best animal companion

[aart lover]

what do you guys think would be the best animal companion ? i'm not talking about familiars, just ordinary animals/creatures that follow you around. i'd personally like a pseudodragon, but that's just me.

[aboyd]

I like the ape. He's low level enough that he's easy to get, but he has 10' reach, for lots of attacks of opportunity.

[nyarlathotep]

Standard answer from a statistical point of view is a large cat (puma etc.), or a fleshraker dinosaur (MM3). This is for two very useful abilities both of them possess, pounce and rend. Usually with the boosts from leveling up these two remain at the head of the pack.

For a personal roleplaying perspective I'd have to go with some form of dinosaur, either one of the hundreds of DND raptor clones or a T-rex.

[BenInHB]

Riding Dog

It's available at the first level you get an Animal Companion. It can Trip like a wolf but has better strength, damage and AC.

[Vknight]

I love the Hawk & Owl.
Not the best but they make great rouges able to sneak attack with evasion & uncanny dodge at low levels.

For best a velociraptor clone, bear, ape, or large cat. In a campaign set in an area near a great volume of water or constantly near water, Crocodile.

[aart lover]

Riding Dog

It's available at the first level you get an Animal Companion. It can Trip like a wolf but has better strength, damage and AC.

only problem is that only the smaller types like halflings can ride them. otherwise, you raise a valid point.

[MachineWraith]

only problem is that only the smaller types like halflings can ride them. otherwise, you raise a valid point.

He has a valid point regardless. It's a wolf, but better. If you're small and can ride, then it's a wolf, but better, that you can ride.

From a crunch perspective, I'd go with what a poster above me has already said: large cat or fleshraker.

However, I can't deny the siren call that is the T-rex animal companion.

[Vknight]

Neither can I I miss Rexy so much he was so much fun.

[Loki Eremes]

.

Cthulhu.

[Vknight]

Now that is a useless animal companion

[Stallion]

Giant Crocodile. Improved Grab, ridiculous grapple, reach, hold breath.

[Vknight]

Still does not compare to others but it is useful for campaigns in areas with many rivers and swamps.

[rayne_dragon]

Ever since I read an article on the cleverness of octopi, I've thought they'd make a great animal companion, if you can put up with the limitations. Plus they're funny and weird.

That said, pseudodragons and fairy dragons are just awesome.

[isotunknown]

Fleshraker or the big cats for fighting.

[Vknight]

On further review I stand by what I stated earlier but Feiry Dragons do offer some useful benefits

[Eldariel]

Ursine companion would be optimal. 'cause Bear > Everything.

[CycloneJoker]

Horrid, Dire, Magebred, Draconic, Paragon, Creature of Legend, Radiant puppy.

Did I win?

[Vknight]

Horrid, Dire, Magebred, Draconic, Paragon, Creature of Legend, Radiant puppy.

Did I win?

No instead you have lost everything!!!

[MammonAzrael]

If its a class feature, you can't beat the fleshraker IMO.

Dinosaurs ftw!

[aart lover]

i guess fleshraker= serious win. although i've never heard of it

[CycloneJoker]

No instead you have lost everything!!!

Nah, I'm pretty I won.

[MammonAzrael]

i guess fleshraker= serious win. although i've never heard of it

Monster Manual 3. 4 HD, Pounce+, 2 claws, 1 bite, 1 tail, rake, and poison.

And, dinosaur.

[Eldariel]

i guess fleshraker= serious win. although i've never heard of it

It's a Raptor-like dinosaur with poisonous claws; listed in Monster Manual III. It packs some serious wallop; intelligent, agile, strong creature with amazing speed, and a very, very scary combat style involving a cat-style pounce except it also tries to knock the target off-balance with its weight in the pounce; in effect, it's a pounce with all its limbs (including a rake) + poison into a trip and a grapple thrown in for good measure. Oh, and they have a thick skin to boot. Combat-wise, they're quite unparalleled, especially in the category of similarly-sized creatures.

[Greenish]

It packs some serious wallop; intelligent, agile, strong creature with amazing speed, and a very, very scary combat style involving a cat-style pounce except it also tries to knock the target off-balance with its weight in the pounce; in effect, it's a pounce with all its limbs (including a rake) + poison into a trip and a grapple thrown in for good measure. Oh, and they have a thick skin to boot. Combat-wise, they're quite unparalleled, especially in the category of similarly-sized creatures.

Remember, raptors run 10 m/s and know no fear.

Spoiler

Show

[MarkusWolfe]

Standard answer from a statistical point of view is a large cat (puma etc.), or a fleshraker dinosaur (MM3). This is for two very useful abilities both of them possess, pounce and rend. Usually with the boosts from leveling up these two remain at the head of the pack.

For a personal roleplaying perspective I'd have to go with some form of dinosaur, either one of the hundreds of DND raptor clones or a T-rex.

UUUGH....this reminds me of my last session.

Spoiler

Show

We were ridding a forest of an evil taint.

First day, we were attacked by a LEGENDARY TIGER. It jumped me, I failed the grapple check. For the rest of the fight, I was on my back stabbing it with a knife until it died after which I had to help kill the other LEGENDARY TIGER that had come along. But it was ok, I skinned them, took their skulls and claws and ate their delicious hearts.

Second day, I heard something sneaking up on us. We all climb 10-15 ft up some trees, except for the caster, who hides in a bush. He is almost killed when a FIENDISH LEGENDARY TIGER pounces on him. He gets out of there, we all jump the tiger, but again I end up on the bottom stabbing it with my knife. Then it ran away after we had done serious damage to it.

We gave pursuit after healing up of course, and then we encountered the gnoll druid. After hitting us with spells, he sicced a megaraptor on us. We just barely managed to kill it, but the cleric was trapped in its mouth. Then as the druid turned into a megaraptor, the tiger came back. Surprise! It was the druids animal companion! And guess who it went for first? That's right, me. The other half of the party manages to fell the druid, but meanwhile the tiger almost kills me. It got to a point where it might have killed me with another full round attack, but then it saw the cleric sticking halfway out of the raptors mouth and decided he looked tastier. This gave me the chance the stand and finish the vile beast with a blow from my greataxe.

All in all, the encounter had nearly made mincemeat of us all, but we survived. The tiger received the same treatment as the other 2, sans the heart eating. Their pelts all sold for over 5k gp apiece.

But yes, a cat or a bear is the best way to go.

[aart lover]

UUUGH....this reminds me of my last session.

Spoiler

Show

We were ridding a forest of an evil taint.

First day, we were attacked by a LEGENDARY TIGER. It jumped me, I failed the grapple check. For the rest of the fight, I was on my back stabbing it with a knife until it died after which I had to help kill the other LEGENDARY TIGER that had come along. But it was ok, I skinned them, took their skulls and claws and ate their delicious hearts.

Second day, I heard something sneaking up on us. We all climb 10-15 ft up some trees, except for the caster, who hides in a bush. He is almost killed when a FIENDISH LEGENDARY TIGER pounces on him. He gets out of there, we all jump the tiger, but again I end up on the bottom stabbing it with my knife. Then it ran away after we had done serious damage to it.

We gave pursuit after healing up of course, and then we encountered the gnoll druid. After hitting us with spells, he sicced a megaraptor on us. We just barely managed to kill it, but the cleric was trapped in its mouth. Then as the druid turned into a megaraptor, the tiger came back. Surprise! It was the druids animal companion! And guess who it went for first? That's right, me. The other half of the party manages to fell the druid, but meanwhile the tiger almost kills me. It got to a point where it might have killed me with another full round attack, but then it saw the cleric sticking halfway out of the raptors mouth and decided he looked tastier. This gave me the chance the stand and finish the vile beast with a blow from my greataxe.

All in all, the encounter had nearly made mincemeat of us all, but we survived. The tiger received the same treatment as the other 2, sans the heart eating. Their pelts all sold for over 5k gp apiece.

But yes, a cat or a bear is the best way to go.

dude one tiny nitpick tho. i was under the impression that gnoll didn't have the intelligence or the wisdom to be druids?

[Greenish]

dude one tiny nitpick tho. i was under the impression that gnoll didn't have the intelligence or the wisdom to be druids?

Specific classes do not have stat requirements for taking levels in, in 3.5. All you need to take levels in PC classes is to have cha and wis scores, and 3+ int.

Gnolls come with -2 int and no adjustment to wis score, for the record.

[Ranger Mattos]

Horrid, Dire, Magebred, Draconic, Paragon, Creature of Legend, Radiant puppy.

Did I win?

No. Winning would be a Horrid, Dire, Magebred, Draconic, Half-Dragon, Half-Minotaur, Feral, Paragon, Creature of Legend, Radiant, Pseudonatural house cat.


... a wizard did it.

[Vknight]

No. Winning would be a Horrid, Dire, Magebred, Draconic, Half-Dragon, Half-Minotaur, Feral, Paragon, Creature of Legend, Radiant, Pseudonatural house cat.


... a wizard did it.

Exactly.
That is why you lost.
But if we are going that far I can think of a way to have ooze's.
More specifically a Half-Dragon, Gelantious Cube.

[CycloneJoker]

No. Winning would be a Horrid, Dire, Magebred, Draconic, Half-Dragon, Half-Minotaur, Feral, Paragon, Creature of Legend, Radiant, Pseudonatural house cat.


... a wizard did it.

Nah, Half-Dragon, Half-Minotaur, Feral, and Pseudonatural all make it less cute and cuddly, both VERY important attributes for a puppy, and puppies>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>cats, therefor I won.