Loyal Steeds
You didn’t write down “Human Resources” on your character sheet. You wrote “Ranger.” But now you’re getting up there in levels, and that old wolf just isn’t doing the trick anymore. For the low, low cost of a feat, you could upgrade to tyrannosaur or mastodon or magic sparkle griffon, and you know your combat effectiveness would jump through the roof. It’s obviously the right call. And so you sit there staring at your character sheet, telling yourself that it’s for the good for the company, and wondering how to break the news to poor Moon Moon.
This is all made worse, of course, by the ongoing debate about what happens to an animal companion when separated from its master. Does it get to keep all of its cool feats and tricks, or does it revert to a normal creature of its type? Depending on how you interpret the rules, you’re not just robbing that old companion of a job, but also his ability to survive. After all, without feats and bonus hit dice, a wolf is just a Challenge Rating 1 mook with a lousy trip attack. What are his chances of surviving in the wild after you cut him loose?
You’ll often see GMs solve this problem by claiming that some ritual or other can power up the old companion. Laurel’s fighter once quested for a magical spring that could turn her horse into a dragon horse. A shaman in my own game is researching ways to transform his kestrel into an imp. But I’ve got to wonder how the companion feels about all this. All those self help columns say that you shouldn’t change yourself just to stay with someone. If I were an animal companion, I like to think I’d have a little self-respect and get out of that bad relationship clean.
How about the rest of you guys? Have you ever had to fire your old companion or familiar? How’d they take it?
REQUEST A SKETCH! So you know how we’ve got a sketch feed on The Handbook of Heroes Patreon? By default it’s full of Laurel’s warm up sketches, illustrations not posted elsewhere, design concepts for current and new characters, and the occasional pin-up shot. But inspiration is hard sometimes. That’s why we love it when patrons come to us with requests. So hit us up on the other side of the Patreon wall and tell us what you want to see!
You are not allowed to make us feel the sads on Fridays!
Survival of the fittest, baby!
I have a Witch from a tribe that worships Pharasma. “Modern” faith has mixed with their older, totemic spiritualism to create a sort of hybrid. Their interpretation of Pharasma is much like 4E’s Raven Queen.
The reason I bring it up? She had a Raven familiar, and as far as she figures, it was sent to her by her goddess. I eventually took Improved Familiar to ‘replace’ it with a Nosoi Psychopomp. While, mechanically speaking, I totally abandoned the bird for something stronger in both stats and theme, I figure it’s the same familiar, infused with even more power from her patron deity.
Hilariously enough, the swap happened between parts of the same Module, and we were stranded on a desert island during the time gap. So the best visual representation is that it evolved, Pokemon style.
What?
RAVEN is evolving!
Congratulations! Your RAVEN
evolved into NOSOI PSYCHOPOMP!
NOSOI PSYCHOPOMP wants to learn INVISIBILITY, but it can’t learn any more moves. Would you like to get rid of a move it already knows?
(Y)
…
NOSOI PSYCHOPOMP forgot SPEAK WITH ANIMALS OF ITS KIND!
NOSOI PSYCHOPOMP learned INVISIBILITY!
I have never considered this problem because I rarely play Rangers and when I do it’s never the animal companion kind.
It seems like there’s no good answer. Either the animal companion is heartlessly abandoned and depowered and is unlikely to survive in it’s new environment of animated metal-tundra-jungle, you force it to change what it essentially is, or Rangers are the real reason there are monsters in the world as they just let loose unnaturally powerful creatures into the wild to breed with no consideration to the local wildlife and peasantry.
I don’t play many Animal Companion classes, but whenever I do, stuff like this is why I always plan out my companion in advance. Sometimes they start off weak, but it’s always worth it.
True that. Laurel tells a story about a desert druid of hers who started play with a cursed brass dragon. The dragon was basically a crocodile for the early levels before getting de-cursed at the appropriate level. Seemed like a fun solution to me. Of course, he wouldn’t shut up after he regained the power of speech, so I guess it’s a pros/cons sort of situation.
My one experience with a companion class came in Exalted. I wanted to play a ranger type character, and I wanted an impressive 5-dot companion. I allowed the GM (Laurel) to select the companion. And that’s how I wound up with Thuna, a magical sparkle unicorn with a lisp. Here she is in the background of the group shot:
http://fishcapades.deviantart.com/art/Northern-Circle-Commission-251844734
The problem was that she wound up being much more interesting than my actual character. And let me tell you, there’s nothing quite so humbling as a role-player as standing in the shadow of a lisping unicorn.
Whoah that is a large party. (Also I never stop being impressed with Laurel’s art.)
Clearly the answer would have been to just start playing the unicorn and have the silly humanoid be their companion.
This will be my next character.
I only ever had one animal companion. Through a system of merits and flaws, my ranger had a tressym (very intelligent winged cat) as a companion, at the cost of having the Guild of Monster Hunters constantly after it for magical components.
…then I discovered that the DM would let me take “monster hunters (any race)” as a valid favored enemy. I’m not sure the DM quite thought that through. Or maybe he thought I was wasting my favored enemy by narrowing it down so much. Ah well, it was easy XP for a good while.
The tressym actually survived the campaign, largely because the party enchanted him most of the time. Something about the intelligent cat being the stealthiest member of the party…or the ranger being the only party member (other than the cat) that could scout or track, so they had to keep her happy.
If the Guild of Monster Hunters is after your familiar, the clear solution is to have it declared a non-monster. This may involve lengthy court battles and substantial legal fees, but the GP is worth it if your little buddy can stand tall as an official non-human person.
Well, sure, that would have worked. But then the flow of easy XP would’ve ceased.
Every time my players are beat to hell, out of spells, and faced with a mysterious new passage in the dungeon:
Wizard: “Looks dangerous. We’d better not.”
Rogue: “But think of the valuable life experience!”
If you can get one legal authority to recognize decisions made by another legal authority, the solution is simple. Take your case to the most barbaric court in the land and demand trial-by-combat!
My experience with animal companions can best be summed up by Thunder the Troll Slayer.
I made a Cavalier with a heavy warhorse companion, who I named Thunder. Our first experience was a subterranean dungeon so Thunder was left in the care of the innkeeper. We went in at first level and came out at third level. This was to be the only time my Cavalier was truly relevant as something more than “the keeper of the Demon Horse”.
We headed off into the wilds to hunt down an angry beastie. Said angry beastie happened to be an oversized troll who pancaked said cavalier in one round with a pair of lucky crits. My horse companion proceeded to kick said troll into unconsciousness while the gunslinger dumped acid vials onto it.
DM ruling gave Thunder the ability to advance in hit dice as a Magical Beast every time the party gained a level, as long a he participated in and out of combat after my cavalier died.
Thunder was level 9 when the campaign ended.
I’m pleased to see that you are following the proper naming conventions: https://www.handbookofheroes.com/archives/comic/the-handbook-of-heroes-09
I’ve never been a Ranger, but I always have a familiar. Don’t upgrade later, gear up! Get some +X armor for that thing. Strap a Wand of Magic Missiles on it. A common house mouse with a Carpet of Flying, some temp HP, and a Bag of Holding full of Healing Potions is just as good as a Cleric. One day, my mouse may find an Apparatus of the Crab and become a Large lobster mech~
But how does it operate the crab’ levers with its adorable, tiny mouse feet? Does it have to take an adorable, tiny mouse feat?
A solution I’ve used is to give any pets/followers/familiars an extra HD every time their owner levels up. Improves their durability (hp, saving throws), combat effectiveness (BAB/THAC0), and keeps them relevant. Donesn’t increase the damage of their attacks, though. Or grant new abilities.
Fighter just needs to find a Winged Saddle (Saddle of Flying?).
I think Fighter’s good either way. Poor Lumberjack Explosion, on the other hand, needs to find a Winged Saddle STAT!
Summoner evolution swaps are also just as silly and confusing. “Oh, I just leveled, and we’re going into a dungeon full of pierce resistant enemies! Sorry, snake eidolon, you’re getting two new heads and breath attacks for each. Oh, and you can fly now.”
What?
SNECKO is evolving!
Congratulations! Your SNECKO
evolved into ELDRITCH MONSTROSITY!
I’ve been binge-reading your comic for the past two days. On an earlier one I mentioned the traveling animal shop that my Hunter and the party Fighter attended. I bought 3 pigs and a Thunderbird. Fighter bought everything in sight. Since only the Thunderbird was a magical beast, he was able to afford it easily. He then took his animals home to meet ALL HIS OTHER ONES! I didn’t join the group until the game had reached level 5 so I don’t know exactly how many he had before this. But I do know that he had both a griffin and a Dire Bison. He has brought the Bison into battle a few times. I’m sure he has more. And he is NOT a pet class! I don’t even think he has the Familiar Bond feat. The Bison doesn’t seem like an Animal Companion from what little I can tell.
I’ve been binge-replying to your comments. 😛
I think I’m familiar with that bison trick. It’s only 75 gp for a combat trained version. That’s not too hard to hit at character gen. And with those stats…
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/animals/herd-animals/bison
It’s the party MVP until level 4 or so.
Ah, I see. That’s probably more or less what he used.
back in 3.X oriental adventures meet European dark ages.
party met a clan of snake hengeyokai (shape-shifting animals). they had a very high opinion of themselves (and snakes) and low of other humanoids. (party needed their help, the snakes in turn, sent the party to catch them rats and mice).
later on new player joins in. her character is a druid hengeyokai from said clan. after talking it over with the gm and one of the players she took the party’s Barbarian as her ‘animal’ companion.
How does that… I mean, aren’t basically giving up all your… Huh!?
“Does it get to keep all of its cool feats and tricks?”
Obviously
And then it returns later on as an antagonist, angry at you for abandoning it.
Obviously