Greetings, I have some thoughts below and would love input if I have the wrong ideas about how it all works, thanks!
The idea is, what could be the best scouting companion
Druid - Animal Companion - Free Archetype Beastmaster
The druid is more casting focused, so many of the support benefits won't be useful.
Bird
Doesn't have darkvision, but good fly, support ability not useful for this character
Stealth skill is good option
Bat
Has echolocation as precise, although 20ft, slower fly, support ability not useful for this character
Stealth skill is good option
Cave Pterosaur
Has darkvision, good fly, and support ability can give a +2 to AC/Reflex to whoever is behind it.
Doesn't have stealth, has thievery, very situational, although funny
At earlier levels, as an Animal druid it seems like I can give a simple command, like "Fly ahead and look for anything moving, come back if in danger" and being able to talk to the animal feels like I could get a simple, animal-like response "three things moving, two-legs like you" type of thing.
At 6th level I'll get the Trance so I can see myself.
Thoughts? Thanks!
t earlier levels, as an Animal druid it seems like I can give a simple command, like "Fly ahead and look for anything moving, come back if in danger" and being able to talk to the animal feels like I could get a simple, animal-like response "three things moving, two-legs like you" type of thing.
What you can do in terms of controlling an animal/familiar scout like this is highly GM dependant. There is no real agreement about it.
t earlier levels, as an Animal druid it seems like I can give a simple command, like "Fly ahead and look for anything moving, come back if in danger" and being able to talk to the animal feels like I could get a simple, animal-like response "three things moving, two-legs like you" type of thing.What you can do in terms of controlling an animal/familiar scout like this is highly GM dependant. There is no real agreement about it.
True, I'll work that out, just making sure I'm thinking about the other aspects correctly
as you are looking at a caster I would consider the Vulture as its support benefit will trigger on spell attack as well as a strike.
Another GM variable is how other creatures will react to your animal. A bad GM will have everything try to murder your animal on sight. A good GM will consider several factors. Is your animal native to this environment and therefore unlikely to alarm anyone? Birds should fit this in forests and bats in caves. Is the creature capable and inclined to hunt animals like yours? Are they aware of casters being able to use animals as scouts? Finally, your GM has a lot of leeway on what constitutes "simple" questions and requests.
Generally, familiars will be better scouts than animal companions, to the point that choosing an animal companion based on scouting potential feels like a waste. Lots of reasons for this. If a a familiar is killed while scouting you rarely lose combat power. And familiars have a wide variety of abilities you can choose from that companions don't.
-They always share an empathetic connection with you that can let you know if they are attacked or spotted something particularly interesting.
- When those triggers occur you can Share Senses and potentially identify the creature yourself.
- Speech and touch telepathy can let you understand each other outside of druid stuff.
- Can be adapted to different environments, such as giving it a burrow or swim speed.
- Can have more senses, like darkvision, scent, snd tremorsense.
- Always tiny, making it less noticable.
Also, where is your campaign going to be set?
If it is in, or around, a village, town, or city, have you considered a cat or dog as a scout? They would be all over the place, and blend in much easier than a bat or a dinosaur.
If it's someplace underground, bat would seem to be a great choice.
That said, I don't think any of the choices you listed are bad choices.
Another GM variable is how other creatures will react to your animal. A bad GM will have everything try to murder your animal on sight. A good GM will consider several factors. Is your animal native to this environment and therefore unlikely to alarm anyone? Birds should fit this in forests and bats in caves. Is the creature capable and inclined to hunt animals like yours? Are they aware of casters being able to use animals as scouts? Finally, your GM has a lot of leeway on what constitutes "simple" questions and requests.
Generally, familiars will be better scouts than animal companions, to the point that choosing an animal companion based on scouting potential feels like a waste. Lots of reasons for this. If a a familiar is killed while scouting you rarely lose combat power. And familiars have a wide variety of abilities you can choose from that companions don't.
-They always share an empathetic connection with you that can let you know if they are attacked or spotted something particularly interesting.
- When those triggers occur you can Share Senses and potentially identify the creature yourself.
- Speech and touch telepathy can let you understand each other outside of druid stuff.
- Can be adapted to different environments, such as giving it a burrow or swim speed.
- Can have more senses, like darkvision, scent, snd tremorsense.
- Always tiny, making it less noticable.
Oh, 100% familiars are better, I just don't have the option with this build and the feats I have to take, but as a Beastmaster hoping I can find more functionality with the "other" animal companions.
This is underground, so yeah, bat, or maybe owl, but the cave pterosaur also makes sense, but the lack of stealth could be an issue
as you are looking at a caster I would consider the Vulture as its support benefit will trigger on spell attack as well as a strike.
Gross lol, but good point. Sadly doesn't have stealth so not sure if it could be spotted, and if it is, underground, would other dezinens care or not.