Swapping out Animal Companion

Hello everyone!

One of my players wants to play a melee-oriented druid in an upcoming Kingmaker AP. He is not a big fan of animals on his side and I didn't find an archetype without it.
He suggested something like rage as an alternative. What do you think? Did somebody already did something like this?

He can swap out the animal companion for a Domain to expand his spell list and gain granted powers. Take a look at those options, he should be able to find something that's suitable.

At 1st level, a druid forms a bond with nature. This bond can take one of two forms. The first is a close tie to the natural world, granting the druid one of the following cleric domains: Air, Animal, Earth, Fire, Plant, Water, or Weather. When determining the powers and bonus spells granted by this domain, the druid's effective cleric level is equal to her druid level. A druid that selects this option also receives additional domain spell slots, just like a cleric. She must prepare the spell from her domain in this slot and this spell cannot be used to cast a spell spontaneously.

Hello everyone!

One of my players wants to play a melee-oriented druid in an upcoming Kingmaker AP. He is not a big fan of animals on his side and I didn't find an archetype without it.
He suggested something like rage as an alternative. What do you think? Did somebody already did something like this?

A fantastic concept! I'm surprised there are apparently no archetypes that swap out animal companion/nature bond specifically for something else. But your idea is really very thematic for a "Wildruid" - I think I might take a stab at something like this for the Multiclass Archetypes project.

Just off the cuff, you'd have to work out how many rage uses/rage powers you think the animal companion is worth - considering its a progressing combat ally it might be worth a bit. I'll consult the MCP crew and get back to you...

@oceanshieldwolf

Hmm... I've never had a strong knowledge about the bard, so I will have to review the rage powers again.
It could like a ghostly visage of an appropriate animal which would be visible on his face. Like a totem mask or something like that...

Ok, my course of action will be the following:
In exchange for giving up Nature's Bond, he'll get Rage (and later, the Greater Rage, etc.). Rage Powers he'll get when I have seen this in action, to determine if it is gamebreaking. Even then, he won't get them as fast as an barbarian and he will only get them in the course of a personal relevation (aka: side-quest!).

That's probably fine. But there are options in the rules as they are for trading out your Animal Companion. You can take a domain instead. The Growth subdomain, in particular, would be a benefit for a melee character. It gives you Enlarge Person and Righteous Might in your spell list as well as an enlarging swift-action power and a damage-returning thorns ability.

Or perhaps consider the Rage subdomain. It grants the ability to Rage like a Barbarian at level 8 and eventually some Rage powers. That's along with a damage boosting smite ability a few times a day and the usual domain spells. It's not in the list of domains normally available to druids, but if it fits the theme of the character, it may be more appropriate than just giving him a Barbarian's rage.

EDIT: Just checked and several of the shamanic Druid archetypes actually grant access to the Destruction domain (and Rage subdomain), no rule-bending necessary. If he's looking to do a melee character, you can do a lot worse than something like a Saurian Shaman with Rage subdomain.