Animal Companion Bond

The bond that a druid or a ranger forms with their animal companion is forged by nature to be strong and lasting. Thus it is not easily, nor cavalierly, broken.

If the bond between the druid or ranger and their companion animal is broken—be it by dismissing the animal, the animal being forcibly separated from the character, or by the animal’s death, then the character must make a DC 20 Will save or suffer 1d4 WIS damage and be stunned for d2 rounds (Success means 1/2 WIS damage (min. 1) but no stun).

To regain a new companion, the druid or the ranger must complete a ceremony consisting of 24 hours of uninterrupted prayer in the territory in which the new companion lives. They must have recovered from their WIS loss before beginning the ceremony.

Companion Levels

An animal companion begins at 1st level and advances in level similarly to a cohort with the Leadership Feat. A companion earns XP by dividing its level by the PCs level. Multiply the result by the total XP awarded to the PC; then add that number to the companion’s XP total. It begins with statistics as in the Bestiary with adjustments made per the table below:

Lvl	HD	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Skills	Feats	NAB	Str/Dex	Tricks	Special
1st	+2	+1	+3	+3	+0	2	1	+0	+0	1	Link, share spells
2nd	+3	+2	+3	+3	+1	4	2	+0	+0	1	—
3rd	+3	+2	+3	+3	+1	6	2	+2	+1	2	Evasion
4th	+4	+3	+4	+4	+1	8	2	+2	+1	2	Ability score increase
5th	+5	+3	+4	+4	+1	10	3	+2	+1	2	—
6th	+6	+4	+5	+5	+2	12	3	+4	+2	3	Devotion
7th	+6	+4	+5	+5	+2	14	3	+4	+2	3	—
8th	+7	+5	+5	+5	+2	16	4	+4	+2	3	—
9th	+8	+6	+6	+6	+2	18	4	+6	+3	4	Ability score increase, Multiattack
10th	+9	+6	+6	+6	+3	20	5	+6	+3	4	—
11th	+9	+6	+6	+6	+3	22	5	+6	+3	4	—
12th	+10	+7	+7	+7	+3	24	5	+8	+4	5	—
13th	+11	+8	+7	+7	+3	26	6	+8	+4	5	—
14th	+12	+9	+8	+8	+4	28	6	+8	+4	5	Ability score increase
15th	+12	+9	+8	+8	+4	30	6	+10	+5	6	Improved evasion
16th	+13	+9	+8	+8	+4	32	7	+10	+5	6	—
17th	+14	+10	+9	+9	+4	34	7	+10	+5	6	—
18th	+15	+11	+9	+9	+5	36	8	+12	+6	7	—
19th	+15	+11	+9	+9	+5	38	8	+12	+6	7	—
20th	+16	+12	+10	+10	+5	40	8	+12	+6	7	Ability score increase

Class Level: This is the animal companion’s level.

HD (Bonus): This is the bonus number of eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice the animal companion gets, each of which gains a Constitution modifier, as normal.

BAB: This is the animal companion’s base attack bonus. An animal companion’s base attack bonus is the same as that of a druid of a level equal to the animal’s HD. Animal companions do not gain additional attacks using their natural weapons for a high base attack bonus.

Fort/Ref/Will: These are the animal companion’s base saving throw bonuses. An animal companion has good Fortitude and Reflex saves.

Skills: This lists the animal’s total skill ranks. Animal companions can assign skill ranks to any skill listed under Animal Skills. If an animal companion increases its Intelligence to 10 or higher, it gains bonus skill ranks as normal. Animal companions with an Intelligence of 3 or higher can purchase ranks in any skill. An animal companion cannot have more ranks in a skill than it’s level.

Feats: This is the total number of feats possessed by an animal companion. Animal companions should select their feats from those listed under Animal Feats. Animal companions can select other feats, although they are unable to utilize some feats (such as Martial Weapon Proficiency). Note that animal companions cannot select a feat with a requirement of base attack bonus +1 until they gain their second feat at 2nd level.

NAB=Natural Armor Bonus: The number noted here is an improvement to the animal companion’s existing natural armor bonus.

Str/Dex (Bonus): Add this modifier to the animal companion’s Strength and Dexterity scores.

Tricks: The value given in this column is the total number of “bonus” tricks that the animal knows in addition to any that the druid might choose to teach it (see the Handle Animal skill for more details on how to teach an animal tricks). These bonus tricks don’t require any training time or Handle Animal checks, and they don’t count against the normal limit of tricks known by the animal. The druid selects these bonus tricks, and once selected, they can’t be changed.

Special: This includes a number of abilities gained by animal companions as they increase in power. Each of these bonuses is described below.

Link (Ex): A druid 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 druid gains a +4 circumstance bonus on all wild empathy checks and Handle Animal checks made regarding an animal companion.

Share Spells (Ex): The druid may cast a spell with a target of “You” on her animal companion (as a spell with a range of touch) instead of on herself. A druid may cast spells on her animal companion even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the companion’s type (animal). Spells cast in this way must come from a class that grants an animal companion. This ability does not allow the animal to share abilities that are not spells, even if they function like spells.

Evasion (Ex): If an animal companion is subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex save for half damage, it takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw.

Ability Score Increase (Ex): The animal companion adds +1 to one of its ability scores.

Devotion (Ex): An animal companion gains a +4 morale bonus on Will saves against enchantment spells and effects.

Multiattack: An animal companion gains Multiattack as a bonus feat if it has three or more natural attacks and does not already have that feat. If it does not have the requisite three or more natural attacks, the animal companion instead gains a second attack with one of its natural weapons, albeit at a –5 penalty.

Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, an animal companion takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and only half damage if the saving throw fails.

Animal Skills

Animal companions can have ranks in any of the following skills: Acrobatics* (Dex), Climb* (Str), Escape Artist (Dex), Fly* (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Perception* (Wis), Stealth* (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim* (Str). All of the skills marked with an (*) are class skills for animal companions. Animal companions with an Intelligence of 3 or higher can put ranks into any skill.

Animal Feats

Animal companions can select from the following feats: Acrobatic, Agile Maneuvers, Armor Proficiency (light, medium, and heavy), Athletic, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Diehard, Dodge, Endurance, Great Fortitude, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Armor, Improved Natural Attack, Improved Overrun, Intimidating Prowess, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Power Attack, Run, Skill Focus, Spring Attack, Stealthy, Toughness, Weapon Finesse, and Weapon Focus. Animal companions with an Intelligence of 3 or higher can select any feat they are physically capable of using. GMs might expand this list to include feats from other sources.

Animal Choices

Animal	Min. Druid Level	Min. Ranger Level
Ape	1	-
Badger (Wolverine)	1	4
Bear	1	-
Bird	1	4
Boar	1	-
Camel	1	4
Cat, Big (Lion, Tiger)	1	-
Cat, Small (Cheetah, Leopard)	1	4
Crocodile (Alligator)	1	-
Dire Rat	-	4
Dog	1	4
Horse	1	4
Pony	1	4
Shark	1	-
Snake (Constrictor)	1	4
Snake (Viper)	1	4
Wolf	1	4
Archelone	4	7
Axe Beak	4	7
Baboon	4	7
Dire Bat	-	7
Dolphin	4	7
Electric Eel	4	7
Elephant	4	7
Elk	4	7
Frog, Giant	4	7
Hyena	4	7
Ram	4	7
Stag	4	7
Toad, Giant	4	7
Tortoise	4	7
Wolf, Dire	4	7
Chameleon, Giant	7	10
Moray Eel, Giant	7	10
Roc	7	10
Vulture, Giant	7	10
Weasel, Giant	7	10