Animal Companion after PC Death

[AbyssLord]

What happens if a PC dies and his Animal Companion survives past his his death?

[Mortalis]

I'm thinking that the animal is released from the PC's service and returns to the wild, an option the PC has already. Unfortunately I can't actually find anything that explicitly says as much.

[AbyssLord]

Kinda wondering if it loses some of its level-dependent benefits because the person that it derived these from is no longer alive?

Maybe it returns back to being a normal animal?

Maybe there's an island out there full of ex-Animal Companions.

I find it unusual that there are no ex-Animal Companion rules.

[Mortalis]

I find that strange too, I checked the rules on familiars in case it added anything however it also mentions nothing about the PC's death.

The idea of a home for ex-animal companions both warms my heart and makes me sad at the same time.

EDIT: I did find one thing of minor relevance that you could extrapolate from, under the Witch rules for teaching spells to a familiar:

PRD wrote:

Familiar Teaching Familiar: A witch's familiar can learn spells from another witch's familiar. To accomplish this, the familiars must spend one hour per level of the spell being taught in communion with one another. At the end of this time, the witch whose familiar is learning a spell must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level). If the check succeeds, the familiar has learned the spell and the witch may utilize it the next time she prepares spells. If the check fails, the familiar has failed to learn the spell and cannot try to learn that spell again until the witch has gained another rank in Spellcraft. Most witches require a spell of equal or greater level in return for this service. If a familiar belongs to a witch that has died, it only retains its knowledge of spells for 24 hours, during which time it is possible to coerce or bribe the familiar into teaching its spells to another, subject to GM discretion.

From this, you could make the assumption that all familiars and companions retain their special abilities for 24 hours after the PC's death, then revert back to normal creatures.

I can't find anything more solid than that though.

[Ascalaphus]

It gets even wonkier if the PC is later raised from the dead, say two days later. So has the witch's familiar forgotten everything if the witch isn't raised fast enough?

[Eridan]

What is the problem with very experienced and deadly animals that run around with a pack etc. and live a life as a normal animal ?
Maybe they seek the near of a druid or other ranger. Very smart (INT 3+) ACs maybe live like their dead master and fight for the good / evil ..

What would a cohort (via leadership) would do if his master dies ? Thread an AC like a cohort ..

I dont see a problem and the need of rules.

[Shadowdweller]

My rulings as DM tend to be: The animal stays around the former druids's belongings, last location, and companions for a period of time. It may choose to follow and protect the former companions of its druid for a while, but becomes increasingly upset, wild, and feral. Throughout this duration, it maintains any enhancements it received by being an animal companion. Eventually it wanders off on its own, regardless of whether a suitable home environment is anywhere nearby. If the druid is resurrected at a later time, the animal may need to be re-bonded through druidic rituals.

There's not any actual basis amongst the RAW for any of this, but it seems appropriate and thematic to me.