Rangers and there pets [Archive] - Wizards Community

Rangers and there pets [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
xannatose
02-13-08, 07:35 PM so i am starting a new group and one of my players was thinking of a ranger but he is wary of the pets how is a pet going to survive in an encounter and still be useful i could use some thoughts or suggestions for him as he is in doubt about how survivable any pet would be or what good it would provide
The_Shaman
02-14-08, 09:11 PM Please, have some mercy on us and use more punctuation.

Anyway, yeah, it's often been said that ranger companions are a bit weak. Unlike a druid companion, it can't be a viable combatant by itself. In general, the idea is to keep the companion out of the fray and either keep it out of battle or use it sparingly - such as for flanks and the like. I've heard several people adopt a houserule that a ranger's effective druid level for a companion is equal to his ranger level - 3 instead of half his ranger level, and the people who tried it said it worked quite well. As it is, I'd use a companion pretty much only as a mount or as a non-combat aid (tracking, scouting, etc).

Currently, my favourite option is to use the mini-companion presented in the web enhancement of Cityscape (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a) (it's called urban companion, down around the end). It works a bit like a familiar - a particularly smart and coordinated companion that is basically a scouting specialist - but it doesn't have the familiar death problems and works better for a character who will likely have ranks in the sensory skills.
TuLginZ
02-15-08, 03:45 AM Yeah the_shaman gotta point, unlike the druid the ranger can't just make his companion charge and kill. In one of the current games im playing there's a ranger in my group who's thinking about getting a hawk/eagle as a pet. He can use it for scouting and ofc getting free flank attacks, but in general i'd say use the rangers pet as a scout (so getting a black bear at lvl 16 is a bad idea imo) hope you can use any of this :)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
xannatose 02-13-08, 07:35 PM	so i am starting a new group and one of my players was thinking of a ranger but he is wary of the pets how is a pet going to survive in an encounter and still be useful i could use some thoughts or suggestions for him as he is in doubt about how survivable any pet would be or what good it would provide
The_Shaman 02-14-08, 09:11 PM	Please, have some mercy on us and use more punctuation. Anyway, yeah, it's often been said that ranger companions are a bit weak. Unlike a druid companion, it can't be a viable combatant by itself. In general, the idea is to keep the companion out of the fray and either keep it out of battle or use it sparingly - such as for flanks and the like. I've heard several people adopt a houserule that a ranger's effective druid level for a companion is equal to his ranger level - 3 instead of half his ranger level, and the people who tried it said it worked quite well. As it is, I'd use a companion pretty much only as a mount or as a non-combat aid (tracking, scouting, etc). Currently, my favourite option is to use the mini-companion presented in the web enhancement of Cityscape (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a) (it's called urban companion, down around the end). It works a bit like a familiar - a particularly smart and coordinated companion that is basically a scouting specialist - but it doesn't have the familiar death problems and works better for a character who will likely have ranks in the sensory skills.
TuLginZ 02-15-08, 03:45 AM	Yeah the_shaman gotta point, unlike the druid the ranger can't just make his companion charge and kill. In one of the current games im playing there's a ranger in my group who's thinking about getting a hawk/eagle as a pet. He can use it for scouting and ofc getting free flank attacks, but in general i'd say use the rangers pet as a scout (so getting a black bear at lvl 16 is a bad idea imo) hope you can use any of this :)