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<blockquote data-quote="77IM" data-source="post: 6542570" data-attributes="member: 12377">The big problem I have with NPC allies in general is overshadowing PCs.My favorite solution to this is something I noticed in Lego Star Wars, of all places. The computer-controlled characters in that game seem to deal a lot less damage, but they take less as well. By not dealing much damage, they don't take away game play opportunities from the player: you have to kill stuff yourself. By not taking much damage, they are not a liability either: you're not spending every moment guarding them.So my favored solution would be to make the animal companion into a deliberate meat shield. Its attacks wouldn't be great, but it would be a big sack of hit points. You would position it on the battlefield to harass and block enemies while the PCs get down to the business of actually killing people. I'm not sure what rules tweaks would be required to make this happen but that would be the game-play experience I would want.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="77IM, post: 6542570, member: 12377"] The big problem I have with NPC allies in general is overshadowing PCs. My favorite solution to this is something I noticed in Lego Star Wars, of all places. The computer-controlled characters in that game seem to deal a lot less damage, but they take less as well. By not dealing much damage, they don't take away game play opportunities from the player: you have to kill stuff yourself. By not taking much damage, they are not a liability either: you're not spending every moment guarding them. So my favored solution would be to make the animal companion into a deliberate meat shield. Its attacks wouldn't be great, but it would be a big sack of hit points. You would position it on the battlefield to harass and block enemies while the PCs get down to the business of actually killing people. I'm not sure what rules tweaks would be required to make this happen but that would be the game-play experience I would want. [/QUOTE]

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