Gaining a Beast Companion...

[Rhanta]

Uhm...hi! I'm new to the Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition game but I know most of the basics (I discovered Dungeons and Dragons since I'm a DragonLance fan).

My character is a Ranger (Two-Weapons build), and I'm wondering if I can gain a beast companion without being houseruled or recreating my character to be a Beastmaster.

Aside from that, uhm...I was hoping if someone can give me a quick tour/guide to the gameplay of D&D, but I know its a bit complicated so I want to play it myself (I don't have anyone to play with, so I'll play with myself. XD)

 

[deadsmurf]

The only way to get something resembling a companion is with a number of creature generating items in Adventurer's Vault - but this isn't a long-term solution since that's a daily item power.

Beastmasters actually make pretty decent two-weapon fighters, they just can't use two versatile weapons like the actual two-weapon build of Ranger.

Other than that, its figuring out what you actually want to DO with your companion- are they there to fight for you, or just for story reasons (mostly) - because a good DM will work with you on story things, for example, say you have one of those creature generating items, your dm and you can say that the animal is always with you, but when you activate the item, they get the will to fight with you for a short time. something like tha.t

 

[Neonchameleon]

1: You could buy a wardog or whatever. It won't level with you.

2: D&D isn't a solo activity as a lot of it's about interaction - but there should be plenty of online games and some will be willing to help. Try lookng in gamers seeking gamers (depending where you are) and the Play by Post forum.

 

[TarionzCousin]

At first, I thought the title of this thread was "Gaining a Beast Complexion."

 

[Fridayknight]

You won't get a beast companion but you can get a magical one if you multiclass into arcane.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

There are a few ways to get 'pets'; MC into shaman and get a spirit companion, MC into any arcane class and take the feat that gives you a familiar. Those are the two main ones. There may be some other options, maybe a PP? There are so many PPs now I don't know anything about half of them.

At this point there are no feats rangers can take to get extra class feature choices. I doubt there ever will be given the way they work. So an actual beast companion is something you either pick up at level one or not.

 

[chitzk0i]

The Beast Mastery fighting style (found in Martial Power) would replace your Two Blade fighting style, but you could still wield two weapons. One of your weapons would have to have the off-hand keyword, but you'd have a beast companion.

If you really like the Two Blade fighting style, you could also look into buying a mount or a magic item that creates a creature, like the ebony fly or onyx dog.

 

[Black Knight Irios]

Another type of "beast companion" is a mount. A mount can be bought with money. A mount can be equiped with magic items. You can ride on a mount. Would you like to have a mount? Even better with mounted combat (feat) your mount grants you special bonuses. How about a mount?

 

[nightwyrm]

Unless your class feature gives you a "pet", there's no real way to get one within the rules. However, there might be a way around that if your DM allows it. If your party is on the small side or short on a certain role, you might want to talk to your DM about giving your party a companion character as described in DMG2, just one that happens to be an animal. It wouldn't completely be your pet, it'd be more like the party pet whom you happen to control and roll dice for.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

The Beast Mastery fighting style (found in Martial Power) would replace your Two Blade fighting style, but you could still wield two weapons. One of your weapons would have to have the off-hand keyword, but you'd have a beast companion.

If you really like the Two Blade fighting style, you could also look into buying a mount or a magic item that creates a creature, like the ebony fly or onyx dog.

Yeah, there actually is a feat to get basically the TBF style in MP. Beast master plus that and all you're out for is Toughness. Its always an option.

Companion character and/or a mount are good options though. They aren't exactly a beast companion, but with a good Nature skill and whatnot you can have fun with something like that. Its really up to the DM as to what they let you do with it.