D&D 3E/3.5 3.0 Ranger vs 3.5 Ranger

[Legildur]

IME I've had to hold back on attacking druid animal companions as a GM because they die too easily. Their ACs are low, their hit points lame, etc.

No one in my group had ever played a Druid. And no one playing a Ranger had ever taken an animal companion.

I recently decided to play an elven Druid and I'm enjoying it greatly. I took the wolf AC, but applied the elite array with the better scores going into Dex and Con to boost armor class and hit points respectively. Combined with some good rolls, I had a 3rd level druid with a 38 hit point wolf with a 22 armor class.

Typically I tried to keep him out of trouble and he has had a couple of close calls, but it is working quite well so far and the DM isn't pulling punches. The funniest event was where an opponent druid successfully cast Control Animal and directed the wolf against his companion druid (my character), so I was rolling attacks against my own character and managed a critical hit and a trip on myself before the problem druid was removed!

 

[ForceUser]

Funny... my 11th Dwarven Ranger, two-weapon fighting with a Dwarven Waraxe & Shield Spike doesn't seem to have a problem in the front line... that's 6 attacks per round, and with my favoured enemy bonuses, I keep up with the Barbarian just fine. YMMV


Mike

That's great. What I meant, though, is that a class with a d8 HD and light armor restriction is not a fighter when it comes to absorbing damage. I have a guy playing 10th-level TWF human ranger IMC, and he is very careful not to reach the front line before the fighter - who has about twice the hit points of the ranger, as it happens, just due to the randomness of rolling HD.