Post/Author/DateTime	Post
jamorris09 08-31-07, 01:53 PM	Okay so I'm looking at making a ranged ranger for our new campaign but have a few questions that will help me make decissions in the future. The idea I'm going with is a ranger that uses his animal companion to grapple with his enemies and then use point blank shot to shoot at the preoccupied enemy. I'm sure this idea has been used before but I'm not sure exactly what to do and even if it would work all that well. 1) I was thinking the animal companion would be a bear because they have a pretty good grapple but I wasn't sure if there was a better companion. 2) What companion might I want to switch to in the future. 3) What are some good feats and/or prestige classes would be good for this. I am hoping that maybe there is a beastmaster type of PrC, that would be great, especially flavor-wise, but if I could get a class that was capable of teaching it's pet more, or just something like that that would be awesome. Well thanks for reading, I hope someone can help me out, I've been looking everywhere and can't find what I want.
Borris 08-31-07, 09:11 PM	The main problem with your idea is that someone who shoots in a grapple has an equal chance of hitting each of the grappling creatures. Having a 50% to miss your target is bad. Having hit damage your animal companion is even worse. The only way around this that I know is the Improved Precise Shot feat, which requires you to be at least 11th-level. Luckily for you, a ranger who chose archery as his combat style gets it for free at 11th-level. As a ranger, though, you'll bve treated as only half your level for the purpose of determining the strength of your animal companion. You might as well make it to level 12 for an even number, making you the equivalant of a 6th-level druid. At that point, you're a 12th-level character with an effective druid level of 6 to determine your animal companion. If you take the Natural Bond feat from Complete Adventurer (make sure you do), you'll add a +3 bonus. A single level of beastmaster will then net you a +4 to that effect, 1 from the level itself, and a flat +3 from a special ability. One you reach your 11th level of ranger, with the natural bond feat, I recommend taking a Brown Bear. And once you're a ranger 12/beastmaster 1, switch for a Dire Bear. It's pretty much the best grappler unless you can stand having an animal companion with a land speed of only 20 ft.