frankthedm said:
Are you going to allow nature bond if a player wants it? If so, why wouldn't a Lizard man druid take the feat if he could? If the feat seems to strong, maybe it should be disallowed entirely, driuds are strong enough already.
I would prefer to avoid that sort of situation as there will be nearly a dozen lizardman groups in the area. I plan on stocking each with a low-level croc rider. That's why I'd like to be able to make it work, mechanically, with a level 1 druid (preferably a level 2 warrior!). I think it would strain incredulity that there are a dozen mid-to-high level druids and huge crocs all hanging out in close proximity in this given scenario. A dozen level 2 warriors with slightly-above-average crocs, however, is more plausible.
I'm fine with Natural Bond, and I'm fine with Nat Bond working with Wild Cohort as Wild Cohort is less potent than a druid companion.
Here's my current thought:
Lizardman 2/Warrior 2
Feats: Wild Cohort, Natural Bond
Effective Wild Cohort Level: 7
That creates a CR 4 huge croc companion with 7 HD, or a CR 3ish medium croc companion with 4 HD, +1 trick, +1 natural armor, and evasion.
If you work from the huge croc "down," shrinking it to large, it would gain -1 CR, -8 STR, +2 DEX, -4 CON, -3 Nat Armor, +1 AC/attack, and damage dice size. You could then add 3 HD or a +1 LA template to keep the CR around 4. I prefer the LA option as an 10 HD crocodile is pretty absurd for a 4 HD lizardman to be riding around! Perhaps something like Fiendish or War Beast... So you end up with a CR 4ish critter with 7 HD and a +1 LA template.
If you work from the medium croc "up," increasing it to large, it gains +1 CR, +8 STR, -2 DEX, +4 CON, +3 Nat Armor, -1 AC/attack, and damage dice size. So you end up with a CR 4ish critter with 4 HD and awesome ability scores compared to method A.
After some thought, I think the huge-->large in exchange for a +1 LA template makes most sense.
So you'd end up with:
LARGE CROCODILE
LARGE ANIMAL
8 HD (7 HD + 1 War Beast)
Speed 30 ft (20 ft + 10 War Beast), 30 ft swim
Abilities: Str 22 (27 - 8 + 3), Dex 14 (12+2), Con 18 (19-4+3), Int 1, Wis 14 (+2), Cha 2 -- +1 from a stat boost at 8 HD -- STR, most likely
AC 15 (4 natural + 2 DEX - 1 SIZE)
Full Attack: Bite +12 (1d10+6) or Tail Slap +12 (1d10+6)
Saves: Fort +8 (4 base + 4 con), Ref +6 (4 base + 2 Dex), Will +4 (2 Base + 2 Wis)
That seems about as tough as a giant (huge) croc, given that it loses its 10' reach, loses a big modifier to its Improved Grab grapple checks, and loses a good deal of damage output (smaller damage dice, less STR). Actually, its probably less tough given the giant croc's chosen method of fighting. But it seems like a quite suitable mount for a medium sized lizard folk.
