a rather foolish question

[Fyrm]

What are the rules for ranger beast companions and needing to eat/drink/breathe? the only thing I could possibly think is that they follow the same rules as PCs, but that seems a little off to me. I'm probly over thinking it, but it has been buging me for a while now. so, any help?
also, if PETA asks, my name is Steve.

 

[fba827]

for ease of simplification, i'd say
a) the companion nimbles on plants / small bugs as you travel for its snacking.
b) in terms of actual meals, however, it follows the same guidelines as the PCs

but, really, it's whatever your DM says (or if you're the DM, it's what you think sounds fair and reasonable for the level of tracking that your group wants to do for it).

 

[OnlineDM]

There are no specific rules for this in the books, so it's whatever seems reasonable to you and your DM. Assuming your beast companion is some kind of land-based creature (this would probably differ if you were Aquaman and your beast companion was a dolphin), I would say that yes, your beast needs to eat and sleep and breathe pretty much as any character does. I would also say it's reasonable to assume that your beast companion can hunt/forage for its own food during extended rests (so you don't have to carry rations for it). But you couldn't make it stand guard all night while you slept - it needs to sleep, too. And it can't survive underwater or in a vacuum any longer than you can.

Again, this isn't explicitly addressed in the books, but that's how I'd handle it at my table.

 

[Camelot]

I'd rule that the ranger and the beast combined consume the same resources as a normal adventurer. So either the beast hunts for its food and you don't have to worry about it, or each days worth of trail rations simply feeds both of you, so you don't have to pay more for food.

For breathing, since it has its own Endurance score, you'd make Endurance checks if it needed to hold its breath under stress, just like a PC. None of the possible 4e beast companions can breath anything but air, so no worries there.