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The Lion. That's the only animal companion we need.
Most of them are actually pretty decent.
The Constrictor Snake grapples better than the others, the Dog/Wolf/Boar/Cheetah are all excellent for small-sized mounted shenanigans, and the Velociraptor gets 5 attacks and pounce.
Even the Viper's poison save can get decent.
I'm hoping to see some diversity in Core when it comes to Animal Companions. I've grown really tired of tables full of Large Cats.
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To each their own, I suppose.
There is certainly a "must kill everything asap" crowd. Or individuals of that sort scattered about here and there.
Our group locally wants to play Seasons 0-2 in sequence (or as close as possible) and go thru Eyes as it was intended. Too many recent groups went thru Eyes without having any basis for knowing the NPCs.
And you certainly don't need a Tiger to get thru the early scenarios.
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The velociraptor will likely cause some double-takes. Most people forget dinosaur companions are in core. I also like the badger a lot. It's not the best combat companion, but it does ok with rage, and it has access to burrow as a movement form which is great for utility and sneaking contraband under city walls.
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But Bestiary 3 isnt open for Core use.So is the Fairy Dragon only available if you get the boon?IIRC this is also the case in normal PFS.It is.
The only Improved Familiars openly available from B3 are the Carbunkle and Sprite.
True, the poster was just pointing out that, even for Normal Mode PFS, the only B3 familiars available are the carbuncle and sprite.
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No.
The following animal companions are legal in core (companions that open from boons are not on this list):
Ape, Badger (Wolverine), Bear, Bird (Eagle/Hawk/Owl), Boar, Camel, Cat Big (Lion, Tiger), Cat Small (Cheetah, Leopard), Crocodile (Alligator), Dinosaur (Deinonychus, Velociraptor), Dog, Horse, Pony, Shark, Snake Constrictor, Snake Viper, Wolf.
Venture-Agent, Texas—Houston
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The blog post "Introducing the Core Campaign" says,
> "If a Core Rulebook option advises that something found in the Core Rulebook is clarified in the Bestiary 1, then the player uses that specific option out of the Bestiary 1 to meet the requirement set forth in the Core Rulebook. That would include, but is not limited to, animal companions, special abilities, summon spells, etc... Only the Bestiary 1 is available for these extra options outside of the Core Rulebook."
And Bestiary 1 lists a few more animal companion options. So it looks like the list of Core Campaign animal companions also includes the list on page 316.
So, yes, Roc is legit.
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I don't believe that is accurate Kjenks. Those options are not listed in the core rulebook, only in the Bestiary. The clarification in the Bestiary is not allowing new options, but instead allows you to utilize options presented in the Core rulebook.
For example, you can use Summon Monster, because what monster you summon is in the Core rulebook you can use the Bestiary to get the creature's stats.
Wild shape requires you to use stats for the monsters, specifically stuff like reach, natural attacks and move speed, as modified by spell. Since the Core rulebook says you can do it, you can look at that book.
However, since the Core rulebook calls out a list of animal companions and says other may be available in the future, those companions are not specifically called out and therefore cannot be chosen.
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Yikes, best I ask this now than at my table tonight, I planned to bring a wolf companion with my ranged-druid (will be a caster eventually, but at level 1..yeah, <3 my bow). Is there an overwhelming reason why I should set my mental image of my companion aside for a crunch reason? (aka will the whole party moan when i bring him out instead of the "big cat" craze I see here)
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At first level, especially no, for the most part, probably no...
The reason people love big cats is because of their high strength, large number of natural attacks, and pounce, none of which they really have at first level (only three attacks, 13 str, no pounce). You should still be fine in later more difficult content, but keep in mind that the big cat is generally well balanced against later season stuff, and in core you have less options to deal with the difficult challenges of later seasons, so it may be more conducive to the survival of your party to switch out for a cat when the time comes.
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Thank you very much, and blah if I will have a big cat eventually, I might as well go ahead and have him now. (sarcastic) Maybe I should just ride in on a T-Rex, DINOMANCER! But yeah i see your point, especially in Core, I'll go ahead and change over to big cat, just so I can in theory keep the same companion for as long as s(he) lives.
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The blog post "Introducing the Core Campaign" says,
> "If a Core Rulebook option advises that something found in the Core Rulebook is clarified in the Bestiary 1, then the player uses that specific option out of the Bestiary 1 to meet the requirement set forth in the Core Rulebook. That would include, but is not limited to, animal companions, special abilities, summon spells, etc... Only the Bestiary 1 is available for these extra options outside of the Core Rulebook."
And Bestiary 1 lists a few more animal companion options. So it looks like the list of Core Campaign animal companions also includes the list on page 316.
So, yes, Roc is legit.
The language in the blog was designed to address issues like a character using summon nature's ally, for example. After all, if a druid can summon an eagle, but stats for the eagle aren't in the CRB, how would he or she be able to summon it? So, the language about "...is clarified..." means just that. It isn't about allowing new options, and the CRB provides for no other specific animal companions than the very narrow list it specifically provides. This language isn't designed to be used as a means to sneak in a bunch of non-core stuff into a Core game.
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Venture-Agent, Texas—Houston
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Damanta, Mark and Louis, that looks like an "...is clarified..." situation to me. It looks like the animal companions listed in the Bestiary 1 are specifically included in the PFS Core Campaign.
Here's the chain of reasoning:
(1) "Introducing the Core Campaign" says "If a Core Rulebook option advises that something found in the Core Rulebook is clarified in the Bestiary 1, then the player uses that specific option out of the Bestiary 1 to meet the requirement set forth in the Core Rulebook. That would include, but is not limited to, animal companions, special abilities, summon spells, etc... Only the Bestiary 1 is available for these extra options outside of the Core Rulebook."
<http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/v5748dyo5lh0h&page=19?Introducing-the-C ore-Campaign>
(2) The Core Rulebook, page 53: "The animal companions listed here are by no means the only ones available -- additional animal companion types can be found in the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary."
(3) Bestiary 1, page 316, clarifies the list of animal companions.
In addition, Michael Brock said, "Druid animal companions are listed on pages 53-54 of the CRB. / If an entry, such as paladin or ranger, that lists a bonded mount or animal companions., and it doesn't list stats in the CRB, it automatically defaults to the Bestiary."
<http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/v5748dyo5lh0h&page=2?Introducing-the-Co re-Campaign#88>
The roc is exactly this kind of situation. It's listed as an animal companion for the druid in the Bestiary 1.
I certainly don't see a roc animal companion as "allowing new options" or "as a means to sneak in a bunch of non-core stuff into a Core game." This is just following the rules.
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(3) Bestiary 1, page 316, clarifies the list of animal companions.
In addition, Michael Brock said, "Druid animal companions are listed on pages 53-54 of the CRB. / If an entry, such as paladin or ranger, that lists a bonded mount or animal companions., and it doesn't list stats in the CRB, it automatically defaults to the Bestiary."
<http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/v5748dyo5lh0h&page=2?Introducing-the-Co re-Campaign#88>
This specifies that druid animal companions are listed in the CRB, not the bestiary.
Using the Bestiary is only for things listed in the CRB. For example the druid section lists feats available for animal companions and a few of those feats are from the bestiary such as Improved Natural Armor, and Improved Natural Attack.
The bestiary is only used for things that are first referenced in the CRB, the roc animal companion is not one of those things.
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Venture-Agent, Texas—Houston
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The newly revised Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide says:
For spells and class features that reference the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, that sourcebook may be utilized with the restrictions noted in Additional Resources.
The druid animal companion class feature on Core Rulebook, page 53, says:
The animal companions listed here are by no means the only ones available -- additional animal companion types can be found in the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary.
And the Additional Resources page says:
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary
Animal Companions: ankylosaurus, aurochs, brachiosaurus, dire bat, dire rat, dolphin, elasmosaurus, electric eel, elephant/mastodon, frog, goblin dog, hyena, monitor lizard, moray eel, octopus, orca, pteranodon, rhinoceros, roc, squid, stegosaurus, triceratops, and tyrannosaurus; Familiars: all familiars listed on pages 131-133; Feats: none of the feats are legal for play for PCs, animal companions, or familiars unless specifically granted by another legal source; Other: all creatures in this book are legal for polymorph effects (including a druid's wild shape ability) within the boundaries of each spell or ability's parameters. All languages found in this book are available for a character to learn with the linguistics skill, except aboleth and drow sign language.
So, yes, Roc is legit.
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Venture-Agent, Texas—Houston
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After consulting with a certain high-ranking member of the PFS Campaign (who shall remain nameless unless they wish to be revealed), Roc is not a legal choice as a Core Animal Companion.
I call shenanigans.
The revised rules now even more clearly support the position that a roc is a legal animal companion for a Core campaign druid.
If that certain high-ranking member of the PFS Campaign wanted to make this illegal, he or she should have made it illegal in the newly revised Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide instead of revising the rules so that it's even more clearly legal.
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Venture-Agent, Texas—Houston
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Please quote the language you believe has changed and made the Roc a permitted option.
FLite, I don't believe that allowing a Roc animal companion is a change; I believe it was permitted by the Core Campaign blog post all along, and the rules were made even clearer in the new Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide.
But since you asked, here's the language again from the latest revision of the Core Campaign rules.
First:
For spells and class features that reference the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, that sourcebook may be utilized with the restrictions noted in Additional Resources.
Second:
The animal companions listed here are by no means the only ones available -- additional animal companion types can be found in the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary.
Third:
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: BestiaryAnimal Companions: ankylosaurus, aurochs, brachiosaurus, dire bat, dire rat, dolphin, elasmosaurus, electric eel, elephant/mastodon, frog, goblin dog, hyena, monitor lizard, moray eel, octopus, orca, pteranodon, rhinoceros, roc, squid, stegosaurus, triceratops, and tyrannosaurus; Familiars: all familiars listed on pages 131-133; Feats: none of the feats are legal for play for PCs, animal companions, or familiars unless specifically granted by another legal source; Other: all creatures in this book are legal for polymorph effects (including a druid's wild shape ability) within the boundaries of each spell or ability's parameters. All languages found in this book are available for a character to learn with the linguistics skill, except aboleth and drow sign language.
The first quote says that for class features (like the list of druid animal companions) that reference the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, we should use Bestiary 1, with the restrictions noted in Additional Resources.
The second quote says that additional animal companion types can be found in the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary.
And the third quote specifically says a Roc is allowed as an animal companion.
So, yes, Roc is a legal druid animal companion in the Core Campaign.
This isn't a matter of interpreting some obscure rule. This is a straightforward reading of the rules as written. I can't see how these three rules would be interpreted as meaning that the list of animal companions in the CRB is complete, since the CRB itself says the list is incomplete and we should see the Bestiary.
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Your second point is simply a reference to the fact that the beastiary has other options. Since no specific companion is listed with out stats in the core rule book and the bestiary is not a legal sorce for the CORE campaign a Roc is not legal. If your second point read as such, "The additional companions can be found in the beastiary, Roc, T-Rex, Dire bat, ect." Then you have access to those animals, but since it is more of a sales pitch alluding to the existence of other options it does not make it a solid rule to use a non legal source.
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Venture-Agent, Texas—Houston
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Let's try a different rule.
According to the CRB, page 52, an animal companion can select the Improved Natural Armor feat.
This feat is not described in the CRB; the CRB says to see the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary.
Looking in the Bestiary, we see the description of the Improved Natural Armor feat.
According to the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide, page 20, this feature is allowed in the Core Campaign because it references the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, so that sourcebook may be utilized with the restrictions noted in Additional Resources.
The restrictions noted in Additional Resources say, "none of the feats are legal for play for PCs, animal companions, or familiars unless specifically granted by another legal source."
The CRB is a legal source that specifically grants the Improved Natural Armor feat to animal companions.
Are you with me so far?
This all means that animal companions may select the Improved Natural Armor feat in the Core Campaign.
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Venture-Agent, Texas—Houston
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Here's another one.
According to the CRB, page 63, a paladin can select an animal as a mount.
These animals are not described in the CRB; they are described in the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary.
Looking in the Bestiary, we see the description of the animals.
According to the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide, page 20, this feature is NOT ALLOWED in the Core Campaign because it the class feature description in the CRB DOES NOT REFERENCE the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary.
But that's just plain dumb. Of course it's allowed.
In fact, when the paladin reaches 11th level, the mount gains the Celestial template, and this paragraph DOES reference the Bestiary.
So any reasonable reading of these rules should show that a paladin may have her mount (as described in the Bestiary), and a druid may have her roc animal companion (as described in the Bestiary).