I was recently playing with a druid in the group and his animal companion was making three attacks per turn (2 claws and one bite)and also adding damage for something called rend I believe, all this at level one. To me this seems vastly overpowered, so my question is does the animal companion make three attacks or is it either the 2 claws or the 1 bite?
Three attacks on a full action is legit.
Rend is extra damage when two claws hit for example, kinda like the feat Two-Weapons Rend and I don't think any animal companion gets it.
And yes, it is overpowered at level 1.
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I was recently playing with a druid in the group and his animal companion was making three attacks per turn (2 claws and one bite)and also adding damage for something called rend I believe, all this at level one. To me this seems vastly overpowered, so my question is does the animal companion make three attacks or is it either the 2 claws or the 1 bite?
Depends on the animal companion.
Badger, Bear, Bird, Big Cat, Small Cat (which also gets trip), and Dinosaur all get Claw, Claw, Bite (or Talon, Talon, Bite) on a full attack action at 1st level.
Animal companions have always been very very good.
Druids' animal companions have always been very very good.
Fixed that for ya. :)
At 1st level, some Companions can make 3 attacks AS A FULL ROUND ACTION, but not when they Move more than 5´.
What IS his companion? I can`t remember any with Rend off hand.
In any case, at higher levels he could potentially gain abilities like Rend (or Rake) or Pounce (allowing all attacks when Charging), but not at 1st level. I suspect the player is using the normal stats for the animal type, straight out of the bestiary, which would also make his companion tougher in other ways (HPs, skills). Any Companion will have initial, weaker stats and `advanced´ stats which kick in at a certain level (e.g. 4th or 7th level, the more powerful advancements kick in later). The general design intent is for any given Companion to not be that different from each other, certainly at 1st level like you`re talking about... And mechanically a Companion will be pretty different than the same type of animal out of the Bestiary (generally speaking, a Companion should get better at high level but will usually start out weaker at lower levels)
big cat`s don`t get Rake until 7th level...
I suspect the player is using the normal stats for the animal type, straight out of the bestiary, which would also make his companion tougher in other ways (HPs, skills).
This. Be sure to explain to him that Animal Companions have their own progression and abilities completely separate from their mundane brethren. I've seen folks try to do this before, so hopefully this case is one of confusion rather than deception.
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*edit* I'm so slow typing...
1. Animal companions such as cats and the raptor can get 3 attacks at their full Base Attack. While this may seem powerful, remember that animals do not progress as well as PCs in attack, and they don't have a high STR to buff up the attack.
2. No animal at 1st level should be getting a rend, rake, or other damage. Make sure the druid is taking his companion from the Druid description and not the Monster Manual.
Ah, yes, my bad he was using "rake" and he had a big cat as an animal companion.
Ah, yes, my bad he was using "rake" and he had a big cat as an animal companion.
Yeah, you definitely cannot have Rake at 1st level. He'll get it when he hits 7th level.
...It also sounds like the group needs to learn how Rake works: it isn`t going to add it`s damage on the first round of attacking even with a Pounce Charge (which Companion`s don`t get until 7th level).
Incorrect. You can Rake on a Pounce.
Source: Here
Right, you saw that before I deleted it.
Before I mixed it up, my point was that he couldn`t be Raking at 1st level no matter what, because (besides that it isn`t available at 1st level) the only way to do so (Pounce) isn`t available until 7th level.
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...It also sounds like the group needs to learn how Rake works: it isn`t going to add it`s damage on the first round of attacking even with a Pounce Charge (which Companion`s don`t get until 7th level).Incorrect. You can Rake on a Pounce.
Source: Here
FTFY.
d20pfsrd does not always quote rules correctly. Always better to use the official source.