Animal Companion suggestions

[VanillaPudding]

The new system is pretty cool and provides a a more custom approach, yet it also seems to be lacking in a number of areas like variety, customization, and reward for maintaining a familiar for long a duration.

- Allow "lesser" companions to advance in levels somehow. For example, a RAT  might begin at it's normal baseline, but be allowed to advance as it is kept, endures the world at the side of it's "master", or whatever else. This leads to >

- Add in customization and advancement conversations for companions. In the current form of the system you're going to see a VERY limited usage out of most animals because they effectively -require- stealth to survive what the player does (excluding lamely calling it out for rare situations and unsummoning it for anything dangerous like we often see now)

So, upon acquiring an animal companion and spending a large amount of XP on it (especially at higher levels) the Druid is allowed to somewhat mold and shape the behavior and skills of his companion. Of course, the "cap" on their abilities would still be related to their nature.

Perhaps the conversation could work like this -

- Special attack boost (onhit poison or disease for spiders, rats. Sneak attack for cat-like animals, knockdown for others, cleave, etc)
- Resilience (saves and con boost)
-Stealth (obvious enough)
- Defensive (listen, spot, spell-like abilities)
- Special (unique or rare abilities for some creatures and custom creatures. Perhaps regeneration, phase spider "teleporting" (like a DASH), blinding speed, howls, auras, etc)
- whatever else is appropriate



Overall, a little customization and leniency on what animals druids/rangers can safely travel with and endure the setting with would be a great addition to the system. In the current form it's really limited to talking beasts with stealth and/or rarely using them outside of RP / individual situations in which they are assumed safe. I'd much rather see people using them almost full time than grey-area unsummoning them or simply not using them.

[SN]

In the current form it's really limited to talking beasts with stealth and/or rarely using them outside of RP / individual situations in which they are assumed safe. I'd much rather see people using them almost full time than grey-area unsummoning them or simply not using them.

This is true.

I love the new companion system, I love the feel of LOSS you actually experience once a rare creature you found dies,tested and tried it for a time now, yet with the limited 'control' mechanics over them in combat (VWE, VWX, Player Tool etc), I do not see any non-stealth ones being used in combat/casual walking around due to that.

While the animal companions shouldn't be overly filthy in terms of power, I keeping non-stealth ones alive can be an absolute chore that does not seem worth it.

With how UD is designed, and druids doing their 'rounds', even a 100 hp companion can go down in a matter of a round or two (i.e. Hook Horror crits, Orog Tracker sneaks and so on).

If you want PC's to develop a bond with it and have it be with you for a long time, while I do love it - it needs some polishing, some incentive added for the players to encourage them that it is worth actually using/having them :)

[GetFirstPC]

Agree once this new system was set I hopped it become more of "Pocket monster" system...