Hi, im completely new to Society play, but not to Pathfinder. I wish to play a Druid but have no clue which animal companion to pick. i really dont like picking things that other people commonly pick. So my question i suppose is: What animal companions are legal and which one should i pick that isnt a common animal companion?
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THIS is the complete list of legal Animal Companions.
Obviously what's "common" will vary from region to region.
There's a poster here in the Forums that took a Giant Tortoise and applied the Racer archetype to it.
Obscure dinosaurs are interesting, especially if you provide a picture for others to see.
Tigers and Constrictor Snakes are particularly common in my experience. Medium-sized wolves for Lancing Cavaliers as well.
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Remember you can always switch out your animal companion for a different species - so if you pick something and it turns out it's really popular, feel free to release them back into the wild and summon a new friend.
If you do, be sure to max out your ranks in Handle Animal, since your new Companion doesn't come with Tricks.
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Venture-Agent, Netherlands—Utrecht
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In general, things that become large at 7 are ideal. Most dinosaurs are pretty good options, and the large cats get pounce, those are the most popular/"best" ones.
Animal companions tend to have one or two out of these four:
- Good offense (high STR, or high DEX with Weapon Finesse, or many attacks in general)
- Good defense (high DEX, high AC bonus, or high CON)
- Cool/useful extra features (darkvision, scent, pounce, and so on)
- Good level 4 or level 7 power boosts (becoming large, high stat ups).
The big cats have all of them, which makes them very popular. People before me have linked good guides and how to choose a good companion. There are definitely good and bad choices. Try to find a companion that has at least two of these qualities.
Of course, you don't necessarily need a companion. There are archetypes that trade them out, or you have a build that doesn't need them. A lot of people use animal companions for DPR, but that's not their only use. It can be used for scouting (provided you can understand your companion), transportation, or support/flanking buddy. At the very least, it's a meatshield between you and the enemy. It also totally depends on your build. If you're a melee Druid, it can be nice, but you're actually the star of the show. A caster Druid might want something to protect himself. And a beastmaster Druid throws all his buffs on his companion.
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Several of my PFS PCs have animal companions. In each case I chose the specific companion for different reasons.
Nana has an Ape companion. This is partly because she saw an ape companion when adventuring with other pathfinders pirates before she got a companion, partly because an ape with hooves (via a monstrous extremities spell) is cool, and partly because the large ape is a decent controller in melee, so Kernuffle can defend Nana reasonably.
Tooth&Claw is a divine verminous hunter, so he gets a vermin companion. Since his deity is Achaekek, the Mantis God, there was only really one choice. He has a giant mantis. The mantis does weak damage but has two grab attacks and flies. I've been able to take advantage of early flight with help from potions of reduce person.
Kiboko has a hippo. The whole point of Kiboko's build is to be two large, raging hippos. The hippo is a pretty weak animal companion at lower levels, but is an intrinsic part of the character's story so I choose not to use a more mechanically optimal companion creature even though I could do so and replace it with a hippo at higher level.
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My druid went with the Pygmy Hippo (from Heart of the Jungle). Not an optimal choice in that it only gains one attack and it's only special offensive is trample, but yeah it was a lore choice for me as well. Hariti the pygmy hippo has fared pretty well so far (level 10) and hasn't died once, so I guess pygmy hippo is not the worst possible choice either.
My cavalier got a boon and could choose Giant Weasel (for a gnome it works as a mount eventually), not very optimal either but a lot of my friend group love mustelids so she's kinda liked anyway. The weasel only gets one attack, but can do small amounts of con damage, which is pretty unique.
Where I come from, big cats and certain dinosaurs (the ones that get an insane amount of natural armor or more than two primary attacks) seem to be the "default" choice, so stay away from those if you want to be unique. And often anything that only druids can get is more unique than the stuff that other classes can as well, so I'd stay way from the following (ranger list): badger, bird, camel, cat (small), dire rat, dog, horse, pony, snake (viper or constrictor), or wolf; as well. Aquatic creatures don't work in PFS, so no choosing those. This limits your choices to a more manageable levels quite well.
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You can have a dinosaur. I'm always surprised by how many people don't seem to know that and pick animal companions that aren't dinosaurs. Don't they know you can get a dinosaur? And there's even a few different dinosaurs to choose from! Why would you ever want a pet that isn't a dinosaur?
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Well unique can be whatever you make it. I have an old (110) Ulfen half elven hunter who joined the pfs in place of his dead great grandson and because he was becoming 'too old' for his human community.
He has a wolf.
But what is cool is he named the wolf Anastasia after his human wife who he loved for 70 years. The wolf, like his wife, gives warm kisses, cuddles up in bed for warmth, came across the Irrisani border, and could be a real b-word, just like the wolf.
Needless to say that is memorable even if it is "common".
Also, I have another concept for his great grand daughter, who has her great grandmother's powers.
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My Hunter has a cheesed out small cat (Leopard). It took the stat bumps at 4th level instead of the size increase. It's a super buffed dex cat. What really makes it work is the Amulet of Mighty Fists (Agile) which applies it's dex bonus (+11 at 7th level) to damage as well. Armor Class is great, Mage Armor makes it a lot better.
