice: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
Augmented Animal (Ex): A fearsome beast is larger and more powerful than other animals of its kind, but is not actually physiologically different from their lesser kin. A fearsome beast's Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base saving throw, and skill progressions are all determined by its animal companion class. It is treated as an animal for the purposes of spells and effects that can only affect certain types of creatures.
Frenzy (Ex): A fearsome beast is savage, bloodthirsty, and ready for combat. A fearsome beast gains the attack trick as a bonus trick. Additionally, beginning at 3rd level, a fearsome beast gains a +1 moral bonus to attack and damage rolls for 1 round whenever it is handled to use the attack trick.
Share Feats (Ex): A handler can share certain feats with a fearsome beast. As a standard action, the handler can bestow some of her prowess upon her fearsome beast animal companion, allowing it to gain the benefit of a single combat feat she knows, and which her fearsome beast animal companion meets the prerequisites for. The fearsome beast retains these benefits for 1 minute. At 5th level, and every 5 levels thereafter, the handler can bestow an additional combat feat in this way when she uses this ability.
Link (Ex): A handler can handle her animal companion as a free action, or push it as a move action, even if she doesn’t have any ranks in the Handle Animal skill. The handler gains a +4 circumstance bonus on all wild empathy checks and Handle Animal checks made regarding an animal companion.
Ferocious (Ex): A fearsome beast fights to the bitter end, becoming more deadly as it suffers greater wounds. At 6th level, a fearsome beast gains a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls when reduced to fewer than half its maximum hit points. This bonus is doubled when the fearsome beast is at or below 0 hit points. Finally, a fearsome beast can choose to become stable when reduced to 0 hit points or below, but is exhausted for 24 hours thereafter.
Noble Steed
Though often used for mounts, the noble steed animal companion does not necessarily have to serve in that capacity to benefit from this class, which focuses on working with the handler to deliver a deadly, in-your-face assault. The ideal noble steed is a fast creature, suitable as a mount, with more than one natural attack, though other animal companions may still benefit from this class. Good choices for noble steeds include big cats, horses, and elephants.
Hit Die: d8
Class Skills
The noble steed’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Fly (Dex), and Swim (Str).
Skill Ranks Per Hit Dice: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
Augmented Animal (Ex): A noble steed stresses relentless aggression and teamwork. A noble steed’s Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base saving throw, and skill progressions are all determined by its animal companion class. It is treated as an animal for the purposes of spells and effects that can only affect certain types of creatures.
Link (Ex): A noble steed’s handler can handle her animal companion as a free action, or push it as a move action, even if she doesn’t have any ranks in the Handle Animal skill. The handler gains a +4 circumstance bonus on all wild empathy checks and Handle Animal checks made regarding an animal companion.
Pounce (Ex): A noble steed is capable of making an unrelenting assault when it charges. A noble steed gains the pounce special attack, if it did not already possess it, and while serving as a mount may make use of its pounce attack whenever its handler charges a creature while mounted on the noble steed, without need of a Ride check. If the noble steed already possessed the pounce special attack, it instead gains an additional +1 bonus to all attack rolls made while charging.
Riding Bond (Ex): A noble steed is an excellent mount and forms a special bond with its handler. The noble steed’s handler can take 10 on all Ride checks made while mounted on the noble steed.
Defensive Teamwork (Ex): A noble steed and its handler work together to protect one another. At 3rd level, both the noble steed and the handler grant soft cover to the other while the handler is mounted on the noble steed. At 15th level, this ability improves to provide regular cover.
Devotion: A noble steed companion is a close friend and boon companion to the handler. At 6th level, the noble steed gains a +4 morale bonus on Will saves against enchantment spells and effects.
Improved Pounce (Ex): A noble steed is able to pounce on its foes with increased power. At 9th level, when the noble steed uses its pounce ability, it gains a +2 bonus on all damage rolls.
Sly Varmint
A sly varmint is an animal companion that is gifted in stealth and retrieval, making it an excellent thief, scout, or spy. While a sly varmint has special training that allows it to approach undetected, throw off scents, and even perform tasks requiring exceptional manual dexterity, the sly varmint lacks the combat skills of most other animal companions. Most sly varmints are smaller, agile animals such as baboons, birds, and dire rats.
Hit Die: d8
Class Skills
The sly varmint’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Disable Device (Dex), Fly (Dex), Perception (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex), and Swim (Str).
Skill Ranks Per Hit Dice: 8 + Int modifier.
Class Features
Augmented Animal (Ex): A sly varmint is less offensively inclined than other animal companions, but makes up for this with a greater selection of skills. A sly varmint’s Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base saving throw, and skill progressions are all determined by its animal companion class. It is treated as an animal for the purposes of spells and effects that can only affect certain types of creatures.
Sly Varmint Path: A sly varmint selects a single path, which grants it additional abilities.
Scout: The scout path indicates that the sly varmint is skilled in tracking and looking ahead. At 1st level, a sly varmint with the scout path is treated as having improved evasion, but only for the purposes of attacks and abilities from traps. At 10th level, the scout can move up to its full speed or run while using the Stealth skill, without incurring a penalty to its Stealth check. At 20th level, the sly varmint may take 20 on Disable Device checks made to disarm traps.
Spy: The spy path indicates that the sly varmint is skilled in observation and information gathering. At 1st level, a sly varmint with the spy path treats the maximum visual range of any terrain as twice what it normally is, and suffers only half the penalty to Perception checks due to distance. At 10th level, the sly varmint can study a creature for 3 consecutive rounds (a standard action) in order to learn its weaknesses; if it does so, for the next hour the sly varmint and its handler gain a +2 bonus on all attack and damage rolls against the target of this ability. At 20th level, the sly varmint can see things as they really are, as with the spell true seeing. They can use this ability for a total of 1 hour per day, which must be spent in 10-minute increments.
Thief: The thief path indicates that a sly varmint is skilled at relieving others of their possessions. At 1st level, a sly varmint with the thief path treats its base attack bonus as being equal to its handler’s level when making a steal combat maneuver, and it does not provoke attacks of opportunity when it uses the steal combat maneuver. At 10th level, the sly varmint can take 10 on Sleight of Hand checks. Finally, at 20th level, whenever the sly varmint successfully uses the Steal combat maneuver, it can attempt a Disarm combat maneuver or an additional Steal combat maneuver as a swift action. If it does, it gains a +10 bonus to CMB for the purposes of the second combat maneuver.
Link (Ex): A handler can handle her animal companion as a free action, or push it as a move action, even if she doesn’t have any ranks in the Handle Animal skill. The handler gains a +4 circumstance bonus on all wild empathy checks and Handle Animal checks made regarding an animal companion.
Talented: A sly varmint is an exceptionally talented individual and has access to a number of unique abilities which suit its specialties and individual skills. Whenever a sly varmint gains a feat, it may instead choose to gain a single rogue talent for which it meets all the prerequisites. A sly varmint is treated as a rogue of its level for the purposes of feats and rogue talents which require a rogue level as a prerequisite.
Trapfinder (Ex): A sly varmint has an exceptional gift for spotting traps. A sly varmint adds half its handler’s level to any Perception check made to find traps, and can find traps with a DC of higher than 20. If the sly varmint’s handler is within 10 feet, it can use its magical affinity with the handler to sense nearby magic, allowing it to detect magical traps. A sly varmint can alert the handler to the presence of a trap it discovers as a free action if the handler is within 10 feet; otherwise, alerting others to the presence of the trap requires a move action. A sly varmint cannot use thieves’ tools to disable devices unless the animal could normally use thieves’ tools effectively. A sly varmint which detects a trap can choose to deliberately set it off; if it does, and the trap would normally reset automatically, it is treated as being bypassed for the next 10 minutes.
Evasion (Ex): A sly varmint can dodge out of the way to avoid danger. At 3rd level, if the sly varmint is subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, it takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw.
Sneak Attack (Ex): A sly varmint has a limited ability to sneak attack in a fashion similar to the rogue. At 5th level, the sly varmint gains +1d6 sneak attack. At 10th level, and every 5 levels thereafter, this amount increases by 1d6; otherwise, this ability functions like the rogue ability of the same name.
Danger Sense (Ex): A sly varmint has the supernatural ability to sense danger and can alert its handler to the presence of nearby threats, as well as gain an advantage when defending against them. At 9th level, the sly varmint becomes aware of potential threats as though affected by the spell foresight, though it does not gain the +2 bonus to AC and Reflex saves.
While the animal companion classes are certainly impressive, they’re far from the only thing the book has to offer. Also included are a wide variety of feats. The first group of feats are specifically designed with animal companions (and, to a lesser extent, other animals) in mind. Here are a few.
Grip Tight
Once you have your prey in your grasp, you never let go, even as you pursue other activities.
Prerequisites: Grab special attack, animal.
Benefit: Whenever you use your grab special attack to hold a creature rather than conduct the grapple normally, you make your CMB checks to maintain the grapple at only a -10 penalty, rather than a -20 penalty, and may attempt to maintain the hold as a move action, rather than a standard action. If you do, you cannot choose to begin conducting the grapple normally that round.
Mighty Blow
Though you have only one natural means of defending yourself, your focus on that ability allows you to make exceptionally powerful attacks with it.
Prerequisites: Weapon Focus (natural attack), animal, does not possess more than 1 natural attack.
Benefit: Whenever you make an attack with your natural attack, you add 3 times your Strength modifier to the damage roll instead of 1-1/2 times your Strength modifier. Additionally, the critical multiplier of that natural attack is increased by 1.
Scent Tracker
You are an expert at finding and following scent trails, able to do so long after most would give up.
Prerequisites: Animal, scent special quality.
Benefit: When you use Survival to follow tracks using the scent special quality, the DC for a cold trail increases only by +1 for each hour that the trail is cold, and you gain a +3 bonus on all Survival checks made to follow tracks using the scent special quality. This bonus increases to +6 if you have 10 or more ranks in Survival.
The second group of feats are general feats, but are designed for players with animal companions to help get the most out of them. I don’t have any of those to preview today, but I do have some previews from the third type: teamwork feats designed specifically for animal companion and handler pairs! If you’ve ever wanted to fight side-by-side with your animal companion with a bond that is stronger than what can be shared between any two people, these feats are for you. Each feat has two sets of prerequisites: one for the handler, and the other for the animal companion.
Evisceration Strike [Critical, Teamwork]
When attacking the same foe, you and your ally rip them to shreds.
Prerequisites: Critical Focus, ability to gain an animal companion.
Animal Companion Prerequisite: Critical Focus.
Benefit: If both you and your ally confirm a critical hit against a single target in the same round, that target becomes staggered for 1d4 rounds and gains 3d6 points of bleed damage.
Harrowing Team [Teamwork]
While serving as a mounted unit, you and your ally work together to bamboozle and distract your foes.
Prerequisites: Ride 1 rank, ability to gain an animal companion, base attack bonus +1.
Animal Companion Prerequisite: Base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: While you are mounted upon your ally (or your ally is mounted upon you), both you and your ally are considered to be flanking any creatures that you both threaten.
Finally, since very few animal-companion-granting classes don’t grant at least some spellcasting, it seemed appropriate to include some spells that focused on animal companions, or otherwise interacted with them in some way, shape, or form. Here are a few of my favorites.
BEAST RAGE
School conjuration (healing); Level bard 4, bloodrager 4, druid 4, sorcerer/wizard 4, summoner 4, witch 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 minute/level
You are filled with the boiling rage of a fearsome beast. You gain a +4 morale bonus to Strength and deal an additional 1d6 points of damage with natural attacks and unarmed strikes. While under the effect of this spell, you are driven by a mad rage which renders you incapable of casting spells or performing actions which require concentration. If you cast this spell on your animal companion, eidolon, or familiar using the share spells ability, the morale bonus to Strength increases to +8.
CURE COMPANION
School conjuration (healing); Level druid 1, ranger 1, paladin 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./level)
Target your animal companion
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
You transfer magical healing energies to your animal companion in order to heal its wounds. This restores a number of hit points to your animal companion equal to 2d6 + your caster level (to a maximum of +10 at 10th level).
SPLIT COMPANION
School illusion (shadow) [shadow]; Level druid 6
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target your animal companion
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
You infuse your animal companion with shadow stuff and then split it into two forms. Your animal companion splits into two shadow forms, each of which is only partially real. How real each of the two shadow forms is is determined by you when the spell is cast. While each half can be up to 90% real (though not less than 10% real), when added together, the percentages must equal 100%, in 10% increments (so one could be 30% real and the other 70% real, both could be 50% real, one could be 10% real and the other 90% real, and so on).
Each shadow form has a number of hit points correlating to how real it is, with the total number of hit points between the two shadow forms adding up to the total number of hit points your animal companion had when split companion was cast (for example, if you animal companion had 50 hit points, then if one shadow form was 30% real it would have 15 hit points, while the other shadow form that was 70% real would have 35 hit points). At the end of the spell’s duration, the shadow form with the fewest remaining hit points melds into the other shadow form (if they both have the same number of hit points, you choose which melds into which). The remaining shadow form becomes 100% real, with hit points equal to half the number of total remaining hit points from both shadow forms, rounded down (for example, if one shadow form has 44 hit points and the other has 30, the animal companion would have 37 hit points when it recombines at the end of the spell’s duration).
Wild Things: Options For Animal Companions wraps up with a brief section describing some of the common pitfalls and difficulties involved in roleplaying animal companions, and provides some tips and tricks for how to combat them, and better bring your animal companion to life at the table.
I hope you like what you’ve seen so far. If you want to see more of Wild Things: Options For Animal Companions, it will be available as a digital download next week, Monday May 25th, at www.d20pfsrd.com, www.paizo.com, and www.drivethrurpg.com, for the low price of $5.99.