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I really like that last post of your Kudaku. I like a game where the world reflects the fantasy setting.
If a Dino is suited to a place, then it should be no more surprising than any number of other weird stuff hanging around town.
Hells, one of the Varisian towns has pseudo dragons and imps infesting the rooftops and battling each other every night.
Like you say, proving its safe is probably more common than kicking it out of town. Most eidolons are going to more terrifying than it.
All of that. I've been in too many games, perhaps it is the groups I usually play with, that whoever the DM is (and sometimes it is myself) and the dino druid have far too many arguments over the dinosaur."Ok guys, you are about to go into the crypts below. Druid, your dino can not follow you."
"Hell yes he can."
"Sigh. No, the passages are way too narrow for a dinosaur."
"I don't care. It is my pet and it goes where I go. Just use DM magic to make the tunnels and room big enough."
In this case I agree with your ruling, if the AC is too big to enter a narrow passage it doesn't enter unless the party can provide the means for him to do that (reduce his size could work for example... but what happens when he gets back to normal size where he doesn't fit?
Also if the player doesn't like it my answer as GM would be:"well then, if it goes where you go you may stay out of the dungeon with it, don't expect to gain any xp though".And on goes a 30 minute argument. Want to play in a cold weather location? Yeah, same argument. Want to bring the dino in a city? Yeah, same argument. Want the party to try and hide or sneak? Yeah, same argument. Dino is killed and you are in the middle of Cheliax? Yeah, same argument.
I've learned...
Have you ruled dinosaurs to be cold blooded? Then you have every right to freeze the pet lizard to death in a cold environment, but these kind of things should be explicit. Warn the player you rare going to rule dinosaurs are cold blooded and may die in cold enviroments before he makes the choice. And if he goes rulelawyery tell him the rules state the GM has final say on what rule to enforce and what rule not to enforce. But remember warning players first is crucial, they should not feel treated unfairly.
As for the city my position is a tad different: a fantasy setting is a complex thing. There will be places where a domesticated dino will be stoned to death by scared peasants (let's just say most if not all of Ustalav for example), and others where it could be treated with more tolerance as part of the environment(let's just say the Mwangi Expanse). Btw this is absolutely true for big cats and other predators too. My players know not to expect to be able to bring a siberian tiger inside the streets of Absalom, no matter how well trained, people will take exception to it walking freely among them. This is actually another great thing about flayers (Roc anyone?): they can stay safely out of sight during city exploration and just be there when needed.
As for sneaking, well, if the dino has high sneak score he can sneak, of course if he's huge there will be negative modifiers added to his score.
And as for the player wanting to replace the AC with one similar that doesn't exist in the region the party is exploring, just enforce your ruling, you are right and he's wrong, period.
That said, all these situations you brought up are more about bad players than about bad animal companions imo.
Cold environments can be pretty easily dealt with by an Endure Elements spell, which nearly every caster in the game is capable of casting. And a bear or big cat or wolf in the desert is as likely of a problem.
Players who want to bring Large companions into tight spaces should probably consider the Narrow Frame feat. I think DMs who rule that a dungeon is too small for a horse or other Large animal should be sure to consider the implications that might have for Large sized monsters too though.
I think the original issue in the thread was that the other PCs might feel overshadowed because the animal companion has a higher Armor Class than they do. In a level or two folks should be able to afford better armor and get their AC into the same range as the dinosaur's if they care to. Most players are likely to focus on offensive powers instead though.
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This is why I stick to medium ones, and usually dogs at that. Not optimal, but very few people care if you bring a DOG with you. :DEntirely possible, but Grond's arguments seem to be targeting unusual animal companions in general, not dinosaurs. People in Korvosa might respond with alarm if you want to bring your camel into town as well. They certainly will if your animal companion is a dire wolf.To be fair, the example of the town/city really could be legit. It isn't up to the player to make the setting, the GM does that.
Bringing an exotic animal might involve a fee, or not be allowed. Or maybe dinos are common, who knows?
While I certainly understand your reasoning, this makes me a little sad. It's a fantasy game, limiting people to non-fantastical animal companions both heavily limit the options available but also kills some of the magic in the game.
For my own games I expect that city guards will have a passing familiarity with animal companions, familiars and eidolons, and as long as the owner can prove that the companion is obedient and not a hazard they'll let you go on your way with a minimum of fuss. Particularly strict organizations (such as certain Hellknight orders) might require you to put the animal in a stable for the duration of your stay and/or sign a waver taking responsibility and pay a deposit to cover any damage your companion may cause.
This is really one of those questions you should go over with your GM before making a companion-based character.
As a GM, I don't restrict it, but most cities have laws about large, combat capable creatures wandering the streets (they don't usually like it)-things like horses aren't feared because they exist basically EVERYWHERE. My players don't complain when the city guards inform them that their combat trained T-Rex is gonna have to stay outside...
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I want to make it clear that I would not suggest throwing super high CR foes or even super deadly foes who perform above their CR at a party just because it contains an animal with a 24 AC. As the party levels I’d expect that plenty of things they’d naturally encounter even in an AP should be able to threaten the dinosaur though.
On the other hand, I’m still not sure why killing the dinosaur is important at all unless we’re aiming for a TPK. I mean, the dinosaur’s offensive output seems pretty insignificant. Most battles are likely to end well before it becomes a battle of attrition between the high AC “last man standing” dinosaur and the monsters. A policy of “ignore dinosaur and kill PCs” would probably be smart tactics for most monsters.
@Grond - I think maybe you're saying that you won't let players have dinosaur companions because it doesn't fit the story. It wouldn't be that tough or even tough at all to work an exotic animal companion into a PC's background story. Is your concern principally around explaining how the PC would replace a fallen dinosaur companion, or do you essentially just find dinosaur companions silly and want to discourage them for thematic reasons?
All of that. I've been in too many games, perhaps it is the groups I usually play with, that whoever the DM is (and sometimes it is myself) and the dino druid have far too many arguments over the dinosaur.
"Ok guys, you are about to go into the crypts below. Druid, your dino can not follow you."
"Hell yes he can."
"Sigh. No, the passages are way too narrow for a dinosaur."
"I don't care. It is my pet and it goes where I go. Just use DM magic to make the tunnels and room big enough."
And on goes a 30 minute argument. Want to play in a cold weather location? Yeah, same argument. Want to bring the dino in a city? Yeah, same argument. Want the party to try and hide or sneak? Yeah, same argument. Dino is killed and you are in the middle of Cheliax? Yeah, same argument.
I've learned...
This can all be solved by a GM just telling the player up-front:
"A dinosaur isn't too common in this region. How did your PC get one?"
Instead of "laying down the law" and decreeing that no, dinosaurs are not allowed, end of story, spit out that milk and get out of my house, invite the players to do the work for you of making the dinosaur fit. I did this in my game, and lo and behold! That player wasn't some sort of evil munchkin weeaboo jerkface, he just wanted a dinosaur, and he was quite happy to write up a backstory that worked perfectly for the campaign. He went on to be one of the more memorable characters of the campaign right up until his untimely demise, though not half as memorable as the party's beloved mascot, Spiny the Spinosaurus.
It's almost like being flexible and treating your players with respect instead of mistrust leads to greater campaign variety and player creativity. But hey, what do I know?