The Care and Feeding of Animal Followers

My idea is to use an extension of 'fetch' in KotB: If they fetch certain objects, they will then become equipped. (Animal companions don't have paper dolls per se but if there was some way to get something into their inventory, they would almost certainly 'wear' it).

Have you tried the basic commands in KotB? I don't know if they have been extensively play-tested? The commands are:

Tell it to flank (strategy: flank)
Tell it to get in among any spellcasters at the back (strategy: target ranged)
Tell it to hold its ground and attack anyone who approaches (strategy: ready vs approach)
Tell it to use its natural instincts to trip (if it has Improved Trip - mainly wolves. Strategy: Trip)
Tell it to charge into the thick of the fray (strategy: charge)
Tell it to just attack whoever is near it (strategy: target closest)
Tell it to hold its ground for a set period (followed by option as to how long)

 

That sounds more like Familiars (I made that mistake myself). Otherwise it just takes 24 hours to get a new animal companion. There are some variant rules in 'Masters of the Wild' (not sure what the 3.5 version of that is - 'Complete Tree-Hugger' or something). They say:

Not really relevant to ToEE But basically if you lose your existing companion for whatever reason, there is nothing stopping you getting a new one.

 

Errr, yes? It isn't exactly the same as the wolf's, but its a step in the right direction.

[EDIT: Refrains from abusing moderator powers to change thread name to 'care and feeding of vampiric puppies' ]