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loves_to_laugh
2008-01-05, 07:50 PM
I am looking for some new and interesting animal companions. I want to try something new but I don't want to look through the monster manuals just find something.
It can be for someone evil. So something that is creepy will work. I would prefer something for lower levels but I can always keep the higher level animals in mind for later.
Another question I had was: can a druid have more than one animal companion?

TheBlackDog
2008-01-05, 08:06 PM
If you are interested in multiple Animal Companions, the Beastmaster PrC might be worth a look. You gain several Animal Companions over the course of ten levels. But you lose spellcasting progression.

icthius
2008-01-05, 08:34 PM
If you are interested in multiple Animal Companions, the Beastmaster PrC might be worth a look. You gain several Animal Companions over the course of ten levels. But you lose spellcasting progression.

What book? I have a player who wants to have two dire chinchillas as her animal companions :smallbiggrin:

loves_to_laugh
2008-01-05, 08:36 PM
I was actually just looking at that.

It's in the Masters of the Wild Book.

Kizara
2008-01-05, 08:36 PM
Fairly sure its complete adventurer, might be Cdiv.

Stephen_E
2008-01-05, 08:39 PM
I assume you've looked at the standard alternative PHB companions.
If you go to Ebberon their is the Horrid template which for a -3 Effective Druid Level (EDL) makes a significant alteration to standard companions.

Ebberon also give you Totem Companions, albeit these have significant EDL penalties, but your DM may well let you use the Natural Bond feat to get quicker access to them. Examples - Cockatrice, Krenshar, Displacer Beast, Basilsk, Digestor, Unicorn, Winter Wolf. Note: If you take something with a gaze attack you should probaly look to Savage Species for feats that make Gaze attacks party friendly.

Ebberon also give you the opportunity to take Vermin Companions. You need to be a 3rd lev Druid to take the feat, but the Vermin include ones with no lev adjustment to your EDL. Monstrous Spiders will creep out many people. Especially if you upsize it rather than get bonus HD ecetre. The Small Monstrous Spider is -0 EDL Looking at the figures I'm guessing that the Large Spider would be -3 EDL, and the Huge would be -6 or-9 EDL (I'd go for the -6 myself). If having a huge Tarantula standing above you dripping poison doesn't freak people out I don't know what will.

Stephen

TheBlackDog
2008-01-05, 08:56 PM
Fairly sure its complete adventurer

Complete Adventurer it is.

It might also be in Masters of the Wild, but I don't know because I don't have the book.

loves_to_laugh
2008-01-05, 08:57 PM
I assume you've looked at the standard alternative PHB companions.
If you go to Ebberon their is the Horrid template which for a -3 Effective Druid Level (EDL) makes a significant alteration to standard companions.

Ebberon also give you Totem Companions, albeit these have significant EDL penalties, but your DM may well let you use the Natural Bond feat to get quicker access to them. Examples - Cockatrice, Krenshar, Displacer Beast, Basilsk, Digestor, Unicorn, Winter Wolf. Note: If you take something with a gaze attack you should probaly look to Savage Species for feats that make Gaze attacks party friendly.

Ebberon also give you the opportunity to take Vermin Companions. You need to be a 3rd lev Druid to take the feat, but the Vermin include ones with no lev adjustment to your EDL. Monstrous Spiders will creep out many people. Especially if you upsize it rather than get bonus HD ecetre. The Small Monstrous Spider is -0 EDL Looking at the figures I'm guessing that the Large Spider would be -3 EDL, and the Huge would be -6 or-9 EDL (I'd go for the -6 myself). If having a huge Tarantula standing above you dripping poison doesn't freak people out I don't know what will.

Stephen

Oooo... I like this one. I will have to get it checked with my DM of course but I love the sound of a huge tarantula...

Ryuuk
2008-01-05, 09:14 PM
I've always been fond of the Dire Wolf, giving it the boosts of a normal wolf via Natural Bond and a level in Beastmaster. (together these two would cancel out the -6 from getting the Dire Wolf)

nargbop
2008-01-05, 09:37 PM
Dire Chinchillas :smalltongue: Just give them for free.

dyslexicfaser
2008-01-05, 09:39 PM
There's also the Beast Adept PrC from Dungeonscape.

Gives you such choices as a Behir, Blink Dog, and other stuff. You get 3-4 of em, too, so you have your own little posse of monstrous companions.

Admiral Squish
2008-01-05, 09:41 PM
There's also the Beast Adept PrC from Dungeonscape.

Gives you such choices as a Behir, Blink Dog, and other stuff. You get 3-4 of em, too, so you have your own little posse of monstrous companions.

But... Behir are huge. That's a tad much, is it not?

Icewalker
2008-01-05, 09:41 PM
Hummingbird?

Frostburn has numbers for penguins.


By the way, icthius, nice avatar. Rorschach.

icthius
2008-01-05, 09:46 PM
:smallredface:
Dire Chinchillas :smalltongue: Just give them for free.

They have a gaze attack that stuns for 1d4 rounds while the BBEG goes "Awe..." :smallredface:

UserClone
2008-01-05, 10:13 PM
I am rather enamored of my friend's former Wild Reaper (Dragon 311) who had a vulture as his Animal Companion.

Admiral Squish
2008-01-05, 10:16 PM
I have a question: At level one, you can have a heavy horse animal companion (CR=2). Would it also be viable to get a deinonychus (CR=3)? Or would that have to wait for level four? Also, please discuss how awesome it is to ride a dinosaur.

icthius
2008-01-05, 10:20 PM
I have a question: At level one, you can have a heavy horse animal companion (CR=2). Would it also be viable to get a deinonychus (CR=3)? Or would that have to wait for level four? Also, please discuss how awesome it is to ride a dinosaur.

No. You can have a Fastieth, though (Eberron Setting, pg. 280), which is a dinosaur. And it is so awesome.

loves_to_laugh
2008-01-05, 11:00 PM
I have a question: At level one, you can have a heavy horse animal companion (CR=2). Would it also be viable to get a deinonychus (CR=3)? Or would that have to wait for level four? Also, please discuss how awesome it is to ride a dinosaur.

I think you would have to wait.

And riding a dinosaur? AMAZING!
I'm actually looking at a fleshraker dinosaur. I just have to be level four which is the level I'm coming in at.

FlyMolo
2008-01-05, 11:06 PM
Yay dinosaurs! Also, if you take some levels in Alienist, you can get pseudonatural templated things. That might be familiars, though, and that might be a capstone ability too.

Chronicled
2008-01-06, 01:04 AM
An otter. Seriously, how cool would it be to have an otter following you around? The hummingbird and penguin ideas mentioned are also good; when I had a hummingbird for my sorcerer's familiar, it was the most loved character in the party (more than his halfling master, even).

A friend in a campaign a while back picked a tiger cub for her level 1 druid, and after it enough time and levelling had passed, had it grow into a normal sized tiger. She planned to have it become a Dire Tiger later, but the campaign didn't last long enough.

Another option I've wanted to try at later levels is an elephant, just for the novelty (although they'd be quite handy in combat).

smart thog
2008-01-07, 01:22 PM
One thing that I did that was fun was having a panda companion. I forget what the stats were, but it was awesome.

Frosty
2008-01-07, 01:34 PM
Go with Fleshraker. The are the awesome-mest CR2 animal companions ever

Yeril
2008-01-07, 03:41 PM
snakes? a constrictor snake seems very nifty to me, chomp-CRUNCH!

Infinity_Biscuit
2008-01-07, 03:46 PM
Ebberon also give you the opportunity to take Vermin Companions. You need to be a 3rd lev Druid to take the feat, but the Vermin include ones with no lev adjustment to your EDL. Monstrous Spiders will creep out many people. Especially if you upsize it rather than get bonus HD ecetre. The Small Monstrous Spider is -0 EDL Looking at the figures I'm guessing that the Large Spider would be -3 EDL, and the Huge would be -6 or-9 EDL (I'd go for the -6 myself). If having a huge Tarantula standing above you dripping poison doesn't freak people out I don't know what will.
I really wish this didn't use a feat up. Rhinoceros beetles make for wonderful companions; the bigger the better!

Stephen_E
2008-01-07, 04:06 PM
I really wish this didn't use a feat up. Rhinoceros beetles make for wonderful companions; the bigger the better!

That is the one aspect of the Druid I like. In most parties the well designed Druid is designed to be sub-optimal.

Burn those feats, take the less powerful/cool companions, you're still one of the powerhouses in most parties.

Stephen

Infinity_Biscuit
2008-01-07, 05:29 PM
That is the one aspect of the Druid I like. In most parties the well designed Druid is designed to be sub-optimal.

Burn those feats, take the less powerful/cool companions, you're still one of the powerhouses in most parties.

Stephen

I know that a druid can certainly afford to burn feats, it's just the principle of the matter. Bugs shouldn't cost more than bears!

Moofin Bard
2008-01-07, 05:38 PM
Becky (aka loves_to_laugh) I suggest an emu. How awesome would it be to ride on an emu?

(This stems from when I asked her if I could be a were-emu)

-Shelley

Moofin Bard
2008-01-07, 05:40 PM
Becky (aka loves_to_laugh) I suggest an emu. How awesome would it be to ride on an emu?

(This stems from when I asked her if I could be a were-emu)

-Shelley

loves_to_laugh
2008-01-07, 08:35 PM
Becky (aka loves_to_laugh) I suggest an emu. How awesome would it be to ride on an emu?

(This stems from when I asked her if I could be a were-emu)

-Shelley

Cheater-pants. And copycat.
And no way. Emu is just not evil enough.

F.L.
2008-01-07, 08:45 PM
Emu is Emo though.

Or maybe it's not.

Yami
2008-01-07, 08:50 PM
I would suggest a monkey.

Not an ape, or a gorrilla, but a monkey. For low level campaigns a small sized monkey can carry the party, and it doesn't really start losing effectiveness unless level 5 or so.

Mr. Chitters was a terror starting out with small size, weapon finesse and the fact his owner would launch him towards fleeing goblins.

Not much says booyah better than a monkey to the back of the head.

Of course, the dire monkey rout isn't for everyone. The large bat was a favored companion for one of the Druids I've DM'd for. A pair of them to acts as scouts while you run with a more melee base companion isn't a bad choice either.

loves_to_laugh
2008-01-07, 11:52 PM
Actually the dire bat idea is really good.
The monkey would be a good idea but someone ruined that by trying to play a monkey-druid. I have no idea how it worked but he has just ruined all monkeys from campaigns. He died in about an hour or two after starting with it.:smallamused:

Serenity
2008-01-08, 01:44 AM
One of my proudest moments was when my 5th level druids Ape companion ripped a man's throat out in a bar fight. (Needless to say, this was not a good party.)

Yami
2008-01-08, 02:02 AM
Actually the dire bat idea is really good.
The monkey would be a good idea but someone ruined that by trying to play a monkey-druid. I have no idea how it worked but he has just ruined all monkeys from campaigns. He died in about an hour or two after starting with it.:smallamused:

A true shame. We later had a monkey monk (one of the OA races.) who was similar levels of awesome, if only for the 'anywhere on the battlefield I want to be' part.

Illiterate Scribe
2008-01-08, 06:23 AM
Monstrous Crabs. You know you want to.

loves_to_laugh
2008-01-08, 08:11 PM
Monstrous Crabs. You know you want to.

Oooo... So many jokes... So much power...
:smallamused:
What book would those be in?

Moofin Bard
2008-01-10, 04:54 PM
Hey, you know what? Emus are so evil. I watched this documentary and in it, an emu chased these guys around a jungle for three freaking hours. It kept biting them and screeching at them. An emu would be your perfect companion. (whatever you choose don't sick it on me in the campaign!)

Moofin Bard
2008-01-10, 05:02 PM
Hey, you know what? Emus are so evil. I watched this documentary and in it, an emu chased these guys around a jungle for three freaking hours. It kept biting them and screeching at them. An emu would be your perfect companion. (whatever you choose don't sick it on me in the campaign!)

DisgruntledFrog
2008-01-11, 12:13 AM
Forget emus. If you want really interesting you should go for a Cassowary! Think of it as a pointy headed, blue necked emu with a really, really nasty kick.

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-18-2006-102736.asp