Rangers Combat Mastery for an Improved animal companion; fair trade?

[Belzbet]

Would you let a player swap a rangers combat mastery feats for an improved animal companion that now functions like a druids? Is there already a similar variant somewhere?

 

[Grogg of the North]

Only thing I saw that traded off its combat style were the planar ranger (which also got rid of the animal companion) and the wild defender (which doesn't quite seem to fit).

I don't think that such a trade would be game breaking. The combat style is supposed to be one of the ranger's iconic things.

Is this because the character doesn't want to do TWF or archery? In DR 326 there are a bunch of alternate combat styles. Would it be possible to play a similar character that isn't a ranger but takes the animal cohort feat?

 

[Belzbet]

Thanks for the reply. I dont really have a player wanting to do this. I was creating this powerful troll ranger villian and I wanted him to use his natural attacks (I dont like archery or TWF for him). I like animal companions and I was wonderign if it would be a fair trade to swap. I know I can just give him the stronger companion since its a villian anyway, but I was wondering if it was fair anyway. But I am going to check out dragon magazine for other combat styles.

 

[Jackinthegreen]

In practice just giving the ranger full AC progression and taking nothing away is usually a fine move since many rangers could use the extra bump in power. As for it being a "fair" trade to swap the combat style for a better AC, a good AC will definitely outdo the feats granted by the combat style. So no, it's probably not "fair" in the sense of an equal trade, but outright giving the ranger a druid's AC is one of the typical houserules to balance the classes (and dropping the druid's AC to ranger's progression.)

 

[Falling Icicle]

There is the Natural Bond feat in Complete Adventurer that adds +3 to your effective Druid level (to a maximum of your character level) for the purpose of your animal companion.