flying mount as an animal companion

[Shloogorgh]

So I noticed in PHII that the Quetzalcoatlus can be obtained as an animal companion with a -15 to Druid level. Anyone who read Dinotopia as a kid will remember them as the pterasaur mounts of the Skybax riders, something I'd love to emulate.

So I want to focus my build on improving my mount. With the natural bond feat and a 1 level dip in beastmaster, I should be able to get one as my AC at 10th level. Are there any other tricks to get it earlier?

Entry for barding says flying mounts can't fly in medium or heavy armor. Is there any way around this or should I just use a mithril breastplate or something similar? (do Druids take issue with their animal companions using metal armor?) I don't think my DM would accept giving the mount the vow of poverty feat.

What other ways can I improve my Animal Companion? I know of the war beast template. Most of the prc I see for mounts relate to melee characters.

Taking mounted combat to negate 1 attack per round with a ride check seems like a good choice

[Nightgaun7]

Do you have any interest in an ubermount build? I've been working on one myself here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=268002).

[Shloogorgh]

Paladin is a no-go since I'll be coming off of a campaign where I played one and don't have any interest in revisiting that archetype so soon.

I'm also pretty set on playing a Neraphim, so racially dependent stuff is out

Has there ever been a druidic variant/alternate class feature for affinities with dinosaurs/pterasaurs?

[tyckspoon]

Entry for barding says flying mounts can't fly in medium or heavy armor. Is there any way around this or should I just use a mithril breastplate or something similar? (do Druids take issue with their animal companions using metal armor?) I don't think my DM would accept giving the mount the vow of poverty feat.


RAW, the Druid's armor prohibition applies only to the Druid. He is not required to impose it on his Animal Companion any more than he has to require the party Fighter to not wear plate armor. Many people feel that is in violation of the intended Druid fluff, however, so here's a couple of alternate options:

The Reinforced Wings and Heavyweight Wings feats in Races of the Dragon allow flight with Medium and Heavy armor or loads, respectively.

The Darkleaf (Eberron Campaign Setting) and Blue Ice (Frostburn) special materials share Mithril's property of reducing armor category while also being non-metal and thus Druid-safe.

[Spuddles]

Note that druids aren't actually opposed to metal, necessarily. Of course it would depend on the individual druid and his personal ethos, but the fluff reasons given for metal armor restriction is mechanical one, if you will. Large amounts of metal get in the way of his ability to channel nature.

Metal on a druid could be closer to a "water in a gas tank" problem, as opposed to a paladin breaking his code of conduct.

[ericgrau]

I'm usually a stickler about this sort of thing but I'd agree. Metal barding on an animal companion is totally fine... unless you're riding him for 8 hours a day as your mount. Druids avoid carrying a lot of worked metal with them because it interferes with a pure and primal nature. Yes a little is fine and they do use metal weapons. But sitting an inch away from armor 4 times the size of the druid's armor for 8 hours seems like a bit much.

But like the druid himself the simple answer is dragonscale barding.