The Problem I see with an AC that has a dangerous poison is that it will, most likely, result in someone in the party buying a chalice of poison weeping to gather the poison and use it on his weapons.
Not to say the poison shouldn't be buffed, just as a warning against abuse.
Wait... is it against RAW to milk a venom gland for poison?
As for the companion stats themselves, I understand why you made them Dex-based mechanically, but it seems kind of strange to me in terms of fluff. Constitution is the de facto ability score for effects that rely on body chemistry more than force or agility. But animal companions don't gain a scaling bonus to Constitution like they do Dexterity, so the poison wouldn't stay competitive, and a racial bonus that increases only once, at Level Advancement, feels clunky for progression. I'm not sure how to scratch this itch.
There's not much you can do about that. It's not a great gathering means, though. You still have to take the damage at least once before the chalice can be used. Who's gonna volunteer to take 1d3 Con damage for the team?
A random rat/bunny you carry in a familiar satchel?
Wait... is it against RAW to milk a venom gland for poison?The Problem I see with an AC that has a dangerous poison is that it will, most likely, result in someone in the party buying a chalice of poison weeping to gather the poison and use it on his weapons.
Not to say the poison shouldn't be buffed, just as a warning against abuse.
There is not RAW on about how to do it. So it is GM fiat whether you can do it and how it works.
Actually, animal companions get scaling bonuses to Strength and Dexterity, which is part of the reason Constitution gets snubbed.
Large Bear Progression Ability Scores Str +8+8? Isn't that too much?
A grizzly bear is large and has 21 STR, that one would have 25 STR before any animal companion bonuses.EDIT
On the other hand, that matches the polar bear's stats.
Indeed. And like I said, I'm not at all afraid to make an animal companion exceed the original creature.
Also, +8 is the standard increase for Large size. Everyone but the default constrictor gets it.
I feel like the viper's poison DC should be boosted in some other manner than by basing it on Dex. I mean...how does a Dex-based DC make sense, thematically? I would just base it on Con and then have it increase as the viper gains HD. Just my 2cp on that. I think it would be really cool if the viper could make a single bite attack as a full-round action and inject a number of poison doses equal to its Con mod or something if the bite hits. If that's too powerful, it could be usable once every 1d4 rounds or something.