The Care and Feeding of Animal Followers

Hi Folks
I just wanted to point out something I noticed during my current playthrough with a group of 3 PCs ( Fighter, Cleric, Rogue/ Wizard ) and Melany. As soon as Mel joined the group, she got her Animal Follower, a Wolf. At first I went to great lengths to keep "Snowball" out of harms way, which was sometimes easier said then done. Now that Melany and the group are 11th Level, the casters "Up Armor" Snowball with Barkskin, Mage Armor, Shield of Faith, Stoneskin, and Greater Magic Fang and turn him loose. Talk about a "Force Multiplier" !! Snowball can definitely hold his own now. On more than one occasion he has taken out a Bugbear or an Ogre with a SINGLE BITE !! The 30 + Hit Points he has, means (when Stoneskinned) he can withstand almost anything except a concentrated attack by Iuz (haven't encountered him yet).
The moral of this story is try to keep the Animal Followers alive through the first 4 to 6 levels of your Druid / Ranger, and they will more than pay you back.
TRC

 

Or just order up a new one everyday! I think I made it to Jack the Jackel XIV before switch to brown bear, with a panda bear thrown in for good measure.

 

I just don't understand why the wolf has so few hp and the jackal has so many. Look both of them up on Wikipedia and you'll see that the wolf weighs about three times as much. For that matter, why do bears have so few hp compared to the other animals? I find it hard to believe that any lizard is tougher than a 250-kg black bear, and you can forget about the Brown Bear, which can weigh up to 700 kg.

 

Hi Folks
For what it's worth, "Snowball" now has 32 HP, and has (are you ready for this ??) a +12 Strength modifier to his bite attacks. When he first joined the group he had maybe 12 (I really didn't keep good track of his numbers in the early days) and didn't do a whole lot of damage. Ted, If you could work out some sort of system where I can control whole the animal(s) attack and where they go, I would be eternally grateful. As I said earlier, if dogs in our (non-magical) world can be trained to stay in one place, respond to hand-signals, etc... , then, logically we should have greater control over animal followers in a magical world, short of casting "Dominate Animal" on our animal followers.
TRC

 

Ok, let me see...

I always have a druid on my groups. They're my favorite class in ToEE - secound in P&P D&D - and I have never be able to see their abilities (or modifiers, or anything about it's sheet!) or to equip them with any kind of equipment!
Are ya guys moding this things, or there ARE a option to take a look on the sheet of the animals?!?

I have used animal companions much like General Ghoul, althought Black, my Attack Dog, have left just 7 cubs...

 

Really? How would they equip them? Do they have a paper doll? I'd keep the chicken if she could wear a Belt of Giant Strength!

 

Keep the chicken alive for a long time and it won't need a Belt of Giant Strength. It will have leveled up to a mighty 12th Level Chicken of Choking.

 

Hi GA
You mean to say that it will move up the pecking order, right ?? Or maybe the monsters you encounter become Chicken Dump - lings ?? OK, I'll stop with the bad jokes before I get banned for bad humor. You are quite correct about high level animal followers being very effective, "Snowball" was survived the fight with the Hill Giants in the room past Kella, and helped kill the Dragon in Verbobonc.
TRC

 

32 hp isn't a lot for some of the enemies mentioned. Don't monsters attack companion pets?

 

they do, and you're right to think that 32 hp is lowish for an animal companion that level.

MM entry for wolf reads 2d8+4 = 13hp average for a base wolf

A lvl 11 druid companion gets an extra 6 HD = 8d8+16 = 52 average. Since the dice are being rolled though, 32hp is perfectly possible. 24-80 hp range.

for example, i consoled a druid to lvl 6 with a wolf companion, and the wolf had 35hp (died at 45 damage) :roll:

So, you could have the powered up, high ac/bab wolf, or you can have a brown bear with extra attacks, to offset the ac drop etc.

I mean, according to raw, wolves get bonus trip attacks and bears are really good grapplers with improved grab + size bonus to grapple + ridiculous strength modifier, but neither of those things come into play in toee (though the wolf trip is really just a 'proc' off their single attack, and might be able to be put in, not sure) wolves also get +4 survival for scent tracking etc but animal companion use is pretty much limited to combat in toee.

Off-topic druid stuff:

• Killing your animal companion (which does not fight back) seems to grant experience oke:
  
• Is multiattack in? While its a lvl 9 druid ability for their companion, with the original lvl 10 cap, it would not help any companion that you can get at first level. (multiattack reduces the penalty on secondary natural attacks from -5 to -2)
  
• Druids get Wildshape (large) at 8, but in toee you get the Brown bear form (large) at 6.
  
• According to latest errata druids are not meant to get extra hit points from the CON gained from a wild shape form (though all other bonuses are granted). Toee gives these bonus hp when it should not (no idea whether that would ever be able to be worked around.) It must be said though, the polymorph rules have had errata after errata added on them, because of ridiculous exploits, so its no surprise that toee doesnt match the latest one.
  
• Druids are meant to get 1 nights rest worth of hp upon wildshaping, they are currently getting healed but i think thats from the CON score changes (i got 12hp from a +1 bonus to con change at lvl 6 though so no idea whats happening there, whats a full nights rest meant to grant you?)

EDIT: also according to MM, Animals gain BAB according to HD at the rate of a cleric (3/4), and while i havent checked that the rate is correct in toee, they do indeed gain extra attacks at higher levels.

 

Hi
You are correct that monsters will attack "Snowball", that's why I "Up - Armor" him with Barkskin, Mage Armor, Shield of Faith and Stoneskin, plus Greater Magic Fang before sending him out to "play". One interesting thing I noticed about Snowball, is that he seems almost "immune" to Damage Reduction. I wasn't really paying much attention, but it seemed that when I was fighting the Werewolves on Level 2 and the Jackalweres on Level 3, Snowball was doing almost as much damage as my fighter with the Silver No Dachi. You are also correct about his multiple attacks, I've seen him take out two or three wounded Bugbears in a single round.
TRC

 

was he under the effect of magic fang when fighting the monsters with DR?

 

The Royal Canadian
How are ya able to cast that lot of spells in yer puet before it run for combat? Or ya make yer chars something like "pet buffers" that don't make anything in the first/secound rounds except run on snowball to cast spells on it!

I'm yet intrested to know where shall I see the modifers of my pets, and how I shall equip my pet with magic itens...

 

I'd whack you GA82 if I wasn't laughing so hard.