Rangers Animal Companions

[Scion]

ranger level -3 is the way to go in my opinion

Along with asking the dm if there could be an item of slot X that would allow you to be treated as Y levels higher for animal companions. It would work for anyone with an animal companion.

Thinking about it further it could even work for familiars. So, to make it reasonable, it would be something like +y to level for druids and others with primary animal companions, +y-1 to those with secondary animal companions and +y-2 for those with familiars. I think it would work out pretty well.

Possibly 1,250*(+y)^2 with a max of +5? Half that price if placed in a whip or some other 'obedience trainer' (even a permanent salt lick or something) but only gains the bonus when held.

Just tossing out ideas Which forum are we in again? lol

 

[CCamfield]

I just wish they had given rangers the ability to use their animals to scout... Druids can take the big fighty ones, bears and wolves and all that... sure. But the ranger ought to be able to scout with his hawk, dammit. I see a ranger's animal companion as being a midpoint between a wizard's familiar and the druid's animal companion.

But alas, without a racial ability to speak with animals, rangers can only communicate with their companion for a minute per level per first level spell per day. Sucky.

I've been planning to try this with my character's hawk (not actually a companion, but an extra animal). If it's possible to have magic items commissioned, by my reckoning an item to grant speak with animals a few times a day would not be too expensive. Even once or twice extra per day would free up ranger spell slots. But I may not understand magic item costs properly.

There's a "Torc of Animal Speech" in Masters of the Wild, but it costs 12k gp. I'm not really sure why it's that expensive though - can someone explain that to me?

Without animal speech, it might still be possible to train a hawk (as a trick or double-trick, like Attack Anything) to follow in the air, and circle around anything it spots which is large enough to be a potential threat.

 

[Driddle]

You should also consider fowl, bovines, swine and the like. They make excellent food rations that the character doesn't have to worry about packing. After a dairy cow companion stops giving milk, you've got steak; the chicken stops laying eggs, you've got ... well, chicken. And a pig companion will help keep away certain religious adherents (depending on your campaign).

 

[Plane Sailing]

Something that is in danger of being forgotten here...

Anyone with Handle Animal can train an animal to do certain tricks or groups of tricks, which are useful in numerous situations.

The animal companion is the chance to get an animal which becomes a little tougher and easier to control.

There is nothing to stop the ranger training a pack of wolves and taking the alpha wolf as his animal companion (substitute riding dogs or whatever); handle him as a free action and train the others to follow his lead, perhaps

Whatever way it is done, the animal companion is BETTER than what he could get by simple training, and is nothing to be sneezed at. If you want something to fight alongside you, take leadership and get a cohort!

 

[Stalker0]

If you want something to fight alongside you, take leadership and get a cohort!

Hehe, and expert animal trainer....ohhhhh yyeeeeeah

 

[Plane Sailing]

I remember showing in 3e how a 12th level ranger could easily train a tyrannosaurus rex using his handle animal skill if he focussed on charisma and took skill focus (handle animal). Forget the "animal companion", plain old Handle Animal lets you create some attack pets that they enemy *won't* forget in a hurry!

(easier for an NPC ranger than a PC ranger of course!)