New Basic Class - Animal Sib

A new basic class I would like to try out if possible. Not really a combat spell caster or a warrior, the Animal Sib(ling) relies largely on his animal companion and summoned animals for attack and defense. He/She may have a lot of feats, but they are mostly skill oriented and focus his/her capabilities on natural skills.

|Animal Sib|

|An Animal Sib is a brother or sister of the wilderness. Not as powerful as a Druid, he/she cannot|
|call upon the forces of nature to aid her. Instead, he/she must survive by wit and wisdom|
|and the assistance of an Animal companion, a familiar, and other animals that are summoned.|
|Spellcasting is largely defensive and used primarily to heal, protect, and buff-up animal associates. Does not receive the tactical training of a Ranger.|

|8HP, 4SP, Med BAB, High Reflex & Will Saves|
|Light Armor, Shields, Simple Weapons, Elf Weapons|
|Wild Empathy (can communicate with animals)|
|Skills: Bluff, Concentration, Heal, Hide, Listen, Lore, Move Silently, Search, Spellcraft, Spot, Survival, Tumble|
|REQ|Non-Lawful Alignment, Deity, Light Armor or No Armor Only|
|(Medium or Heavy Armor or Tower shield disables spellcasting)|

Feat List
|L1|Animal Companion|
|L2|Summon Familiar|
|L3|Track|
|L4|Weapon Focus: Deity’s Favored Wpn|
|L5|Woodland Stride|
|L6|Luck of Heroes|
|L7|Nature Sense|
|L8|Evasion|
|L9|Trackless Step|
|L10|Swift Tracker|
|L11|Natural Bond|
|L12|Aura of Courage|
|L13|Dinosaur Companion|
|L14|Lightning Reflexes
|L15|Alertness|
|L16|Self Sufficient|
|L17|Stealthy|
|L18|Iron Will|
|L19|Slippery Mind|
|L20|Great Fortitude|

|Animal Sib Spell List -Wisdom Based spellcasting|

|Cure Minor Wounds|C|0|
|Resistance|A|0|

|Cure Light Wounds|C|1|
|Lesser Restoration|C|1|
|Lesser Vigor|C|1|
|Low Light Vision|T|1|
|Mage Armor|C|1|
|Magic Fang|T|1|
|Snake’s Swiftness|T|1|
|Summon Creature I|C|1|

|Barkskin|T|2|
|Bear’s Endurance|T|2|
|Bull’s Strength|T|2|
|Cat’s Grace|T|2|
|Eagle’s Splendor|T|2|
|Fox’s Cunning|T|2|
|Owl’s Wisdom|T|2|
|Summon Creature II|C|2|

|Animalistic Power|T|3|
|Blindsight|T|3|
|Cure Moderate Wounds|C|3|
|Greater Magic Fang|T|3|
|Jagged Tooth|T|3|
|Spiderskin|T|3|
|Summon Creature III|C|3|
|Vigor|C|3|

|Neutralize Poison|C|4|
|Remove Disease|C|4|
|Cure Serious Wounds|C|4|
|Greater Resistance|A|4|
|Heroism|E|4|
|Improved Mage Armor|C|4|
|Stoneskin|A|4|
|Summon Creature IV|C|4|

|Awaken|T|5|
|Cure Critical Wounds|C|5|
|Haste|T|5|
|Heal Animal Companion|C|5|
|Owl’s Insight|T|5|
|Freedom of Movement|A|5|
|Restoration|C|5|
|Summon Creature V|C|5|

|Greater Stoneskin|T|6|
|Heal|C|6|
|Regenerate|C|6|
|Rejuvenation Cocoon|C|6|
|Summon Creature VI|C|6|
|Superior Resistance|A|6|
|Tortoise Shell|T|6|
|Vigorous Cycle|C|6|

Spell progression similar to that of Bard only wisdom-based instead of charisma-based, and of course different spell set.

Notes: No offensive spellcasting, Medium BAB, only one assigned combat feat based on deity, debating removing shield proficiency. Ideally would use ranged weapons.

2 Likes

Revised Feat list for Animal Sib

|L1|Animal Companion|
|L2|Summon Familiar|
|L3|Track|
|L4|Weapon Focus: Deity’s Favored Wpn|
|L5|Conjuration|
|L6|Luck of Heroes|
|L7|Nature Sense|
|L8|Evasion|
|L9|Augment Summoning|
|L10|Swift Tracker|
|L11|Natural Bond|
|L12|Aura of Courage|
|L13|Dinosaur Companion|
|L14|Alertness|
|L15|Lightning Reflexes|
|L16|Self Sufficient|
|L17|Stealthy|
|L18|Iron Will|
|L19|Slippery Mind|
|L20|

I think a druid focusing on animal companion and summon augmentation feats can do better… Not to mention more versatile spellcasting and wild shaping.

1 Like

I’m going to have to agree with onceuponthecross here, this class just seems to be a weaker version of the druid, I’m not sure why anyone would pick it, many of those feats on the feat list are underwhelming too, especially at the highest levels.

Perhaps this could be reworked into a 10 level prestige class based on Animal Companions and Familiars (so it requires both Druid/Ranger and Sorcerer/Wizard), in that case it could provide a nice niche of multiclassing flavor with a double spellcasting progression a la Mystic Theurge.

The character is intended to be weak as his weapon is his animal companion. During most of a combat encounter he is intended to spend most of his time buffing his animal companion, healing his animal companion and using his sling or other ranged weapon to attack his animal’s target. Rather than just using his companion as a “meat shield”, the animal companion becomes the central focus that you sacrifice your own needs to take care of (read in that sharing hitpoints). The summoned creatures serve to help protect your animal companion. It gives the whole encounter more of an naturalistic feel while shifting some of the emphasis off your main character during combat. If you want a powerful hacker and slasher or combat wizard, this class is certainly not for you. It requires a lot of finesse to pull off.

1 Like

There is still something…Animal companions and summons can’t be directly controlled, wich can make combat and moving around erratic. TonyK’s AI mod gives a bit better command but still…