As a young Paladin, I was dedicated to my war horse. I spent hours training my horse and hunting on horseback. Since my return to the realms, I’ve found that hunting with a horse just isn’t practical. Horses can’t navigate many natural and man made obstacles (rope bridges, cliffs, swamps, caves), and since they aren’t magical/mystical creatures, they cannot be summoned. Should a horse die in combat, any gear they’re wearing is lost (inconvenient and expensive, especially if the horse is fully armored). The only time I have reason to fetch my horse from the stables is for jousting tournaments.
The idea of a paladin animal companion still appeals to me tremendously. Given the state of horses, I’m not counting on horses to be that companion, but what if other paladin lore were drawn into the creation of another type of companion? Something in between a magical companion like a a familiar and a non-magical companion like a raccoon.
I’m thinking of the lore surrounding Rutilor in particular (I think I read somewhere on the forums that there was once a dev concept spell involving Rutilor’s Hounds?).
>He has a small kennel of fearless hounds that he unleashes when someone has escaped his judgment; they cannot stop once they are on a trail, and they never lose their prey. Rutilor is much the same way and -- though short by comparison to other gods (it is the form he chose) -- has taken on opponents twice his size.
Procuring a companion animal would involve a holy quest. Young paladins might obtain a mongoose companion. Older paladins, a hunting hound or a war mastiff. Each creature would provide different benefits that scale with the paladin’s level, Charisma, and their bond with the companion:
mongoose — perception boost, sense evil
> A sleek mongoose peeks around Ciroce’s shoulder, chittering nervously at <SUSPICIOUS PERSON>
>Alfonso attempts to stealthily lift a few coins from Ciroce’s pockets but a sleek mongoose nips his fingers with sharp incisors, lightly stunning him!
The mongoose might react nervously to Thieves, Necromancers, grave robbers, and people actively stealing. A companion’s reaction would be a signal to the paladin to PERCEIVE the questionable person with Sacred Insight.
hunting hound — enemy balance debuff, sense evil, track person
>A hunting hound nips at a ship rat’s heels, causing it to reel off balance!
>A hunting hound lowers its head, growling softly at <SUSPICIOUS PERSON>
war mastiff — offensive bonus, sense evil, track person
>With a powerful leap a war mastiff pins <creature, person> preventing them from fleeing the area!
>A war mastiff clamps its powerful jaws around a ship rat’s neck, biting down hard with a sickening crunch.
In my pie-in-the-sky daydreaming, I see these creatures as being mystical — perhaps summoned with a prayer and requiring a pristine soul state? I realize this sort of system would be complex to implement (and probably not a big priority in the grand scheme of things) but I'm in love with the idea.
"We have a name for your disease. We call it a hyper-aesthetic one. You have been encouraged to over-indulge yourself in literature; and have inflamed your organs of fancy."
