First animal companion advice?

[JustynThyme]

I have a backup character for the Serpent's Skull game I'm in. (The party is currently level 6, and I just replaced a dead character, so it will likely be a while before I need him. I like having a backup ready.) He's a Mad Dog barbarian, and will be taking Mammoth Rider. His companion is a tiger. I have never played a character with an animal companion before. I chose this barbarian archetype because I don't enjoy playing spellcasters. My character's concept was a melee character with a melee animal companion. Pretty simple. I built his combat style around flanking with his animal, and building up the animal to be the best fighting companion it can be without being able to buff it with spells (hence the Mammoth Rider, for the increase to huge size). The party has a wizard, an oracle, and a paladin, so no nature casters.

At first, I was concerned only with feeding the tiger, the logistic differences between having a carnivorous companion and a herbivore, but then my GM said he's pretty sure there are a lot of indoor/dungeon-type areas in the AP, so I could end up being without my companion for extended periods. It would be hard enough to avoid leaving the tiger behind when it gets to be large at level 7, but then it grows to huge at level 10, I fear that leaving him behind will become a constant theme for this character.

One way I thought to reduce the chances of having to leave his companion behind was by taking the Narrow Frame feat for the tiger. I was also hoping to get the tiger a Belt of the Weasel by time it reached huge size (level 10, when the character takes the first level of Mammoth Rider), which grants the compression monster ability, allowing the tiger to fit into spaces as small as a quarter of its normal space (so 3.5', easily able to fit into a normal 5'-wide hallway) without having to squeeze (possibly making the earlier Narrow Frame feat choice irrelevant, but I might need it if I have to bring this character in before I can afford the belt).

Any general advice about animal companions is welcome, especially on how to avoid having to leave the companion behind as little as possible. Thanks.

[Ray-gun]

Hi, sounds like you got the basics. I believe there is a guide to animal companions. Check their or a Druid guide, for further options.

There is a spell "carry Companion", that might help. Either talk the paladin into helping or get a potion. Hosteling armor can be tricky, but might offer a help.

Reduce animal is a spell, might try potions of that.
The narrow frame though should cover a lot of cases.
Though as usual check with your gm. If he is anti companion, then you might consider other options.

[JustynThyme]

I saw the Hosteling armor. Being a barbarian, he can only wear medium armor, and thus carry the companion in the armor through sixth level. At seventh, the companion is too big. There's no way the character would be able to afford it, anyway.

To be fair, my GM isn't anti-companion. I didn't mean to make him sound like he was, if I did. He just won't wave his hand to gloss over obstacles and such for companions. I wouldn't want him to. I might ignore it if he did for someone else, but I don't want special treatment.

I heard an offline suggestion yesterday, getting a collar of Reduce Animal. Not having an awakened companion, I'm not sure how they'd use a spell-trigger item. I'm reluctant to try to convince my GM to allow the companion to wear anything that requires activation, though I guess it's not unimaginable that my barbarian could teach the animal how to activate it. With only so many tricks it can learn, maybe a collar of continuous effect, placed on and taken off at appropriate times, would be better?

I forgot to mention that the animal has the celestial template, so is a magical beast. I think that means Reduce Animal won't work. I just found Reduce Monster, though. It's a higher level spell, but I think it's a better solution. It's an arcane spell (wiz/sorc 4), so just squeaks in under the wand limit on spell level. As I mentioned, currently we don't have anyone who can cast druid/ranger spells, but we do have a wizard. I can buy the spell for our wizard, if he doesn't already have it by time it becomes necessary, and pay for the creation of a wand. To have another creature between him and an intelligent enemy that might target spellcasters, I think he'd be amenable to using it for me when needed. Looking at the price of making the wand, it would be cheaper to buy the Belt of the Weasel outright. Looking at character advancement and wealth by level, my barbarian should be able to afford one by level 10, if he doesn't go hog-wild with other purchases.

So, between the Narrow Frame feat and the Belt of the Weasel being more affordable than I thought by the time it's needed, I guess I was worried for nothing. It's getting the companion through various obstacles, and feeding it in dungeons, that I really need to worry about, I guess. Ring/collar of sustenance, maybe? Wand of levitation? A Reduce Monster collar would still be useful for these situations.

Okay, I feel better about this character. Thanks! :)

[JustynThyme]

I just realized that Reduce Monster is a 3rd party spell. I might be able to get my GM to allow it, but I might not. I also noticed that the Celestial Servant (Aasimar) feat specifically says that the companion can be affected by spells that only target animals, so tracking down a low-level druid or ranger to cast Reduce Animal during item creation can still work.