I've been looking at the Korunnai Adept talent tree for one of my players, and I found it underwhelming - mostly because it relies on the follower system. With it, you gain a bonded Akk Dog companion. But using the follower system the Akk dog only has 10 + the PC level worth of HP (a maximum of 30 if the PC is level 20, which of course the PC rarely is).
[Side note: the Akk Dog has a Con of 12, but nothing in the follower system states that it uses the Con modifier for HP. Thoughts?]
Aside from a low HP, the Akk dog does a measly 1d6+3 slashing damage. This can be raised
slightly by investing another talent that gives the Akk Dog the Powerful Charge feat, which could raise the damage to a maximum of 1d6+13 at level 20, or 1d6+8 at level 10.
And that's it. While the Akk dog can attack in concert with your regular attacks, adding a little bit of damage on top of your own, it's pitifully easy to remove from the field. While the talent ensures you can receive another follower, eventually the PC is going to get fed up with a revolving door of replacement bond partners.
In the canon (
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Akk_dog/Legends), Akk dogs are larger than landspeeders, can crush durasteel with their jaws, and shrug off the effects of lightsabers!
Am I missing something about the Akk dog follower that would make them more useful/survivable in combat?
If not, could we workshop a fix that would let my player take the Korunnai Adept route and be more useful? (with appropriate investment, of course)