I'm joining a friend's Mummy's Mask game, and since they're short on healing, I decided to go with a Cleric. In the interest of bringing in some Osirion flavor, I went with a Cleric of Sobek, who happens to have the Saurian sub-domain. Thus, I now have Bosco, a Velociraptor animal companion. Having taken the Boon Companion feat, he will now be at my own level (4th), and I'm applying the Bodyguard archetype, but I'm curious about what else I can do. Here's what I have so far:
STR 11 (12 after 4th level ability score point)
DEX 17
CON 17
INT 2
WIS 12
CHA 14
AC 17 (3 natural armor + 3 DEX +1 size)
HP: 32 (? I assume Animal Companions don't get full HP at first level)
Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +2
SKILLS: Perception +5, Acrobatics +7, Survival +5, Climb +5
FEATS: Combat Reflexes, Bodyguard
SHARED VIGILANCE: When he's adjacent, we both get the Alertness feat
TENACIOUS GUARDIAN: He always acts in the surprise round, and when he's adjacent he stays conscious below zero HP, and gains +2 to attacks, saves, and skill rolls while he's below zero HP. Dies at negative CON + my level.
A few ideas I had:
- Some kind of backpack so he can carry some of my gear. Not too much, but with a STR of 12 surely he can carry something.
- I like the idea of a reactive +2 to AC from his Bodyguard feat, but am I barking up the wrong tree here?
For reference, my character is a cleric of Sobek (the crocodile guy) wielding his god's favored weapon (a falchion). My feats are Power Attack, Shield of Swings, and Boon Companion.
I'm also open to naming him something better than "Bosco"
So, he's a platypus velociraptor, or a skunk velociraptor?
An armadillo velociraptor?
Surely you meant to say "gopher velociraptor".
Velociraptor animal companions start out as "Small".
A Velociraptor would stand maybe as tall as your waist. Also, they would have feathers.
About as terrifying as a Goose with teeth.
All goose have teeth, and can be viciously agressive:
http://i.imgur.com/c1ZAbGP.png
Velociraptors are small.
If you want the Jurassic Park "Velociraptor", then you actually want a Deinonychus.
A Velociraptor would stand maybe as tall as your waist. Also, they would have feathers.
In fairness, that's less like a goose and more like an eagle. Eagles can be legitimately dangerous. Hell, a man died to a beaver a few years ago.
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Firstly you cannot take boon companion until you gain animal companion class feature at 4, so that will lv 5 where you get to take it, unless GM allows retraining. We are assumimg that retraining was used in this case.
Right, animal companions gain str, and dex so at lv 4, Bosco would have 12 str, 18 dex, 17 con. 2 int, 12 wis, 14 cha, without ability point increases. He also gains 2 points of natural armor, so his total ac should be 20. 2 feats to choose from, one should be weapon finesse.
Velociraptors get multiple attacks, so any +1 to hit and damage multiplies. You could be an evangelist cleric and preach about Sobek's virtues, to increase Bosco's ferocity. You can channel Sobek into Bosco from shared spells given with animal companion bond - use divine favour. Bonus points if Bosco is the chosen one (increase his int to 3 and give him additional traits feat at lv 5 - the traits will be fates favored to increase the bonus from divine favour, and armor master).
Don't forget to outfit Bosco in the latest barding fashion, its chic for him to be in mw studded leather armor. You can put saddlebags on him, but watch it, because he's small, so he shouldn't be carrying that much.
When he qualifies, look for feats like power attack and hammer the gap.
Good catch on the feat - I'd missed that part. The "dinosaur" companion gets its big upgrade at level 7 (when it becomes Medium, gains strength, loses dex, etc.), not level 4, which is why I didn't make those adjustments.
I hadn't considered the Evangelist tactic, though. Thanks for the tip.
Up the int to 3, give him improved unarmed strike and dragonstyle. Nothing ruins your day like a raptor charging from the back of the party to full pounce you in the face.