Animal companions

[Lord Pendragon]

I tend to look at the advancement chart for the companion. If it is able to increase in size...

The same animal companion never increases in size. Advancement is a tool for the DM to create creatures of exceptional strength, and is in no way connected to companion creatures (animal companions, familiars, paladin special mounts, holy liberator companions, etc.)

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

From a powergaming POV I think you usually should upgrade to some form of Dire Animal because of the Will save, even if the raw damage potential does not matter much to you. For this reason the Dire Wolf may actually be a better choice than a Brown Bear in some cases.

I can see sticking with, say, a Dog or Wolf to build up the Spring Attack tree if you have specific tactics in mind. A Large animal takes a lot of space on the battleline and that can be inconvenient if you party is strong in the meatshield department.

Those Dex and Natural Armor boosts do add up surprisingly quickly. As pointed out already, it is not unusual for the Animal Companion to have the best AC in the party if your stick with your starting animal and throw barding on it.

My Druid plans on going Wolf to Dire Wolf. My mouth is watering at the massive Trip check, and it is the best way to boost the Will save on the cheap -- even Devotion does not cover all Will save bases. The Wolf's attack and AC is weaker than the Dog, and I originally chose Wolf for style reasons. But I have seen some otherwise tough battles turn lopsided after a lucky Trip.

 

[nak9788]

My Druid plans on going Wolf to Dire Wolf. My mouth is watering at the massive Trip check, and it is the best way to boost the Will save on the cheap -- even Devotion does not cover all Will save bases. The Wolf's attack and AC is weaker than the Dog, and I originally chose Wolf for style reasons. But I have seen some otherwise tough battles turn lopsided after a lucky Trip.

Since we are talking animal companion choices, my character currently has a constrictor snake and I plan to upgrade to a dire snake (min Druid lvl 10+). After taking the Natural Bond feat (Complete Adventurer), I can get one at only Level 7!

That thing is nasty: improved grab (Large or smaller since its a Huge creature), constrict, AND poison! Plus high strength (22 I think), 7 HD+17hp, makes him an all-round bad a55. Its also very versitile since it is found underground, it won't mind going into dungeons, plus it has a natural swim and climb speeds.

 

[Shane_Leahy]

One problem with taking the higher animal companions that most people forget about is the lack of tricks. They are still animals and to do actions they must have the proper tricks. So unless you are simply using them for attacking and nothing special but a dog or a wolf with lots of tricks can be worth quite a bit.

 

[nak9788]

One problem with taking the higher animal companions that most people forget about is the lack of tricks. They are still animals and to do actions they must have the proper tricks. So unless you are simply using them for attacking and nothing special but a dog or a wolf with lots of tricks can be worth quite a bit.

True that is a drawback. But as an animal improves, if hits HD ever go beyond a number divisible by 4, it gets another Ability point (just like levels of a PC). That said, you could add +1 to Int (as long as it doesn't increase it beyond 2). This would give another 3 tricks for the animal in addition to the bonus tricks.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Since we are talking animal companion choices, my character currently has a constrictor snake and I plan to upgrade to a dire snake (min Druid lvl 10+). After taking the Natural Bond feat (Complete Adventurer), I can get one at only Level 7!

I'm not entirely sure the feat works that way.

 

[nak9788]

I'm not entirely sure the feat works that way.

Normally it wouldn't since the feat can't increase my effective druid level beyond my character level. But since I also have 3 levels of Rogue, I can do this.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Normally it wouldn't since the feat can't increase my effective druid level beyond my character level. But since I also have 3 levels of Rogue, I can do this.

Ahah! Gotcha.

I thought you meant that it would help counteract the penalty to your effective druid level for taking a more bad-ass animal companion.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

That thing is nasty: improved grab (Large or smaller since its a Huge creature), constrict, AND poison! Plus high strength (22 I think), 7 HD+17hp, makes him an all-round bad a55. Its also very versitile since it is found underground, it won't mind going into dungeons, plus it has a natural swim and climb speeds.

The effectiveness of constrictors as combatants is often overlooked, especially against humanoids, for both companions and summoned creatures. They do have one significant weakness: movement rate. So they will just not fit into some parties as a companion animal.

 

[nak9788]

The effectiveness of constrictors as combatants is often overlooked, especially against humanoids, for both companions and summoned creatures. They do have one significant weakness: movement rate. So they will just not fit into some parties as a companion animal.

True. Of course, my character is a halfing, so its speed is the same as his companion. Granted the party is hindered a little, but not directly by the companion. I have acquired some boots of Striding and Springing (+10 ft to move) which helps me and not the snake. However a dire snake has 30ft movement, so it will fix that problem.