Ability: Charisma.
Requires Training: Yes.
Classes: Druid, Shifter, Ranger.
Cross-Class: No.
A successful check allows a character to charm or dominate certain creatures.
Animal Empathy has been un-hardcoded and internally reworked for better control over its behavior, especially regarding dominated creatures.
- Check: Animals and Dire Animals have a DC of 15 + the creature’s Hit Dice. For Beasts and Magical Beasts, the DC is 19 + the creature’s hit dice. If the check succeeds, the creature is Dominated.
- Characters may take 20 with this skill when not in combat.
- Special: If the character fails their check by five or more, the creature will go hostile.
- Use: Select this skill (from the quickbar) and then select the target creature. Dominated creatures will be commanded as if they were henchmen. The creature will remain dominated for one turn per level of the character using the skill.
- This skill can also be selected from the radial menu of the target creature.
- This skill does not work on some creatures one might consider animals, such as Vermins and Hell Gounds. (Hell hounds are in fact Outsiders.)
- This skill does not work on creatures with immunity to Mind Spells, as domination is a mind-affecting effect.
- This skill cannot be used by someone trying to remain unseen (as its use involves being seen). That is, it cannot be used while invisible or in stealth mode, if the creature still hasn’t spotted the hidden player.
How it Works: #
- When you select a target, your character will run to it before initiating the Animal Empathy attempt.
- Once in range, the Animal Empathy animation, shout, and progress bar will begin.
- Interrupting the process (by performing another action) will cancel it.
Time Required to Dominate: #
- Animals → 2 seconds
- Beasts → 3 seconds
- Magical Beasts → 4 seconds
At the end of the progress bar, the system will check and apply the domination effect accordingly if the skill is successful.
- The Effect Fade-Off notification system now supports Animal Empathy, providing clearer text feedback when the effect drops.