If you take a Companion that doesn't turn into a large creature [level 7] and get the +8 Str etc. what exactly do you do with them?
All the non-large companions seem, well, weak and unlikely to survive any kind of combat.
I want to take a companion but the campaign is going to put us into lots of 5ft wide corridors and I'm struggling to see any combat options at all.
Any advice/ideas would be really appreciated.
The Velociraptor is a nice all around animal companion that fits in an iiiity bitty living space.
I'd take a boar. It stays medium, with improved natural attack it deals 2d6 damage (after level 4). Give it vital strike as soon as you can to turn that into 4d6.
As it has scent give anyone using a bow in your party some pheromone arrows to give the boar +2 to hit and damage.
It is fast (base speed 40), it has a good armor (+6 natural armor). All in all I think the boar is a nice non-large animal companion.
Edit: The Velociraptor is nice too. More attacks, pounce, higher con but less strength and less armor. Very different but might even be stronger.
Well first of all you know you can take any companion and just not let them get bigger at 4th or 7th level right? You can have say a big cat and at 7th level choose to give it +2dex and +2 con instead of the listed benefits and side increase at 7th level. Its not optimal but it at least opens up every kind of animal companion to you short of those like horse that start large.
Next usually if you are using the smaller companions they are meant more for scouting or as a flanking buddy then actually being combatants themselves.
No offence, but if I take that literally, you should ask yourself why any group walking/exploring/stealthing down lots of 5' corridors would let an AC take the front; I'd rather rely on a full BAB class with heavy armor or/and other significant defensive abilities; the rest of the party would be ranged classes.
Or you'd make a small PC and use your (medium) AC as mount, but I think you're well beyond this simple piece of advice.
In the campaigns I play, and where I pick a druid/ranger/pally/cav my ACs suffer less from sub-par damage but death due to too low armor class and/or hp; but here, as BNW has said already, the dinosaur is rather well off - starting with a whopping CON 17 and gaining another 2 at lvl 7.
Have you had a look at the boar? Starting with +6 NA and reaching CON/STR 17 at lvl 4 I'd say it makes for a rather tough companion.
In addition, you'd have reduce animal as a 2nd lvl spell as a druid (so lvl 3) or 3rd lvl spell as ranger (lvl 10 with WIS 16) - and it's 1 hour/CL!
(But I agree with you, the large AC's pull is hard to resist!)
Ruyan.
Edit *sigh* Ninja'ed by... 3? Three? THREE other posters.
Well first of all you know you can take any companion and just not let them get bigger at 4th or 7th level right? You can have say a big cat and at 7th level choose to give it +2dex and +2 con instead of the listed benefits and side increase at 7th level.
I didn't know that option. it opens up other ACs.
Like the stegosaurus. With that option at level 7 it has a Dex of 22. Just give it weapon finesse and an agile AomF and you're good to go. It'll have a nice armor, too. Without expending anything we're looking at AC 26. The low con means you should give it toughness but other than that, it's a nice AC.EDIT: Or look at the small cat. With that option it has a Dex of 24 at level 4. Finesse and agile AmoF and it attacks at +11 to hit and +7 to damage. And its automatic trip should benefit from weapon finesse, too so it has a trip CMB of +10. (forgot to reduce CMB for size. How much is the penalty? 1?)
Weapon finesse does apply to combat maneuvers if you use the finessed weapon to make the attack.
Weapon Finesse: If I have this feat, can I apply my Dex bonus to my combat maneuver checks instead of my Strength bonus?
It depends on what combat maneuver you're attempting. Disarm, sunder, and trip are normally the only kinds of combat maneuvers in which you’re actually using a weapon to perform the maneuver, and therefore the weapon’s bonuses apply to the roll. Therefore, if you're attempting a disarm, sunder, or trip maneuver, you can apply your Dex bonus instead of your Str mod on the combat maneuver check (assuming you're using a finessable weapon, of course). For other combat maneuvers, you use the normal rule for determining CMB (Str instead of Dex).
The Agile Maneuvers feat applies to all combat maneuvers, not just disarm, sunder, and trip, so it is still a useful option for a Dex-based creature that uses combat maneuvers.
—Sean K Reynolds, 10/03/11 (official FAQ)
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FAQ/Errata
If I have Weapon Finesse, can I apply my Dex bonus to my combat maneuver checks instead of my Strength bonus??
It depends on what combat maneuver you're attempting. Disarm, sunder, and trip are normally the only kinds of combat maneuvers in which you’re actually using a weapon to perform the maneuver, and therefore the weapon’s bonuses apply to the roll. Therefore, if you're attempting a disarm, sunder, or trip maneuver, you can apply your Dex bonus instead of your Str mod on the combat maneuver check (assuming you're using a finessable weapon, of course). For other combat maneuvers, you use the normal rule for determining CMB (Str instead of Dex).
The Agile Maneuvers feat applies to all combat maneuvers, not just disarm, sunder, and trip, so it is still a useful option for a Dex-based creature that uses combat maneuvers.
[Source]
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/agile-maneuvers-combat
*Edit* beat to the punch lol
Cool stuff about the small cat! I've always scoffed at the iffy +2 bonus and not taking all the goodies offered otherwise, but I'll also have to revise my point of view on certain AC options.
Ruyan.