It is always SAD when folks want to eliminate unusual requirements in the pursuit of exceptional abilities. I must be MAD to love the opportunities provided by the differentiations possible within a theme.
However, as a GM, if a druid's player kept dismissing animal companions for convenience, I would probably his his/her deity or Mother Nature herself visit them and have the druid explain, in character, why doing that was not a callous and selfish action. Seriously? Mumsy "Survival of the Fittest" Nature is going to have a problem with a bit of selection weeding out the unfit? She's got a problem with her champion choosing terrain-appropriate companions? It just makes perfect sense to me that the Druid always has the ability to have an appropriate companion regardless of terrain. Especially useful in cases where you're going from areas where something Large and stompy like a T-Rex makes sense to an area where the poor dino would neither fit nor be happy like a cave or a city.
Druid companions can be dismissed at will and replaced at no cost within 24 hours with ANY terrain appropriate alternative. Yesterday a tiger, tomorrow a combat trained mount, next week a T-Rex... |
