Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ymaster44 07-12-07, 05:14 PM	I am a Elf ranger, and at level 4 I plan to take an Animal Companion. This will be one of my characters highlights, his biggest being an archer. I also plan to use spells, so I will have access to Summon Nature's Ally I at the same time I can pick a Animal Companion. I was just wondering, what pet would be good for me? My skills lie in: Handle Animal, Hide, Know (Dung, Geog, Nature), Move Silently, Search, Spot & Survival. All are 4 except Handle Animal (3) and Dung. (1), making me the group scout and general wildlife expert. I'd appreciate any information, advice and random stuff you could offer, Thanks :)
Nephlite 07-12-07, 05:30 PM	I am a Elf ranger, and at level 4 I plan to take an Animal Companion. This will be one of my characters highlights, his biggest being an archer. I also plan to use spells, so I will have access to Summon Nature's Ally I at the same time I can pick a Animal Companion. I was just wondering, what pet would be good for me? My skills lie in: Handle Animal, Hide, Know (Dung, Geog, Nature), Move Silently, Search, Spot & Survival. All are 4 except Handle Animal (3) and Dung. (1), making me the group scout and general wildlife expert. I'd appreciate any information, advice and random stuff you could offer, Thanks :) Riding Dog (dogs are great everywhere in town, etc) Really, depends on where you adventure. Crocodile is a 1st level choice, but yu have tio be around its habitat to get it.
madbliza 07-12-07, 05:39 PM	If your GM allows variants, I would say an Elven Dog. Those things are awesome. Oh, it's in the Races of the Wild, just in case you wanna look it up.
ymaster44 07-16-07, 06:54 PM	I think I've managed to get my DM to allow me to have an Elven Dog, they do look really cool. Any advice on using them? What the best way to use them in a fight? Thanks
The_Shaman 07-17-07, 04:10 AM	Flanking and tripping, perhaps? Ideally, you can also use them for grappling a foe, but they don't seem big enough for it really to work. Still, a grappled foe loses their dexterity bonus, so it might be a very useful idea - especially if you have a rogue in the party.
RobbyPants 07-17-07, 11:06 AM	I think I've managed to get my DM to allow me to have an Elven Dog, they do look really cool. Any advice on using them? What the best way to use them in a fight? Thanks Do remember that your animal companion will be 3 levels behind that of a Druid's. If you're fighting some level-appropriate monsters, they might be able to kill your dog very quickly. You have to be careful when and how you send it into melee.
GhostStepper 07-17-07, 02:11 PM	If you decide that your animal companion isnt as tough/useful as youd like, i would deffinately recomend taking the variant class ability from PHB2 if you have a rogue in your party.
IdleAltruism 07-17-07, 02:19 PM	I find that ranger animal companions usefulness in combat fades pretty quickly. But they do make good mounts/scouts, I would suggest either taking a horse or bird of some type.
StruckingFuggle 07-17-07, 02:37 PM	Do remember that your animal companion will be 3 levels behind that of a Druid's. Worse than that, your effective druid level is half your ranger level, not your ranger level - 3. However, there IS the Natural Bond feat, which IIRC makes your effective druid level +4, which makes your effective ranger level +8.
BW0222 07-17-07, 03:19 PM	ymaster44, I'd appreciate any information, advice and random stuff you could offer, As others have said, your effective druid level for your animal companion is half your ranger level. At 4th, you would have say a riding dog. It would have 2hd and 13hp. Not until 6th-level, would it gain another 2hd, for a total of 26hp. You would be 12th-level before it gained another 2hd (total 39hp). At nearly all levels the animal could be slaughtered in combat considering what it is likely to face -- ogres at 13hp, trolls at 26hp, frost giants at 39hp? One stray spell and they are dead. This effectively means that you shouldn't take any companion with the intention of using it in combat. These leaves a few non-combat cases you should consider. 1. Scounting. Hawks, eagles, and other flying creatures are good outdoors. Snakes, owls, rats, cats, etc. might be of use in the dungeon or city -- although you have to be careful. Such animals are as good of scouts as familiars -- since they have limited intelligence -- but using a speak with animals or good training, you might be them to say fly around above the forest and circle any buildings which they find. 2. Mounts. Horses (and at later levels buffalo, tigers, dire wolves, etc.) can serve as useful mounts. With mounted combat, barding, etc. they can useful for archers who generally stay out of melee anyway. i.e. run away from stuff and shoot them at a distance. However, they are aren't much use in dungeons, cities, buildings, etc. and can actually be a hinderance. 3. Pack Animals. Riding dogs and wolves make good pack animals for a dungeon or overland travel. Size isn't an issue and they can easily carry 75lbs of gear. They also have enough hit points to survive minor combats. 4. Tracking. Dogs and wolves are great at tracking and other animals with scent can be trained to track (with your assistance). 5. Guard duty. Certain animals animals are great with guard duty -- especially at night. Bats, owls, or creatures with scent dramatically reduce the chance something will sneak up on you while camped out. 6. Fetching. Eagles, hawks, monkeys, etc. can be useful in fetching small items. A monkey can be extremely useful going into inn rooms when directed by a speak with animals etc. I generally dislike this in dungeons or combat because traps and monsters can easily kill an animal companion used this way. 7. Messengers. Delivering messages to folks. Eagles, hawks, monkeys, and other smallers animals are often useful in this. 8. Intimidation. There are some animals which tend to discourage lesser folks from bothering you. Petty rogues are unlikely to pickpocket you if you have a badger on your backpack, even a 10th-level monk may think twice about starting a fist fight with you if you have a dire skunk sitting next to you in the bar. In general, I'd pick an animal strickly based on it's non-combat abilities and try finding a few of the above roles which it can take. I also plan to use spells, so I will have access to Summon Nature's Ally I at the same time I can pick a Animal Companion. You only get one spell per day at 4th (with a wisdom), two at 6th, and a possible 2nd-level spells at 8th. And the spells are extremely weak. At 4th-level, you only cast as a 2nd-level caster. Summon Nature's Ally I (besides being a full round spell to cast) would only allow you to summon a wolf for two rounds. In most combats, it wouldn't survive a solid hit from a typical opponent, and would have a hard time actually hitting any ACs you are likely to face. Honestly, best spells to consider are speak with animals which allows using your animal as a scout, querying other animals for information, or giving your animal companion more specific instructions. Hide from animals and pass without trace are often useful. If you can buy scrolls or wands, do so.
malignor 07-17-07, 04:11 PM	Archery Focused Ranger. Horse Animal Companion. Mounted Combat Feat. Mounted Archery Feat. ...? Profit.