Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="renevq" data-source="post: 6766791" data-attributes="member: 55931">Why not?First of all from a mechanical perspective, I think that compared to the Ranger, the Wizard and Paladin very elegantly handled the issue of having pets (Familiars and Mounts). If you want one, cast the spell. If you don't, or the circumstances of the campaign don't allow it, you don't cast it. You are using resources to get them (spells), but you are not saddled with a useless Class Ability if you don't/can't use it.Second, from a thematic point of view: what gives a Ranger the ability to form a bond with an animal companion? I mean, what makes him/her be able to go above and beyond what, say, a properly fluffed out Fighter or Rogue with the Outlander background can do? Why can a Ranger be able to fight as one with a wolf or panther as opposed to buying and training a mastiff? Metaphysically speaking, a Ranger has a deep, mystical relationship with nature, which given the fact that magic is a known quality of the world and infuses every part of it, is (in my mind at least) inherently magical. Not to the extent of a Druid, who has given up completely to nature and acts as an avatar of sorts, but someone whose reverence for nature allows him/her to use it as a tool whilst preserving and admiring its beauty. It is (again, in my mind) this relationship with nature which allows the Ranger to make a bond with an animal companion, thus making it inherently magical as well. Now, if thematically appropriate, why not allow the class to mechanically make use of its magical resources for it?The bard can already poach Find Familiar and Find Steed, which given at face value should both be better spells... to unlock a powerful animal companion you'd have to be a Ranger with the Beastmaster archetype.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="renevq, post: 6766791, member: 55931"] Why not? First of all from a mechanical perspective, I think that compared to the Ranger, the Wizard and Paladin very elegantly handled the issue of having pets (Familiars and Mounts). If you want one, cast the spell. If you don't, or the circumstances of the campaign don't allow it, you don't cast it. You are using resources to get them (spells), but you are not saddled with a useless Class Ability if you don't/can't use it. Second, from a thematic point of view: what gives a Ranger the ability to form a bond with an animal companion? I mean, what makes him/her be able to go above and beyond what, say, a properly fluffed out Fighter or Rogue with the Outlander background can do? Why can a Ranger be able to fight as one with a wolf or panther as opposed to buying and training a mastiff? Metaphysically speaking, a Ranger has a deep, mystical relationship with nature, which given the fact that magic is a known quality of the world and infuses every part of it, is (in my mind at least) inherently magical. Not to the extent of a Druid, who has given up completely to nature and acts as an avatar of sorts, but someone whose reverence for nature allows him/her to use it as a tool whilst preserving and admiring its beauty. It is (again, in my mind) this relationship with nature which allows the Ranger to make a bond with an animal companion, thus making it inherently magical as well. Now, if thematically appropriate, why not allow the class to mechanically make use of its magical resources for it? The bard can already poach Find Familiar and Find Steed, which given at face value should both be better spells... to unlock a powerful animal companion you'd have to be a Ranger with the Beastmaster archetype. [/QUOTE]

Verification