Opinion Poll, Growth SubDomain or Animal Companion

I am planning on making a Goliath Druid for PFS, when they become legal ofcourse, and I am torn on which to take for my nature bond. So, what are your thoughts?

The companion is more powerful, but the growth domain gives you some nice abilities, and extra spells are always good.

I'm not sure if growth domain will stack with your wildshape, as some people have been trying to explain to me that improved natural attacks and strong jaw don't stack because both make natural weapons hit above their normal damage die. That being said, I'd say animal companion so you don't have to argue with your gm on whether wildshape and growth domain power stack.

The domain companion comes with a virtual feat tax of Boon Companion. It's still a really good choice though.

Tough choice. Rodinia is a cleric with both those domains. Both are quite handy. The Animal Companion provides more total combat power, if you use it right. Growth Domain can provide you with fantastic damage novas. Tough choice.

Just a Mort is correct that Enlarge Person doesn't stack with wildshape, so it won't make you huge.

Which one is better for you probably depends how you intend to use them. Rodinia uses them thusly:

Animal (Feather) Domain and Boon Companion provide an Animal Buddy. It's an Axe Beak mount, which has reach, Combat Reflexes, Paired Opportunists, and a Narrow Frame. The rider wields a reach weapon, so both threaten the same thirty two (32) 5x5 squares. Both mount and rider have Paired Opportunists, so combined AoOs are extremely effective. As in, this 6th level cleric routinely sees +20 to hit and thus rarely misses. That's base +9 to hit, -2 from Power Attack, +4 to hit from buff spells, +5 to hit from a mounted paired AoO, and +4 to hit from attacking prone targets after they are tripped by the mount at reach. One recent combat we used all 7 paired AoOs to inflict 189 HP damage in one round. You only get these AoOs when foes are willing to provoke them.

Growth Domain is most useful if you wield a reach weapon. This allows you to suddenly threaten foes 30' away. Combat Reflexes and 14+ DEX enhances this by giving you multiple AoOs. That's a 5' step, swiftly growing 5' towards them, and 20' reach. This allows you to take your own normal actions, whatever they are, then suddenly grow and threaten foes who can't yet reach you. If the threatened foes want to do anything on their turn they must take your AoOs. So, properly used, Growth Domain forces two foes to each provoke an AoO, giving you lots of extra attacks. Foes have little choice but to provoke these AoOs. Rodinia typically inflicts about 50 HP damage from these two AoOs, which is a pretty decent damage nova considering it's done outside your normal turn.

Growth Domain also provides some damage bonuses, but these are inconsequential compared to multiple free extra attacks from AoOs. There's a published Pathfinder adventure in which you fight druids with this domain power. They are comically inept, as they use their Growth domain power only for the extra few HP damage and completely neglect using it with reach tactics to get extra attacks. There is the problem that druids lack proficiency in a reach weapon (so do monks!!!), but they don't even try to work around this. Large druids wielding a shillelagh are a thing, and get an AoO if they position correctly. If they used their own domain power with some tactical smarts they'd kick the party's &^%&^%.

Rodinia finds that, now she's usually mounted, Growth Domain doesn't get a lot of use. Which one is better probably depends on how you plan to use it.

I find companions annoying. Having to manage two creatures in and out of combat is too cumbersome. Regardless of how "powerful" they may be, I just wouldn't want to deal with it.

I'm with Some Other Guy. I never take animal companions/familiars/mounts/summons for precisely that reason. It also means your turns take twice as long.

Hi Nohwear! ::Hmm waves at her GM!::

I'm of the opposite camp as Some Other Guy and Zhayne. I adore animal companions, and think that they work really well, especially at the lower levels of play that tend to dominate PFS.

Animal companions can be just awesome, but you should think about what you want that the animal can give you. It's also important with an AC to be really prepared to keep play moving, and to use the tricks system (flank is great) so that you don't stomp all over other player's play options.

What do you want to do with your beast? What sort of buddy were you considering?

Hmm

First, thank you everyone for your feedback. I am not sure if this is the best archetype for this, but I have always wanted to make a druid with a focus on buffing his beast.

I've always wondered if druids make the best animal buffers these days. Evangelist clerics give their animal companions bard song? (Hello +3 hit and damage, divine favor lets say hi to another +3 to attack and damage), thats already a +6 to attack and damage flat at lv 11. Oh. Fluffy wants to be bigger? I cast righteous might on fluffy. Animal growth gives +8 str, which only translates to a +4 to atk amd dmg. We're not counting the negatives to hit due to size. Ok strong jaw is nice but the dmg die increase becomes less significant then damage modifiers. I suppose there's something very wrong with the world when non druids support their animal companions then druids can...

Evangelist cleric can take flagbearer, thats another +2 to atk and dmg, if using banner of ancient kings. So in 1 round, an evangelist cleric can give his/her animal companion +8 to atk,+8 to dmg. Flat.The rest of the party gets +5 to atk and dmg if within 30 ft of the evangelist,+3 to atk and dmg if not.

As someone building an evangelist cleric with an animal companion (for Nohwear's game, I might add) I thank you, Mort! This is giving me more ideas on how to play as an evangelist with an AC -- some of them really interesting to me.

That said, druids are fairly awesome AC buffers. Also interesting to me for PFS play are hunters (teamwork feats with your AC, access to the entire Ranger and Druid spell list (hello, 1st level wands!) and all martial weapons.

On the arcane side, you've got sylvan sorcerers who can do some very interesting buffs and polymorphs on their animal companion from an arcane standpoint.

_____

Interestingly enough, in PFS I have yet to buff my tiger Pumpkin. He's non bad un-buffed, and I haven't wanted to steal thunder from all the other melee people I've played with. I've focused more on buffs of other players and battlefield control, with Pumpkin being a flank buddy for the melee and rogues.

It's made my tiger pretty popular at the tables we play in... He's actually brought a lot of team support to the table, especially when he grapples bad guys and allows us to capture them alive.

Hmm

If you want to retain druid, the best archtype for buffing animal companions is the nagaji aspirant, because they get access to divine favour, true strike, shield, divine power, if you select those options when you level up. You have to be nagaji, of course.

Hmm..I think if we ever were to play together on a campaign, we could start a zoo.

For a strict martial or a battle caster growth has a clear advantage, for a caster oriented the companion has clear advantage, for everything else the companion has a slight advantage unless your design is so feat intensive you couldn't fit a feat.

Hmm..I think if we ever were to play together on a campaign, we could start a zoo.

::Laughs::

I don't doubt it, Mort.

In my Emerald Spire campaign in which I am playing, we have several children as players. When I got a talking thrush familiar for my sorceress, suddenly everyone had to have a pet, whether they got an animal companion for their class or not. Some of them have more than one!

We are walking through the Emerald Spire with:
1 thrush
1 cricket (a reskinned house centipede familiar for our rogue/oracle)
1 badger
1 wolf
1 dog
2 mules -- named, "pickles" and "puddles."

We had to hire a local NPC to help out with stabling and animal care. Heck, we had to build a stable on one of the floors of the dungeon.

I kid you not!

Hmm

Edited to add: Our paladin, feeling left out, has asked if we can find him a kitten.

Sir Pouncealot?

I'm not sure if growth domain will stack with your wildshape, as some people have been trying to explain to me that improved natural attacks and strong jaw don't stack because both make natural weapons hit above their normal damage die. That being said, I'd say animal companion so you don't have to argue with your gm on whether wildshape and growth domain power stack.

Wild shape and Growth Domain power (and Enlarge Person in general) do not stack, as both their stat bonuses are "size bonuses." Magical effects that increase size never stack. I am unsure if your example of INA and Strong Jaw would stack, RAW, but it seems as if it wouldn't. You'd still get the better increase from Strong Jaw though.