When I choose Loyal Companion do I automatically gain an animal companion?
A: No, as the talents states you form a bond with an animal you already own. With the exception of a wolf you can buy a war dog, falcon, or war horse and make that your loyal companion. If at some time you come across a wolf which you may want to train it, having it replace your current loyal companion, as if you had lost your old one.

All Natural Beasts that you affect become docile and may actually show you affection (such as rubbing against you or licking your face).

My question/comment is that there are a lot of ways in the Animism tradition to affect natural animals. For example, the spell "Path of the Wolf" allows you to call wolves (although they are only minion level) to your location Additionally, the spell "Sway Beast" allows you to make an animal more friendly to you.

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So, my question/comment is that these two spells imply there would be a way to obtain an animal companion from nature, rather than purchasing one, if you have taken these spells. Or even ignoring Path of the Wolf, the Sway Beasts spell should allow you to befriend a wild animal (and if I understand the rules correctly, there is nothing that would stop you from recasting Sway Beasts every scene, to maintain that bond/affection/relationship).

It just seems that this clarification makes it "impossible" to be a Ranger or Druid, as you must "purchase" an animal to be a Loyal Companion. Perhaps that is the intention, but therein lies my question/comment. =)

but for now, your limited on the animals on the list.

If I may ask, Pedro, will those expanded rules include an equivalent wolf companion (power level) to a hunting dog/horse/winged raptor? That is, the only two wolves in the book are Pack (Minion) and Alpha (Common, Exceptional). Will there be a Wolf (Common) in your future expansion of animal companions? That is one aspect of the Loyal Companion talent I did not fully understand, as the other animals listed are all Common, and there is no Common wolf (so which stats would you use for the companion)?

Thanks for the fast response, Pedro, you're the bestest!

i know this is a bit of a stupid but i put it here so no one can complain



the list is not all inclusive, if a mod gives you access to a different option, i know a wolf lizard is an option in one of the recent mods.

also pete i would recommend adding a line within this one stating that one and only one LC is permissible. seeing as this was an issue that had come up at arcanicon

As this relates to loyal companion - do the improvements stack? It is not specifically mentioned, but the talent reads this way.

Benefit: ... All the bonuses below are cumulative.
Tier III: Your companion gains +2 to all Action Skill Rolls and defenses.
Tier IV: Your companion gains +3 to all Action Skill Rolls and defenses.