1st druid level (level 2 PC) in the Giant Slayer AP.
GM says these are the animals readily available at this early stage of the campaign:
- Chalicotherium (looks like sloth) Str 12, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 3, NA +4, 2*d4 claws, scent, and low-light vision. At 7th level large and rend
- Deinotherium (looks like elephant) Str 14, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 3, NA +4, d6 slam & d8 gore, scent, and low-light vision. At 7th level large, sweep, and trample
- Embolotheriium (looks like rhino) Str 14, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 3, NA +6, d6 bite and low-light vision. At 7th level large and trample
Later on, I can look for more rare animals to tame/befriend into being my animal companion. But for now, of these 3, The Deinotherium appears to be the clear winner. Am I missing anything that would make one of the others seem better to you? Note: since trample only usually works on creatures smaller than the one making the attack, seems like it won't be very useful in this campaign.
The only thing I am wondering, is about the sweep and trample. The sweep doesn't have the same size limit. So is it saying since you knocked something down you get to trample it anyway, even if it is not smaller than the attacking creature?
Sweep (Ex) A deinotherium can sweep a target with its tusks and knock the victim to the ground. As part of a charge, a deinotherium can move up to twice its base speed in a straight line and make a gore attack at any point during its movement. If this attack is successful, the target is knocked prone and the deinotherium can deal damage with its trample attack before continuing its movement.
It’s pretty unclear. Ultimately, you’ll just have to run it by the GM. I could see the trample working just because you knocked them prone and they aren’t as high off the ground anymore, but it’s not like there are rules for that.
You could also say it’s just the damage from trample and not an actual trample.