I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that a lot of smaller dogs were used as hunting companions but they were more of retrievers than hunters. Basically, someone would shoot small game (such as birds or rabbits). The dog would then go find it, finish it off it's still alive, and then bring it back to its owner. They used smaller dogs for this because they could get through the brush easier.
Entirely depends on the race. Some were used like that, others were hunting more independently. Great Danes for example were used to tackle boars and wrestle them to the ground so the human had an easier time (one of the reasons why they seemingly don't feel pain). Chihuahuas were bred to hunt rats and while ideally they chased them out of their holes it didn't always work out that way so they often hunted independently as well. And so on and on.
I don't think Great Danes can be considered small dogs.
Regardless, I don't think an in depth discussion of behavior or training of dogs is very relevant to this thread.
I obviously didn't mean to imply that Great Danes are small dogs lol. It was just an example of how hunting dogs got used.
Except I made a post specifically about small dogs and you brought up a great dane to contradict what I said. I wouldn't say that's "obviously" not what you implied.
I've been developing a battlesmith character concept and have been trying to integrate him into the forgotten realms setting. I found that there are small humanoid mechanical constructs in the realms called 'Gondsman' which are created by the 'techsmiths' associated with the Church of Gond. From what I've found on them they are around 4 feet tall and made of a combination of clockwork and magic, serving their creators as bodyguards, assistants and servants performing simple duties such as household tasks. Not super extravagant but I imagine that their creator can add their own flair to its design.
No reason why that wouldn't work. You'll want to discuss with your DM how much he's willing to let the Defender do when it has hands; the critter still only has an Intelligence of 4, but otherwise that Gondsman bit sounds like perfectly acceptable flavor to me.
Interesting notion hit me today. May infringe some around RAW and some DMs may give you the Squinty Eye for it, but from my own reading just now, a strict interpretation of RAW technically (/Jester) doesn't actually specify that the Steel Defender has to be made of steel.
Instead? The Smith's Steel Defender is a handheld device the Battlesmith carries around. When activated, it generates a luminous force-phantasm of the Defender's actual body, i.e. the thing with the stats and the AC and the Force-Empowered Rend, around this core device. The force-phantasm is technically invulnerable but attacks against that shell transfer some impact to the core device, which can only sustain so much damage before failing to function. The Defender basically acts more like a Stand than a regular automaton, a ghostly presence that punches stuff for you on command.
The fact that the Defender is made much easier to transport, and possibly sneak around, this way due to its body not really existing unless it's needed is at least partially compensated by the fact that this force-phantasm/Stand style of Defender can't packmule for you the way a regular Defender can. A DM would probably have to sign off on the idea, but neither the stat block nor the class ability actually tell you what your Defender is made of. Just that you need smith's tools to make it and that it can do [X] stuff with [Y] stats. So technically nothing's stopping you from making your Defender an angry punch ghost instead of a mechanical doggo.
Interesting notion hit me today. May infringe some around RAW and some DMs may give you the Squinty Eye for it, but from my own reading just now, a strict interpretation of RAW technically (/Jester) doesn't actually specify that the Steel Defender has to be made of steel.
Instead? The Smith's Steel Defender is a handheld device the Battlesmith carries around. When activated, it generates a luminous force-phantasm of the Defender's actual body, i.e. the thing with the stats and the AC and the Force-Empowered Rend, around this core device. The force-phantasm is technically invulnerable but attacks against that shell transfer some impact to the core device, which can only sustain so much damage before failing to function. The Defender basically acts more like a Stand than a regular automaton, a ghostly presence that punches stuff for you on command.
The fact that the Defender is made much easier to transport, and possibly sneak around, this way due to its body not really existing unless it's needed is at least partially compensated by the fact that this force-phantasm/Stand style of Defender can't packmule for you the way a regular Defender can. A DM would probably have to sign off on the idea, but neither the stat block nor the class ability actually tell you what your Defender is made of. Just that you need smith's tools to make it and that it can do [X] stuff with [Y] stats. So technically nothing's stopping you from making your Defender an angry punch ghost instead of a mechanical doggo.
My defender's have never been made of steel. Adamantine defender for the win! (If you are rich enough.)
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A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
I was watching the DnDBeyaond video on Todd Talks concerning the Combat Wheelchair for 5e. I immediately thought of a goblin or gnome battlesmith artificer named Legless (lost his legs in a small lab mishap. Nothing serious. No valuable equipment was damaged or destroyed).
I'm planning on making a young female Tiefling (who looks typically fiendish with reddish-pink skin) be a Battle Smith - but I'm having trouble thinking of anything for her SD beyond a spider. It needs to be something that would creep people out. I mean - who wouldn't want a creepy tarantula-like spider-tank? It says the SD can only have 2 or 4 legs but since it also says that the number of legs has no bearing on the mechanics - I don't see 8 being a problem.
One could also put legs on something that doesn't normally have them. A Defender whose main body is an eyeball the size of a large beachball, perhaps two feet in diameter, settled in a ring that bears four clawed, spider-like legs, whose huge unblinking gaze is never entirely still - the eye-body constantly shifts and moves, orienting its gaze on different things while needle-pointed legs scritch and skitter over the ground. Could be fun.
I personally don't abide by the 2 or 4 legs only rule. It doesn't equate to any mechanical benefits, and prevents some pretty awesome defender designs. A Tripod Steel Defender that has a rotating body, with a shield attached to a limited range turret? Blacksteel snake that slithers on the ground and strikes enemies with glowing fangs, while it also twists blades out of the way to defend allies? An 18-legged honey badger that scuttles on the ground?
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
I personally don't abide by the 2 or 4 legs only rule. It doesn't equate to any mechanical benefits, and prevents some pretty awesome defender designs. A Tripod Steel Defender that has a rotating body, with a shield attached to a limited range turret? Blacksteel snake that slithers on the ground and strikes enemies with glowing fangs, while it also twists blades out of the way to defend allies? An 18-legged honey badger that scuttles on the ground?
I see those more as guidelines as to what the SD can and "should" look like to prevent weird situations like having a tiny mechanical mouse that is stronger than a city guard. Basically just making sure that there are no shennanigans when it comes to cover or being able to spot the thing. But as long as the DM approves, go crazy.
I personally don't abide by the 2 or 4 legs only rule. It doesn't equate to any mechanical benefits, and prevents some pretty awesome defender designs. A Tripod Steel Defender that has a rotating body, with a shield attached to a limited range turret? Blacksteel snake that slithers on the ground and strikes enemies with glowing fangs, while it also twists blades out of the way to defend allies? An 18-legged honey badger that scuttles on the ground?
I see those more as guidelines as to what the SD can and "should" look like to prevent weird situations like having a tiny mechanical mouse that is stronger than a city guard. Basically just making sure that there are no shennanigans when it comes to cover or being able to spot the thing. But as long as the DM approves, go crazy.
It can't be tiny in any way. It has to be Medium. None of my examples that break the amount of legs rule have anything to do with that.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
I personally don't abide by the 2 or 4 legs only rule. It doesn't equate to any mechanical benefits, and prevents some pretty awesome defender designs. A Tripod Steel Defender that has a rotating body, with a shield attached to a limited range turret? Blacksteel snake that slithers on the ground and strikes enemies with glowing fangs, while it also twists blades out of the way to defend allies? An 18-legged honey badger that scuttles on the ground?
I see those more as guidelines as to what the SD can and "should" look like to prevent weird situations like having a tiny mechanical mouse that is stronger than a city guard. Basically just making sure that there are no shennanigans when it comes to cover or being able to spot the thing. But as long as the DM approves, go crazy.
It can't be tiny in any way. It has to be Medium. None of my examples that break the amount of legs rule have anything to do with that.
It could even theoretically be serpentine as long as it follows all of the same rules as normal. I mean, why not?
Except I made a post specifically about small dogs and you brought up a great dane to contradict what I said. I wouldn't say that's "obviously" not what you implied.
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I've been developing a battlesmith character concept and have been trying to integrate him into the forgotten realms setting. I found that there are small humanoid mechanical constructs in the realms called 'Gondsman' which are created by the 'techsmiths' associated with the Church of Gond. From what I've found on them they are around 4 feet tall and made of a combination of clockwork and magic, serving their creators as bodyguards, assistants and servants performing simple duties such as household tasks. Not super extravagant but I imagine that their creator can add their own flair to its design.
No reason why that wouldn't work. You'll want to discuss with your DM how much he's willing to let the Defender do when it has hands; the critter still only has an Intelligence of 4, but otherwise that Gondsman bit sounds like perfectly acceptable flavor to me.
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I really want to make a dwarf battlesmith and have them have a brass boar based on Gullinbursti from Norse mythology.
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Interesting notion hit me today. May infringe some around RAW and some DMs may give you the Squinty Eye for it, but from my own reading just now, a strict interpretation of RAW technically (/Jester) doesn't actually specify that the Steel Defender has to be made of steel.
Instead? The Smith's Steel Defender is a handheld device the Battlesmith carries around. When activated, it generates a luminous force-phantasm of the Defender's actual body, i.e. the thing with the stats and the AC and the Force-Empowered Rend, around this core device. The force-phantasm is technically invulnerable but attacks against that shell transfer some impact to the core device, which can only sustain so much damage before failing to function. The Defender basically acts more like a Stand than a regular automaton, a ghostly presence that punches stuff for you on command.
The fact that the Defender is made much easier to transport, and possibly sneak around, this way due to its body not really existing unless it's needed is at least partially compensated by the fact that this force-phantasm/Stand style of Defender can't packmule for you the way a regular Defender can. A DM would probably have to sign off on the idea, but neither the stat block nor the class ability actually tell you what your Defender is made of. Just that you need smith's tools to make it and that it can do [X] stuff with [Y] stats. So technically nothing's stopping you from making your Defender an angry punch ghost instead of a mechanical doggo.
Please do not contact or message me.
My defender's have never been made of steel. Adamantine defender for the win! (If you are rich enough.)
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
I was watching the DnDBeyaond video on Todd Talks concerning the Combat Wheelchair for 5e. I immediately thought of a goblin or gnome battlesmith artificer named Legless (lost his legs in a small lab mishap. Nothing serious. No valuable equipment was damaged or destroyed).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALHDJsNu4BU
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
I'm planning on making a young female Tiefling (who looks typically fiendish with reddish-pink skin) be a Battle Smith - but I'm having trouble thinking of anything for her SD beyond a spider. It needs to be something that would creep people out. I mean - who wouldn't want a creepy tarantula-like spider-tank? It says the SD can only have 2 or 4 legs but since it also says that the number of legs has no bearing on the mechanics - I don't see 8 being a problem.
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Even a four-legged metal tarantula the size of a dog would creep most people out.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
One could also put legs on something that doesn't normally have them. A Defender whose main body is an eyeball the size of a large beachball, perhaps two feet in diameter, settled in a ring that bears four clawed, spider-like legs, whose huge unblinking gaze is never entirely still - the eye-body constantly shifts and moves, orienting its gaze on different things while needle-pointed legs scritch and skitter over the ground. Could be fun.
Please do not contact or message me.
I personally don't abide by the 2 or 4 legs only rule. It doesn't equate to any mechanical benefits, and prevents some pretty awesome defender designs. A Tripod Steel Defender that has a rotating body, with a shield attached to a limited range turret? Blacksteel snake that slithers on the ground and strikes enemies with glowing fangs, while it also twists blades out of the way to defend allies? An 18-legged honey badger that scuttles on the ground?
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
I see those more as guidelines as to what the SD can and "should" look like to prevent weird situations like having a tiny mechanical mouse that is stronger than a city guard. Basically just making sure that there are no shennanigans when it comes to cover or being able to spot the thing. But as long as the DM approves, go crazy.
It can't be tiny in any way. It has to be Medium. None of my examples that break the amount of legs rule have anything to do with that.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
It could even theoretically be serpentine as long as it follows all of the same rules as normal. I mean, why not?
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Exactly. Why shouldn't your Steel Defender be a snake or other animal without 2 or 4 legs?
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
I think a crab would be cool for a Triton’s SD. It could use its claws to attack instead of the bite.
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Or a spherical defender with no legs that rolls around and slams into people.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms