User:SARAH3/Sandbox

Here's where I'll be trying stuff out instead of breaking pages and hoping to fix them in one shot.

Animal Companion

The Animal Companion spell allows a ranger to summon and befriend an animal as a permanent companion. The ranger can tell their companion to do a number of actions including attacking creatures or defending the ranger, although the companion will respond faster or slower depending on the quality of its relationship to the ranger. The quality of the relationship can be determined by gazing at the animal companion and is established or improved by feeding, petting, casting helpful spells at or otherwise interacting with the animal companion in a positive fashion.

When a companion has been selected and befriended, it should be told to leave before the ranger retires from a hard day of adventuring or upon gaining a level and can be summoned again by preparing and casting 630 again, then telling the companion to return. Failure to tell a companion to leave before retiring from adventuring will result in lost information (including improvements to the relationship and gear added to the companion) and failing to tell an animal companion to leave after achieving a new level means that the animal will not level with the ranger.

Once a ranger learns this spell, using sense while outdoors will include a list of potential animal companions in the area.

>sense
You scan your surroundings, considering the various flora and fauna found here (and noting those which are absent). The indications of the temperate climate and the deciduous forest are clearly evident. You quickly note the signs of a black-tipped forest tiger, a white-footed woodland jackal and a black-nosed mottled ferret having recently been in the area. Circling overhead is a fan-tailed branch peregrine. You also see a steep path.

There will always be one of each type of animal companion (canine, feline, avian, rodent) in every outdoor room, but the exact animal noun (e.g. tiger, puma, ocelot) will depend on the location, with some animals being exclusive to certain cities and its descriptor (e.g. black-footed, amber-eyed) will depend on the terrain type in a particular room.

Summoning a Companion

Summoning a new companion is relatively straightforward. First, one finds the desired companion using sense, then one prepares 630 and summons the desired animal. Failure to specify a particular animal will summon a random animal in the room.

Example:

>sense
You scan your surroundings, considering the various flora and fauna found here (and noting those which are absent). The indications of the temperate climate and the plain dirt environment are clearly evident. You quickly note the signs of a black-tipped orange tiger, a white-footed drab jackal and a black-nosed mire ferret having recently been in the area. Circling overhead is a fan-tailed dusky peregrine. You don't see any other paths leading away from the area.
>prep 630
>summon tiger
You open your senses wide and allow the desires and feelings of the areas denizens fill your mind. At the very edge of your perceptions, you feel a bright glow of curiousity tinged with wariness. Concentrating, you focus your desire of friendship and camaraderie towards that bright spot. At first the wariness holds but it is soon followed by a sharp peak in curiosity as if a decision had been made.
A black-tipped orange tiger prowls majestically forward!

Companion Mechanics

All four companion types are capable of attacking creatures (or players) and they do either slash (feline, avian) or puncture (canine, rodent) damage. In addition, they each have different special attacks. Animal companions will attack when told to do so and will also attack automatically when the ranger is stunned or killed.

Include examples

Bard

To be added...