Pathfinder 1E How do you budget for animal companion gear?

[Fauchard1520]

I always have trouble with this when I'm running a companion class. On the one hand, I want my horse-bro to contribute to the team. On the other, I don't want to stunt my own progression.

A 50/50 split on gear probably isn't the right answer. There’s a difference between PC and NPC after all, even if the care and feeding said NPC is your responsibility. By the same token though, I think that animal gear deserves more than the afterthought so many of us seem to give it. So what is the right balance? Do you prioritize your own gear, or do you make sure to outfit your battle buddies?

(Comic for illustrative purposes.)

 

[Grogg of the North]

I think a lot of that is going to depend on the campaign your GM is running. If your animal companion is right in the thick of it with you, then you may want to spend more on your companion than if your GM is ignoring it. Maybe set aside 10 to 20% of your loot received for your companion? Remember, that animals are going to need to invest feats to get armor/barding and they are going to have less magic item slots and appropriately sized items. Also, an animal companion isn't going to need a magic weapon.

 

[nevin]

when I play animal companion class I gear up animal first. use my feats to make sure it's the same level as me. at mid level I like to bump intelligence high enough to get other feats. Gear it up because it's going to tank or DPS to protect me. Once it's geared up. then I worry about my character. From then on I look for anything that will increase armor, or dps, and allow it to hit creatures that require special weapons, otherwise it becomes useless at high level. I think past 4th or 5th level the problem is usually not how much you want to spend on your animal companion, it's finding things it can actually use.