Animal Companion Mechanics and the Appeal of the Ranger Class

[Lephys]

A question I haven't seen been brought up in this thread is.......

 

Animal Companion Equipment? I can see how they could give 1 or 2 extra top of the back items.

 

But the most pressing question I really have to ask is:

 

Are animal companions permanent when caught or temporarily charmed? Are they spawned magically or does the Ranger/Druid "whistle" for them to come and then they run away when low health/low morale??

 

You know something really simple that that makes me think of? The useful ability to, say, tie a little message to your falcon's leg and send it back to the stronghold to warn someone about something much faster than you, yourself, could travel there. But then, you're without your companion for that amount of time, so I dunno if that would work with P:E's "Wondertwin" Ranger mechanics.

 

But... that's something from PnP games that familiars and such could do that wouldn't be very difficult at all to implement into a CRPG. Instead of "Oh no... That ambassador back in the city is an IMPOSTOR! Come, creature companion who can certainly travel much faster than any of us can, and who has a notorious affiliation with myself to the people of that city! Simply tag along with us as we all attempt to huff it back to the city as fast as our human legs can take us, and make it there JUST several minutes too late, for dramatic effect!"

[Greydragon]

An idea for a quest for animal companion:

The main character on a scouting mission in the woods is horribly injured and the (player controlled) animal companion has to protect, heal and lead MC to safety.

This is done in various ways (as each animal has their own methods) a wolf might bring down a doe and use it to feed MC while a bird of prey might bring back a rabbit or a giant ant might bring nectar.

Healing: anything from licking the wounds to binding them with leaves (monkey), silk (spider) or wax (giant wasp) etc.

Defend the MC from hostile, opportunistic rival and/or aggressive predator.

Find a means to improve mobility of MC: such as offering a shoulder (bear), bringing a stick that can be used as a crutch or racing ahead to lead party to MC (bird of prey), etc.

 

I see this as a reversal of the 'protect the captured animal companion' quest suggestion. This also adds a greater depth to the bond between the MC and AC.

[Lephys]

Makes me think of Shadow, the dog, in Dead To Rights: Retribution.

 

I mean, different game. Action/shooter. But, the very first mission/level in the game has you controlling Shadow to protect a wounded, limping Jack. (I think his name was jack). Also, Shadow is able to do a lot of the sneaking, because he can hear/smell/sense foes (and clue scents and such).

 

Anywho... that all was a bit strange and overly intelligent for a dog (in the way that you directly control it to very humanly investigate things) in an action/shooter game, to be honest. But, that type of thing makes a lot more sense in an RPG.

[Osvir]

Greydragon gave me an idea too... a bit intricate and perhaps a bit complex for every area but hey... I dunno.

Let's say you are traveling in a foresty area, and there is a Druid Enclave or something nearby and they are evil (or whatever). Charming a local wolf or animal in the area could allow your party to sneak up with only the wolf to gather intel. The Druids wouldn't bother with the wolf, but they would with your party. In other words, animal companions that could act as spies in various ways.

Obviously, strolling around with an animal that has a habitat in mountains into the Druid Enclave of Evil might make them raise an eyebrow and some of them even sense or understand the underlying intentions. Call it "Divination" or whatnot but yeah...

Similarly, "stealthing" or scouting with an animal of some kind into an enemy base or structure, they could sense the connection with the Player Party by Animancy somehow (if they have an Animancer of some kind in the base).

[Lephys]

It would only work in certain situations, too. I mean, if you send a wolf to scout around in a bandit camp, they're not just going to go "Oh, a wolf... it's not people, so whatever..." and ignore it. They're going to wonder why the hell a wolf is in there, etc, and try to drive it out. But, maybe a stray cat, or something smaller could get in. Or, a falcon or something could fly about and scout at least the exterior of a bandit-controlled structure, probably without much notice.

 

But then, unless you're the only Ranger in the world with an animal companion connection, there must be others who know of this connection. And if there are people in the world who study things, there are people who study this. There are certainly people in given situations who'd recognize your animal's behavior and/or detect its connection (sort of like magical detection in other games, since magic is soul-based, and the animal connection is soul-based, as well.)

 

*shrug*

 

Anywho, I'm just pointing out that it won't just be "Oh, have an animal, 'cause you're a Ranger? SCOUT EVERYTHING AND SNEAK EVERYWHERE FOR FREE! 8D!"

 

[Mor]

It would only work in certain situations, too. I mean, if you send a wolf to scout around in a bandit camp, they're not just going to go "Oh, a wolf... it's not people, so whatever..." and ignore it.

I don't know about you, but a wolf on the edge of my camp is not a "whatever" situation However, I think you are on the right path. Ranger are good woodsmen hunters, highly adept at tracking and survival, their companions should play on that. For example

 

Scouting: a falcon will scout ahead of the party, warning you of incoming enemies(and give you extended range?) or wolf with extended senses that would growl in the direction of close by enemies, giving you advanced warning.

 

Hunting: Wolf that would be able to "hide in shadows" i.e. get on his hunches and sneak by try to ambush your attackers archers.(would need a strong AI, to avoid too much micro)

 

tracking/survival: maybe you can use your soul bounded beast to run around to help you find traps/secret locations better?

Edited December 6, 2013 by Mor

[Osvir]

A mechnaic that does not exist in any of the Infinity Engine games:

Animals, Pets, Familiars, you name it, should have their own vision. When I send my pets into the Fog of War, I want to be able to see what they can see. In Baldur's Gate (for instance) I can send familiars, animals, whatever, into the Fog of War, and there they will be lost forever. No but seriously, they just go into the Fog of War and thus I lose control of them. I want to be able to scout with any kind of sub-companion (which I couldn't in the IE games). It was odd then, that I couldn't, and it'd be odd if I can't.

Not a demand but more or less a suggestion that I strongly recommend Obsidian implement. Give minions their own vision.

EDIT:

 

Anywho, I'm just pointing out that it won't just be "Oh, have an animal, 'cause you're a Ranger? SCOUT EVERYTHING AND SNEAK EVERYWHERE FOR FREE! 8D!"

 

Which is why I said it'd be intricate and complex to implement. One animal might reside in the mountains, and another might reside in the forest. Running with an animal from the mountains and putting it in the bandit camp in the forest the bandits should get alerted, but if I had the animal companion from the forest, they might be more like "Oh what a cute lil' wolfie coming to say heloo" (or, more accurately, be a lil bit on their guard cus it's a freaking wolf!).

The point: The forest animal would have an easier time getting around in the forest and the mountain animal would have an easier time getting around in the mountain, not the other way around. So it wouldn't be "Scout everything and sneak everywhere for free!!", it'd be situational. Which is why it could be a pain to implement.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Osvir

[Mor]

A mechnaic that does not exist in any of the Infinity Engine games:

 

Animals, Pets, Familiars, you name it, should have their own vision.

In my suggestion above, I was thinking about wizard eye spell when I wrote the falcon scout thingy.

[Greydragon]

I'd imagine that most animal companions in the wild are innocuous enough to avoid alerting uninformed opponents quickly, aside from the heavy combat choices like bears or tigers. Wolves/big cats and other medium sized sized animals would still be stealthy enough to avoid all but the most alert of opponents (and I'd assume those would be druids/rangers in the wilderness). However if they aren't well informed they'd become alert much slower, most other classes without magic or soul detection abilities would be poor at recognizing the difference in threat between an animal companion and a wild animal. Perhaps a perception check whether they notice the abnormal focus of the scrutiny?

 

As for animal companions entering cities a wolf would probably pass if the guards didn't know any better (some dogs resemble them after all) a bear might get through (if you use a lead and pretend it is a dancing bear) etc. Individual lies to cover your choice in AC would allow them entry to a city, I'd assume they'd be barred from any normal building. If combat breaks out however they might burst in. In a hostile area (gang headquarters, etc.) they'd follow, naturally. 

 

Perhaps a few events where locals pester/befriend them as you return to where they were left. You could handle them differently depending on personal choice. A bad choice may have your AC treated as an unwelcome menace (and require circumvention of the city guards), but a useful threat/persuasion against uncooperative lowlifes with an ear to the ground for rumours.

[Lephys]

 

It would only work in certain situations, too. I mean, if you send a wolf to scout around in a bandit camp, they're not just going to go "Oh, a wolf... it's not people, so whatever..." and ignore it.

I don't know about you, but a wolf on the edge of my camp is not a "whatever" situation

 

I'm not sure if you misunderstood, but... that's exactly what I was saying. That it isn't a "whatever" situation. Which is why the bandits wouldn't just shrug it off and let your wolf scout, and thus it wouldn't be a feasible tactic.

 

I was just trying to point out that what we're tossing about here already has plenty of things in place to govern it, before any of the "Oh, so you just want Rangers to circumvent all stealth/scouting difficulties then?" comments showed up, . That's all.

[Xienzi]

I wonder if we'll be able to use flying-type companions to transport written messages to and from places.

[Helz]

I think the WoW hunter pet gathering mechanic is pretty cool, and similar to what other people here have suggested (nevermind that its WoW, hear me out). There are multiple classes of pets (canine, feline, serpents, insects, birds, etc.) that each have their own attributes and skill trees.  Its up to the player which type of pet you pick; you can tame any animal you want by soloing it in combat (so your ranger would have to do it alone).  Once he's tamed, he'll start a level or 2 below you, fight at your side and level up along with you.  Over time he gains loyalty as well, which might unlock new abilities or behavior.  Unique animals have special talents (or just look cool) so you might be tempted to switch your leveled, loyal pet with something new down the line.  You can have a few pets in your stronghold (or wherever) so that you can also switch between them depending on whatever skills you currently need. 

 

I advocate this system because it allows for your pet to be pretty unique, you can choose any animal in the game you want.

[Frenetic Pony]

Honey badger should be an option. Immunity to giving a crap about anything. Seriously... They basically walk up to cobras and slap them in their faces, and say "YOUR EGGS ARE NOW MY EGGS, FOO!", even whilst the cobra bites them and injects its venom. They just kill it to death, then embrace the sweet, sweet venom sleep, until it runs out of their system. Then, they wake up, and eat all the cobra eggs, and probably the snake, too.

 

That, and they climb into beehives and eat all their honey WHILST the bees are all swarming about and constantly stinging them!

 

Look 'em up on youtube, for some documentary footage. They be'z crazeh.

 

Does it come with free sassy gay dude to narrate? Because that would be awesome! (If rather tiring after a bit)

[J.E. Sawyer]

I wonder what Sagani's animal companion is.

 

One from her homeland.

[Boox]

 

I wonder what Sagani's animal companion is.

 

One from her homeland.

 

Ooh, what a tease

 

Hmm, what could it be? Sagani's a dwarf dressed in furs, so she's probably from a mountainous or cold region. So, maybe a lynx? A wolverine? A mountain lion? A bear? An arctic fox? A marten?

Edited December 10, 2013 by Boox

[Sabotin]

How hard can it be to figure out a dwarf's animal companion? There's only one option:

 

[ShadySands]

more like this

 

[Lephys]

How hard can it be to figure out a dwarf's animal companion? There's only one option:

 

<img>

Well, when the enemy starts getting insider info fed to them, we'll know exactly who (or what) to blame, I suppose.

Edited December 11, 2013 by Lephys

[Boox]

The latest update shows a concept piece of Galawain, the patron god of the hunt, with three animals at his feet. They look to be a dog, a bear and a staelgar (as described by Sawyer in another thread). As rangers are hunters maybe these three animals are included as choices when choosing the animal companion.

 

The character sheet mock-up also mentions Sagani as a party member so if there was any doubt as to whether she was playable or not, I think it's fairly certain that she is a potential party member. Someone also speculated in the update thread that the Devil of Caroc (with the Most Time in Party) might be a pet, but it could also be an animal companion, I guess.

 

What do you guys and gals think?

[Melankolia]

Animal companions should be able to communicate with the rangers. Ranger and the companion should understand each other like dog understands human in real life but they should share more deep link between each other.

 

In the game there should be some kind of dialog (mind communication) between the ranger and companion which is more rich depending what kind of animal the companion is. Imagine e.g. event when you enter a new area and your companion stops you to warn about the danger ahead with limited description.

 

Companions could also provide some side quests that are only available for rangers with companions. For example companion could notice tracks which leads eventually to new quest or companion initiates NPC dialog, etc..

 

Some of the items could be found only by certain companions...snake will find something under the rocks, eagle something from the tree top, etc..

 

Companions should get also certain experience and new experience points could be used to improve such skills as scouting, search, evasion, ambush, etc.

[Lord Gorchnik]

Truth be told I always liked a panther as my animal companion in other games as a ranger.  However, given the new fantastical beasts they have introduced us too so far I would love to give them a try when the game finally releases.