I had a small question, well perhaps im not posting in the right place, its about strategy using an animal companion.
I was a 3rd level ranger, and our gm told us to level up twice, so we can start a long scenario. Now, I finally get my companion, and have decided on a hawk. My problem is how to best use him to my advantage.
I want him to always warn be the best he can before an ambush comes our way, or before we walk face to face with monsters, pretty much I want him to make sure I never get flanked/ambushed again.
What it is the best way of using him in this situation? Do I let him fly <500 feet from me and tell him to report back when anything arises, or are there more effective ways he can scout for me?
Thanks in advance guys!
He uses it mostly to scout and to suppliment his own hunting. Some of my group's best lines come from him telepathically communicating with his hawk and arguing with it (it's not the brightest bird in the forest).
Ranger: Ok Anna, I want you to fly over there and count the number of shiny men you see (men in armor).
*Hawk flys away*
Anna: Groundfire! Groundfire!
Ranger: Okay, count the shiny men around the groundfire.
Anna: One, one, one, one, one, one, one. (I ruled that the hawk couldn't really count, it can only count one thing at a time, something that the Ranger said he will work on with it.
Or another time when the group Druid turned into an Eagle and flew away to do some scouting. The next thing the party sees is the Hawk flying up and chasing the Druid, and the ranger keeps hearing through his telepathic bond, "Fancy bird! Fancy bird! Fancy bird like Anna?" The whole thing devolved into the hawk trying to impress the eagle (druid), and the druid trying to get the crazy hawk away from him.
So, moral of the story I guess is that animal companions can be used for fun as well as tactical purposes.
Animal companions don't have a telepathic bond, nor does the ranger/druid gain the ability to speak with the animal.
QFT.
If you have PHB2 and a rogue in the party, take the Distracting Shot substitution. Ranger animal companions are almost worthless.
On that note, bag of tricks (rust): great distraction. Especially when you throw a wolf at someone's face.
Never underestimate the usefulness of an animal that can latch onto your enemy's face.
And die the next round.
Anyway, to answer your question under the assumption that you're using 3.5. I don't think you get telepathy, or even Common speech out of your pet for a few more levels (though i could be wrong), so having it 500 ft up is probably not the best option. You could have it periodically do a holding pattern around you, however, not too high up but high enough to avoid most danger. When it spots something nasty it'd be a quick dash back for a specific screech, and you'd be golden. Come to think of it, that'd work in 4E too.
If/once you get telepathy, go nuts. Your DM will totally not be looking for ways to kill off Birdy.
And die the next round.
Every enemy occupied with that grapple is one that's not concentrating on the companion of said animal.
Animal companions don't have a telepathic bond, nor does the ranger/druid gain the ability to speak with the animal.
My goodness, you're right! I reread the animal companion section, and it said nothing about a telepathic bond. I don't remember where I picked that up from.
Well I feel like an idiot now...
Echoing what others have said already, ranger animal companions are very meh. An animal companion is no more intelligent than a regular creature, and you don't get any special ability communicate with it, so it will be rather hard to get creative with it. Speak With Animals is on the Ranger's list, but its duration is rather short at 1min/lvl, so even wands of it can get pricey over time.
Worse, a ranger's effective druid level for determining their companion's abilities is half their ranger level. This equates to diminishing returns as you progress. At fourth level, for example, your animal companion is only lagging behind a druid's by 2 levels. At 20th, your animal companion is 10 levels behind.
But if you have a flexible DM, I do have two alternatives:
1) Ask your DM if you can trade your animal companion feature for the wizard's familiar feature, and then take a hawk as your familiar. Familiars aren't all that powerful in 3e and, as demonstrated in the Complete Arcane, are only worth a single feat. So I don't think your DM would have any qualms about allowing this option, at least as far as balanced is concerned.
2) For a more by-the-book solution, ask your DM if you can take the Leadership feat and get an awakened hawk as your cohort. It won't gain any of the benefits your animal companion feature, but an awakened hawk would not only be an intelligent scout but, since its smart, it can take class levels and all the goodness that comes with it. Even better, cohorts level up along side you and don't subtract from your party's XP (see the feat for details).
4) Take Ranger level -4 to determine your effective Druid Level (like the Paladin's effective Cleric level for Turn Undead).
^ That's my group's House Rule
I read distracting shot, and it looks like a good alternative, but having eyes in the sky seems pretty useful. I like the awakened hawk idea, and I will try to ask for that.
If anyone else has more suggestions, please go ahead and post them, I will check this post again.
-Avian critter (especially those w/ a good Spot) make for handy spotters in sniper teams and help run overwatch. A good excuse for the PCs to have a better bearing on the entirety of the map vs. metagaming "I know where every damn terrain feature is" despite Max Spotting Distance rules (DMG).
-For fleeing suspects, also very handy to help zero them and prevent additional alarms being raised, track them back to "the source" discretely, etc.
-General recon in certain environs. Not many normal Int or those w/out good benefit of Suvival or Know Nature will notice a hawk just circling in normal fashion. However, it's a good indicator something is wrong when there's a hawk conveniently "there" when it doesn't belong in climate 'x'.
-Scent (Ex) based critters are very handy around camp time. Helps prot otherwise oblivous PCs that are limited to firelight, etc. Not recommended for combat unless you absolutely must have a flank.
-Invisibility screen; Scent will zero an invis enemy if adjacent vs. a guess work "I think he's over there" (multiple squares) or super high Listen DC.
-Subterfugue; Disguise doesn't work so well when the critter knows your smell.
-Undead Detc.; many normal animals freak out given Unnatural Aura, something to consider when your advesary is hiding in a wall (impossible to see/hear), w/in 30ft around the corner, etc.
Distracting Shot (PHB II), big fan of this, especially if a rogue or power attacker is in play. Simple, no extra book keeping for the animals (and upkeep [food, wounds, shelter, etc], not to mention difficulty in civilized areas where they might object to an animal defecating on the floor @ the inn, etc).
Essentially, enemy struck by ranger w/ this is considered flanked until next attack or round. That's ranged or melee if I'm not mistaken. Pretty handy in the pocket.
A one-level dip will change your companion to (level +3) for stats hereafter.
Thanks for the help guys!
My goodness, you're right! I reread the animal companion section, and it said nothing about a telepathic bond. I don't remember where I picked that up from.
Well I feel like an idiot now...
If your having fun with it, and your DM didn't notice, just keep it going with it.
If your having fun with it, and your DM didn't notice, just keep it going with it.
LoL, in this case, I AM the DM
We all agreed that it was so much fun that we are suspending this particular rule in this case for this campaign.