Beast Master
The Beast Master archetype embodies a friendship between the civilized races and the beasts of the world. United in focus, beast and ranger work as one to fight the monstrous foes that threaten civilization and the wilderness alike. Emulating the Beast Master archetype means committing yourself to this ideal, working in partnership with an animal as its companion and friend.
Animal Companion
At 3rd level, you create a powerful bond with a creature from the wilderness to serve as your faithful companion. Choose a beast that is either no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower or a riding horse. However, your DM might pick one of these animals for you, based on the surrounding terrain and on what types of creatures would logically be present in the area. You can have only one animal companion at a time.
The animal companion can spend one or more hit dice after a short rest, up to its maximum number of Hit Dice, which is equal to the animal companion’s Hit Dice. For each Hit Dice spent in this way, the animal companion rolls the die and adds its’ constitution modifier to it. The animal companion regains hit points equal to the total. After a long rest, the animal companion regains all lost hit points and regains spent Hit Dice, up to a number of dice equal to half of the animal companion’s total number of them.
If the animal companion’s hit points fall below 0 and it fails to be killed, it can roll death saving throws. If the animal companion dies, you can try to magically restore its life with Revivify, Revivify Beast, Raise Dead, Resurrection, or True Resurrection spell. Or you can obtain another one by spending 24 hours in meditation to locate and bond with another animal companion that is not hostile to you.
Companion's Bond
Your animal companion gains a variety of benefits while it is linked to you. The animal companion loses its Multiattack action, if it has one. The companion obeys your commands as best it can. The two of you share a special bond and communicate using sounds, touch, hand gestures, body language and the like. You determine its actions, decisions, attitudes, and so on. If you are incapacitated or absent, your companion acts on its own.
Your animal companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your Ranger level. Your Animal Companion:
- Must be no larger than Medium and be a CR of 1/4 or less. Or you can choose a riding horse.
- Loses its multi-attack feature, if any.
- Shares your initiative roll.
- Obeys your verbal or somatic commands. You use a bonus action to command your beast to take the Attack action and a free action to command it to take the dash, disengage, dodge, help, or hide actions.
- Acts freely if you are absent or incapacitated. It will protect you or take you away from harm if you are incapacitated.
- Shares all your Ranger features you gain, such as Natural Explorer, Land's Stride, etc., if applicable.
- Adds your proficiency modifier to its AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls.
- Gains proficiency in all saving throws and adds your proficiency bonus modifier to them.
- Intelligence and Wisdom becomes 6 if it has an Intelligence and Wisdom score of 5 or lower.
- Gains proficiency in two skills of your choice and adds your proficiency modifier to them.
- Its HD equals your Ranger level and its hit points increases accordingly by either taking the average or rolling for hit points.
- Can increase one ability score by 2 or two ability scores by 1 when you gain an ability score improvement feature in the Ranger class. As normal, it can’t raise its’ ability scores above 20.
- Shares your alignment.
Your companion has a personality trait and a flaw that you can roll for or select from the tables below. Your companion shares your ideal, and its bond is always, “The ranger who travels with me is a beloved companion for whom I would gladly give my life.”
| d6 | Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I’m dauntless in the face of adversity. |
| 2 | Threaten my friends, threaten me. |
| 3 | I stay on alert so others can rest. |
| 4 | People see an animal and underestimate me. I use that to my advantage. |
| 5 | I have a knack for showing up in the nick of time. |
| 6 | I put my friends’ needs before my own in all things. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | If there’s food left unattended, I’ll eat it. |
| 2 | I growl at strangers, and all people except my ranger are strangers to me. |
| 3 | Any time is a good time for a belly rub. |
| 4 | I’m deathly afraid of water. |
| 5 | My idea of hello is a flurry of licks to the face. |
| 6 | I jump on creatures to tell them how much I love them. |
Beast Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you and your animal companion form a more potent fighting team. It is a free action to command the beast to take the Attack action.
If either your animal companion or you are deceased, you or your animal companion, respectively, can attack twice, instead of once, whenever the Attack action occurs on your or your beast companions’ turn. This ends once your beast or you are revived.
Beast's Tactics
At 7th level, the animal companion’s attacks are considered magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks and damage.
In addition, you and your animal companion gain one of the following features of your choice.
Escape the Horde. Opportunity attacks against you are made with disadvantage.
Evasion. You can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a red dragon’s fiery breath or a lightning bolt spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make Dexterity saving throw for only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw. You take only half damage if you fail.
Keen Senses. You have a heightened perception of your surroundings. You have advantage on saving throws against Enchantments and Illusions.
Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack’s damage against you.
Extra Attack
Both you and your beast excel in combat. At 11th level, either you or your animal companion can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the attack action on your turn.