Control Animals
by Blacky the BlackballI used the table for the Cleric's "Turn Undead" ability (but with -/+2/+5/+11/c/m/M/X entries rather than -/+2/+5/+11/t/d/D/X and with a hit die ranges instead of specific creatures), but the actual mechanics are more based on the Undead Liege mechanics (the ones that let powerful undead have lesser minions) than the Turn Undead ones.
Here's the mechanics:
Control Animals: Druids have the ability to command or even control animals. This ability only works on natural animals, not monsters, and only on animals with at least the size and intelligence of a mouse. Lesser creatures such as individual insects or slugs are too primitive for the ability to work on them—although it does work on giant versions of these creatures. When your druid tries to control animals, you must first decide which animal species you are targeting. If you are facing a mixed group of animals you can only control one type of animal each round.
Once you have decided which animal species you wish to attempt to control, consult table 4-3c and compare your druid’s level with the hit dice of the type of animal that you are trying to affect. The entry in the table will indicate the level of success, as follows:
‘-’ —You are not powerful enough to command or control this type of animal.
‘+2’—Make a check with a bonus of +2. Your attempt at controlling the animals will be successful if the check succeeds. If the check fails, you will not be able to try to control these same animals again until the following day. If the check succeeds then roll 2d6 to see how many of the animals are affected. Targeted animals with a total number of hit dice equal to this roll will be Commanded, with the exception that at least one animal will always be affected even if it has more hit dice than the roll.
‘+5’—Make a check with a bonus of +5. Your attempt at controlling the animals will be successful if the check succeeds. If the check fails, you will not be able to try to control these same animals again until the following day. If the check succeeds then roll 2d6 to see how many of the animals are affected. Targeted animals with a total number of hit dice equal to this roll will be Commanded, with the exception that at least one animal will always be affected even if it has more hit dice than the roll.
‘+11’—Make a check with a bonus of +11. Your attempt at controlling the animals will be successful if the check succeeds. If the check fails, you will not be able to try to control these same animals again until the following day. If the check succeeds then roll 2d6 to see how many of the animals are affected. Targeted animals with a total number of hit dice equal to this roll will be Commanded, with the exception that at least one animal will always be affected even if it has more hit dice than the roll.
‘c’—Your attempt at controlling the animals automatically succeeds. Roll 2d6 to see how many animals are affected. Targeted animals with a total number of hit dice equal to this roll will be Commanded, with the exception that at least one animal will always be affected even if it has more hit dice than the roll.
‘m’—Your attempt at controlling the animals automatically succeeds, and you may choose to Master them rather than just Commanding them. Roll 2d6 to see how many animals are affected. Targeted animals with a total number of hit dice equal to this roll will be Commanded or Mastered, with the exception that at least one animal will always be affected even if it has more hit dice than the roll.
‘M’—Your attempt at controlling the animals automatically succeeds, and you may choose to Master them rather than just Commanding them. Roll 3d6 to see how many animals are affected. Targeted animals with a total number of hit dice equal to this roll will be Commanded or Mastered, with the exception that at least one animal will always be affected even if it has more hit dice than the roll.
‘X’—Your attempt at controlling the animals automatically succeeds, and you may choose to Master them rather than just Commanding them. Roll 4d6 to see how many animals are affected. Targeted animals with a total number of hit dice equal to this roll will be Commanded or Mastered, with the exception that at least one animal will always be affected even if it has more hit dice than the roll.
Commanded animals will obey a single mental command from the druid. This command may be to flee, or to attack a particular target, or to pick up an item and bring it to the druid or any other command of a similar nature. All animals included in a single command must be given the same command. The duration of the command lasts for ten minutes or until the animals have finished the task that they have been given, whichever happens first.
Mastered animals will become docile and friendly to the druid, and if they are normally social or pack animals they will be friendly to the druid’s friends as well. They will fight to protect the druid without being ordered to and willingly lay down their lives on the druid’s behalf. At any time, the druid may (as a standard action) make mental contact with any one of their mastered animals regardless of distance (providing they are on the same plane of existence and within the same Celestial Sphere). While in mental contact, the druid experiences the animal’s senses rather than their own—so they see through the animals eyes, hear through its ears, and so forth—and can give the animal mental commands at any time, or even physically take control of the animal’s movement. The druid may not cast spells or use magical items through the animal, and the druids control of the animal’s movement is not fine enough for them to make the animal reproduce human words. Mastery of an animal is normally permanent, although a druid can only have a total number of animals mastered at any given time equal to twice as many hit dice as the druid has levels. A druid may relinquish mastery of an animal at any time, and can do so at the same time as mastering a new animal in order to make room for the new one.