Can druids keep their ex animal companions & make them warbeasts?

[Gavinfoxx]

So I have an idea... do you guys think this is doable??

Let's say a level 7 druid has taken the Wild Cohort feat at level 1 and has a high Handle Animal, and a charisma of 10 or higher.

At level 1, he has two Riding Dogs trained for War, one as an animal companion, one as a wild cohort.

At level 4, he releases the Animal Companion from service, and it is just a normal, trained animal, as if he bought it.  It presumably loses all the bonuses of being an Animal companion, except MAYBE the bonus tricks, if the DM is nice.  Since it is no longer an animal companion, it is now acceptable to get it the Warbeast template, from Monster Manual II. The druid does so, and gets a Fleshraker animal companion.

At level 7, the druid releases the Riding Dog Trained for War as his animal cohort. It becomes a normal animal, MAYBE retaining it's bonus tricks from it's experience as a wild cohort, if the DM is nice.  Since it is no longer a Wild Cohort, it is eligible to be given the Warbeast template, which the druid does give it.  Also at level 7, the druid releases his Fleshraker animal companion from service.  Since the creature had experience as an animal companion, the DM waives the "one year for training" clause, and lets the druid simply change it into a warbeast in two months, and lets the animal keep the bonus tricks from it's time as an animal companion, but nothing else. The druid then picks up a Cave Ankylosaurus animal companion, and a Fleshraker Wild Cohort.

Total animals at level 7:
2 Warbeast Riding Dogs trained for war, with bonus tricks known
1 Warbeast Fleshraker, with bonus tricks known
1 Fleshraker Wild Cohort
1 Cave Ankylosaurus animal companion

Are these rulings reasonable? Do the rules support doing anything like this?  Presumably the limit is, "you can do this once every 3 levels, only when you actually upgrade your animal companion, and can't just use the ritual to gain infinite warbeast riding dogs at level 1."  Or do the animal companions LEAVE when you release them, rather than becoming normal animals?  Any thoughts? Would any of you guys allow this as DM's?

[fuinjutsu]

erm, by RAW, you can train it as a warbeast even if it is your animal companion.

And anyway, why all these hijinks?  It's not like riding dogs are expensive or anything.

For that matter, you can just find a wolf cub in the wild and raise it.

[Gavinfoxx]

How can you train an animal companion as a warbeast by raw? I thought the animal companion had to be completely normal for it's type, other than the benefits given by animal companion?

[zaulsiin]

This is slightly off-topic, and for that I apologize, but it may be relevant: Are "riding dogs trained for war" not already technically "Warbeasts"? I wouldn't think that you could apply the template twice to the same animal.

...

I just took a second and looked it up, and the following passage from Monster Manual II (pg. 219, under "Creating a Warbeast") is relevant:

The Monster Manual describes a few "war creatures" that have qualities similar to those of a warbeast but differ standard creatures of a given kind. These creatures are considered to already have a separate "war template" and cannot have the warbeast template added. For example, one cannot apply the warbeast template to a heavy warhorse.

[Maat_Mons]

anything the warbeast template just by training it? 

[Gavinfoxx]

This is slightly off-topic, and for that I apologize, but it may be relevant: Are "riding dogs trained for war" not already technically "Warbeasts"? I wouldn't think that you could apply the template twice to the same animal.

...

I just took a second and looked it up, and the following passage from Monster Manual II (pg. 219, under "Creating a Warbeast") is relevant:

The Monster Manual describes a few "war creatures" that have qualities similar to those of a warbeast but differ standard creatures of a given kind. These creatures are considered to already have a separate "war template" and cannot have the warbeast template added. For example, one cannot apply the warbeast template to a heavy warhorse.

I think that's talking about the Heavy Warhorse, Light Warhorse, and War Pony.

[Gavinfoxx]

anything the warbeast template just by training it? 

The training a warbeast section implies that a creature is not a warbeast until it goes through extra training that makes it better, and it can start as a normal animal, a wild animal, a magical beast, or a vermin.  So you can make anything of those types of creatures into warbeasts...

[Maat_Mons]

[Gavinfoxx]

Okay. So are there ANY rules anywhere that talk about how to get a druid access to templated creatures as animal companions?