• Introduction •
In late September of 2002, the thirtieth-circled Ranger spell (Animal Companion)
was released to the populace. The foreign Ranger Rogimid sought to find his
lost wolf Ech, and many came forth to assist him. In the end, he taught those
present of the mechanics behind summoning animal companions, leaving the
intricacies of maintaining the relationship with them to be discovered for
ourselves.
This guide is meant to assist in easing the mystery behind those intricacies,
but is by no means to be taken as the definitive rules to gaining and maintaining
affinity with your animal companion. All information contained within is
concluded from personal accounts that I have found to be successful. Following
the conclusion section is a reference table to get a feel for where you lie
on the affinity scale.
• Gains •
There are four main aspects to helping your affinity. These are: time spent
with your companion, feeding your companion, healing your companion, and
nurturing your companion.
Spending Time:
This is the single most significant factor in keeping high affinity. If your
companion is around, he or she should not spend much time away from you.
It is for this reason that you should try to hunt in an outdoor area and
rest in outdoor nodes, wherever your companion can follow. If you are able
to keep your companion by your side in indoor locales due to your high knowledge
of the Ranger spell list, make sure that you keep Nature's Touch refreshed.
-
A fan-tailed leaf hawk glides into view.
Feeding:
This aspect is not nearly as important as the first, but it definitely does
have a positive impact on the relationship with your faunal friend. Since
food already serves as the main factor in getting avian companions to send
messages, as well as a role-playing prop, you should always have something
on hand that you can feed to them. The method by which the food is administered
does not seem to matter ('tell companion to feed' with food on the ground,
or 'feed companion' with food in the right hand).
-
A fan-tailed leaf hawk takes a bite of a chunk of rattlesnake
meat.
Healing:
Should your companion be unfortunate enough to take an injury while fending
off some creature, it would be wise to heal them up as soon as possible.
Animal Companions do not get scars, so the herbs to heal the major and minor
wounds are sufficient. Do not forget to heal the blood loss from their hits,
either. Also, certain wounds require potions or tinctures to heal. In these
cases, just pour the liquid into your companion.
-
>pour rose-marrow in hawk
The fan-tailed leaf hawk gathers some of your rose-marrow potion with his
beak. Your mouth is filled with the distinct taste of bitter healing herbs.
A fan-tailed leaf hawk's head looks better.
You sense a feeling of gratitude flowing from your companion.
Nurturing:
Though your animal companion is not a 'pet,' per se, they do appreciate being
comforted as any other friend would. Pet them when you're resting between
hunts or are otherwise idling, cast for them whatever spells you may know,
and just be kind to them. You might even cast spells which may not seem
inherently beneficial, such as mobility, if you can spare the mana. Small
things as these will edge you along the affinity scale.
-
You stroke the hawk, rubbing his feathers gently.
• Losses •
The main issues regarding positive affinity reinforcement have been covered.
Naturally there are other things that will cause your relationship with your
companion to decline. These would be: attacking your companion (or asking
it to attack you), 'death' to your companion, and neglecting your companion.
Attacking:
You should never attack your companion physically or magically, even to 'test
its defenses.' Doing so will be greatly offensive to your friend, though
not as much as asking them to attack you. Probably the easiest and most
detrimental means of lowering your affinity, your friend will not be amused,
nor will they carry out the order.
-
Your thoughts filter outward and impinge upon your companion.
When he realizes your desire for death by his actions, a piercing stream
of anger billows back down the link. A sure sign of his thoughts on the matter.
Quickly you try to change it but the damage has been done.
Dying:
Your companion never truly 'dies.' Where they normally would do so, they
will instead drag themselves off to recover from their wounds. Regardless,
these events and downtimes (around three hours each) tend to cause displeasure
in the animals, and your affinity will suffer.
-
Your hawk drags himself away leaving a trail of blood
behind.
Neglecting:
Part of this goes along with the 'Spending Time' part from the gains section.
Just as spending time with your companion will help your relationship, not
spending time with them when they're around will hurt it. Also, be sure to
tell your your companion to 'leave,' and wait for them do so, before logging
out of the game. Failure to do so can wreak terrible havoc upon the relationship
with your companion. Though the impact of some affinity issues are fairly
intuitive, this major one is decidedly not.
-
You feel your companion has found a place to rest and
curled up for awhile.
• Conclusion •
There is no doubt that affinity can be the most baffling aspect of the Animal
Companion spell. It is my hope that this guide has provided you with the
direction necessary to acheive maximum affinity. If you have any further
questions or comments on affinity or the guide itself, please contact me
at
ccc@resnullius.com.
-
You gaze admiringly at your friend and companion, the
fan-tailed leaf hawk, which looks directly into your eyes and offers a sense
of undying loyalty.
• Reference •
The table below will help you assess your progress with your affinity.
For example, a Ranger with 43 spell ranks at the 'Fellowship' affinity level
will receive a guard bonus of 18; 12 due to affinity, and 6 ((43-30)/2) due
to spell ranks.
| Affinity
Level |
GAZE
Messaging |
Guard
Bonus |
Round Time
Range |
| 1. Animosity |
which simply glares back at you with barely contained
animosity. |
5 |
9-12 |
| 2. Disdain |
which stares back at you with disdain and turns away. |
5 |
9-12 |
| 3. Familiarity |
which glances back at you with familiarity. |
6-7 |
9-12 |
| 4. Contentment |
which returns the look with a sense of contentment. |
7 |
9-12 |
| 5. Friendly |
which gives a warm, friendly look in return. |
8 |
8-11 |
| 6. Companionship |
which gazes back at you as if to affirm your
companionship. |
9 |
8-11 |
| 7. Longtime Friend |
which meets your gaze with one like that of a longtime
friend. |
10 |
8-11 |
| 8. Admiration |
which gazes back at you with strong admiration. |
10-11 |
7-10 |
| 9. Fellowship |
which returns your look along with a solid feeling
of fellowship. |
12 |
7-10 |
| 10. Fondness |
which meets your gaze and returns a strong feeling
of fondness. |
13-14 |
7-10/6-9 |
| 11. Commitment |
which gazes back at you as if to impart a solid sense
of commitment. |
15-17 |
6-9 |
| 12. Loyalty |
which looks directly into your eyes and offers a
sense of undying loyalty. |
18-20 |
5-8/5-7 |
|
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