Animal Companions....mundane or spiritual?

[Glassman]

Hi all.

I play Lan Aeldanner, and as some of you may know he has a companion called Neus. Lan and Neus don't tend to venture far from Hlint at the moment, but are regulars around the Haven and Hlint mines and The Sielwood areas. Lan is always willing to help a fellow adventurer in need, and often doesnt get the choice as Neus barrels into whatever threat lies ahead with the brash foolhardyness of the young adult wolf he is. To date Lan has seen Neus fall many times on the field of battle, and yet always he returns when most needed to administer a helpful bite to the posterior of evil. My question is thus...on Layonara when an animal companion is summoned is it a normal animal or, a spiritual creature given a temporary physical form by Longstrider or whatever nature based god druids and rangers follow? If so could said spirit creature take on a different corporeal (and more powerful) form as the ranger advances in levels? What I mean is Neus is a wolf, but could he still be Neus as a dire wolf later on in game? The reason I ask is that as Lan grows more powerful so will the dangers he faces on a regular basis, and the extra muscle lent by the dire wolf could be helpful, but not at the cost of sacrificing Neus. Anyway thanks for reading this post.

[Niles09]

I would say its up to yourself. If your background would direct Longstrider to aid Lan with a spiritual creature then I dont see a problem in it. Though when Zanirth finally reach lvl 11 and gets an animal companion, the animal would join her because they would have some sord of link. I would keep it from dying, and when I summons, Zanirth would call on it, so if she are deep down in a dungeon she wouldnt be able to summon it.
In pnp and animal companion is an animal, so far I now. When you lvl you CANT change the animal, it just raises in HP and such things. I would never allow any PC to summon his/her animal if it dies... And resurecting it would take a strong wizard, since an animal's mind isnt the same as a humanoid's.

[Talan Va'lash]

I'm fairly sure that in layonara, as in PnP, druid and ranger animal companions are animals, not magical beasts, or planar summons.

It is misleading the way NWN handles them though, with the summoning and whatnot.  However, your animal companion is always somewhere, whether with you or out sleeping in the woods.

I'm not really sure how we justify animal companions returning after dying, unless its something like their bond to you brings them back through the bindstone or something.

I think of the summoning just as one of those things we have to RP around given the game mechanics.

-TV

[twidget658]

My animal companion, a brown bear named Baloo, is an animal that is always around doing his animal thing; he is only a whistle or yell away. I try not to but him in harms way too much because I feel ‘connected’ to him; hence the name ‘companion’. So I really don’t like to see him fall. I mostly RP with Baloo rather than fight with him. His levels increase as mine increases. At each level, I get the option of changing my companion, but I cannot let go of Baloo. So I keep him. He has been around since the beginning. Real animal? Definitely. How does it return to me after it dies? How do we all return? I agree with Talan. As long as you can use the bindstone, so can it.

A summons is a special animal that is sent to you for your aid. This summons’ origin is for you to decide. For me, I like to think that it is an extension of me. Since I play a ranger, his connection with nature can be unleashed in a form of an animal. That’s just me, though. That is why it goes away when you rest. Your companion will rest with you and stay until you dismiss it.

The summons can be different levels as you. At level 11, with my wisdom bonuses, I had a level 15 summons (ranger spell level III). I am now at level 14 and can summons a level 20 summons (ranger spell level IV). Although, it’s character sheet says level 11. Real animal? Not really.

This is just how I play it and my opinion.

[Ioskeha]

I RP my characters animal companion as mundane myself.  I also play her as never getting the same animal twice when she calls for aid. Because of this I often swtich what her animal companion at level-ups.  She's had a Bear for the first two levels, then a Boar for the next, the the next level to current (2 levels) to a Dire Wolf, and I'm thinking about taking a Dire Spider at her next.  As someone else said the animal should fit into your characters background.  The way I play my character switching animals fit perfectly.

[miltonyorkcastle]

Because of how NWN handles it, I treat both animal companions and familiars as extra-planar.  In other words, I treat them as a normal summons, as per the spells, with one exception: the character and their familiar/animal companion share a special bond, from some previous circumstance in life.  

So, like a normal summon, they can't "die" on the prime.  Rather, when they are reduced to 0 HP, they revert back to the plane they were called from to recuperate.  

That's how I view it for NWN, anyway.

[Glassman]

Thanks everyone for making some really intresting points. If the choice is mine, then I think I'll stick with the idea that Neus is an  extra planar being summoned to the material plane, and given corporeal form as a special boon from his alpha...Longstrider. Lan is devoted to The Prince of Wolves, and I think its being true to the character concept that Neus was sent to Lan to help him fight against those who would despoil the wild places of Layonara. That Neus returns to aid Lan repeatedly via the same magic as the bindstones makes alot of sense to me too. I also am loathe to loose Neus even for a short while by choosing another animal companion at level up. Anyway, with these thoughts now firmly grounded in my mind, I'll feel more cumfortable about using Neus, and hope it enhances both mine and others roleplaying experience.

[Talan Va'lash]

I'm fairly sure its not a choice however.  Just like you can't decide you summon the same creature every time with summon spells.

Animal companions are just that, animal companians.  Your character met an animal (on the prime), and bonded with them.

Someone (L?) want to back me up on this?

-TV

[Niles09]

I would never in a pnp campaign alowe any player to have a spiritual companion, not even the sorceres slip through on that point. If their pet die, its dead and they get some disadvantages. Though in this case, I'll say that Glassman got an ok explanation. and the rules are different in nwn, because Bioware (RAAAGE!!) would rather make a good selling light RP game, than another classic like BG. In the end, it all depends on wether your companion die. There is no punishment in nwn, and it would be bad if there was, cause the control on a companion really stinks. In combat its really hard to draw it back. So since there is no punishment it doesnt really matter much what sord of creature the animal is.
One thing though, Glassman, Lan or whatever you should be more careful in combat, if Lan and Neus got a link, Lan should certainly be more careful with it. Zanirth would get very sad if the companion she gets, gets killed. Even if it should be spiritual.

[Guardian 452]

http://www.layonaraonline.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=12135&posts=4

[EdTheKet]

Animal companions are just that, animal companians. Your character met an animal (on the prime), and bonded with them. Someone (L?) want to back me up on this? -TV

  Sure. Animal companions are animal companions, not summons.

[twidget658]

You can control your summons/companion.

By typing:

V = Activates Quickchat
E = Eploration Command
E = [yellow]Follow Me[/yellow]

You summons/companion will return to you and will not attack. Be careful because it will just stand there and get beat down.

V = Activates Quickchat
W = Combat Commands
E = [yellow]Attack[/yellow]

The summons/companion will attack nearest hostile. Use after the VEE command to get it in the battle again.

V = Activates Quickchat
W = Combat Commands
X = [yellow]Hold Position[/yellow]

The summons/companion will stay where it is until further instructions. Again, it may just stand there and not fight when attacked.

I use these commands a lot!