[OOC] Return to the Rusty Rat

[Toot]

I follow some of the creators of 5th edition D&D on social media.  Even though I know they play 5e and everything they say is their opinion and does not affect this game, I was curious what they would say about Toot enhancing Boo with magic items so I asked them:

Q:  Can you put a Helm of Comprehend Languages on an animal companion so it can understand (within its intelligence) commands?

A: A fine question.  Depends on the animal.  Can it wear a helmet?  If so, sure.  I'd reward the creativity. 

[OoC1:    ]

Q: What if I gave him an Ioun Stone of Intellect to boost his intelligence +2?  Would he stop being a companion?

A:  It's still your companion, but a higher INT means it becomes more aware of its treatment.  If it's a tool, it will resent you or leave.

[OoC2:  Toot hasn't raised Boo's INT yet (but I most likely will) but I don't believe Toot has ever treated Boo like a tool.  I think he treats Boo better than the other party members.     ]

[OoC3: Someone else suggested casting Awaken on Boo but 5th edition is different than 3.5e in that in 5e there is no mention of the restriction stated in 3.5e of Awakened Animal Companions, Familiars or Special Mounts not being allowed to be Awakened.  I've been looking over 5e and it looks interesting.  More similar to 3.5e than 4e.  The spell system is fairly different in that damaging spells now have a base damage and if you want to do more you have to use a higher spell slot.  ]

[DM Surranó]

I thought I answered this already but can't find my answer. Can you? Maybe you're knocking on open doors.
We definitely agree about creativity and that Boo is more a companion and the rest of the PCs are more tools.

[Torin]

Yes. We are just speaking tools aka artifacts .

[Toot]

I thought I answered this already but can't find my answer. Can you? Maybe you're knocking on open doors.
We definitely agree about creativity and that Boo is more a companion and the rest of the PCs are more tools.

I asked them the question purely out of curiosity.  As I stated, everything they say is their opinion and does not effect this game.  In any case, you had said yes to allowing Boo to use the Helm and Ioun stone.  Why would I try to change your mind when you already ruled in my favor?      But if they had suggested something that we had not thought of even if it was negative I would have let you know, just like I did when I found out bears can't wear rings so you allowed me to change the ring of sustenance to a bracelet.    

Yes. We are just speaking tools aka artifacts .

You mean dusty, old, relics that have been long forgotten? 

These ants look like soldiers.

It's a pity that Druids don't have a Speak with Vermin spell.  In 5e they got rid of the Vermin type and now just call Animals and Vermin, Beasts.  They then changed the spell to Speak with Beasts.     With the exception of a few spells like Giant Insect, Insect Plague and Repel Vermin, 3.5 Druids really are very limited when dealing with insects.  

Do you think Toot might be able to talk SG into grappling a Soldier Ant so we can put the helm on it's head?  

[DM Surranó]

Re helm stuff: I recalled similar memory but I'm still curious where did I write this 'cause I couldn't locate it. Maybe I also wrote about animals with +2 Int? (the only thing I found is a discussion about wild shape changes type to animal (it doesn't)

Re Tools: Dusty old 3.5 relics we are all, indeed.

Re ant: a naturally poison immune party member may do a better job at this

[Toot]

Re helm stuff: I recalled similar memory but I'm still curious where did I write this 'cause I couldn't locate it. Maybe I also wrote about animals with +2 Int? (the only thing I found is a discussion about wild shape changes type to animal (it doesn't)

>> Here <<  In your message you were concerned that Boo talking might ruin the fun.  But Comprehend Languages doesn't give you the ability to speak the languages.  Just to understand them.

[Torin]

I have a long vacation in this autumn from 12.09.2017 till 11.10.2017. I will be online, but sometimes it will be take more time to reply, if you couldn't able to wait me then handle my characters as a DMPC.

[Merrinna Starsong]

Bears are awesome. I love bears. But seriously, shouldn't we give it to someone who could really use the IQ boost? Yes, I'm talking about SG.

[DM Surranó]

Actually, Boo's Int would match SG's Cha. Fascinating, isn't it?

[Merrinna Starsong]

So the bear is a little dense, too?

So how do I find you on Roll20? Is there a link? I made myself an account a long time ago, but have never used it.