Drow Ranger help...

[Abraxus]

Is it possible for a Drow Ranger to take a vermin as an animal companion? What feats or prestige options could allow this, and can it be done without multiclassing as a druid?

 

[delericho]

The Eberron Campaign Setting has the Vermin Companion feat which allows this.

However, this feat does require 3 levels of Druid as a prerequisite.

 

[Abraxus]

Yup, that was all I could find too...

Does this mean canonically that this just isn't a thing for pure rangers in Drow societies?
They can qualify for Vermin Handler, which lets them train vermin as pets, mounts etc, provided they invest some crossclass training in Knowledge Religion.

But they still can't do that with their Companion on this mechanic. Maybe they normally focus more on dinosaurs, lizards and snakes in this regard.

 

[delericho]

I guess not. I would talk to your DM, though - he might allow for an exception, replacing 6 Ranger levels for 3 Druid ones. It's not exactly a game-breaking option.

(Of course, he'd also need to do something about Child of Winter, which is another prerequisite and one you'd have trouble qualifying for.)

 

[Abraxus]

I am the DM, I'm just rather a stickler for rules when it comes to my players' character builds. So, I will have to assume that if even a Druid needs 2 feats to make this work - its going to be grossly out of this player character's capacity in our current rate of advancement in real time.

But what is a sensible "in-world" fluff reason why rangers can't do this mechanically?
They can do this with all vertebrates and a few odd exceptions like the octopus. Animal Companions seemingly become bonded with the ranger's (or Druid's) soul and/or connection to the natural world and become rapidly imbued with additional powers and strengths as a result.

This ranger has specially gone through an apprenticeship with a wizard who has been schooling him in knowledge religion in order to gain a fuller understanding of his goddess's chosen creatures (Apprentice feat). He will next be able to take Vermin Handler, and become able to train and handle animal all vermin like they were "animals", but still can only use non-verminous animals as companions as usual.

Does this imply Lolth reserves the soul-bond between Drow and Spider for only her truest devotees of natural magic (Druids); whose much stronger divine power makes this an option. Rangers on the other hand are unable to truly grasp their own deep soul connection to a vermin in the manner that is instinctive to them with other animals, because they lack the required divine connection to Lolth, and the natural world as it pertains to her? Still seems a little tenuous...

 

[Ahnehnois]

This article on the WotC website presents a simpler model for doing it.

 

[Abraxus]

Wonderful, much appreciated. There HAD to be a precedent for this somewhere - just what I wanted.

 

[delericho]

This article on the WotC website presents a simpler model for doing it.

Aye, that would do it.

But what is a sensible "in-world" fluff reason why rangers can't do this mechanically?

The fluff would be simple, and just follows the mechanics: animals and vermin are different types, and that difference is enough that they can't claim the latter as companions. Some druids are able to circumvent this using specialised training, but the demands of that rangers don't have the requisite understanding of primal power.

Or something.

Incidentally, if you're a stickler for such things, you should probably deny the Child of Winter feat to Drow druids as well as rangers - as written it is intended specifically for druids from the Eldeen Reaches, while Eberron Drow come from Xen'drik - they're a different sect, from an entirely different climate, so shouldn't have the same training. (But that, of course, is fluff, not RAW.)

 

[Rath the Brown]

This article on the WotC website presents a simpler model for doing it.

While that article appears to be more what you were looking for, there's also the Spider Companion feat from the Drow of the Underdark book, but only allows a spider as a companion, as well as requiring another feat as a prereq. (Vermin Trainer, in the same book)

 

[Abraxus]

Damn, how did I miss that one? Knew this had to be more simple. Thanks for pointing that out