Animal companion question

[Wolfer]

If I have an animal companion chosen from the 4th level druid list, and have the Natural Bond feat, does the animal companion gain hit dice and so forth as a normal animal companion (so it'll be like 4-3+3 in effective druid level when determining hit dice), or does that feat only affect multiclass druids?

[Coidzor]

It depends on how hostile your DM is to the idea that it's not just for multiclass druids. I'd say it's somewhere about 60-40 split between how people handle it that have sounded off on the threads that have been about this before.

[kulosle]

It's debatable. And ultimately up to you DM. The language in the animal companion ability suggests that it does because your effective druid level is going down by three, but the language in the feat suggest that it doesn't.

[Talya]

Officially, by every possible reading of the feat/class ability, and verified by CustServ, absolutely that's a completely valid use for Natural Bond.

Quite a few DMs will block it though, thinking it "overpowered."

I could get behind the concept that the druid doesn't really need a more powerful animal companion, but really, overpowered? This is a class with full spellcasting and wildshape. The Animal Companion, even with natural bond, barely even registers against those other two features. I've heard it said that druid spellcasting alone is "Tier 1", Wildshape alone is "Tier 3" and the Animal Companion by itself is "Tier 5." Natural Bond just lets the animal companion do the fighter's job better than the fighter for a couple more levels.

Want to see where it's overpowered? Play a druid in E6. Druid 5/Beastmaster 1...and end up with a 10 HD fleshraker warbeast as your companion.