Plants, Vermin, Companionship, and Compatibility

[Spermy The Cat]

Ultimate Wilderness released several new animal companions for Druids, Rangers and Hunters, as well as more than a handful of plant and vermin companions. But the wording of who can use what is a little concerning. Are the plant companions able to be used by a Treesinger Druid or Plantmaster Hunter, and can a Verminous Hunter or Dungeon Something Ranger use the new list of vermin companions, such as the caterpillar or mosquito, or is it all just purely for base Druids?

Page 182, if curious.

[Derklord]

RAW, only Druids (and Hunters because of their class description) can select vermin companions. The rules for plant companions don't say 'specific druid archetypes', but they need special GM allowance 100% of the time, anyway.

You can ignore the problem with a new feat (Curious Companion) in Wilderness Origins that allows selecting plant companion or vermin companion, only prereq is the animal companion class feature.

[Spermy The Cat]

Not gonna lie, Derklord. That's pretty bad.

[Spermy The Cat]

Wait a second.

Vermin Hunter
>Vermin Companion (Ex)
>At 1st level, a verminous hunter must choose a vermin companion INSTEAD OF AN animal companion.

Plant Master
>Plant Companion (Ex)
>A plant master forms a mystic bond with a plant companion. A plant master can begin play with ANY plant companion.

Treesinger is the one who gets shafted most, since it states Plant Bond that "The second option is to form a close bond with a plant companion. A treesinger may begin play with any of the plants LISTED BELOW."

I would like to request this be pinged for an FAQ, since this otherwise cockblocks the Druids and Hunters that out of the options their archetypes are built around.

[Derklord]

Easy solution: Stop relying on d20pfsrd.com! It's known to change text without any marking. In this case, the text in the book says "A treesinger may begin play with any of the plants listed in Plant Companions (see page 26)." ARG pg. 25, and while it provides a reference, it doesn't say that only these plant companions are allowed. Indeed, the section in Ultimate Wilderness is called "plant companions" as well, RAW, a Treesinger can pick any of the plant companions from either book!

Oh, and my previous statement was wrong, an archetype like Treesinger Druid or Plant Master Hunter does not need explicit GM allowance - I have no idea what I was thinking there.

[David knott 242]

The new feat "Curious Companion" in Wilderness Origins might be of interest. It lets any character with the Animal Companion class feature take a plant or vermin companion instead.