Imaginary Friend

[DonQuixote]

So, one of my close friends has asked me to help him stat a character for a campaign he's going to be playing in.  He wants to be playing a gnome illusionist, with an imaginary pet bear.

...by which he means, of course, an invisible bear.


Any ideas of where I should start on this one?

Edit: They're starting at level five.  I figure that, using the variant from Unearthed Arcana, he can trade his familiar for a bear animal companion.  Now, just to figure out how to make it invisible...

Edit Again: Drat, I forgot that you can't have a bear companion as a 1st-level druid.  Back to the drawing board...

[sirpercival]

Shadowcraft SMIII gets a celestial black bear.  Invisible Spell.

[mrorangesoda]

I'd have it be an actual imaginary pet bear for a long long time- until you use it as an adventure hook that ends with him rescuing the celestial bear who's been communicating with him and gaining a magic figurine to summon the thing.

[DonQuixote]

Shadowcraft SMIII gets a celestial black bear.  Invisible Spell.

While I think he wants an actual pet bear that hangs around, thank you for reminding me of Invisible Spell.  Couldn't you just do the same thing with an invisible summon monster III, though?  I'm unsure of why the shadowcraft component is necessary.

I'd have it be an actual imaginary pet bear for a long long time- until you use it as an adventure hook that ends with him rescuing the celestial bear who's been communicating with him and gaining a magic figurine to summon the thing.

Hrm.  Having it actually be imaginary for a while might be a good handle.  In fact...if he's willing to devote most of his resources to it, we could probably use the familiar for animal companion variant by simply having him wait to obtain the companion until he's level 8.  At that point, he can afford a ring of invisibility, slap it on the bear, and cast greater invisibility on it whenever it's going to attack.

So, I suppose that's one way.  Any other ideas, though?  This one does eat up a lot of gold.

[Harald]

Isn't there a feat to get an animal companion ? Wild Companion, I believe ?

[sirpercival]

Shadowcraft because he's a gnomish illusionist.  It seemed rather straightforward...

I suggest an altogether much more hilarious idea.  Here's the imaginary friend:

Diabolus Divine Minion of Set Ardent 5/Thrallherd 1/Fiend of Possession 4

Not invisible, ethereal.  Telepathic (with mindlink).  The PC is this guy's thrall.  And as a DM of Set he can wildshape into a brown bear.

[phaedrusxy]

Shadowcraft because he's a gnomish illusionist.  It seemed rather straightforward...

I suggest an altogether much more hilarious idea.  Here's the imaginary friend:

Diabolus Divine Minion of Set Ardent 5/Thrallherd 1/Fiend of Possession 4

Not invisible, ethereal.  Telepathic (with mindlink).  The PC is this guy's thrall.  And as a DM of Set he can wildshape into a brown bear.

Replace all the FoP levels with a single level of the Ghost savage progression class. Hilarious idea.

[sirpercival]

Well, the ghost can't possess people.  Which would be awesome.  Also, the FoP isn't undead.

But if you go ghost, you don't need to be a diabolus.  So you could actually make a bear.  Like, an anthropomorphic dire bear ghost.  Or, just spitballing here, a Symbiotic Bear+Pixie.  That one can just be invisible.

But you want to give it Leadership or Thrallherd or something so that the PC can be a cohort.

[phaedrusxy]

Well, the ghost can't possess people.  Which would be awesome.  Also, the FoP isn't undead.

But if you go ghost, you don't need to be a diabolus.  So you could actually make a bear.  Like, an anthropomorphic dire bear ghost.  Or, just spitballing here, a Symbiotic Bear+Pixie.  That one can just be invisible.

But you want to give it Leadership or Thrallherd or something so that the PC can be a cohort.

I think you'd need to use the Ghost Brute template (Savage Species), instead of Ghost, as IIRC Ghost can only be applied to a few creature types.

[sirpercival]

Well, the anthrobear is an intelligent creature.  The savage progression just says intelligent creature, so we're good.  And the bear+pixie doesn't need to be ethereal.

[DonQuixote]

The gnome-as-thrall setup is hilarious, but we'll have to run it past his DM.  Technically, Savage Species is 3.0, and I know that some DMs don't like allowing Leadership or Thrallherd.  Plus, it will confuse his starting level--the imaginary bear can't actually have Leadership or Thrallherd by level five, and the gnome would have to be two levels lower than the bear.  Assuming that the DM requires that the level cap apply to the bear "character," that could mean that the illusionist is a few levels behind the rest of the party.

Unfortunately, the symbiotic bear+pixie is technically rules-illegal, since pixies aren't valid candidates for symbiotic creature.

The ghost savage progression doesn't actually mention any specific creature types, but--going by the ghost template--the anthropomorphic bear would qualify, as it is a monstrous humanoid.

Thus, our possibilities thus far are:

• Bear is "imaginary," but is occasionally real.  Invisible Spell + Summon Monster.
• Has imaginary bear that is entirely imaginary...but eventually becomes real.  Animal Companion + Ring of Invisibility.
• Serves the will of his imaginary lord and master, Bear von Bearington.  Invisible/Ethereal/Ghostly Bear/Bear-like-creature + Leadership/Thrallherd.

Any others?

[sirpercival]

Pixie qualifies if it's Greenbound.  Then it's a plant.

I think #3 is so much more awesome.  And since (at least in the FoP case) it's an evil outsider NPC, it can be as high of a level as it wants, since the DM can have it not participate in anything out of hilarious spite.

[DonQuixote]

I'm pushing for #3 as well, if only because then the bear can actually have some imaginary-like qualities through the ghost powers.

The main issue is the party's starting level.  I suggested that he ask his DM about allowing the bear to start at level six--allowing the gnome to start at level four--given the fact that an anthropomorphic black bear with two levels in the ghost progression has very few abilities, one feat, and a base attack bonus of +2--though it does gain that +8 bonus to Strength.  Not very scary.

Edit: Just realized that the anthropomorphic bear will need to take its sixth level as something that is not the ghost progression, as it needs that third hit die to gain a new feat.  By which I mean Leadership.

[sirpercival]

Well, the DM's other option is to have the bear be a plot device, which means it can be whatever level he wants.  It doesn't have to participate in much, just hanging out and heckling the party, making their life difficult, etc.

[DonQuixote]

Well, the DM's other option is to have the bear be a plot device, which means it can be whatever level he wants.  It doesn't have to participate in much, just hanging out and heckling the party, making their life difficult, etc.

The friend has implied that he wants the bear to be his "pet," leading me to think that he wants it under his control.  The Leadership-cohort interaction is just a way to get the bear to exist--I'm fairly certain the chain of command will still function as though the bear were an animal companion or something similar.

Also, knowing this guy, he's going to play it like his character just has an imaginary friend, then shock everyone by fielding the bear once they're convinced that it's just a character quirk.  The goal of deceiving people as to the bear's existence is somewhat foiled by having the DM use it to make the party's life difficult.

[Ithamar]

PHBII lets a 4th level hexblade swap his familiar for the dark companion.  See if your DM will just let an illusionist have their own dark companion perhaps?

[awaken_D_M_golem]

2nd-ing Divine Minion.
You could fluff text it as: you are the Bear Invisible (wildshape)
you just don't know it yet, you slowly realize the set-up you prefer.
Didn't your "imaginary" invisible bear, grow up too ?!


Or re-fluff Erudite with the Elemental Envoy to a
1rhd baby Bear with the 1st level of ghost template.
This sounds a lot like the Ted bear movie that just came out.

[DonQuixote]

The main problem with the Divine Minion of Set is that it makes the bear far more than a bear.  The character concept, at its core, is a gnome illusionist.  He has an imaginary pet bear that isn't quite so imaginary.  That's all.  Not a demon that takes the form of a bear that has seduced him, nor a psion that is manipulating him.

An anthropomorphic bear ghost is simple.  It is a bear.  Sure, it's technically intelligent--and, since it has Leadership, he's technically the cohort--but he's going to be playing it as his imaginary pet bear.  Giving it character levels in order to make advancement work is fine.  But I think we've gone too far when the invisible pet bear is also a powerful character in its own right.  The guy is going to be playing a wizard, after all.

My current suggestion to him for #3 is an anthropomorphic black bear savage ghost 1/rogue 1/savage ghost +4/rogue +10.  Not powerful by any means, but that's 7d6 damage with a touch attack each round--assuming that the invisible incorporeal bear that hangs out with an illusionist gets its sneak attack damage.  And this is while he's an 18th-level wizard.


Edit: He likes #3 and is going to be running it past his DM for approval.  If she nixes it, he's going with #1.

[littha]

Pixie qualifies if it's Greenbound.  Then it's a plant.

I just looked at greenbound, always wondered about how to play a plant type PC but I really want some of whatever they were taking when they decided on +8 LA for a CR +2 template...