Animal Companion choice stragegy

[lukelightning]

When I'm making a bear-themed Druid, I do the following:

Level 1: Grit my teeth and take a non-bear

If I were a DM and had a bear-crazy druid PC, I'd let the druid have a young bear as a level 1 animal...just take a black bear, give it only one attack, no improved grab, etc.

 

[KB9JMQ]

Normally the strongest one that still fits my concept. But I haven't used one in a while.

 

[ivocaliban]

I would like to say I'm all about the role-playing, but that wouldn't be entirely true. It forms the basis of my choice but the decision also depends on the sort of character I'm playing. I'm more likely to go with a big and tough animal companion if I'm playing a character that isn't big and tough (like a spell-focused druid or an archer ranger) and, likewise, if I'm playing a tougher character who can hold his own in melee (like a shapeshifting-focused druid or a melee ranger) I generally go with a lighter, swifter companion.

I don't like the idea of trading off animal companions over time, however, as it seems to go against the very concept of animal companions. "You're no longer useful to me, Guenhwyvar. I've decided to trade you in for a dire elk." Yes, I understand the idea of allowing an animal companion to return to nature and live out it's natural life, but repeating this every few levels seems a little difficult to fathom. Particularly when there is no unifying theme and the player has a prepared chart as to which companion he/she will take based on his/her level.

 

[Rystil Arden]

If I were a DM and had a bear-crazy druid PC, I'd let the druid have a young bear as a level 1 animal...just take a black bear, give it only one attack, no improved grab, etc.

I've actually done this before, except it was a baby Dire Bear that gained the powers of Black Bear and Brown Bear as it grew older and the Druid levelled up.

 

[lukelightning]

The problem is that if you make a first level character and you have this cool idea of having a dire-bat riding druid, you're out of luck. And going around with out an animal companion just so you can hopefully survive long enough to reach a certain level to get the right one is not a good idea.

Thematically you could just say your first animal companion magically morphs into a new animal.

I don't like the idea of trading off animal companions over time, however, as it seems to go against the very concept of animal companions.