Animal Companion choice stragegy

[interwyrm]

Dire bat.

It flies.
It's large so you can ride it.

So put on your damn antler helmet, mount that oversized fledermouse and start calling some lightning!

 

[Hypersmurf]

Don't forget, for a straight-class Druid, a level 1 companion cannot benefit from Natural Bond, while a level 4+ companion can...

-Hyp.

 

[moritheil]

Bah! Your non-munchkinny, non-minmaxing realistic roleplaying has no place here!

It truly is unusual on these boards.

I personally pick something I'd want to wildshape into. That's not exactly any of the three options you listed above.

 

[tetsujin28]

Dire bat.

It flies.
It's large so you can ride it.

So put on your damn antler helmet, mount that oversized fledermouse and start calling some lightning!

Man, you just reminded me of what I love about D&D

 

[Mixmaster]

Big & Bad!

 

[Steverooo]

No Vote

I didn't vote. Animal Companions are pretty useless, to Rangers, as their advancement gets halved. I took my Warhorse as his AC. It was easy, and made sense. I would have liked to have a cat, but can't afford the level-cost for a Cheetah (and puddy-tats & Panthers aren't on the list).

 

[Rystil Arden]

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

Level 1: Grit my teeth and take a non-bear
Level 4: Black Bear
Level 7: Brown Bear
Level 10: Stick with the Brown Bear--with the bonuses, it outclasses Polar Bear in every way
Level 13: Dire Bear
Level 16: Stick with Dire Bear

 

[moritheil]

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

Level 1: Grit my teeth and take a non-bear
Level 4: Black Bear
Level 7: Brown Bear
Level 10: Stick with the Brown Bear--with the bonuses, it outclasses Polar Bear in every way
Level 13: Dire Bear
Level 16: Stick with Dire Bear

Nothing like a squad of dire bears with Animal Growth to put the hurt on the enemy and confuse them as to which bear is a caster!

 

[Rystil Arden]

Nothing like a squad of dire bears with Animal Growth to put the hurt on the enemy and confuse them as to which bear is a caster!

Yup. With Natural Bond and Augment Summoning (and of course the all-required Natural Spell), you can summon a third bear, Growth them all, and have each one a deadly fighting force

 

[Jeff Wilder]

Panthers aren't on the list).

Leopards and panthers are the same thing, and leopards are on the "Level - 3" list. (Unfortunately the same list as cheetahs, which you said you can't afford.)

The interesting thing is that a druid has to wait three levels from initially getting the Animal Companion ability to pick up the next list (from 1st to 4th), and a ranger only has to wait four (from 4th to 8th). In a strange way, it's a good deal.