Animal Companion Questions

[jefgorbach]

You're idea is sound, however Druid/Ranger animal companions are a minor improvement over the routine birds of prey available to everyone. While exceptionally loyal, the modest boost to the druid/ranger's Handle Animal skill isn't a poor substitute for the sor/wiz Familiar you seem to want.

Consider dipping into sor/wiz for a true familiar for the telepathic link/etc; and consider taking the BigLittle Familiar feat if Mongoose supplements are allowed to increase your familiar's size one level. (ie medium hawk to large eagle).

 

[Rineran Foxfire]

You're idea is sound, however Druid/Ranger animal companions are a minor improvement over the routine birds of prey available to everyone. While exceptionally loyal, the modest boost to the druid/ranger's Handle Animal skill isn't a poor substitute for the sor/wiz Familiar you seem to want.

Consider dipping into sor/wiz for a true familiar for the telepathic link/etc; and consider taking the BigLittle Familiar feat if Mongoose supplements are allowed to increase your familiar's size one level. (ie medium hawk to large eagle).

I mean this isnt really a huge deal, the animal companion isnt a very important thing to this character, i just dont have a high wisdom to make the other hunter's bond option relevant. I was just wondering if birds were really worth it as a companion or should I go DoG or Cat

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

The bird really isn't bad at all. Flight is great to have, and it actually has three primary natural attacks, which is actually very good. The base damage is actually superior to the small cat's (though small cat has trip, better str, and much better dex). The 4th level increase is teh suck, though, I would trade it out for something else at that point or at the very least by effective druid level 7, when all the animals have gotten their upgrade.

The Wolf starts off kinda bad, but with the level 7 changes it becomes a viable choice for a Spring Attack type attacker, and does well with Power Attack as well.

I still think I like Roc the best of all the Core Rule Book + Bestiary I options, though. And it's actually pretty dang good from the start, just sorta fragile with Con 9. Three good nat attacks and +5 nat armor aren't bad at all combined w/ flight, though.
[sblock]Rocs taken as animal companions by druids or rangers are typically newly hatched birds—a baby roc is the size of a person and ready for flight and hunting within minutes of hatching. Unfortunately for druids seeking animal companions of legendary size, an animal companion roc is limited to Large size—still large enough for a Medium druid or ranger to use the flying beast as a mount.

Starting Statistics: Size Medium; AC +5 natural armor; Speed 20 ft., fly 80 ft.; Attack 2 talons (1d4), bite (1d6); Ability Scores Str 12, Dex 19, Con 9, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 11; Special Qualities low-light vision.

7th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +3 natural armor; Attack 2 talons (1d6 plus grab), bite (1d8); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex –2, Con +4.[/sblock]

I'm not sure if it applies w/ PF's grapple changes, but one fun thing to do in 3E with flight and Grab was to take the victim on a merry little ride up into the skies and...let falling damage do its thing.

 

[Rineran Foxfire]

I know the 4th level advancement sucks, what do you mean by trade it out for somethinng else?

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

You can release your animal from service and bind to a new one with a 24 hour ritual (same one you'd use to replace a dead companion). You're not stuck with the same animal till it dies if you decide you'd rather have a different pet.

From Druid:

"If a druid releases her companion from service, she may gain a new one by performing a ceremony requiring 24 uninterrupted hours of prayer in the environment where the new companion typically lives. This ceremony can also replace an animal companion that has perished."

 

[Dingo333]

Bird can make a good scout, but the wizard's familiar is always gonna be better at it

You are also almost always gonna be better off with the leadership feat for a combat buddy. Get a fighter, he is 2 levels below you(assuming no big penalties to leadership score), get a companion, he is 3 levels lower, and minus 2 BaB

If you want a cool mount; Roc(flight), Dire Bat(flight), Elephant(classic mount for overkill), Megalocerous(a mega elk), Arsinoitherium(a rhino) and Glyptodon(the original concept for a tank, +5 nat armor) are my recommendations

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

The problem is some DMs might be strict on what animals a ranger can choose, since the core book only listed a very limited (and weak) set. IMO, anything that came out since then should be fair game, but others disagree (notably, PF Society, in a shining example of epic fail, decreed for their games that Ranger will ALWAYS be limited just to the original list, no matter how many new animal options come out).

If you want a good companion, you should take the Boon Companion feat so it doesn't fall behind, though.

I think an animal companion can do fine, he doesn't need a familiar. Roc is solid for the bird that the OP says fits thematically. T-Rex at level 7 has the same str as a mastodon, improved grab, and double str bonus on his bite damage. The one I'm liking the most now is Giant Mantis, though. It's a vermin companion (introduced in Ultimate Magic as a new type of companion option). As such, its mindless (no Int score). Having an animal and scout that can't be mind controlled is sweet, though the downside is no skill ranks or feats and very few tricks (1 + bonus tricks). But the mantis has some very nice qualities. A land, fly, AND climb speed, darkvision, full attack on a surprise round (it gets +4 perception/stealth and another +8 stealth in forests), grab on both claws, free pincer secondary attack on anything grappled, the ability to attack once at +4 to hit and double normal reach (which is 10 ft for it!) as a full round action... Seems like a really good scout and combat pet to me, and I always liked the praying mantis anyway. Also, the monster entry fluff for it is freaking badass, makes me wish it had int so I could give it an intimidate chain of feats.

 

[Rineran Foxfire]

Now wait a minute, how can your animal companion by a scout if you cant commune with it? How can my Eagle scout for me if I can't see what it sees or talk to it and ask it what it sees?

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Now wait a minute, how can your animal companion by a scout if you cant commune with it? How can my Eagle scout for me if I can't see what it sees or talk to it and ask it what it sees?

The seek trick lets an animal do some very limited scouting (ie, "Me (no) see something moving!"). A really generous DM might expand that to include a little more info (eg, "bigger/smaller than me!" or "flying/no flying!" or "dangerous/no dangerous!"). Too much of that starts to stray into the speak with animals spell, which is really the surest way to go.

As for actually seeing what the animal sees, afaik, that would require a special class feature or spell; or else item carried by the creature. I know there's an arcane spell that works for familiars ("share senses", APG), but I'm not sure there's a similar divine spell for animal companions.

 

[jefgorbach]

Now wait a minute, how can your animal companion by a scout if you cant commune with it? How can my Eagle scout for me if I can't see what it sees or talk to it and ask it what it sees?

Chances are google can imply what a bird can actually be trained todo, however I presume at the least it could drop a carried item before circling above the target once found ... thereby informing you it a) found the target and b) where that target currently is.