Benefit of animal companion?

[WarKitty]

Is there a significant benefit of an animal companion (at lower levels) over a simple hired animal?

[ScionoftheVoid]

Is there a significant benefit of an animal companion (at lower levels) over a simple hired animal?

Free, and a free action to command to do stuff (move action to push. As opposed to the normal move action to command, Full-round to push). It gets more tricks than usual and they're free of time, so you need less downtime to get the most out of the creature. They scale, but that's not so important at low levels. Share spells, and that's the last thing I can remember.

[aivanther]

Less money, and especially at lvl 1 that's amazing (cash is tight at level 1).

They are very very easy to push, and can learn more tricks. In fact, with the simple tricks it knows up front, it's pretty easy to not need to push it much.

I would have to run through some of my RAW, but I think it also gives you easier access to hard to train animals. I.e. Wolf companion, pre tricked and friendly rather than catching/raising/training etc.

SHARE SPELLS, enough said.

[Eldariel]

Also, bonus to Handle Animal, which is fairly huge. Some other nice bonuses as well.

[Fizban]

Like the others said, they're free and you can order them around as a free action. After a few levels they start getting more powerful, and they get more tricks than a normal animal. Though normal animals should come trained, meaning you shouldn't need to waste downtime for either. In fact, the druid will spend more downtime having to train their animal for basic tasks until really high levels when they get enough bonus to work.

The most powerful piece of low level gear is definitely a Heavy Warhorse. It has 4 hit dice, high strength, and 3 natural attacks. The ride checks are low enough that even without any skill it's not going to disrupt you too much, and besides: at 2nd level your mount is a better fighter than you anyway, if you lose your action it's no biggie. At 3rd level you can afford a couple warhorses and some cheap barding, and they can probably kill things as well as half the party.

[WarKitty]

Like the others said, they're free and you can order them around as a free action. After a few levels they start getting more powerful, and they get more tricks than a normal animal. Though normal animals should come trained, meaning you shouldn't need to waste downtime for either. In fact, the druid will spend more downtime having to train their animal for basic tasks until really high levels when they get enough bonus to work.

The most powerful piece of low level gear is definitely a Heavy Warhorse. It has 4 hit dice, high strength, and 3 natural attacks. The ride checks are low enough that even without any skill it's not going to disrupt you too much, and besides: at 2nd level your mount is a better fighter than you anyway, if you lose your action it's no biggie. At 3rd level you can afford a couple warhorses and some cheap barding, and they can probably kill things as well as half the party.

I'm starting the game at 3rd level. Since we're lacking a pure arcane caster, I'm pretty much the designated fireball-thrower. So the mount/companion has 2 real purposes here: Carry my stuff because my strength is crap, and keep me out of the line of fire while I fry things.
I was looking at a big cat (pathfinder) companion to ride...I'm small size so I only need a medium mount. Pathfinder allows me to trade out my companion for a single cleric domain, which would give me more spell slots. Although I already have a fair few thanks to 23 Wis.

[Snake-Aes]

It's a FighterLite with easier control, more tricks.
On the frying faces playstyle...there are better alternatives, but i'll leave it at that.

The companion is also more survivable than hired animals.

[WarKitty]

It's a FighterLite with easier control, more tricks.
On the frying faces playstyle...there are better alternatives, but i'll leave it at that.

Now I'm curious what the alternatives are. Battlefield control has unfortunately never been my strong point, I always seem to get my allies caught in the entangle spells or whatever.

[Lysander]

Animal companions are also very easy to swap or replace. If it dies, or if you want a different animal, just pray for 24 hours to get a new one. If you were simply using trained animals you'd have to buy or train a new one each time it died.

[balistafreak]

Now I'm curious what the alternatives are. Battlefield control has unfortunately never been my strong point, I always seem to get my allies caught in the entangle spells or whatever.

Battlefield control is supposed to be cast as soon as possible before the battlelines get FUBAR'd. This is why initiative is so important to Battlefield Controllers, even more so than anyone else. It's basically why you don't see a semi-optimized wizard out there who doesn't have Improved Initiative/Nerveskitter/every initiative booster underneath the sun.

That, and Animal Companions are expendable. While it may make you extremely squeamish, let's face the facts - anything you can replace with 24 hours of prayer is far game for being thrown in front of the dragon.

One reflavoring I found helpful was that the companion wasn't actually flesh and blood but a sort of spiritual avatar. When it "died" it was simply banished, and you just had resummon it with a lengthy ritual.

[Beorn080]

I'm starting the game at 3rd level. Since we're lacking a pure arcane caster, I'm pretty much the designated fireball-thrower. So the mount/companion has 2 real purposes here: Carry my stuff because my strength is crap, and keep me out of the line of fire while I fry things.
I was looking at a big cat (pathfinder) companion to ride...I'm small size so I only need a medium mount. Pathfinder allows me to trade out my companion for a single cleric domain, which would give me more spell slots. Although I already have a fair few thanks to 23 Wis.

If you are willing to wait a level, you can get a dire bat, which can be used as a mount if your small. At level 4, not many things have flying.

[aivanther]

If you are willing to wait a level, you can get a dire bat, which can be used as a mount if your small. At level 4, not many things have flying.

or you can just dismiss your companion when you level up and get a dire bat.

[Runeclaw]

If you are willing to wait a level, you can get a dire bat, which can be used as a mount if your small. At level 4, not many things have flying.

Since he's in Pathfinder, companion choices don't depend on level, and Roc is probably the best flying option.

[tyckspoon]

Since he's in Pathfinder, companion choices don't depend on level, and Roc is probably the best flying option.

The Pathfinder companion list actually has no provision for a mount-worthy flying companion at all.

[WarKitty]

The Pathfinder companion list actually has no provision for a mount-worthy flying companion at all.

You have to look in the pathfinder bestiary for it.

[Darrin]

If you are willing to wait a level, you can get a dire bat, which can be used as a mount if your small. At level 4, not many things have flying.

Dire bats are actually large, so they can carry a medium-sized rider.

The dire hawk is medium, and may be more suitable for small-sized riders.

[Moriato]

An animal companion... with benefits? Now there's a reason to revere nature.

Seriously though, share spells is the biggest advantage at lower levels. Remember, it lets the companion accept ordinary self-only buffs, and ones that wouldn't normally work on animals.

[Runeclaw]

An animal companion... with benefits? Now there's a reason to revere nature.

Seriously though, share spells is the biggest advantage at lower levels. Remember, it lets the companion accept ordinary self-only buffs, and ones that wouldn't normally work on animals.

Although they gimped it in PF