Making Animal Companion Useful With Only 4 Levels of Ranger

[Corwin of Amber]

I would like to make a build that is essentially a ToB Ranger. My plan is Ranger 4/Warblade 11/Bloodclaw Master 5 and I would like to have my animal companion be useful.

Is there a way to increase my effective druid level?

I have heard of a feat (Wild Cohort, maybe?) that grants an animal companion keyed off your ECL. Does this exist?

 

[BENINHB]

You are probably better off using an alternate class feature for your animal companion and putting ranks in Handle Animal and buying a war trained animal.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Are you creating this as a 20th level character, or anticipating 'bringing him up the ranks' as it were?

If your animal companion is a falcon, it will always be useful (as a scout). If your animal companion is a horse (can't remember if it is available at 4th Ranger), then it is always a useful horse which can be taught some neat tricks.

Unless you are thinking of purely combat usefulness, in which case those don't help.

But I have to ask - why should a character who only takes 4 levels of a class have the full facility of a much higher level person? Wouldn't that be like a 20th level caster with 4 levels of wizard casting 5 missiles instead of 2 each time? It is the opportunity cost of being mostly warblade and bloodclaw master rather than druid, no?

Cheers

 

[Alexander123]

It is the opportunity cost..., no?

Exactly right.

 

[Empirate]

The Natural Bond feat allows your effective Druid level to count as three higher (up to the max of your character level) for the purpose of your Animal Companion's abilities. Basically, it's Practiced Spellcaster for Animal Companion instead of Caster Level. For example, a 4th level Ranger would count as a 4th level Druid for the purpose of his AC (4/2=2, plus 3, to a max of 4), while a Ranger 4/Warblade11 would count as a 5th level Druid. I believe the feat can be found in Complete Adventurer.

Not that a 5th level Druid's AC would be useful in that high level a game... I'd recommend going with Wild Shape Ranger. That way, you have some utility, and qualify for Wild Feats, which can be nice, plus you get Fast Movement.

 

[Corwin of Amber]

Are you creating this as a 20th level character, or anticipating 'bringing him up the ranks' as it were?

If your animal companion is a falcon, it will always be useful (as a scout). If your animal companion is a horse (can't remember if it is available at 4th Ranger), then it is always a useful horse which can be taught some neat tricks.

Unless you are thinking of purely combat usefulness, in which case those don't help.

But I have to ask - why should a character who only takes 4 levels of a class have the full facility of a much higher level person? Wouldn't that be like a 20th level caster with 4 levels of wizard casting 5 missiles instead of 2 each time? It is the opportunity cost of being mostly warblade and bloodclaw master rather than druid, no?

Cheers

Well, I was thinking more along the lines of Ascetic Stalker, Daring Outlaw, etc. I want to make a ranger with maneuvers. My DM is not too keen on the Sublime Ranger homebrew class so I wanted a way to do it with WotC stuff. I agree that something like Ranger 4/Cleric 16 should not have a 20th level companion, but Ranger 4/Tiger Claw Warblade/Bloodclaw Master really does metch the theme of a Ranger 20, with some different mechanics.

Although, I did find something interesting. In the DMG pg200 there is mention of using a special mount/animal companion as the target of your leadership feat. So, if I use Natural Bond (thanks Empirate) and Leadership I can gain an animal companion with the bonuses of a 5th level Druid and class levels as a cohort (with a +2 LA). I'll probobly make him a low-teir class, just to not abuse leadership.

 

[Empirate]

Sounds like a good idea all in all, although I'd still practice my thrown-book-avoidance-moves. Leadership is probably the single most broken feat in existence. Making a cohort with AC benefits tacked on results in a creature that's likely more powerful than a regular cohort and a regular AC combined. Still, mechanically sound it is.

BTW, as long as you're taking Leadership anyway, what do you need Ranger levels for? Straight Warblade looks better to me, unless you really want the wilderness flavor expressed in mechanics.