Choosing animal companions for ease of mobility, tastiness and nutrition.

[Driddle]

Seriously though, any animal companion, paladin mount, familiar, etc. eaten by the party would see the loss of such an ability in my game.

Yes, but would the dinner be delicious enough to be worth it?

 

[Arnwyn]

What's been your experience with consuming companions? If you're forced to eat a wizard's familiar, how does your team help him compensate for the experience point penalty and a year without a replacement critter?

They don't. They also kick him in the junk whenever he complains about it.

And now that I think about it, I wonder if the 'dire' template (at higher levels) makes an animal any more nutritious or tasty. Any thoughts on that?

I thought this was common knowledge.

 

[awayfarer]

I'd imagine that not only would dire animal meat be tough but that they'd be a serious pain in the arse to clean. Look at the dire bear for instance, that things got bones in place where most bears don't even have places.

 

[Driddle]

I wonder if you could get dire food poisoning from a badly cooked companion animal?

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

My mother's advice based on personal experience: It tastes better if you did not give it a name.

 

[icedrake]

I would not penalize the druid for sacrificing their animal companion to feed the party, though he might have been able to use a combination of summons or animal empathy to sway a creature to show up that they could then slaughter for food. The natural realm's not very pretty and sometimes situations cause people to hunt for food; a druid should understand that.

Are you serious about the vote or was it more of a joke? Intrawebs conceal sarcasum but I'm assuming it is.

Familiars are tiny creatures, anyway, barely any meat.

 

[Piratecat]

The correct path is something like:

1. Have druid wildshape into beastie.
2. Chop off huge hunks of meat from druid's hide.
3. Heal druid.
4. Eat meat.
5. Druid resumes human form.

Mind you, I'm well aware that anything you chop off of a wild shaped or polymorphed person immediately reverts... but so long as the druid is in cow form, it's a lot easier to pretend.

 

[IcyCool]

The correct path is something like:

1. Have druid wildshape into beastie.
2. Chop off huge hunks of meat from druid's hide.
3. Heal druid.
4. Eat meat.
5. Druid resumes human form.

Mind you, I'm well aware that anything you chop off of a wild shaped or polymorphed person immediately reverts... but so long as the druid is in cow form, it's a lot easier to pretend.

So, a druid that good you don't eat all at once, eh?

 

[Slife]

Can't they just take random plants, cook them into a soup and have the cleric cast Purify Food and Drink?

Then again, can't survival be used untrained anyway?

 

[kenobi65]

though he might have been able to use a combination of summons or animal empathy to sway a creature to show up that they could then slaughter for food.

Summon (as in Summon Nature's Ally) wouldn't work; it faces the same problem that Summon Monster does. The moment the creature drops to 0 hp, it disappears, heading back to wherever it was summoned from.