# Natural Bond [CAdv] and Alternative Animal Companions



## Hypersmurf (Jun 24, 2005)

_*ALTERNATIVE ANIMAL COMPANIONS*
A druid of sufficiently high level can select her animal companion from one of the following lists, applying the indicated adjustment to the druid’s level (in parentheses) for purposes of determining the companion’s characteristics and special abilities.

4th Level or Higher (Level –3) _

If I'm a 10th level druid with a Wolverine companion, I apply a -3 adjustment to my druid level for purposes of determining the companion’s characteristics and special abilities.

If I have the Natural Bond feat, I can add up to +3 to my effective druid level for purposes of determining the companion’s characteristics and special abilities, but my druid level cannot exceed my character level.

Can, then, a 10th level druid with a Wolverine companion and the Natural Bond feat apply the 9th-11th adjustments to the companion, since 10 -3 +3 does not exceed his character level?

-Hyp.


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## dedicated (Jun 24, 2005)

Yep


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## Rystil Arden (Jun 24, 2005)

Looks like it to me


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## Patryn of Elvenshae (Jun 24, 2005)

I've always read it as Natural Bond applying first, and then the improved companion penalty.

Why?

Because the last step in the equation is picking your companion.

Of course, I can't find any rules to support my "order of operations" theory [EDIT: other than the fact that wolverines, for instance, require a Druid level of 4 before you can take one.  In other words, you need an effective druid level of 4 before it even becomes an option, and Natural Bond might allow you to take one before you were a level 4 Druid].

However, let's look at the effects of the feat.  It costs the druid a feat (out of his probable 7), and gets his companion, on average, two extra hit dice (+8 + 2X Con HP), +2 natural armor, +1 Strength, one extra bonus trick, and possibly one more special ability than it otherwise would have.

This seems to be a little hefty as far as feat benefits go, but it doesn't seem overwhelmingly so.


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## Hypersmurf (Jun 24, 2005)

Patryn of Elvenshae said:
			
		

> [EDIT: other than the fact that wolverines, for instance, require a Druid level of 4 before you can take one.  In other words, you need an effective druid level of 4 before it even becomes an option, and Natural Bond might allow you to take one before you were a level 4 Druid].




Hmm... I'd need to check the feat wording again.  What does it specifically add 3 to your effective druid level for the purposes of?

-Hyp.


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## jabberwocky (Jun 24, 2005)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Hmm... I'd need to check the feat wording again.  What does it specifically add 3 to your effective druid level for the purposes of?
> 
> -Hyp.




Natural Bond "adds three to your effecive druid level for the purpose of bonus hit dice, extra tricks, special abilities, and other bonuses the companion receives."  

the SRD says about alternative animal companions:
_A druid of sufficiently high level can select her animal companion from one of the following lists, applying the indicated adjustment to the druid’s level (in parentheses) for purposes of determining the companion’s characteristics and special abilities._

So, as written, it looks like you could select an alternative animal companion, and adjust your level downward, and Natural Bond would then adjust your effective level back up.


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## Hypersmurf (Jun 24, 2005)

jabberwocky said:
			
		

> Natural Bond "adds three to your effecive druid level for the purpose of bonus hit dice, extra tricks, special abilities, and other bonuses the companion receives."




Thanks.

So it wouldn't allow a Drd1/Rog3 to gain a Wolverine as an animal companion, because the Wolverine requires "a druid of sufficiently high level" (4th), and Natural Bond does _not_ increase effective druid level for the purpose of selecting an alternative companion.

It _does_, however, (arguably) allow a Drd-4 to gain a Wolverine as an animal companion, and to treat his effective Druid level as 4 rather than 1 for the purpose of its abilities etc.

-Hyp.


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## Infiniti2000 (Jun 24, 2005)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> So it wouldn't allow a Drd1/Rog3 to gain a Wolverine as an animal companion, because the Wolverine requires "a druid of sufficiently high level" (4th), and Natural Bond does _not_ increase effective druid level for the purpose of selecting an alternative companion.
> 
> It _does_, however, (arguably) allow a Drd-4 to gain a Wolverine as an animal companion, and to treat his effective Druid level as 4 rather than 1 for the purpose of its abilities etc.



 I'd agree with that.  However, I'm a little concerned about how powerful that makes the animal companion.  I know from experience that when the 14th level druid IMC buffs out her animal companion(s), they are Forces Unto Themselves (tm).  If anyone has experience with Natural Bond, please let us know your thoughts.


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## Hypersmurf (Jun 24, 2005)

Infiniti2000 said:
			
		

> However, I'm a little concerned about how powerful that makes the animal companion.  I know from experience that when the 14th level druid IMC buffs out her animal companion(s), they are Forces Unto Themselves (tm).




In this particular case, I'm going to have real trouble buffing... most of the standard animal companion buffs are 'spells that target a specific number of creatures', to which swarms are immune.

(I'm trying out a cat swarm as an animal companion, with a little DM leniency  )

-Hyp.


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## likuidice (Jun 24, 2005)

take a single level of beastmaster to add an extra +3 to your druid level. (C-adv)


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## Infiniti2000 (Jun 24, 2005)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> (I'm trying out a cat swarm as an animal companion, with a little DM leniency  )



 Can you tell us the guidelines you are using for that, perhaps the stats?  That sounds awfully interesting and I'm sure my wife would love to give it a thought.


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## Alejandro (Jun 24, 2005)

Herding cats? That way lies insanity!


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## qstor (Jun 24, 2005)

likuidice said:
			
		

> take a single level of beastmaster to add an extra +3 to your druid level. (C-adv)





IIRC Beastmaster doesn't boost your effective druid level above your class level. So the poster would be stuck with an animal equal to a 10th level druid.

Mike


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## Nail (Jun 24, 2005)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> (I'm trying out a cat swarm as an animal companion, with a little DM leniency  )



Wow.  Cool!


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## Hypersmurf (Jun 24, 2005)

qstor said:
			
		

> IIRC Beastmaster doesn't boost your effective druid level above your class level. So the poster would be stuck with an animal equal to a 10th level druid.




No - the example given is a Drd5/BMa2 with an effective druid level of 10 for purposes of an animal companion.

But while I'm willing to spend a feat to improve the cats, the spellcasting level (plus another feat on Skill Focus) is more than I'm prepared to give up.  The animal companion isn't intended to be a primary focus for this character.

It's a great idea, though.

Infiniti - I'll let you know more as I get things ironed out.

-Hyp.


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## Len (Jun 24, 2005)

What happens when a cat swarm meets a rat swarm?


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## FireLance (Jun 25, 2005)

Len said:
			
		

> What happens when a cat swarm meets a rat swarm?



If the space that they occupy overlaps, they deal swarm damage to each other, of course.


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## Rystil Arden (Jun 25, 2005)

Len said:
			
		

> What happens when a cat swarm meets a rat swarm?



 I dunno.  What about a bat swarm?  If a cat swarm can take a bat swarm, then one of my PbP characters needs the cats' help!


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## Len (Jun 25, 2005)

A cat swarm can't take a bat swarm because cats can't fly.

What your character needs is a gnat swarm.


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## Rystil Arden (Jun 25, 2005)

Len said:
			
		

> A cat swarm can't take a bat swarm because cats can't fly.
> 
> What your character needs is a gnat swarm.



 The cats could try to attack the bats when they come down too low, though.  The annoying thing about the stupid bats is that they have a wounding attack--so things they knock out tend to die


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## DnDNerd (Jul 3, 2005)

*Lg*

i have a question, does any one know how to get the natural bond feat in Living Greyhawk. In the rules its says its limited, i REALLY want this feat for my char. ill have a 10hd tiger  at 6th level if i can get it.


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## FireLance (Jul 4, 2005)

DnDNerd said:
			
		

> i have a question, does any one know how to get the natural bond feat in Living Greyhawk. In the rules its says its limited, i REALLY want this feat for my char. ill have a 10hd tiger at 6th level if i can get it.



Sorry, but the feat won't do this. Your effective druid level is still capped at your character level. So, a 6th-level druid with Natural Bond does not gain any advantage from this feat. A 6th-level druid/1st-level fighter with Natural Bond would have an animal companion as if he was a 7th-level druid, and could select a tiger as an animal companion.


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## Hypersmurf (Jul 4, 2005)

FireLance said:
			
		

> Sorry, but the feat won't do this. Your effective druid level is still capped at your character level. So, a 6th-level druid with Natural Bond does not gain any advantage from this feat.




Unless his effective druid level is already reduced somehow - for instance, if he has a 4th-level animal companion like an ape.



> A 6th-level druid/1st-level fighter with Natural Bond would have an animal companion as if he was a 7th-level druid, and could select a tiger as an animal companion.




No, he couldn't.

"A druid of sufficiently high level can select her animal companion from one of the following lists..."

A tiger companion requires a druid of sufficiently high level... namely, 7th.

Natural Bond adds three to your effective druid level for the purpose of bonus hit dice, extra tricks, special abilities, and other bonuses the companion receives. 

It _doesn't_ add three to your effective druid level for purposes of determining what alternative animal companions are available.

A Drd6/Ftr1 with Natural Bond could have a normal animal companion with bonuses as if he were a 7th level druid (6, +3 for Natural Bond, capped at 7 for character level), or a 4th-level animal companion with bonuses as if he were a 6th level druid (6, -3 for a 4th level companion, +3 for Natural Bond), but he can't have a 7th-level animal companion (like a tiger) at _all_, because he isn't 'a druid of sufficiently high level'.

-Hyp.


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## FireLance (Jul 4, 2005)

Well, I'm not going to argue with Hyp's interpretation of the RAW. I will, however, point out that this interpretation gives a boost to the higher-grade animal companions of pure-classed druids, which are already quite powerful, and is thus more in line with the "metacap-breaking" feats such as Sudden Empower and Sudden Maximize, rather than the "multiclass-catchup" feats such as Practised Spellcaster.

IMC, I would probably house-rule it to increase the effective druid level for all purposes related to the animal companion, provided it does not increase the effective druid level (before adjustments for higher-grade animal companions) to more than character level. The "order of operations" IMC would be:
1. Natural Bond
2. Increases to effective druid level which explicitly increase it above character level (such as the Beastmaster class ability)
3. Adjustments to effective druid level for having a higher-grade animal companion


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## DnDNerd (Jul 5, 2005)

*oops*

ya sorry about that what i meant to say is at 7th level i'd have a 10 hd tiger

Druid    6
+ Beastmaster 4 (1 level + 3 bonus special abilaty)
This means i could pick a tiger  from the list

and for the bonuses

+ natural bond 3
- 6 (High Level Animal)

= 7

meaning my efective level does not exceed my actual level

but my question still remians unanswered does any one know how to get the natural bong feat in living greyhawk.

Peace


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## Thanee (Jul 5, 2005)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Can, then, a 10th level druid with a Wolverine companion and the Natural Bond feat apply the 9th-11th adjustments to the companion, since 10 -3 +3 does not exceed his character level?




I would say no.

It's not the level of the druid that gets lowered for 'higher level' animal companions, but the effect the druid's level has on the animal companion. At least, that's how I would see it. 

Bye
Thanee


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## DnDNerd (Jul 10, 2005)

no one has answered my question yet


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## Hypersmurf (Jul 10, 2005)

Thanee said:
			
		

> It's not the level of the druid that gets lowered for 'higher level' animal companions, but the effect the druid's level has on the animal companion.




That's exactly what gets raised by Natural Bond, so the two cancel out 

-Hyp.


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## MacMathan (Jul 11, 2005)

Interesting idea. I had always though of it as more of catch up skill for multi-classed druids and rangers.

It makes for some very tough animal companions with a straight druid. Not that it matters from a rules stand-point but would this allow the animals to have more HD than the Druid himself?

It looks like it would. Then my worry, from a DM/balance stand point, would be the already powerful druid class also having a 5hd friend at level 4. That pretty much means the animal will be as tough or tougher than the melee types in the party so they may feel over shadowed.

It would think it would be somewhat like allowing leadership companions at or above the PCs level rather than 2 or 3 behind.

I think it may fly as written but I do not know if I would allow it IMC that way. It will be interesting to see if there is any coherent errata or clarification from WoTC.(not holding my breath


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## Len (Jul 11, 2005)

MacMathan said:
			
		

> I had always though of it as more of catch up skill for multi-classed druids and rangers.



I'm sure that's how it was intended. But we can't let a loophole go unexploited, can we?


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## Hypersmurf (Jul 11, 2005)

MacMathan said:
			
		

> Interesting idea. I had always though of it as more of catch up skill for multi-classed druids and rangers.




Well, in similar fashion, Practised Spellcaster is a catch-up feat for casters with less than a full caster level progression - rangers and paladins, certain PrCs, and multiclassed primary casters.

But a Cleric-12 with the Mageslayer feat, for example, takes a -4 penalty on his caster level... so the Practised Spellcaster feat is of use for him, despite being a single-classed primary caster.

-Hyp.


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## Klaus (Jul 11, 2005)

And Rangers don't need to be multiclassed to take Natural Bond. Ranger 12 has an effective druid level of 6. Add +3 for Natural Bond and his effective druid level becomes 9.

Suddenly the ranger's companion becomes useful in combat again for something other than Aid Another!


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## Thanee (Jul 11, 2005)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> That's exactly what gets raised by Natural Bond, so the two cancel out




The language used is similar, but I would still say no.

You are not canceling a penalty there, as you do with the above Practiced Spellcaster examples. The druid does have the full effect already, either with a wolf and full 10 levels of bonus abilities or with a wolverine and only 7 levels of bonus abilities. Both use the full 10 levels of the druid, the wolverine counts for 3 levels, so to say, therefore the feat should not apply.

Bye
Thanee


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## Hypersmurf (Jul 11, 2005)

Thanee said:
			
		

> You are not canceling a penalty there, as you do with the above Practiced Spellcaster examples.




What does "Level - 3" mean if not a penalty?

A Drd12 with a Wolverine companion applies the indicated adjustment to the druid’s level (-3) for purposes of determining the companion’s characteristics and special abilities.

For purposes of determining the wolverine's characteristics and special abilities, his effective druid level is 9.

Natural Bond allows him to add +3 to his effective druid level for purposes of determining the wolverine's characteristics and special abilities, up to a limit of his hit dice.  9 + 3 is 12 - not exceeding his hit dice.

-Hyp.


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## Thanee (Jul 11, 2005)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> What does "Level - 3" mean if not a penalty?




It just means you look into a different line in the table. 



> A Drd12 with a Wolverine companion applies the indicated adjustment to the druid’s level (-3) for purposes of determining the companion’s characteristics and special abilities.
> 
> For purposes of determining the wolverine's characteristics and special abilities, his effective druid level is 9.
> 
> Natural Bond allows him to add +3 to his effective druid level for purposes of determining the wolverine's characteristics and special abilities, up to a limit of his hit dice.  9 + 3 is 12 - not exceeding his hit dice.




Yes, I know that. 

I just don't think that is what was intended here. The feat surely is meant to be more like Practiced Spellcaster, don't you think?

Basically you 'spend' 3 levels to upgrade your wolf to a wolverine and then the remaining 7 levels to add special abilities.

As I said, that's what I think is meant there. I know, that it is not precisely what is written there.

Bye
Thanee


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## Hypersmurf (Jul 11, 2005)

Thanee said:
			
		

> Basically you 'spend' 3 levels to upgrade your wolf to a wolverine and then the remaining 7 levels to add special abilities.




You subtract three levels from your effective druid level to upgrade your wolf to a wolverine, and then the remaining levels add special abilities.

Since your effective druid level is less than your character level, it can be improved by Natural Bond.

It definitely says that you adjust the level, rather than applying a portion of the level to a different aspect.

-Hyp.


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## jgsugden (Jul 11, 2005)

This falls in a gray area ... an honest player will take both sides of the argument to his DM and ask for a ruling based upon all the facts.

IMHO, it should be allowed for the reasons others, including Hyper, have stated.  

Here's another question for you ... if your druid gets hit by an enervation, does his animal companion lose hit dice? ... ;-)


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## Hypersmurf (Jul 12, 2005)

jgsugden said:
			
		

> Here's another question for you ... if your druid gets hit by an enervation, does his animal companion lose hit dice? ... ;-)




It's an interesting question.

You take "-1 effective level (whenever the creature’s level is used in a die roll or calculation, reduce it by one for each negative level)".

"The creature's level" normally refers to character level, rather than class level.

For example, if I have a multiclassed Rog4/Bbn 2/Ftr2, she has Improved Uncanny Dodge.  Her barbarian and rogue levels stack to determine the rogue level an attacker needs to flank her.  

What effect does a negative level have on that?  Her rogue and barbarian levels sum to 6, so normally an attacker must be a Rog10 to flank.  Does the negative level impose a -1 on both her rogue effective level and barbarian effective level, meaning an attacker must be Rog8?  Does it impose a -1 on the sum, meaning an attacker must be Rog9?  Or does it only impose a -1 when character level is used, thus having no effect on this calculation that is related to class levels, not character levels?

-Hyp.


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## Drowbane (Jul 22, 2005)

So a Ranger 5 / Beastmaster 1 with Natural Bond...

Animal Companion would be as a 9th lvl Druid?!  Holy crap!
Ranger lvls: 2
Natural Bond: 3
Beastmaster lvl: 1
Beastmaster bonus: 3 (can exceed character lvl)

"So, I'm an uber wolf with a Elf-Ranger cohort"


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## Klaus (Jul 22, 2005)

Sounds like it.


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## Infiniti2000 (Jul 22, 2005)

Hyp, since someone else revived this thread -- any chance you could provide your thoughts on that cat swarm?  I really am interested.  I could make it up myself, of course, but I'm really curious about your ideas on it.  My wife is a huge cat lover (so am I), and I was thinking of using it as an NPC, if she doesn't use the idea for her own druid.

Do you think a small druid could use Mounted Combat on a cat swarm?


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## Klaus (Jul 22, 2005)

Only to jump from the Moon to Earth.




(a no-prize to the first one to name the origin of that.)


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## Hypersmurf (Jul 23, 2005)

Infiniti2000 said:
			
		

> Hyp, since someone else revived this thread -- any chance you could provide your thoughts on that cat swarm?  I really am interested.  I could make it up myself, of course, but I'm really curious about your ideas on it.  My wife is a huge cat lover (so am I), and I was thinking of using it as an NPC, if she doesn't use the idea for her own druid.
> 
> Do you think a small druid could use Mounted Combat on a cat swarm?




Well, it's in a PbP, so I've only seen it in action once so far 

Fun, though - he always has a few cats hanging around him, but when trouble threatens, the rest all come pouring out of alleys and sewers, down off roofs, etc.  (It's an urban campaign.)

Thoughts - a few of the companion improvements are nice for a swarm.  Evasion (and extra Dex) is great, since they take all that extra damage from area effects.  Extra hit dice directly affect the damage of their swarm attack and the DC of their Distraction ability.

Extra Str is a bit of a wash, since they can't grapple and it has no effect on their swarm attack - no attack rolls, not Str bonus to damage.

Multiattack - I've interpreted it as allowing them a second swarm attack, though that would be a DM call.

The big disadvantage is that all the standard buff spells for animal companions target a specific number of creatures, so the swarm is all but impossible to buff.

I think a swarm companion of Diminutive creatures, immune to weapon damage, would be severely nasty... but Tiny creatures aren't immune to weapons, so that's not an issue.

We're treating the cat swarm as a Druid Level - 3 companion, so these are the stats I'm using with a Druid 13 with Natural Bond:


```
[b][u]Animal Companion[/u][/b] 
[sblock]
Adelle
Adon
Aida
Ajax
Alaghon
Alex
Alias
Alice
Alley
Almond
Alusair
Alustriel
Ambrosia
Amn
Amorette
Amy
Angelica
Angus
Arabel
Arilyn
Artus
Ash
Athkatla
Autumn
Avalanche
Aytan
Azoun
Bad
Badger
Baldrick
Baldy
Bandit
Barnaby
Bashful
Batty
Baxter
Beauty
Benson
Bessie
Blackberry
Blizzard
Blossom
Brenna
Bruanna
Bruiser
Bucky
Bug
Buzz
Caledan
Calia
Calimport 
Callie
Carissa
Cedarspoke
Cedric
Charcoal
Cheeky
Cheetah
Chestnut
Chewy
Chipper
Cirrus
Claw
Cloud
Cooper
Coral
Cormyr
Cotton
Crunch
Curly
Cyclone
Daerlun
Dandelion
Danica
Danilo
Dash
Diablo
Diamond
Digger
Dimswart
Dolly
Dot
Dotty
Dove
Duncan
Durnan
Dusty
Ears
Echo
Eclipse
Elminster
Elsa
Erin
Esmeltaran 
Eve
Eveningstar 
Eyebrow
Fang
Felicia
Fergus
Firefly
Flash
Fleece
Floppity
Flower
Fluffy
Flynn
Freckles
Frisky
Frog
Fyodor
Galvin
Garnet
Gideon
Gildenglade
Gobbles
Grisabella
Grunt
Halabar
Halia
Halo
Halruaa
Harmony
Hazel
Hector
Hillsfar 
Hissy
Hlath
Hlondeth
Hobnob
Hoot
Hoppity
Hugs
Ida
Iljak
Ivory
Ixinos
Jabber
Jewel
Jinx
Joy
Kagarr
Kesia
Khelben
Kirby
Laeral
Lhair 
Lheshayl
Lilith
Lotus
Lynx
Lyra
Lyta
Magnolia
Magnus
Magpie
Mahogany
Marbles
Meeko
Melody
Meredith
Mestral
Mia
Micestro
Mickey
Midnight
Milo
Mimph
Minx
Mischief
Mithel
Mitzy
Monkey
Mora
Mourngrym
Mouser
Moustache
Moxie
Mulmaster 
Muscles
Nathlekh
Nessie
Neverwinter 
Nigel
Nimpeth
Nina
Nip
Nonthal
Nova
Nugget
Nuts
Obarskyr
Olive
Onyx
Opal
Ordulin
Oreo
Ormath
Ormpetarr
Othello
Outlaw
Panda
Pandemonium
Pansy
Panther
Patch
Patrick
Paws
Peirgeiron
Pepper
Phantom
Piebald
Pinta
Pitch
Pounce
Prance
Pussamaccattus
Rainbow
Rambler
Ramzey
Rat
Ratbag
Raven
Reth
Rex
Ridge
Robyn
Rowdy
Royce
Ruffles
Sable
Salgaunt
Samra
Samson
Sapphire
Saul
Scratchy
Scruffy
Seaweed
Selina
Sembia
Shadow
Shadowdale 
Shaerl
Shaggy
Shakes
Shamph
Shandril
Shiner
Sigel 
Silky
Silver
Silverymoon 
Simbul
Simone
Skullport 
Sky
Sly
Sniff
Snort
Snowflake
Socks
Sophie
Sox
Spider
Splotch
Spot
Spotty
Squeak
Star
Storm
Stretch
Sunshine
Surkh
Suzail
Sylune
Sylvia
Tantris 
Tessa
Tippy
Topaz
Tristan
Trixie
Trouble
Tulip
Tummy
Twigs
Urmlaspyr 
Vangerdahast
Veladorn
Vilheim
Waterdeep 
Waves
Whiskers
Whisper
Willow
Winterwood
Xorhun
Zaranda
Zebra[/sblock]
    [b]CAT SWARM[/b]
    [b]Tiny Animal (Swarm)[/b]
     
    [b]Hit Dice            :[/b]    12d8+24 (78 hp)
    [b]Initiative          :[/b]    +4
    [b]Speed               :[/b]    30 ft. (6 squares)
    [b]Armor Class         :[/b]    25 (+2 size, +4 Dex, +8 natural armor, +1 Dodge feat house rule), 
                             touch 17, flat-footed 20
    [b]Base Attack/Grapple :[/b]    +9/—
    [b]Attack              :[/b]    Swarm (3d6)
    [b]Full Attack         :[/b]    Swarm (3d6/3d6)
    [b]Space/Reach         :[/b]    10 ft./0 ft.
    [b]Special Attacks     :[/b]    Distraction, Multiattack
    [b]Special Qualities   :[/b]    Half damage from slashing and piercing, 
                             low-light vision, scent, swarm traits, link, 
                             share spells, evasion, devotion           
    [b]Saves               :[/b]    Fort +9, Ref +12, Will +7
    [b]Abilities           :[/b]    Str 8, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 7
    [b]Skills              :[/b]    Balance +12, Climb +15, Hide +16*, Jump +12, 
                             Listen +5, Move Silently +8, Spot +5
    [b]Feats               :[/b]    Dodge, Iron Will, Ability Focus (Distraction), 
                             Mobility, Improved Toughness, Weapon FinesseB
     
    [b]Combat[/b]
    [i]Distraction (Ex):[/i] Any living creature that begins its turn with the swarm in 
    its square must succeed on a DC 19 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. 
    
    [b]Skills:[/b] Cats have a +4 racial bonus on Climb, Hide, and Move Silently checks 
    and a +8 racial bonus on Jump checks. Cats have a +8 racial bonus on Balance 
    checks. They use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier 
    for Climb and Jump checks. 
    *In areas of tall grass or heavy undergrowth, the Hide bonus rises to +8.
```

-Hyp.


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