D&D 5E (2014) Someone In the art department...

[GameDoc]

didn't get the memo that 5e Druids have no animal companions...

 

[Sunseeker]

Well, the book doesn't say if it's an animal companion, so given it's right below 20th level Wild Shape being unlimited, it's probably representing Wild Shape.

 

[SilverfireSage]

didn't get the memo that 5e Druids have no animal companions...

Could have used Awaken on the tiger.

 

[GameDoc]

Could have used Awaken on the tiger.

Yeah, I'm just being silly. I actually discussed using spells to build up a Druid companion over time in an earlier thread.

 

[Plaguescarred]

Its not a druid's animal companion, its a dire tiger sneaking up on the druid. #RollInitiative

 

[evilbob]

The other druid picture features a druid with an animal companion as well.

The druid (and the sorcerer and ranger) are sorely lacking in class options, but the druid seems particularly shallow due to the lack of a major class feature - especially in light of the ranger getting a class option with said feature. The optimist in me feels like they just cut back to make room for other content, and maybe the classes that were cut short just didn't have additional class options that were unique or balanced enough. The realist in me feels like they are just leaving a hole open intentionally for sales of later expansion books. (I mean: class options are an obvious way that 5.0 is going to expand in the future, so maybe the first PHB2 or "complete X" will specifically feature druids, rangers, and sorcerers?)

 

[ZombieRoboNinja]

The other druid picture features a druid with an animal companion as well.

The druid (and the sorcerer and ranger) are sorely lacking in class options, but the druid seems particularly shallow due to the lack of a major class feature - especially in light of the ranger getting a class option with said feature. The optimist in me feels like they just cut back to make room for other content, and maybe the classes that were cut short just didn't have additional class options that were unique or balanced enough. The realist in me feels like they are just leaving a hole open intentionally for sales of later expansion books. (I mean: class options are an obvious way that 5.0 is going to expand in the future, so maybe the first PHB2 or "complete X" will specifically feature druids, rangers, and sorcerers?)

The realist in you might want to consider that the druid already has wildshape and full spellcasting progression as class features, and maybe they don't need another complexity/power boost.

 

[SuperZero]

That's not an animal companion. That's her brother. He's the druid. She's a sorcerer with the outlander background.


Actually, I think I remember seeing that picture before... I believe (but am too lazy to check) that she was a 4E beastmaster ranger in her previous incarnation.

 

[GameDoc]

I was surprised to see them convert the paladin's mount to an option accessed via a version of the find familiar spell (which I thought was very good design), but not do the same for the druid and ranger.

 

[Sunseeker]

The realist in you might want to consider that the druid already has wildshape and full spellcasting progression as class features, and maybe they don't need another complexity/power boost.

I was going to say...with the resources at the disposal of the druid as-is, is an animal companion necessary? Considering what it costs to make the animal act as a ranger, I'd argue that giving the druid an animal companion would be a nerf, not a buff.