I'm wondering about the limits of rearing and domesticating animals.
Pertinent text:
Handle an AnimalThis task involves commanding an animal to perform a task or trick that it knows. If the animal is wounded or has taken any nonlethal damage or ability score damage, the DC increases by 2. If your check succeeds, the animal performs the task or trick on its next action.
Rear a Wild Animal
To rear an animal means to raise a wild creature from infancy so that it becomes domesticated. A handler can rear as many as three creatures of the same kind at once.
A successfully domesticated animal can be taught tricks at the same time it’s being raised, or it can be taught as a domesticated animal later.
My question. If there's a ranger/druid PC in the party with killer Handle Animal skill check, and we find a den of forlorn wolf pups, can the ranger/druid rear three of the wolf pups and then give them to other members of the party. The wolves would definitely be familiar enough with the other members of the party to take commands from them. The other members would more than likely take at least one rank in Handle Animal as soon as possible in order to be trained in getting the animals to "follow orders." Right now by RAW I don't see why this wouldn't be doable.
I mean a farmer might hire a skilled animal worker to break and train their horses. They of course pay for those services, but nonetheless get a trained/domesticated animal for their own use.
Wouldn't a ranger/druid PC be able to do that exact same thing for their friends?
Next question, assuming the answer to above is "yes," is how would you stat those "domesticated and trained" wolves? Bestiary stats? Animal Companion stats? Something in between?
one thing is Domestication and training are two different things. wolves can easily be trained and bonded with other party members but they won't be domesticated.
best example I have is if I want my dog to roll over on her back I might start with food but eventually I won't need it. as I understand it the wolf would likely always demand food for it.
but nothing I'n your scenario is outside handle animal