Totem Companion

Many varieties of this magic item exist, and all look different. Each is keyed to a certain type of creature that can function as an animal companion, and the appearance of the totem usually gives some hint as to the creature to which it is tied. For example, a raven totem might be made of a rough stick that dangles with black feathers, while a tiger totem may be an actual tiger’s paw.

All totems have a command word, which is often, but not always, hidden somewhere on the item. When the command word is spoken, an animal of the appropriate type is summoned (as per the Animal Companion Special Ability). The summoned animal becomes the animal companion to the one who summoned it. The summoned animal functions as a normal animal companion in all ways (see the Animal Friendship Spell for details). Once the totem has been used in this fashion, the magic disappears –leaving the totem as a worthless talisman. The totem cannot be used to summon more than one companion at a time, though it can be used to summon an animal companion for characters that ordinarily cannot have them, and it can also be used to summon such an animal companion if the character already has one.

The new animal companion and any that already exist do not restrict each other in any way. The animal companion can be released from service at any time without penalty, but if it is, it cannot be replaced without another totem companion.

Price 9,000 gp.