Hey guys, been playing since beta and I LOVE pathfinder's new take on the rules. Thing is my gang wanted to stick with some things 3.5 (They really like Eberron) so we stuck with the atmosphere of 3.5's Eberron, but using the classes/rules of Pathfinder.
The group I am DM'ing is a Ranger, Druid, Paladin, & Rogue. Basically the Paladin and Druid are sharing the healing roles, the Paladin is being the tank, the ranger is the damage dealer and the rogue is the skill junkie. The druid (since we don't have a wizard/sorcerer) is acting as a healer / buffer / crowd controller and has basically created his pet to be his damage dealer as a side job. The party has recently hit level 9 and the ranger was talking about taking a feat called "Natural Bond" from 3.5 complete adventurer
Source: http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=1024
Quote:
Your bond with your animal companion exceptionally is strong.
Prereq: Animal companion.
Benefit: Add 3 to you effective druid level to determine the bonus HD (and stuff) of your companion. Can't raise your effective druid level higher than your character level.
My issue with this (the druid brought it to my attention) is that with Pathfinder ranger the hunter's bond reads:
Quote:
The second option is to form a close bond with an animal companion. A ranger who selects an animal companion can choose from the following list: badger, bird, camel, cat (small), dire rat, dog, horse, pony, snake (viper or constrictor), or wolf. If the campaign takes place wholly or partly in an aquatic environment, the ranger may choose a shark instead. This animal is a loyal companion that accompanies the ranger on his adventures as appropriate for its kind. A ranger's animal companion shares his favored enemy and favored terrain bonuses.
This ability functions like the druid animal companion ability (which is part of the Nature Bond class feature), except that the ranger's effective druid level is equal to his ranger level – 3.
Now this is 3.5's ranger animal companion:
Quote:
Animal Companion (Ex)
At 4th level, a ranger gains an animal companion selected from the following list: badger, camel, dire rat, dog, riding dog, eagle, hawk, horse (light or heavy), owl, pony, snake (Small or Medium viper), or wolf. If the campaign takes place wholly or partly in an aquatic environment, the following creatures may be added to the ranger’s list of options: manta ray, porpoise, Medium shark, and squid. This animal is a loyal companion that accompanies the ranger on his adventures as appropriate for its kind.
This ability functions like the druid ability of the same name, except that the ranger’s effective druid level is one-half his ranger level. A ranger may select from the alternative lists of animal companions just as a druid can, though again his effective druid level is half his ranger level. Like a druid, a ranger cannot select an alternative animal if the choice would reduce his effective druid level below 1st.
Now I'll stop drawing this out and get to my point:
With 3.5 , this feat makes sense. If a druid multiclasses they can get that extra 3 levels back for their pet, a level 20 ranger would act like a level 13 druid (since in 3.5 the ranger is 1/2 level of the druid).
With pathfinder, this puts the rangers pet equally as powerful as the druids... is it just me or is that far overpowered? Druids are quite a bit weaker than how they were in 3.5 so I always found the customization of their pet in Pathfinder to be a nice touch for them. The ranger got stronger than 3.5's ranger...
I'm inclined to tell my ranger he can't take the feat for the sole fact it's basicaly robbing a druid of one of it's core, unique powers. Since the mechanics of animal companion has changed so drastically from 3.5 to Pathfinder, it makes sense not to allow this feat...
What would be your guys' feedback be? I know 3.5 to Pathfinder is 90% able to be converted, but this is one of the things I just don't think I'd allow.
Any other DM's able to pipe in?
