Loss of animal companion

[nogoodscallywag]

Does anyone punish their characters for losing their animal companion in any way? My players and I are wondering if their is a penalty involved after a Druid loses their animal companion. I don't see anything in the rules about it, so any adjudication would be at the GMs discretion.

Maybe even a simple dip in an ability score, or morale penalty? I hesitate to penalize when such penalties aren't in the rules, but I would also hate to see an animal companion used in spurious ways.

[Tinalles]

I'd say losing the animal companion is penalty enough. If you feel a need for more, perhaps mandate a period of mourning (a week, or maybe a month) before the druid can get a new one.

[Fing Mandragoran]

nogoodscallywag wrote:

Does anyone punish their characters for losing their animal companion in any way? My players and I are wondering if their is a penalty involved after a Druid loses their animal companion. I don't see anything in the rules about it, so any adjudication would be at the GMs discretion.

Maybe even a simple dip in an ability score, or morale penalty? I hesitate to penalize when such penalties aren't in the rules, but I would also hate to see an animal companion used in spurious ways.

I view it like this, if the animal companion was lost due to normal activity then there is no penalty. Meaning, the druid is questing and the BBEG happens to crit the animal companion and kill it or the companion was performing a reasonable command and ended up dying. IMO, its up to the player to role play the loss of their companion resulting in any morale deficiency or change in play style.

However, if the druid constantly places the companion is needless dangerous situations resulting in its death, such as using the companion as a method of setting off traps. I would think the druid is not performing in the manner of a nature loving individual and would talk with the player about the characters behavior. If the player continued the non nature loving acts then I would most likely begin setting penalties.

[mdt]

Druids are a divine class, and thus are getting their powers from their god (see what happens to a druid that wears metal armor).

So, if the companion dies because the Druid is being a jerk to his companion, I don't see his god sending another companion (assuming the nature god is Good or Neutral, an Evil Nature God might consider using the animal as a trap detector to be perfectly acceptable) to help the druid for awhile, as a wake up call. If he's been trying to protect the animal, and just failed, then it's just summon a new animal, and say a few nice words for the previous, who died doing his duty, very honorable like.

Remember though, that the AC that replaces it is one that lives in that local, so if he had a velociraptor, and he's in the mountains in a cold environment, then he's not getting another velociraptor.

[Howie23]

nogoodscallywag wrote:

Does anyone punish their characters for losing their animal companion in any way? My players and I are wondering if their is a penalty involved after a Druid loses their animal companion. I don't see anything in the rules about it, so any adjudication would be at the GMs discretion.

Maybe even a simple dip in an ability score, or morale penalty? I hesitate to penalize when such penalties aren't in the rules, but I would also hate to see an animal companion used in spurious ways.

I've never had AC death due to carelessness or negligence in my games or tables. Were it to come up, once should be a wake up call, twice is suspicious, three times is a pattern. A pattern of loss due to druid action or inaction would start to result in a divine response in an appropriate manner. Otherwise, I'll echo that the loss of companion, both from a role play perspective and loss of trained attributes, is penalty enough.

[Ironicdisaster]

mdt wrote:

Druids are a divine class, and thus are getting their powers from their god (see what happens to a druid that wears metal armor).

So, if the companion dies because the Druid is being a jerk to his companion, I don't see his god sending another companion (assuming the nature god is Good or Neutral, an Evil Nature God might consider using the animal as a trap detector to be perfectly acceptable) to help the druid for awhile, as a wake up call. If he's been trying to protect the animal, and just failed, then it's just summon a new animal, and say a few nice words for the previous, who died doing his duty, very honorable like.

Remember though, that the AC that replaces it is one that lives in that local, so if he had a velociraptor, and he's in the mountains in a cold environment, then he's not getting another velociraptor.

I would think that even an Evil nature deity would have an objection to that. I mean, it amounts to torture, and torture is a pretty human invention, which I expect a nature deity to abhor for a few reasons. If Good; because it causes pain unnecessarily, if Neutral; because suffering should be minimized, and if Evil; because how dare you squander my gifts!

Not a moral debate, just explaining how I would see an evil god raising objections.

[ShadowcatX]

nogoodscallywag wrote:

Maybe even a simple dip in an ability score, or morale penalty? I hesitate to penalize when such penalties aren't in the rules, but I would also hate to see an animal companion used in spurious ways.

I see this discussed a bit, not the penalties per se, but "animal companions used in spurious ways." It kind of bothers me. Sure a druid loves nature, and sure the druid develops a special bond with his/her animal companion(s) but realistically, if I'm playing a good aligned druid I'll send my animal companion to die every time if the choice is between it and a sentient being.

Trying to live forever isn't part of nature. Everything has a time and everything has a purpose. And if Mr. Scruffy's place is to take a hit intended for the 7 year old child being attacked, well heroic deaths are part of D&D for a reason.

[Joes Pizza]

Besides, that's what reincarnate is for.
The spirit of the animal can inhabit another form afterall.
Hell, a soul-friend is a soul-friend, no matter the form.

[nogoodscallywag]

I'm thinking I will not penalize a Druid for the death of his animal companion. The rules say nothing about this, and the companion serves at the will of the Druid, whom the rules say determines the best use of himself in order to defend and progress the goals of his worship.

However, if I get a player that insists on using their animal companions as fodder, I may have to rethink. Thankfully I don't believe this will be necessary.

[Stockvillain]

The way I see it, an animal companion is a class ability. It would be a bit excessive to penalize a character further for losing a class ability. Wizards don't suffer any weird penalty for exhausting all of their spells, Paladins don't suffer any penalty for using up all of their lay-on-hands, Bards aren't penalized for having no further uses of bardic performance, Barbarians aren't penalized for having no more rage duration left.

Yes, it's a bit overly pragmatic to look at animal companions in this way; as simply tools of the Druid class, but not every Druid serves the powers of Warm-Fluffy-Bunnies-Riding-Unicorns. Nature does not weep for the dead. One way of looking at it is "Sure, animal companions are exceptional representatives of their species, but they are still just animals, and the cycle goes on with or without them."

I know there was a recent thread debating the ethics and morality of this whole situation recently, and ultimately it needs to come down to an agreement between the GM and the Player as to how animal companions are going to function in the game. A player that rolls up a druid with a certain philosophy that conflicts with how the GM sees druids operating is going to be rather put out when surprise house rules pop in to penalize him for something that is nowhere in the core rules.