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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
Player Core / Chapter 3: Classes

Companions

Source Player Core pg. 206 2.0
Some adventurers travel with loyal allies known as animal companions and familiars. The former begin as young animals but acquire impressive physical abilities as you level up, while the latter share a magical bond with you.

Animal companions and familiars are special benefits for certain classes or class feats. If you simply want a pet regardless of your class, you can take the Pet feat (page 259). You can have a familiar or pet, but not both. Because animal companions function much differently, you can have both an animal companion and a familiar or pet.

Animal Companions

Source Player Core pg. 206 2.0
An animal companion is a loyal comrade who follows your orders. Your animal companion has the animal and minion traits, and it gains 2 actions during your turn if you use the Command an Animal action to command it; this replaces the usual effects of Command an Animal, and you don’t need to attempt a Nature check. If your companion dies, you can spend a week of downtime to replace it at no cost. You can have only one animal companion at a time.

A list of available animal companions can be found here.

Young Animal Companions

Source Player Core pg. 206 2.0
The following are the base statistics for a young animal companion, the first animal companion most characters get. You adjust these statistics depending on the type of animal you choose. Animal companions calculate their modifiers and DCs just as you do with one difference: the only item bonuses they can benefit from are to Speed and AC (their maximum item bonus to AC is +3). As you gain levels, you might be able to make your companion stronger by advancing it.
An animal companion's starting statistics are as follows.
Level: Your animal companion's level is equal to yours.
Proficiencies: Your animal companion is trained in its unarmed attacks, unarmored defense, barding (a type of armor for animals), all saving throws, Perception, Acrobatics, and Athletics. Animal companions can't use abilities that require greater Intelligence, such as Coerce or Decipher Writing, even if trained in the appropriate skill, unless they have a specialization that allows it. Attribute Modifiers: An animal companion begins with base attribute modifiers listed in its stat block.
Hit Points: Your animal companion has ancestry Hit Points from its type, plus a number of Hit Points equal to 6 plus its Constitution modifier for each level you have.

Companion Types

Source Player Core pg. 206 2.0
The species of animal you choose is called your companion's type. Each companion type has its own statistics, as follows.
Size The companion's size
Unarmed Attacks One or more entries with the companion's unarmed attacks and their traits and damage
Attribute Modifiers Starting attribute modifiers
Hit Points The companion's ancestry Hit Points
Skill An additional trained skill your companion has
Senses Special senses your companion has
Speed Your companion's Speeds
Special If present, this lists any special ability your companion has, such as whether it often serves as a mount.
Support Benefit A special benefit you gain by Commanding the Animal to use the Support action (see below).
Advanced Maneuver A powerful new action your companion learns how to use if it becomes a nimble or savage animal companion.

Riding Animal Companions

You or an ally can ride your animal companion as long as it is at least one size larger than the rider. If it is carrying a rider, the animal companion can use only its land Speed, and it can’t move and Support you on the same turn. However, if your companion has the mount special ability, it’s especially suited for riding and ignores both of these restrictions.

Support [one-action]

Source Player Core pg. 206 2.0
Requirements The creature is an animal companion.
Your animal companion supports you. You gain the benefits listed in the companion type’s Support Benefit entry. If the animal uses the Support action, the only other actions it can use on this turn are basic move actions to get into position to take advantage of the Support benefits; if it has already used any other action this turn, it can’t Support you.

Companion Advancement

Source Player Core pg. 211 2.0
You can advance an animal companion, usually due to one of your class feat choices. Normally, you can advance a young animal companion to a mature animal companion, advance a mature companion to either a nimble or savage companion, and advance a nimble or savage companion into a specialized companion.

Mature Animal Companions

Source Player Core pg. 211 2.0
When you advance a young animal companion to a mature animal companion:
  • If your companion is Medium or smaller, it grows by one size.
  • Increase its Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom modifiers by 1.
  • Increase its proficiency rank for Perception and all saving throws to expert. Increase its proficiency ranks in Intimidation, Stealth, and Survival to trained, and if it was already trained in one of those skills from its type, increase its proficiency rank in that skill to expert.
  • Increase its unarmed attack damage from one die to two dice (for instance 1d8 to 2d8)

Nimble Animal Companions

Source Player Core pg. 211 2.0
To advance a mature animal companion to a nimble animal companion:
  • Increase its Dexterity modifier by 2 and its Strength, Constitution, and Wisdom modifiers by 1.
  • Increase its proficiency ranks in Acrobatics to expert.
  • It deals 2 additional damage with its unarmed attacks. Its attacks become magical for the purpose of ignoring resistances.
  • It learns the advanced maneuver for its type.

Savage Animal Companions

Source Player Core pg. 211 2.0
To advance a mature animal companion to a savage animal companion:
  • If your companion is Medium or smaller, it grows by one size.
  • Increase its Strength modifier by 2 and its Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom modifiers by 1.
  • Increase its proficiency rank in Athletics to expert.
  • It deals 3 additional damage with its unarmed attacks. Its attacks become magical for the purpose of ignoring resistances.
  • It learns the advanced maneuver for its type.

Specialized Animal Companions

Source Player Core pg. 211 2.0
Specialized animal companions are more intelligent and engage in more complex behaviors. Most animal companions can have only one specialization. The first time an animal gains a specialization, it also gains the following.
  • Its proficiency rank for unarmed attacks increases to expert.
  • Its proficiency ranks for saving throws and Perception increase to master.
  • Increase its Dexterity modifier by 1 and its Intelligence modifier by 2.
  • Its unarmed attack damage increases from two dice to three dice, and it increases its additional damage with unarmed attacks from 2 to 4 or from 3 to 6.
  • The extra benefit of the specialization listed below.

Ambusher: In your companion's natural environment, it can use a Sneak action even if it's currently observed. Its proficiency rank in Stealth increases to expert (or master if it was already an expert from its type), and its Dexterity modifier increases by 1. Its proficiency rank for unarmored defense increases to expert.

Bully: Your companion terrorizes foes with dominance displays and pushes them around the battlefield. Its proficiency ranks for Athletics and Intimidation increase to expert (or master if it was already expert from its type), its Strength modifier increases by 1, and its Charisma modifier increases by 3.

Daredevil: Your companion joins the fray with graceful leaps and dives. It gains the deny advantage ability, so it isn't off-guard to hidden, undetected, or flanking creatures unless such a creature's level is greater than yours. Its proficiency rank in Acrobatics increases to master, and its Dexterity modifier increases by 1. Its proficiency rank in unarmored defense increases to expert.

Racer: Your companion races. It gains a +10-foot status bonus to its Speed, swim Speed, or fly Speed (your choice). Its proficiency in Fortitude saves increases to legendary, and its Constitution modifier increases by 1.

Tracker: Your companion is an incredible tracker. It can move at full Speed while following tracks. Its proficiency rank in Survival increases to expert (or master if it was already an expert from its type), and its Wisdom modifier increases by 1.

Wrecker: Your companion smashes things. Its unarmed attacks ignore half an object's Hardness. Its Athletics proficiency increases to master, and its Strength modifier increases by 1.

Familiars

Source Player Core pg. 212 2.0
Familiars are mystically bonded creatures tied to your magic. Most familiars were originally animals, though the ritual of becoming a familiar makes them something more. You gain the Pet general feat, except that your pet has special abilities. Common choices for familiars include bats, cats, foxes, ravens, and snakes. Some familiars are different, usually described in the ability that granted you a familiar; for example, a druid’s leshy familiar has the plant or fungus trait instead of animal. A familiar is different from a basic pet in the following ways.

Modifiers and AC

Source Player Core pg. 212 2.0
For Perception, Acrobatics, and Stealth, you can have your familiar use your spellcasting attribute modifier + your level instead of 3 + your level if it’s higher.

Communication

Source Player Core pg. 212 2.0
Your familiar can communicate empathically with you as long as it’s within 1 mile of you, sharing emotions. It doesn’t understand or speak languages normally, but it can gain speech from a familiar ability.

Selecting Familiar and Master Abilities

Source Player Core pg. 212 2.0
Instead of choosing two abilities only when you gain your familiar as you do with a normal pet, you can choose the two abilities each day during your daily preparations. You can choose from familiar abilities and master abilities. You can choose the pet abilities from the feat as familiar abilities as well. You can’t swap out abilities that are innate to your familiar. For example, you couldn’t choose not to give a raven familiar flying.

Familiar Abilities

Source Player Core pg. 212 2.0
Familiar abilities primarily affect the familiar itself. A familiar can have no more than one ability that changes its creature trait (such as construct or plant). You can choose a pet ability (from the Pet feat, page 259) as a familiar ability: amphibious, burrower, climber, darkvision, echolocation, fast movement, flier, manual dexterity, scent, or tough (see the sidebar).

Pet Feat Abilities

The following abilities you can choose from the Pet general feat (page 259) are repeated here for convenience.
  • Amphibious It gains the amphibious trait, allowing it to breathe in both air and water, and has both a land Speed and a swim Speed, each equal to its highest land Speed or swim Speed.
  • Burrower It gains a burrow Speed of 5 feet, allowing it to dig Tiny holes.
  • Climber It gains a climb Speed of 25 feet.
  • Darkvision It gains darkvision.
  • Echolocation It can use hearing as a precise sense within 20 feet.
  • Fast Movement Increase one of the pet's Speeds from 25 feet to 40 feet.
  • Flier It gains a fly Speed of 25 feet.
  • Manual Dexterity It can use up to two of its limbs as if they were hands to perform manipulate actions.
  • Scent It can use scent as an imprecise sense within 30 feet
  • Tough Your pet's max HP increase by 2 per level

Targeting Companions

Some spells and abilities can affect your companion. When “companion” is used in a stat block, it refers to animal companions, familiars, and types of companions appearing in other books—such as elemental companions. Some spells are even more specific. For example, if the spell says, “Targets your familiar,” you could cast it only on a familiar, not other kinds of companions. If you Cast a Spell that can benefit only a type of creature you don't have, such as Casting a Spell that can target only a familiar when you don't have a familiar, the spell does nothing.

If the spell would affect an ability the creature doesn't have, the spell doesn't give the creature that ability unless the spell says it does. For example, a spell that causes your companion to make a Strike wouldn't let a familiar make a Strike but would give it all other benefits of the spell.

Master Abilities

Source Player Core pg. 214 2.0
Master abilities primarily affect you or the magic that passes between you and your familiar.