familiars and summons

[EDM Entori]

Using them, calling them, emoting with them.. all of it. I've seen some new folk come in and they make use of their familiars alot so ...


Debate!

[Lady Frost]

Zoe uses creature (elemental) summons for fodder. When one dies she calls another. If she calls an outsider or creates an undead, she usually blesses it some and attempts (somewhat) to keep it alive.

Rarely do I talk with them. I don't see many of the things she calls/creates as being very vocal. On occasion, I'll emote this or that. I just don't type well, or fast enough to take advantage of being able to unless I get left behind or we've stopped.

[jensmann]

Isendir summons Elementals sometimes, but his real summon is Dave (a Monavic Deva), the two have been through some hard fights together (may it be the skullcrag dungeon, or as he were with Reyvan and Tama in the Tun and we got owned by the first group of giants, thanks to Reyvan's last effort Isendir managed to run away, summoning Dave and then we togetehr they were able to rasie the other two).

Isendir values his summons highly and I often try to unsummon them if they are about to getting killed. He also has a whole set of spells prepared for his summons.

I sometimes take time to talk with Dave, make emotes with him, or let him talk to other players as well, but i'm a slow typer and i have a hard time keeping up often so i don't do it all over.

[Deleted]

Elvewyn's fammiliar has a hole personality and i rp with it quite alot. So do his Slaadi. Personally i think it is great and i LOVE to see people emoting and rping there summons and fammiliar. Just a quirk of mine.

~Sio

[Vortex]

Kethoth's familiar is very important to him. He rarely brings him out on the field of battle, and only when he really needs his support if he does. Otherwise he won't endanger Miztiku. When his familiar is out, it's very mouthy and goofy, but it's one of Kethoth's closer pals so he doesn't put it in unnecessary danger.

Summons. Kethoth summons devils, though he only does so if the place is a challenge. A strong warden or ally in the hells better have a challenge or he's gonna be pissed for being bothered, heh. Usually give it payment in some form or another two after it's done. Kethoth's devils are usually very chatty.

Undead I don't RP chatting with as much... b/c they're dead rofl. Except for one undead creation.

For you all who don't know.. Kethoth has the mummy dust feat. I've roleplayed that the mummy that forms from it, he carries around in a bag of holding. It was an Ancient Mulan Warrior dug up in a Thayvian expedition and sold to him via the Enclave.

For those who don't know the original Mulhorandi people and the Mulan men from Thay do not get along at all. So he's taken this old, respected Mulan veteran. Defiled his corpse to serve Thay in undeath, melting it to his will. Suffice to say his undead is precious, and he only uses it if it's really needed, because it takes a lot of work to maintain the corpse. Though he doesn't talk beyond a growl or a moan.

[Spirit of a Phoenix]

I don't have Kiki summon creatures unless its by scroll, but i had a sorcerer who used to summon Slaadi.

Whenever i summoned a slaad I would RP the slaad's chaotic nature to show that my sorcerer didn't have complete control over the creature. I'd have the slaad eat rats, hit a door open, and even keep attacking an already dead body. One of the slaadi could cast spells that hit my character and his allies, which i'd blame on his chaotic nature and the creature's unwillingness to completely help my character.

[Thrym]

Summons! Familiars!

First off, I looooove RPing them. Maybe a bit too much even, heh. ;D

I usually only RP familiars and called creatures, not animals/elementals, and try to come up with an actual personality for each of them.

Let's see who we have....

Zaebros:

- Daebra: Zae's original familiar, a grumpy female hellhound he got as a gift from his father when he was twelve. She's grumpy because she's smarter then Zae. She couldn't talk, and would usually just growl, bark or otherwise emote her ... displeasure when Zae once again did something that isn't particulary smart. Despite all this, she was fiercely loyal to him untill he 'grew soft' and they agreed to terminate their bond.

- Frogwart: Zae's Summoned Red Slaad. Didn't start with that name, instead giving another random one each time he was asked. He was actually considered a party member by Zae's friends, who all loved him ('cept for Veshal, hehe). Later decided to become a bard. He even wrote a few songs which he'd sing in battle. And out of battle. Much to Zae's annoyance, especially because the slaad's favourite was about Zaebros himself. He also liked to play fun games like 'Ettin Head Far Tossing' with Kelric. I kept him around for ages, way, way beyond the levels where he was of actual use, just because people loved him so much.

- Zae's Fire Mephit: His second familiar, aquired when he switched alignments from LN to LG at level 18. Actually has a name, but it's in Ignan and no one can pronounce it. Seeing as he suddenly popped up to serve Zae as a level 18 outsider, I RPed that he served a bunch of wizards before Zaebros. Therefore, he is a trained proffessional in the familiar business, serving as a buttler, cook, room cleaner et cetera. He is pretty much obsessed with keeping Zae's quarters in top notch condition, much to the annoyance of a certain priestess who claims she can't find anything with that silly mephit tidying up all day.

- The Silent One: Zae's Astral Deva. Has a vow of silence, for reasons no one ever found out. Frequently confuses Zae by trying to explain stuff to him with hand signs. Also likes to play (harmless) tricks on her overly serious summoner. She didn't really get much use, because Zae wasn't good untill he reached a level where she wasn't really very useful anymore.

Brannon:

- Eneth: Brannon's Pseudodragon familiar, probably the most well developed of the bunch. Picked Brannon as a master because his cousin, the familiar of Brannon's Uncle, told him being a wizard familiar was 'totally awesome'. Well, and because he wanted someone to cast flame weapon on him. Argues all day with Brannon, to the point where people wondered how they survive being bond empathically (though people that know Brannon tend to know it's just that he loves having pointless discussions and arguements, which reflects in his familiar). Tends to go into long rants about how he's a dragon and therefore really, really great. He also likes burning things. And sitting on other people's heads instead of walking himself, to the point where he actually made a ranking of who of Brannon's friends has the most comfortable heads. Oh, and he likes to set stuff on fire. Other hobbies include hunting small animals, fire, cookies, flames, teaming up with Brannon's friends to annoy him, using his , inventing new terms related to burning stuff, and getting into trouble whenever Brannon's player needs to go afk for prolonged times.

Did I mention he's a pyromaniac?

- *insert random string of ribbit-ing noises*, (self proclaimed) Chef of the Roasted Roc Restaurant: Brannon's Red Slaad. Carries around a huge bag, a cleaver and a bunch of knives, which he uses to collect parts of killed monsters to use in his cooking. Also frequently brings Brannon and his friends samples of his cooking, all of which is poisonous, acidic, or both. Brannon, having a ridiculously high con, secretly likes it.

Both:

- Marut & Kolyarut: I play both of em as polite yet somewhat alien and threatening enforcers of the cosmic law they were made to uphold. Usually RP them wanting to know the reason for being called, and being quite annoyed if it's not good. Brannon's Marut is actually part of his background, being the same Marut his uncle/master used to call, with Brannon continueing his uncle's pact with it.


Whew, lots of ranting there. Like I said, I probably love RPing summons and such a bit too much.


Thrym

[Deleted]

WRT to using familiars in combat, I think it depends on which familiar you have & the situation. I think that it can definitely be done right (ie making use of your familiar in combat is not the same as treating it like a nameless grunt whose purpose is to die for your convenience). I don't think it should be a negative stigma to use a familiar/companion "alot" if it's rp'd.

Some familiars/animal companions are quite suited for combat and it would make sense that they would be assisting their master in a life or death situation (which most combat should be). Particularly early on, when a single hit can kill a level 1 wizard, I would think it perfectly IC for casters to be using their familiar constantly to help them avoid death.

When I play wizard/sorceress/druid online I typically will constantly use my familiar in combat from level 1 to 5 or so, when they can actually help significantly without undue danger to them. Eventually, familiars are not able to keep up with the difficulty of enemies & I start to use them more sparingly rather than expose them to constant threat of death.

I will try to unsummon my familiar when it gets to low health rather than let it die to show my caster cares for it. If through some accident my familiar does die in pvm, I typically will rp that it was injured or I did unsummon it ... and not call it for awhile after that. I don't think the familiar should persistently die via pvm because pc's don't either. I've never had a familiar die due to pvp, but if I did, I would consider perma-killing it if it was a well rp'd pvp.

[DM Hawk]

Nov 26, 2009 19:25:13 GMT -5 Thrym said:

Summons! Familiars!

First off, I looooove RPing them. Maybe a bit too much even, heh. ;D

I usually only RP familiars and called creatures, not animals/elementals, and try to come up with an actual personality for each of them.

Let's see who we have....

Zaebros:

- Daebra: Zae's original familiar, a grumpy female hellhound he got as a gift from his father when he was twelve. She's grumpy because she's smarter then Zae. She couldn't talk, and would usually just growl, bark or otherwise emote her ... displeasure when Zae once again did something that isn't particulary smart. Despite all this, she was fiercely loyal to him untill he 'grew soft' and they agreed to terminate their bond.

- Frogwart: Zae's Summoned Red Slaad. Didn't start with that name, instead giving another random one each time he was asked. He was actually considered a party member by Zae's friends, who all loved him ('cept for Veshal, hehe). Later decided to become a bard. He even wrote a few songs which he'd sing in battle. And out of battle. Much to Zae's annoyance, especially because the slaad's favourite was about Zaebros himself. He also liked to play fun games like 'Ettin Head Far Tossing' with Kelric. I kept him around for ages, way, way beyond the levels where he was of actual use, just because people loved him so much.

- Zae's Fire Mephit: His second familiar, aquired when he switched alignments from LN to LG at level 18. Actually has a name, but it's in Ignan and no one can pronounce it. Seeing as he suddenly popped up to serve Zae as a level 18 outsider, I RPed that he served a bunch of wizards before Zaebros. Therefore, he is a trained proffessional in the familiar business, serving as a buttler, cook, room cleaner et cetera. He is pretty much obsessed with keeping Zae's quarters in top notch condition, much to the annoyance of a certain priestess who claims she can't find anything with that silly mephit tidying up all day.

- The Silent One: Zae's Astral Deva. Has a vow of silence, for reasons no one ever found out. Frequently confuses Zae by trying to explain stuff to him with hand signs. Also likes to play (harmless) tricks on her overly serious summoner. She didn't really get much use, because Zae wasn't good untill he reached a level where she wasn't really very useful anymore.

Brannon:

- Eneth: Brannon's Pseudodragon familiar, probably the most well developed of the bunch. Picked Brannon as a master because his cousin, the familiar of Brannon's Uncle, told him being a wizard familiar was 'totally awesome'. Well, and because he wanted someone to cast flame weapon on him. Argues all day with Brannon, to the point where people wondered how they survive being bond empathically (though people that know Brannon tend to know it's just that he loves having pointless discussions and arguements, which reflects in his familiar). Tends to go into long rants about how he's a dragon and therefore really, really great. He also likes burning things. And sitting on other people's heads instead of walking himself, to the point where he actually made a ranking of who of Brannon's friends has the most comfortable heads. Oh, and he likes to set stuff on fire. Other hobbies include hunting small animals, fire, cookies, flames, teaming up with Brannon's friends to annoy him, using his , inventing new terms related to burning stuff, and getting into trouble whenever Brannon's player needs to go afk for prolonged times.

Did I mention he's a pyromaniac?

- *insert random string of ribbit-ing noises*, (self proclaimed) Chef of the Roasted Roc Restaurant: Brannon's Red Slaad. Carries around a huge bag, a cleaver and a bunch of knives, which he uses to collect parts of killed monsters to use in his cooking. Also frequently brings Brannon and his friends samples of his cooking, all of which is poisonous, acidic, or both. Brannon, having a ridiculously high con, secretly likes it.

Both:

- Marut & Kolyarut: I play both of em as polite yet somewhat alien and threatening enforcers of the cosmic law they were made to uphold. Usually RP them wanting to know the reason for being called, and being quite annoyed if it's not good. Brannon's Marut is actually part of his background, being the same Marut his uncle/master used to call, with Brannon continueing his uncle's pact with it.


Whew, lots of ranting there. Like I said, I probably love RPing summons and such a bit too much.


Thrym

Frogwart was golden

[EDM Neo]

Oh, yes, familiars and summons, fun.

Camina has Pane, her animal companion. He's a giant spider who she raised from when he was the size of her fist. He originally just made threatening chittering noises, but once she reached level 9, she cast Awaken on him, giving him the ability to speak and sentience. He's obsessed with food, often asking "Can I eat it?" after combat... or occasionally even in regards to party members. Since his Awakening, he and Camina have grown a bit distant: she doesn't often call on him anymore, rather allowing him to go off and do whatever it is awakened giant spiders do on their own. She tries to avoid letting him take too much damage when she can help it, caring for his well-being as she would any other friend

She also summons animals and elementals... usually, this just means some grunting or roaring noises from the animals, and impassive floating or flowing or stomping or burning from the elementals. Her elementals understand her basic commands, but don't speak common, nor do they have any interest in conversation. She summons them, they serve her, and then they go back home... she doesn't much care for the health of her animals or elementals, recognizing that, as they're summoned rather then called, any injury they sustain will be healed when they return home... leaving one at near death surely still causes it pain, but she sees that as a sacrifice she's willing to force them to make.

Rigrin doesn't use many summons. His clothing is enchanted to summon a dire bear, but he hasn't really had good reason to use it yet. His old familiar was a fairy dragon, but I hadn't put much thought into it... he'd occasionally have conversations with it, but only rarely, its personality wasn't very deep. He'd occasionally summon it just to have it cast improved invisibility or to use its confusion bolt, but he'd rarely let it die.

Eventually, he parted ways with Mali, and met Raven the raven. Raven is a raven, awakened by a druid before meeting Rigrin (yes, I know the rules don't technically support such, but, meh), who he offered to serve as a familiar, recognizing the perks of such, and wishing for a chance to continue serving his original master's interests (it was a NG druid). I don't feel I do a very good job of roleplaying the dynamic between Rigrin and Raven: he gets regular use, but they very rarely actually spend time together. He uses him as a spy and messenger, having, occasionally, used him as a proxy to try to manipulate people he considers dangerous through.

I'm happier with Celith's summons. Firstly, he can use Planar Ally to request that his patron send him one of many Movanic Devas to aid him, most often with combat. He tries very hard to avoid letting them die in the process, but he and the devas recognize the possibility (and the fact that they're essentially foot soldiers in the war against evil... not quite expendable, but likely to die in action), and so he tries to avoid forming close attachments with any individual angel. They'd not do so pointlessly or frivalrously, but they'd gladly sacrifice themselves for the greater good if need be. He doesn't often learn their names, and they typically address him by his title.

His familiar, Ocala, was at one point a hell hound... but then Celith had to go soft on her. Rather then parting ways, through some twist of fate, Ocala found herself... magically transformed into a pixie. Somehow. Maybe wild magic, or the intervention of a higher power? Who knows. But, anyway, she blames Celith for it, and for a few months, was constantly badgering him to find a way to reverse it. She's since come to terms to it, grudgingly accepting her new form, and rather enjoying its perks, such as flight and speech and invisibility. She remains highly temperamental, but has, for the most part, if grudgingly, adopted Celith's new outlook on life.

Like Rigrin's familiar, she often plays spy or messenger, but I also enjoy playing her both when Celith's with a group (often making inflammatory remarks about the rest of the party) and when the two of them are alone. Also, he occasionally lets her fly about Isinhold on her own... she's picked up a habit of pranking people invisibly, just out of spite and for her own amusement.

Finally, I've Rosaline... she's a low level, and so still doesn't have access to Planar Bindings. Her familiar is a bat, and as such, it's limited to emotes like "*screeches*" or "*squeeks*", no speech. It's still amusing to have him fly close circles around people, or to hold one sided conversations with Rose... it's usually about 50/50 which of them are doing the "talking", but regardless, outsiders can't hear his responses, only she can understand him.

...soooo, yeah. That's all for now. Sorry if anything's hard to read or understand.

[catmage]

Ailren's first familiar was an ice mephit who didn't really adjust well to his familiar binding, and was less than super bright...

His current familiar, Azarthulux, was brought to him by his first Lesser Planar Binding spell. They worked out a contract, and she continues to work for him. She rarely shows up in combat, and is almost never summoned by the abiliy IG. Instead she manifests as most imps do, using polymorph to hide her true form. She's more Lawful than Evil, but she's far more of a sadist than Ailren, and prowls around Marsember and Suzail, both big towns where folks can "accidentall" drown or otherwise perish without a bunch of akward questions being asked.

[jensmann]

Gegnar's familiar is a fire mephit, he is a hot headed, overconfident beeing, he and Gegnar have some disagreements, the mephit is sloppy, Gegnar likes if things are on thier place.

The slaad he summoned had a crush on him (and sometimes one other people), no need to mention the Slaad got on Gegnars nerves, a lot.

And his Kolyarut, well i stopped playing him after i got him, and have no real personaility for him.


Now to Dot's familiar, an imp. She calls him Conscience cause he made her believe he is hers (she is actually dumb like a bread). People who met him know how he is, its hard to explain, he is thinking of Dot has his possession and her own way to survive.


I usualy don't Rp animals/elementals so much.

[828stingstingneo]

I've had the opportunity to enjoy both Isendir's and Elvewyn's summons. They are a lot of fun. I don't think anyone should worry about RPing their summons too much.

I don't normally RP my summons as they are usually animals. I do, however, RP Elvalith's animal companion Gytrash. I would do more of it if I could get his emotes to work more consistently. It seems like about 2/3 of the time I try to emote something with him it just doesn't work.

I really wish animal companions could be possessed, too. I understand that the telepathic link is reserved for familiars, but I could RP Gytrash a lot better with possession than the quirky /dm channel.

Anyway, his main quirk is that he is protective of Elvalith. He used to particularly be protective of her against men, often greeting any men who would join in on his and Elvalith's adventures with a growl. He only grudgingly accepted Elvalith's current boyfriend, I think, because he spent a lot of time healing Gytrash's wounds during their adventures together. Gytrash has sort of mellowed since then against men in general, probably trusting Elvalith's boyfriend to take a share in protecting her. Gytrash's other quirk is mild arachnophobia. Because of some unfortunate experiences earlier in his career he doesn't like those eight-legged monsters, but he will grudgingly fight them, and things have gotten better now that Elvalith has developed some tricks against them.

I noticed that some of you who have awakened their animal companions allow them to talk. Elvalith has awakened Gytrash, so does this mean it's okay for him to talk now? That could be a lot of fun.

I have another question, too. If you have both an animal companion and a summon, how does the script decide which is emoting? I manage to avoid getting it wrong by only having one thing out at a time, but it'd be nice to know in case it ever does come up.

[EDM Neo]

Nov 27, 2009 10:44:20 GMT -5 828stingstingneo said:

I noticed that some of you who have awakened their animal companions allow them to talk. Elvalith has awakened Gytrash, so does this mean it's okay for him to talk now? That could be a lot of fun.

I have another question, too. If you have both an animal companion and a summon, how does the script decide which is emoting? I manage to avoid getting it wrong by only having one thing out at a time, but it'd be nice to know in case it ever does come up.

From www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/awaken.htm

Awaken
Transmutation
Level: Drd 5
Components: V, S, DF, XP
Casting Time: 24 hours
Range: Touch
Target: Animal or tree touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
You awaken a tree or animal to humanlike sentience. To succeed, you must make a Will save (DC 10 + the animal’s current HD, or the HD the tree will have once awakened).

The awakened animal or tree is friendly toward you. You have no special empathy or connection with a creature you awaken, although it serves you in specific tasks or endeavors if you communicate your desires to it.

An awakened tree has characteristics as if it were an animated object, except that it gains the plant type and its Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores are each 3d6. An awakened plant gains the ability to move its limbs, roots, vines, creepers, and so forth, and it has senses similar to a human’s.

An awakened animal gets 3d6 Intelligence, +1d3 Charisma, and +2 HD. Its type becomes magical beast (augmented animal). An awakened animal can’t serve as an animal companion, familiar, or special mount.

An awakened tree or animal can speak one language that you know, plus one additional language that you know per point of Intelligence bonus (if any).

XP Cost
250 XP.

The PnP version is, obviously enough, pretty different from the NWN version... if you want to roleplay an awakened animal companion as being sentient and talking, you can, but it's not required.

"/dm ;Text here" is used to make an animal companion or familiar talk, and "/dm ,Text here" is used to make a summon talk, but if you have only one out, either will work. The difference is only important if you have both a familiar/animal companion and a summon with you.

That said, yes, I'd love it if animal companions could be possessed.

[soulfien]

Garistan had Scrick which was summoned when he needed it since no one allowed an ice mephit. Gar loved his mephit and would talk to it often.

Glenduil never "summons" his companion. You can't summon a hawk that's always with you and it being a hawk, it's easy to rp it as always being nearby.

Though it's amusing to see people trying to find a justifiable reason to kill it whenever he brings it into town- and if anyone does, it's pvp

[cloakedandhooded]

My character's companion doesn't speak, or at least nobody has heard him speak, but my character speaks to him as though they're having a two-way conversation, so either he speaks discretely somehow or my character is a little crazy.

The companion is only a viable combatant in certain situations due to very low hit points and that fact that he only deals 1 damage when he strikes something. All the same, my character fights with him in combat in situations where he is a viable combatant in the hopes that the companion will become a better warrior and adventuring companion. The companion also tends to feel like he's not contributing if he doesn't help out in fights sometimes, and in the few fights where he is helpful, he can turn a hard fight into a moderate fight.

[tskfrc58]

Uthar(Miraster the black) makes use of his familiar in whatever way is useful to him...he belittles it, scolds it, very rarely praises it, but usually doesnt resort to outright violence against it.

He actually treats his outsider summons more as companions than his own familiar...baatezu to him are a more perfect form, and deserve at least to be treated on a mroe equal footing. He makes constant RP interaction with both his familiar and baatezu summons wherever he can get away with calling them...

[Levedara]

Vorels pixie Vaeri is exceedingly important to her. They grew up together essentially, the little pixie often a guide and inspiration for working the weave. Vorels background includes that her magical heritage is actually from a mingling of pixies with one of her long lost ancestors, and as such it's very rare for anyone in her family to have anything besides a pixie for a familiar.

She's loathe to put Vaeri in harms way, and becomes incredibly upset if anything does happen to the little dear. On the few rare occasions where it's happened that for some reason (usually someone tripping a trap, watchman watches but does not see!) harm did come to her I always used a raise scroll for her.

Vaeri was very fun to RP, a temperamental and mischievous fey that spent most of her time dancing in circles or resting in Vorels beltpouch. Her comments were typically made while snickering or scolding and she was always want for compliments. Heaven forbid should Gorstag not thank her for unlocking a door or uprooting a trap!

[828stingstingneo]

My latest mage Mort has a raven familiar. The raven plays as Mort's opposite. Mort is morbid, pessimistic, and dreary, but her familiar is bright, cheerful, and optimistic. Mort is usually annoyed by the raven and doesn't often call upon him. She grumpily refers to him as "Birdbrain," but deep, deep (very deep) down I think she secretly appreciates him because he's the only true friend she has. I'm not really sure. It's hard to tell.

Oh, and by the way, Elvalith hasn't called upon Gytrash in a while because he's busy taking care of his new puppies.

[ancientempathy]

ROFL! I remember reading about that discussion

Uh, congrats to Gytrash

[EDM Entori]

Nov 27, 2009 13:17:33 GMT -5 EDM Neo said:

Nov 27, 2009 10:44:20 GMT -5 828stingstingneo said:

I noticed that some of you who have awakened their animal companions allow them to talk. Elvalith has awakened Gytrash, so does this mean it's okay for him to talk now? That could be a lot of fun.

I have another question, too. If you have both an animal companion and a summon, how does the script decide which is emoting? I manage to avoid getting it wrong by only having one thing out at a time, but it'd be nice to know in case it ever does come up.

From www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/awaken.htm

Awaken
Transmutation
Level: Drd 5
Components: V, S, DF, XP
Casting Time: 24 hours
Range: Touch
Target: Animal or tree touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
You awaken a tree or animal to humanlike sentience. To succeed, you must make a Will save (DC 10 + the animal’s current HD, or the HD the tree will have once awakened).

The awakened animal or tree is friendly toward you. You have no special empathy or connection with a creature you awaken, although it serves you in specific tasks or endeavors if you communicate your desires to it.

An awakened tree has characteristics as if it were an animated object, except that it gains the plant type and its Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores are each 3d6. An awakened plant gains the ability to move its limbs, roots, vines, creepers, and so forth, and it has senses similar to a human’s.

An awakened animal gets 3d6 Intelligence, +1d3 Charisma, and +2 HD. Its type becomes magical beast (augmented animal). An awakened animal can’t serve as an animal companion, familiar, or special mount.

An awakened tree or animal can speak one language that you know, plus one additional language that you know per point of Intelligence bonus (if any).

XP Cost
250 XP.

The PnP version is, obviously enough, pretty different from the NWN version... if you want to roleplay an awakened animal companion as being sentient and talking, you can, but it's not required.

"/dm ;Text here" is used to make an animal companion or familiar talk, and "/dm ,Text here" is used to make a summon talk, but if you have only one out, either will work. The difference is only important if you have both a familiar/animal companion and a summon with you.

That said, yes, I'd love it if animal companions could be possessed.

I've had several DM's come down on me for allowing a familiar to speak.


so I guess animal companions are different.

[828stingstingneo]

Yeah, I remember reading in another thread somewhere (I don't recall what it was even called) that it depends on the familiar. Some can and some can't. I think it was said that ravens are the only animal familiars that can speak, but some of the magical ones (perhaps the mephits, for example) can, too. I think Awaken in NWN is different from Awaken in PnP, too. The other thread pointed out that NWN Awaken doesn't really boost the animal's INT as it does in PnP. I've thus so far opted not to give Elvalith's animal companion speech even though she's casted Awaken on him many times.

[EDM Neo]

It depends on the familiar in question.

Awaken specifically allows an awakened animal to speak, if their player chooses to roleplay it.

I'd say that faerie dragons, pseudodragons (through telepathy with creatures that speak Common or Sylvan, see here), mephits, imps, and ravens (because they can specifically speak one language their master knows in D&D) can all speak.

I'm not sure about eyeballs, I don't have the source book they appear in.

Other familiars can communicate some things through an empathetic bond with their master, and are capable of communicating with their master (and their master only) through an incomprehensible language that only they can understand, once the master reaches level 5.

Hell hounds can understand infernal, in addition to their magical communication with their master, but they can't speak it.

[Lady Frost]

Some of the most fun I have is RP'ing Harmony's mephit, Iceberg. While I would never expect something like this to be done due to the number of items that might be made and the time it might take to make them, it would be neat to see custom DM given summoning items that would summon unique NPC's / creatures that may have worked their way into characters RP / lives. My example is, Zoe has a specific, named slave that was given to her. However, I have a hard time representing them being around since I can only "show" them in forums RP. *shrug* Just wanted to toss out the idea since I've always wanted a way to show this specific NPC and be able to RP with them in-game.

[Roseanna]

Nov 27, 2009 13:17:33 GMT -5 EDM Neo said:

/dm ;Text here is used to make an animal companion or familiar talk, and /dm ,Text here is used to make a summon talk, but if you have only one out, either will work. The difference is only important if you have both a familiar/animal companion and a summon with you.

I actually tested this out just today, as one my characters gained a "pet", but I got a bit tired of having to constantly possess and unpossess the "pet" to emote for it.

The /dm is not necessary to have the animal/creature emote. Plus, you avoid possible spamming of the DM channel if you don't do it.

In the talk text box, just start with either the ; for a familiar or a , for a summon... and things will work quite well.

; *sits on a chair* turns into <familiar>: *sits on the chair* in the chat box.

Thank you for the tip though, as it relieves me the headache of constantly switching possession.

[jensmann]

Aug 16, 2010 23:46:18 GMT -5 Roseanna said:

Nov 27, 2009 13:17:33 GMT -5 EDM Neo said:

/dm ;Text here is used to make an animal companion or familiar talk, and /dm ,Text here is used to make a summon talk, but if you have only one out, either will work. The difference is only important if you have both a familiar/animal companion and a summon with you.

I actually tested this out just today, as one my characters gained a "pet", but I got a bit tired of having to constantly possess and unpossess the "pet" to emote for it.

The /dm is not necessary to have the animal/creature emote. Plus, you avoid possible spamming of the DM channel if you don't do it.

In the talk text box, just start with either the ; for a familiar or a , for a summon... and things will work quite well.

; *sits on a chair* turns into <familiar>: *sits on the chair* in the chat box.

Thank you for the tip though, as it relieves me the headache of constantly switching possession.

It was changed not long ago, before that you needed to add /dm before. and thi spost was made before the change happened.

[EDM Neo]

Yup, that post was from nine months ago... the voiceless language system that we use now was implemented much more recently. /dm is no longer necessary for either getting summons to talk or speaking in other languages, but it used to be.

[Munroe]

Aug 16, 2010 13:33:32 GMT -5 EDM Neo said:

It depends on the familiar in question.

Awaken specifically allows an awakened animal to speak, if their player chooses to roleplay it.

I'd say that faerie dragons, pseudodragons (through telepathy with creatures that speak Common or Sylvan, see here), mephits, imps, and ravens (because they can specifically speak one language their master knows in D&D) can all speak.

I'm not sure about eyeballs, I don't have the source book they appear in.

Other familiars can communicate some things through an empathetic bond with their master, and are capable of communicating with their master (and their master only) through an incomprehensible language that only they can understand, once the master reaches level 5.

Hell hounds can understand infernal, in addition to their magical communication with their master, but they can't speak it.

You guys need to READ the description of Awaken above.

The D&D Awaken spell does grant an INT score, but specifically says that the animal may NOT be an animal companion, familiar, or special mount.

The NWN Awaken spell, which does target Animal Companions DOES NOT GRANT AN INT BONUS or the ability for the creature to speak.

Regular animals, whether companions or familiars, cannot speak. Ravens are the only animal familiars that can speak. This is a trait of the raven familiar.

Beyond animals, Hellhounds, while understanding certain languages, do not speak. Mephits, imps, faerie dragons, and pixies can speak (though not all of them necessarily speak common).

Not sure about Eyeballs, would have to look them up. I believe they can speak. They're in Monstrous Compendium: Monsters of Faerun (I think).

Pseudodragons don't speak but make cat-like noises. They can communicate with telepathy to anyone in range with a shared language though. Since we DO NOT allow telepathy through /tells, this means of communication can still be done in talk channel (think broadcast telepathy for anyone in earshot).

Can't remember, am I leaving anyone out?

[EDM Neo]

From Masters of the Wild, page 37:

Awakened Animals

Awaken is a 5th-level spell available to druids. Because it grants humanlike sentience and intelligence to an animal, the creature's type changes to magical beast. This spell greatly changes the relationship between druid and animal companion. Armed with intelligence and the ability to speak at least one language, the animal no longer needs training to understand the druid's wishes. Thus, the druid gains a source of advice and ready conversation in addition to a guard and a servant. Of course, as a fully sentient creature, an awakened animal develops its own desires and ambitions.

While normally a creature with such a high intelligence isn't subject to animal friendship, an animal awakened by a druid remains her companion as long as she treats it with respect, as discussed above. The animal continues to count against the druid's Hit Dice limit for animal companions. For a time, the awakened animal can even exceed the druid's level. (For example, an awakened dire bear suddenly has 14 HD, but it remains with a 12th-level druid). Until the druid once again exceeds the animal in Hit Dice, however, she cannot gain new animal companions.

As a general rule, an awakened animal continues to assist the druid, at least as long as she continues to include it among her companions. When she elects to leave that animal behind (by befriending a new one), it soon departs.The animal remains friendly with the druid and may assist her from time to time, but it no longer accompanies her on adventures.

There's nothing preventing an animal companion from being targeted with Awaken in PnP. They are technically no longer an animal companion, and so don't continue to accrue new bonuses as such, but they'd still consider the druid a friend and remain as an ally to them unless mistreated.

I don't really see anything wrong with roleplaying that. *shrugs* It shouldn't be mandatory, certainly, but it's not a blatant violation of the spell's workings.

[Munroe]

Aug 26, 2010 11:34:57 GMT -5 EDM Neo said:

From Masters of the Wild, page 37:

Awakened Animals

Awaken is a 5th-level spell available to druids. Because it grants humanlike sentience and intelligence to an animal, the creature's type changes to magical beast. This spell greatly changes the relationship between druid and animal companion. Armed with intelligence and the ability to speak at least one language, the animal no longer needs training to understand the druid's wishes. Thus, the druid gains a source of advice and ready conversation in addition to a guard and a servant. Of course, as a fully sentient creature, an awakened animal develops its own desires and ambitions.

While normally a creature with such a high intelligence isn't subject to animal friendship, an animal awakened by a druid remains her companion as long as she treats it with respect, as discussed above. The animal continues to count against the druid's Hit Dice limit for animal companions. For a time, the awakened animal can even exceed the druid's level. (For example, an awakened dire bear suddenly has 14 HD, but it remains with a 12th-level druid). Until the druid once again exceeds the animal in Hit Dice, however, she cannot gain new animal companions.

As a general rule, an awakened animal continues to assist the druid, at least as long as she continues to include it among her companions. When she elects to leave that animal behind (by befriending a new one), it soon departs.The animal remains friendly with the druid and may assist her from time to time, but it no longer accompanies her on adventures.

There's nothing preventing an animal companion from being targeted with Awaken in PnP. They are technically no longer an animal companion, and so don't continue to accrue new bonuses as such, but they'd still consider the druid a friend and remain as an ally to them unless mistreated.

I don't really see anything wrong with roleplaying that. *shrugs* It shouldn't be mandatory, certainly, but it's not a blatant violation of the spell's workings.

Nov 27, 2009 13:17:33 GMT -5 EDM Neo said:

Nov 27, 2009 10:44:20 GMT -5 828stingstingneo said:

I noticed that some of you who have awakened their animal companions allow them to talk. Elvalith has awakened Gytrash, so does this mean it's okay for him to talk now? That could be a lot of fun.

I have another question, too. If you have both an animal companion and a summon, how does the script decide which is emoting? I manage to avoid getting it wrong by only having one thing out at a time, but it'd be nice to know in case it ever does come up.

From www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/awaken.htm

Awaken Transmutation Level: Drd 5 Components: V, S, DF, XP Casting Time: 24 hours Range: Touch Target: Animal or tree touched Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: Will negates Spell Resistance: Yes You awaken a tree or animal to humanlike sentience. To succeed, you must make a Will save (DC 10 + the animal’s current HD, or the HD the tree will have once awakened). The awakened animal or tree is friendly toward you. You have no special empathy or connection with a creature you awaken, although it serves you in specific tasks or endeavors if you communicate your desires to it. An awakened tree has characteristics as if it were an animated object, except that it gains the plant type and its Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores are each 3d6. An awakened plant gains the ability to move its limbs, roots, vines, creepers, and so forth, and it has senses similar to a human’s. An awakened animal gets 3d6 Intelligence, +1d3 Charisma, and +2 HD. Its type becomes magical beast (augmented animal). An awakened animal can’t serve as an animal companion, familiar, or special mount. An awakened tree or animal can speak one language that you know, plus one additional language that you know per point of Intelligence bonus (if any). XP Cost 250 XP.

The PnP version is, obviously enough, pretty different from the NWN version... if you want to roleplay an awakened animal companion as being sentient and talking, you can, but it's not required.

"/dm ;Text here" is used to make an animal companion or familiar talk, and "/dm ,Text here" is used to make a summon talk, but if you have only one out, either will work. The difference is only important if you have both a familiar/animal companion and a summon with you.

That said, yes, I'd love it if animal companions could be possessed.

You qouted it yourself.