How do you roleplay an Animal Compagnion or Eidolon?

[pluizig]

My old gaming group is starting up again after a few years and we're all making new characters. I'm trying to figure out if playing a Summoner or Druid is fun for me.

I've got this idea of playing a weak, timid character who's in awe of his Compagnion/Eidolon and thinks of himself as totally unimportant. He regards the creature as the master and himself as the servant.

This would mean that I'd have to roleplay the creature pretty actively as well, as the two would have different personalities. But I'm having trouble imagining playing for two. Would this be annoying to the other players? Would I be having conversations with myself? (Maybe not conversations per se as the creature can't talk, but interaction all the same.)

I get that this concept is pretty unconventional, but there must be players who have roleplayed their compagnion of eidolon actively who could give me advice, right?


PS: This could also work with a wizard/arcane bloodline sorcerer with a talking raven familiar. "Hi, my name is [familiar's name] and this is my familiar, [wizard's name]."

[Florian]

Try your hand at playing a Vigilante with the Magical Child archetype.

The main flaw of all concepts like these is that quite often, they simply will not work out.
Going to have a civil chat with the major at a formal diner party? Better leave your magical pony at the stable because it doesn´t belong at the table.
Expecting someone to talk with your raven? They´ll mostly flip you the bird in response.
Concepts like these can work in a comic-ish campaign but beyond that?

[LibraryOgre]

I'm reminded of the Sir Bearington (http://imgur.com/tAV3wHl) joke...

Alternatively, in Knights of the Dinner Table many years ago, Brian realized his brownie familiar had a better charisma than his current character, and so made a hand puppet so Hodgy could "talk" for him.

[BWR]

For the last couple of years all animal companions have been lucky to last two sessions, so we've played up that they are all fearful or fatalistic (because the running joke is that all wolves, then apes, then bears, in the area were called upon to die and they knew it, but couldn't resist the call).

[Efrate]

I had a PF summoner in a game I ran once, who was once a great and mighty caster, but basically went senile. He had found a way to be thousands of years old accidentially, and it addles his brain so he was an idiot. I got to RP the eidolon who was basically always talking about how he was once a great and powerful wizard, and since the eidolon was bound for the master's life it was soooo great. Got to play off the PC well and constantly making snide comments. It was fun, but he lasted only for a single dungeon sadly.

You could fluff it so the caster lost his voice somehow (take non-verbal spell) and the familiar has to do the talking when it matters. If its the character telling the familiar what to say or just the familiar pretending its a magic mouth spell because of the disability you can make it work, but it is very awkward and difficult in social settings.

[Honest Tiefling]

I assume this is pathfinder, so you could try to qualify for the feat to get an magic animal if the RP is the problem. Then it's more human like, and then the companion can speak for the two-legger.

As for annoying people, we could have pages of arguments about every aspect of it, but why not ask them yourself? They'd probably appreciate that you approached them with the concept as opposed to surprising them with it.