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NCoDCRP. Huh. I thought the acronym would work out better than that.
Anyhoo, you all know why we're here. There is something seriously wrong with animal companions that aren't cats or dinosaurs: With very few exceptions, they suck. Really bad.
In this thread, we're going to commit to fixing these sad specimens, one beast at a time. Let's start with a classic.
We're gonna bear down for this one.
How It Started:
Starting Statistics: Size Small; Speed 40 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4), 2 claws (1d3); Ability Scores Str 15, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
4th-Level Advancement: Size Medium; Attack bite (1d6), 2 claws (1d4); Ability Scores Str +4, Dex –2, Con +2.
The Problem:
Ha ha ha aha ahhahaa aha aha aha ha ha are you serious? The bear is small. THE BEAR. IS. SMALL.
I think I hear the owl laughing at us.
Okay, so the fixes I see: Make a Big Bear and a Small Bear (no medium-sized bears needed). The Big Bear gets more Strength and Con, starts out Medium and gets Large, and gets a grab attack. The Small Bear is the same as the default, but gains a Climb speed, better Dexterity, and better Wisdom (black bears are pretty agile and very visually intelligent).
SMALL BEAR
Starting Statistics: Size Small; Speed 40 ft., Climb 20 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4), 2 claws (1d3); Ability Scores Str 15, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 16, Cha 6; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
4th-Level Advancement: Size Medium; Attack bite (1d6), 2 claws (1d4); Ability Scores Str +4, Dex –2, Con +2.
BIG BEAR
Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 40 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d6), 2 claws (1d4); Ability Scores Str 17, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
7th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d8), 2 claws (1d6); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex –2, Con +4; Special Attacks grab, rend (2 claws, 1d6 + 1-1/2 Str)
Thoughts? What would you do differently?
I don't have enough experience in this matter to form an opinion about your numbers, but you are so right about the Small Bear.
Small. Really. Why not call it a Teddy Bear while we're at it?
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The boar and the viper next.
Dot for interest.
I somehow feel like constrictor snakes should get swallow whole, although I guess that doesn't actually make zoological sense, considering how a constrictor's eating habits work...
EDIT: Oh, BTW, I think the bears look ace. I've always wanted to play a character with a bear companion, but they're so awful I could never make myself do it. Possibly the big bear's Dex looks a bit high?
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Just gonna put this in here:
A whole lotta folks say druids' ACs are a bit OP. The good ones can replace the fighter in the group. May be true.
If that's the case, why not tone down the top cats/dinosaurs just a bit (I mean, heck, the druid is a full 9-level caster, he doesn't exactly need a full fighter companion too).
Just a bit. Not much. Still want them to be good.
But lower the bar on the good ones, then raise the bar on the rest to match.
Worth consideration?
Dot
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Just gonna put this in here:
A whole lotta folks say druids' ACs are a bit OP. The good ones can replace the fighter in the group. May be true.
If that's the case, why not tone down the top cats/dinosaurs just a bit (I mean, heck, the druid is a full 9-level caster, he doesn't exactly need a full fighter companion too).
Just a bit. Not much. Still want them to be good.
But lower the bar on the good ones, then raise the bar on the rest to match.
Worth consideration?
I would rather tone down the Druid than the AC. An AC is only acceptable if quite a few resources are spent on it, and after level 12 even that gets harder.
I can see splitting the druid into a 1/2 BaB d6 HD 9th level caster with an AC, using the more limited druid list of course, and a 3/4 BaB d8 HD Wildshaping 4th or 6th level caster with an AC. I would have to mathhammer the spell list to see which would work, I suspect 6th is a better fit considering the excellence that is hunter.
Just my preference, and from anecdotal evidence + a cursory look at the AC list and table of course. I am willing to completely admit I may be wrong.
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Dog is rubbish. Use Wolf stats.
Wolf isn't too bad (trip is good), though it deserves Endurance.
Cats are lazy, and that definitely includes big cats. There are essentially no examples of a cat that isn't primarily an ambush hunter (feel free to show a counterexample...I can't find one). But the point is that they have poor stamina and can't/won't travel long distances or work for long periods. In addition, their bodies aren't well suited to carrying loads or wearing armour: the spine is extremely flexible for fast sprints and ambushes but doesn't support itself without muscular effort. I'm not sure how to model all this in PF, but it should be a thing. There are very good reason that cats aren't used much as RL work and hunting animals except by Persian princes.
I might start by making a (big - I assume nobody cares about small) cat weaker, but give it Rage to compensate in combat, so it's fatigued after a fight and can't carry much.
Dinosaurs would probably be socially unacceptable in a town. Horses, camels and dogs (and by inference wolves) are fine; hawks, cats and bears might be OK if on a leash or otherwise obviously controlled; badgers, wolverines and boars would be considered a curiosity as much as anything else. But dinosaurs?
Also, dot.
What makes cats and dinosaurs so much more powerful than other ACs? I've never noticed a big deal with them but then again I haven't sat and mathed them out either...
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I somehow feel like constrictor snakes should get swallow whole, although I guess that doesn't actually make zoological sense, considering how a constrictor's eating habits work...
As a sidenote, I have absolutely no problem with these companions exceeding the abilities of their base forms or real-life counterparts in any way. After all, isn't this supposed to be a symbiotic relationship? Perhaps the bond with the druid benefits her companion in key ways.
Downpowering the dinosaurs and cats is a good idea. Right now, I'd like to focus on fixing the others to be playable. Maybe once we've gotten the chief offenders out of the way, we can consider where an animal companion should be. I have no problem with changing big cats to fit Mudfoot's statements at that point. Why not give big cats a nerfed Constitution? They're good at the sudden pounce, but fall apart in an extended battle or long-term mission (barring healing, of course).
I can see the argument behind "dinosaurs should be banned from towns", but in practice, not only does it not make much sense (in a world where dinosaurs never went extinct, why would people fear a miniature one more than a bear, giant wolverine or pygmy roc), it just sort of screws over a player who happens to want a dinosaur. And since big cats aren't banned from towns, you still have a problem anyways.
The Big Bear's Dexterity is a mistake. It should be a 13. Good catch.
Cycnet, the issue is that dinosaurs and cats are really effective and everything else isn't. They have numerous natural attacks, abilities like Grab and Pounce, and tend to reach large size. They're on a whole other playing field. Some people try to balance it out by saying that big cats and dinosaurs are unwelcome in towns (as mentioned above), but I feel like that's more of a deterrent than an effective rule for management.
Which dinosaurs are OP? There are lots of them.
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How It Started:
Starting Statistics: Size Small; Speed 40 ft.; AC +6 natural armor; Attack gore (1d6) Ability Scores Str 13, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 4; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
4th-Level Advancement: Size Medium; Attack gore (1d8); Ability Scores Str +4, Dex –2, Con +2; Special Attacks ferocity.
The Problem:
Uh, I'm sorry, which swine are we dealing with here?
This one isn't quite as flagrant as the bear—at least it's somewhat close to real-life—but when we have dire boars, it's a bit weird that size gets capped like this. Just what kind of animal companion do you think I'm after?
Aside from size, a single attack is incredibly detrimental and needs some serious boosting to make it worthwhile at higher levels. This is a much greater challenge than the bear. Fortunately, wild boars, warthogs and really irritable sows are just badass enough to make it possible. Less Pumbaa, more [pretend I thought of a rhyme that wasn't "Roomba"].
Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 40 ft.; AC +6 natural armor; Attack gore (1d8) Ability Scores Str 17, Dex 10, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 4; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent, ferocity.
7th-Level Advancement: Size Large; Attack gore (2d6, 19-20/x2); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex –2, Con +4; Special Attacks Powerful charge (gore, 2d6 + 1-1/2 Str)
I considered giving the boar blood rage, but honestly, I thought that focusing on the deadly boar charge would be a better choice. Save the blood rage for the weasel.
Thoughts?
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Where do vermin companions rank in your opinions?
I really love the idea!
With the buff to boar, the Rhinoceros has taken a serious hit and is pretty much just worse.
Otherwise, looks great!
Plant Companions? (Sad that only elves can take them)
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I haven't really checked out either thoroughly, though I recall being extremely annoyed at spider companion size limitations barring me from getting a spider mount.
I'll cross that rhino bridge when I come to it. :P
What makes cats and dinosaurs so much more powerful than other ACs? I've never noticed a big deal with them but then again I haven't sat and mathed them out either...
At level 7, the big cat has Str 23 and pounces with 5 attacks. Plus grab (and rake for the next turn). In comparison, the bear has 21 strength, 3 attacks, no special attacks or significant abilities. The baboon has strength 16 and a single bite attack.The Ankylosaurus has 21 AC at level 1 before equipment and buffs.
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I'm half-tempted to just open the floodgates and say "apes can use tools and stuff". If I said, "an ape can wield a weapon, but is not proficient with it", what's the worst that can happen? Let's hear the works.
Because, seriously, a druid with a hunched sword-wielding bonobo minion would be kind of badass. Just picture it.
I will be seriously following this thread. I also strongly agree with DM_Blake that rather than go on a 1-up escalation, first lower the bar on the ones that are too powerful.
Mudfoot makes a powerful point about cats... halving their Strength, but letting them "Rage" would be a good start (though I wouldn't call it rage, just simulate rage to boost strength/dexterity for a few rounds per day). Their real strength is the raw number of attacks, it shouldn't be their strength. Maybe even treat their Strength as even lower (after halving, or whatever) for purpose of encumbrance...
That being said... end result should be that any combat-companion should have about half the DPR of combat players.
Anyhoots, so far so good. Bear and Boar are looking nice, though I'd want to see how they play-test of course.
PS. Something to note... something I've done in my .user files is give all Animal Companions both a 4th level boost and a 7th level boost. The ones that only get a 4th level boost tend to be overtly underwhelming.
Dotting
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Wildcats like cougars and tigers are actually crazy strong (I mean, not as strong as bears, but much stronger than humans), so giving them a low Strength is simply not the answer. Mudfoot's post pretty clearly points to lower Constitution, and that's probably what this thread will go with. Cats are glass cannons—keep them in the fight too long and they get tired out.
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I am gonna request baboon, hyena and ram. Are we open to write them? Because I wanna take a shot at it.
Letting apes use tools is an awesome idea!
Which dinosaurs are OP? There are lots of them.
Several of them are on the good side. Some are similar to big cats others are very tanky because they have high natural armor + high dex.
But I really think the worst are the big cats and the dinos similar to them (raptors for example).| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
check out these pythons
We're going to be tackling the Big Snake and the Wittle Snake in separate installments, since they're entirely different and poison is complicated (I'm gonna need help for that one). Interestingly, the default version seems to assume a form beyond that of the Bestiary's version—an anaconda rather than an ordinary constrictor snake. Does this pay off and deliver a balanced monster?
How It Started:
Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d3) Ability Scores Str 15, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2; Special Attacks grab; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
4th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +1 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex –2, Con +4; Special Attacks constrict (1d4).
The Problem:
Interestingly, the constrictor snake is one of the only companions to get Large at 4th level. It comes close to the mark, too, but falls apart in practice. The constrictor snake does less damage in a grapple than a big cat—which, need I add, also gets grab. The anaconda is worse at killing enemies via grapple than a big cat. Cats can barely grapple inanimate objects, people!
One fix is clear: Give them Constrict early on, and stop capping it at their pitiful bite damage (that makes no sense to begin with, since anacondas don't use their bites to kill prey). That's not enough to give them an edge, though. I have something else in mind.
Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d3) Ability Scores Str 15, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2; Special Attacks grab, constrict (1d8 + 1-1/2 Str); Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
7th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +1 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex –2, Con +4; Special Attacks constrict (2d6 + 1-1/2 Str); Special Qualities Constrictor (assumed to have Improved Unarmed Strike for the purposes of the Improved Grapple feats)
With this change, feats like Improved Grapple, Greater Grapple and Rapid Grappler are freed from a tiresome feat tax, and the snake is free to maximize its grappling potential. At ninth level, a constrictor snake without buffs can inflict 2d6+9 (average 16) damage twice per round against a creature it is grappling.
Note that I changed the snake to an orthodox 7th-level upgrade time, since I think the benefits I gave are better-suited there.
I am still weighing downgrading the Constrict down to 1d6/1d8 for Medium and Large. That said, Improved Natural Attack isn't compatible with it, nor is Haste, so I'm sort of inclined not to. It's only an average difference of about 1-3 damage per hit.
I know some people are going to worry that this is making the constrictor snake the best at grappling, even better than the party martial, and my answer is...yeah, maybe? At 7th level, the basic Grappling CMB will be roughly +15, while a brawler focused on grappling will be able to wrangle maybe a +16 with proper feat investment. Things should stay at roughly that pace—the snake has an early lead with Grab but a lower BAB. The Constrict damage tilts things solidly in the constrictor's favor. That said, if you're trying to play a pro wrestler in the same party as an anaconda, you're doing something wrong. It's an anaconda. It wrestles crocs.
...
Obligatory Nicki Minaj reference.
Thoughts?
Feel free to write your own! This is a cooperative exercise.
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I humbly request you give the snapping turtle enough oomph to be a tank that you wouldn't want to ignore.
Step 1) Remove pounce from all animal companion options. You have solved the problem of everyone taking the the big cat or several of the dinosaurs.
Step 2) Establish the power level animal companions should have
Step 3) Homogenize stats to represent "strength" animals, "constitution animals", and dex animals. If the animal belongs to that group it gets those stats, so that things are roughly equivalent.
Step 4) Give animals appropriate abilities and make sure that every animal gets roughly the same amount of stuff to balance them.
Maybe strength animals all just get rage instead of actually higher strength. We could go about this in lots of different ways. But animal companions should really all be roughly equal instead of having your choice of flavor be an abysmal mechanical choice.
Maybe for animals that should be normally fairly small (like a viper) it has the ability to be affected by "animal growth" and temporarily turn into a constrictor snake without the constrict or grapple bonuses but a buffed poison. Because a magical connection to your animal friend should do some crazy stuff.
Pounce is too thematic to confiscate completely, so that's not likely to happen. I would rather make each animal uniquely effective than homogenize a standard effective template (especially for animals that don't fit into those templates, like the constrictor snake). That totally misses the one real advantage of Pathfinder. There are a decent number of ways to excel and plenty of ways to at least keep up.
Also, technically, there's nothing remotely magical about a druid's companion or the bond therewith.
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I'm not exactly inclined to measure an animal companion against fighters in their current state. Try slayers or barbarians, maybe. :P
How do you think these Hyena work? I figured that if wolfs got to be gigantic, no reason Hyenas can't as well. I feel bad about it, but there is no way I am gonna go in an bold all that stuff that should be bolded. My googledoc has them bolded, and thats good enough for me.
Hyena
Starting Statistics
Size Small; Speed 40 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d6 plus trip), Ability Scores Str 13, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
4th-Level Advancement
Size Medium; AC +1 natural armor; Attack bite (1d8 plus trip); Ability Scores Str +4, Dex –2, Con +2.; Special Qualities powerful jaws
Powerful Jaws (Ex): A Hyena's muscular jaws threaten a critical hit on a natural roll of 19 or 20.
Hyena, Greater
Starting Statistics
Size Medium; Speed 40 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d6 plus trip); Ability Scores Str 13, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent, powerful jaws
Powerful Jaws (Ex): A greater hyena's muscular jaws threaten a critical hit on a natural roll of 19 or 20.
7th-Level Advancement
Size Large; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d8 plus trip); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex –2, Con +4
My biggest concern with the constrictor snake is its space. As is they have to use squeezing rules to move through or fight in 5ft corridors. Remember we are talking about snakes!
I actually considered putting in a note about that but figured it would be a waste of time as no sane GM would ever enforce squeezing rules on a flipping python.
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You should just give snakes compression. The ability already exists :)
I definitely like compression for the big snake. I would probably even take that over the IUS idea (although I do like that one) if you feel something would need to be traded out for it.
Otherwise, I think the disparity between the bite damage and the constrict damage is a mite vast. I would make it bite (1d4) and constrict (1d6 + 1-1/2 str) at Medium, improving to bite (1d6) and constrict (1d8 + 1-1/2 str) at Large.
Otherwise looks awesome.
Yeah, I know it exists, I just...didn't care that much, since I can't see a GM who allows these house rules being that much of a dick about it. You can feel free to add it into the stats. :P
The difference is supposed to be vast. A constrictor snake does not use its bite to constrict. Its constriction is a wholly separate ability that should not be reliant on how sharp its teeth are.
I've always run snakes as sort of occupying four squares (for Large) that need to be contiguous but are otherwise shapeable as it moves, sort of like a big swarm's space, designating one square as the head to determine where bite attacks originate and how it threatens. It works out alright, although ideally you'd want a snake with a tail slap attached to the other end (that also has grab), because it's sort of a combat nerf otherwise. I always thought serpentine creatures got rather silly with being so static on the battlemap. That's probably a hard thing to write into an animal companion as a special ability, though, and is arguably more of a general house rule anyway. I just thought of it in re this compression discussion.
I did not realize that bear companions do not receive grab as part of their special attacks. How did this come to pass?
Sorry about the "hiatus". Next up: The viper! This should be...hard. It almost seemed like a poison-focused druid should be its own archetype.
Sorry about the "hiatus". Next up: The viper! This should be...hard. It almost seemed like a poison-focused druid should be its own archetype.
My feeling would be toward pretty bad damage all the way, but good accuracy and ac (free Weapon Finesse?).
For its progression give it a Dex boost instead of Str and don't make it medium. Maybe give its poison a boost.Obviously it's weak against things that can't be poisoned, but if you pick a poisonous snake you need to expect that.
Edit: That still feel weak; maybe it could also have a debuff that increased poison DC against people it's already bitten even if they make the save?
Other suggestions:
Let it gain multiple bite attacks to boost up the poison.
Don't make it small, make it tiny - let it share squares, but have reach of 5 feet (to represent its strike).
Let it pass through enemy squares without AoO under some cirucmstances
Gain the ability to spit poison
I might give the viper Dex to damage. I will most definitely be giving its poison a major boost. It'll get a Dex-based save DC, for sure (or even just base the DC off the druid's Wisdom), and while the size of the viper never increases, the poison definitely will. Frankly, the ineptitude of this is bewildering. They somehow thought it was okay to give a viper a 4th-level advancement that grants a grand total of:
-2 AC
+2 Con
+1 to-hit with Bite, or -2 to-hit if the druid had it take Weapon Finesse.
-5 Stealth
+1.5 average damage on a hit
Increasing the size is the worst thing they could do to this poor creature.
EDIT: I could potentially make it Tiny, but give it Lunge at the advancement.
How It Started:
Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d3 plus poison) Ability Scores Str 8, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2; Special Attacks poison (Frequency 1 round (6), Effect 1 Con damage, Cure 1 save, Con-based DC); Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
4th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +1 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4 plus poison); Ability Scores Str +4, Dex –2, Con +2.
The Problem:
...wha.
There are a few major problems with poison in Pathfinder—it gives too many saves, it's more a nuisance than a fatal effect (personally, I think they should make the damage it causes easier to get rid of, so they can make it more devastating while it's present), and the rules are incredibly complicated.
That said, even within the rules, this is total s~@+. The poison is ineffectual, the viper is hilarioulsy awful as a melee fighter, and the one small niche it has—being a slightly decent scout—is demolished by its size increase.
The viper doesn't work as a melee fighter, nor as support. It is easy to kill and easier to ignore. It can't even learn as many tricks as normal companions. The only remotely good thing it has is its variety of movement types, though it can't fly, so how great that is is really up for debate. Hell, Swim and Climb are both Strength-based, so it's only ever going to be mediocre at those anyways.
I had two ideas on how to fix this, partially inspired by some of Aldrakan's ideas. So here's what I went with.
Starting Statistics: Size Tiny; Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Reach 5 ft.; Attack bite (1d2 plus poison) Ability Scores Str 8, Dex 21, Con 13, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2; Special Attacks poison (Frequency 1 round (6), Effect 1d2 Con damage, Cure 1 save, Dex-based DC); Special Qualities low-light vision, scent, Weapon Finesse (bonus feat)
7th-Level Advancement: Ability Scores Dex +2, Con +2; Special Attacks poison (Frequency 1 round (6), Effect 1d3 Con damage, Cure 2 saves, Dex-based DC); Special Qualities Spring Attack (bonus feat)
The viper needed some serious boosting. I increased the Dexterity, granted Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat, and, of course, enhanced the poison (1d2 instead of 1, and Dex-based). I also made them Tiny and gave them five-foot reach.
The advancement was pushed back to 7th level. They don't increase in size, but their poison goes up to 1d3—equivalent to the Poison spell, but it also has a 2-save requirement now, making it seriously potent. Just for kicks, I also handed them Spring Attack. They shouldn't be kept in melee much, after all.
One ability I considered giving them was Attach. Instead of blood drain, they would add an additional dose of the venom each round automatically. Some snakes rely on strong jaws to continue injecting the poison, after all. But I decided that would make things too busy.
Starting Statistics: Size Tiny; Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.; AC +1 natural armor; Attack bite (1d2 plus poison) or spit (ranged attack, target is blinded for 1 round, range 10 feet, usable every 1d3 rounds) Ability Scores Str 8, Dex 21, Con 11, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2; Special Attacks poison (Frequency 1 round (6), Effect 1 Con damage, Cure 1 save, Dex-based DC); Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
7th-Level Advancement: Attack spitting poison (ranged touch attack, target is blinded for 1d4 rounds and must make Fort save vs. poison DC or be permanently blinded, range 15 feet); Ability Scores Dex +2, Con +2.
Some biological liberties were taken—normal spitting cobras can spit out to about five feet. But I liked the idea of a spitter, so it made it in. The spit starts out as a normal attack with 10-foot range, then gets upgraded to a 15-foot range touch attack (eventually, the snake learns to aim around armor, since it's impossible to ever totally cover the eyes).
It's a risky maneuver, since the snake has to move practically into melee range, but the blinding is incredibly helpful for a PC who needs to debilitate her foes (this is basically an at-will blindness spell). It's especially nasty in an NPC's hands, which is part of the reason it got pushed up to 7th level and took on a "usable every 1d3 rounds" limitation.
Oh, also, both of them got boosts to Base Land Speed, since snakes actually make pretty fast when they're hustling (I think the designers made the mistake of comparing snake max speeds to human max speeds, even though human max speeds involve running while snake max speeds involve, well, just being in sort of a hurry).
So next up are baboon, hyena and ram. Since Adam B. already took a shot at hyenas, I'll skip them for now and go straight to the ram.
The Problem I see with an AC that has a dangerous poison is that it will, most likely, result in someone in the party buying a chalice of poison weeping to gather the poison and use it on his weapons.
Not to say the poison shouldn't be buffed, just as a warning against abuse.
There's not much you can do about that. It's not a great gathering means, though. You still have to take the damage at least once before the chalice can be used. Who's gonna volunteer to take 1d3 Con damage for the team?
Pounce is too thematic to confiscate completely, so that's not likely to happen. I would rather make each animal uniquely effective than homogenize a standard effective template (especially for animals that don't fit into those templates, like the constrictor snake). That totally misses the one real advantage of Pathfinder. There are a decent number of ways to excel and plenty of ways to at least keep up.
Ya know, evolved companion is just a few words of extremely exact restrictions keeping companions from all getting pounce. Words Familiars don't have.
I suppose the point I'm making is that the problem might have less to do with those companions being OP choices so much as they possess an ability that maybe should be easier to get access to in the game. Just a possibility. Though, I like the idea of Animal Companions having unique abilities that are like restrict, but good. Flavorful OP things attached to who or what they are.
Amusing, I was told earlier that a concept I had might even make plant companions on par with cats and dinos. It's a shame there isn't like a weakness policy where bad companions are valided by an archetype giving buffs.
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There are a few major problems with poison in Pathfinder—it gives too many saves, it's more a nuisance than a fatal effect (personally, I think they should make the damage it causes easier to get rid of, so they can make it more devastating while it's present), and the rules are incredibly complicated.
I like the notion, toyed with at the beginning of 3.X, inconsistently, that some poisons might do hit point damage instead of ability damage, or might have some sort of other effect, while progressing, such as the sickened condition, or blindness (or some sort of partial blindness that just gives the 20% miss chance?).
Or, instead of Ability Damage, perhaps the 'neurotoxin' just gives a flat Dex penalty for the duration, working more like ray of enfeeblement, and when you shake it off, you get all your coordination back at once.
That said, even within the rules, this is total s##+. The poison is ineffectual, the viper is hilarioulsy awful as a melee fighter, and the one small niche it has—being a slightly decent scout—is demolished by its size increase.
Another pet peeve for me is how so many companions increase in size, losing 2 Dex, and thus netting a minus two to Armor Class, and yet don't necessarily gain any Natural Armor bonus (badger, bear, boar, and yeah, viper). They are essentially getting bigger, and easier to kill? Ooh hey, that d3 bite upgrading to a d4 bite is just totally going to save the day 'though!
Large Bear Progression Ability Scores Str +8
+8? Isn't that too much?
A grizzly bear is large and has 21 STR, that one would have 25 STR before any animal companion bonuses.EDIT
On the other hand, that matches the polar bear's stats.