My girlfriend is getting set up to run the entire Rise of the Runelords anniversary edition adventure path, and that means I actually have a chance to play in a regular game. This is pretty great cause I rarely get to *play* in a game since I'm the one running them and the other game I do play in ends up happening like once a month because no one in that group can include their game time into their schedule to save their life.
So I got really excited and started trying to brainstorm what I'd want to play. Problem being that I have made all manner of classes and race combinations so I had a hard time thinking what I wanted to do for RoR. For a while I wanted to do an Aasimar Arcanist/cleric->Mystic Theurge, but I'm thinking that I could really enjoy is play the new hunter class. I saw that they could get some of the dinos as companions, and while I think the allosaurus beat out the T-rex on the druid companion effectiveness table I've seen on some guides, I love the idea of having a pet T-rex named Bubbles.
I guess I'm just at a loss for whether or not this really is a good idea. I know myself well enough to know that I get really excited about a concept and in so doing glaze over potential problems.
So... would this be an issue? Do you think Sandpoint would be cool with a (baby) Tyrannosaur chilling in the stable? Could I potentially convince Ameiko to sell me some of her famous food in bulk so I can give Bubbles a nice treat?
... Oh, and if there would be mechanical trouble with having a T-rex pet in the AP too, I guess. ;)
Personally I'd allow the t-rex as an animal companion, as long as you have a well-written backstory reason why you have it and where you found it. That's a personal thing though since with my group we want background and such for everyone and why we have the cool stuff rather than the same-old, same-old.
Do I think Sandpoint would be cool with the t-rex? I highly doubt it. Anyone with a child, dog, horse, herd animal or loved one would probably be worried about your little pet chomping and making a meal out of someone or something it shouldn't. The town guard would probably not allow it in during the festival.
You might be able to convince someone to provide you with a decent supply of meat, but overall you'd have to have a good source of it since the people selling it to you probably didn't anticipate having to feed a carnivore like the t-rex.
As for chilling in the stables, I would say it all comes down to money. It's a business decision...what makes the stablemaster more money; housting your one t-rex or housing any number of horses and such. Who is going to want to risk their horse becomming a midnight snack for the little chomper?
It's all up to the DM really. I've seen players bring in tigers and velociraptors without it being much of an issue, and I myself have a Roc companion. I don't know about the anniversary edition players guide, but there is a list of more common animal companions if you want in the original players guide for the AP.
As for whether sandpoint would be "cool" with a t-rex, remember that it starts out medium sized and after the first few encounters near the start of the ap I dont think anyone would object to its presence.
Maybe if I tie a cute blue ribbon bow on her head and make sure to introduce her as bubbles people will like her better. Also make sure one of her starting tricks is one that I can use to make her stop from eating something(one).