Favorite Animal Companion

[The Cardinal]

tiger or dire tiger

 

[lukelightning]

I would not consider what real-world primates do with sticks as weilding them as weapons (um, aside from humans, of course!). They thrash with them to scare off rivals, hurl sticks at predators, but not with the skill or proper grip required to be treated as "weilded." They aren't weilded to harm to to drive off; if a chimp wants to do-in another chimp, it used good old fashioned hand and teeth.

A reasonable compromise would be to say they get -4 to hit and can't get proficiency, but I still thing that's too much. Or deciding that ape hands are good enough to weild a weapon, but that is a big can of worms.

True. You get the non-weapon prof penalties. That's fine.

On a realism point, apes and primates use sticks as weapons all the time without training. A PC with access to Speak with Animals and the time to do some training could certainly teach an ape to use a club. Granted, he's not going to weapon finesse a rapier, but, a big stick is not beyond the abilities of an Ape.

 

[danbuter]

I picked the dog. Because I would rather have a dog than any other animal as a pet.

 

[Pants]

Plus, as the animal companion can select Simple Weapon Proficiency with one of the feats it gets with the increased HD. It's just a matter of the DM ruling if the animal can actually wield the weapon (which primates can, as seen by chimpanzees that bash a makeshift club around to scare off rival apes).

Or it could take Weapon Focuse (feces).
If a monkey isn't proficient with flinging its own fecal matter, then I say it should be!

 

[Hypersmurf]

I voted Elasmosaurus, but mostly 'cos I'm playing a pirate druid with one o' them at the moment

-Hyp.

 

[Klaus]

Or it could take Weapon Focuse (feces).
If a monkey isn't proficient with flinging its own fecal matter, then I say it should be!

Feces is a splash weapon, and as such don't require proficiency!

Crap on a stick, otoh, does!

 

[lukelightning]

Plus on your down time you can set up a tourist trade; you have your companion spook a few fishermen and soon everyone will want a toy "Nessie."

I voted Elasmosaurus, but mostly 'cos I'm playing a pirate druid with one o' them at the moment

-Hyp.

And I still don't consider what chimps do with sticks equal to weilding a weapon. Don't forget that in the real world, apes are all primarily quadrapeds.

 

[Sarellion]

Riding animals are very useful and not so outstanding in an urban setting,. And I think that it´s hard to actually steal an animal companion.

I miss Dire Sheep on the list...