The Wolf Tamer - A Ranger Archetype

by haimurashoichi

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Wolf Tamer Conclave

The Wolf Tamers live in small tribes to the north. They live, hunt, feast and die together, bonding for life with each other. They primarily care for the forest and its people, ensuring the circle of life stays whole. Even estranged or exiled Wolf Tamers travel with their wolves, and you will never find one living in populated cities or villages, preferring the solitude of nature over civilized company.

Ranger Level Feature
3rd Wolf Tamer Magic, Wolf Companion, Wolf's Bond
7th Exceptional Adaptability
11th Bestial Ferocity
15th Superior Defense

Wolf Tamer Magic

Beginning at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Arctic Strider Spells table. The spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn't count against the number of spells you know.

Wolf Tamer Spells
Ranger Level Spell
3rd Animal Friendship
5th Animal Messenger
9th Conjure Animals
13th Locate Creature
17th Commune With Nature

Wolf Companion

At 3rd level, you create a bond with a wolf, and enhance its abilities with magic. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 50gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth a wolf (as shown in the Monster Manual, p. 341) from the wilderness to name and serve as your faithful companion.

At the end of the 8 hours, your wolf companion appears and gains all the benefits of your Wolf's Bond ability. You can only have one wolf companion, and you can never form another bond with a different wolf.

If your wolf companion is ever slain, the magical bond you share allows it to return to life. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 25gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth your wolf's spirit and use your magic to create a new body for it. You can return your wolf to life in this manner even if you do not possess any part of its body.

Wolf's Bond

Your wolf gains a variety of benefits while it is linked to you.

  • Your wolf has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. It gains two skill proficiencies of your choice and proficiency in all saving throws. Your wolf uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own to calculate its attack rolls, ability checks and saving throws, as well as adding it to its AC and damage.
  • For each level after 3rd, your wolf gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly, as well as increasing its ability scores when you do, though not above 20.
  • The wolf obeys your commands as best it can. It rolls initiative like any other creature, but you determine its actions, decisions, attitudes, and so on. If you are incapacitated or absent, your companion acts on its own.
  • While you are traveling in arctic regions, both you and your wolf can can move stealthily at a normal pace, regardless of your favorite terrain. Your wolf gains the benefits of your Favorite Terrain and
  • When you use the attack action on your turn, you can sacrifice your Extra attack feature gained at 5th level to have it use its reaction to make a melee attack.
  • Your companion shares your alignment and ideal, as well as having a personality trait and a flaw that you can roll or select from the tables below. Its bond is always: "The person who travels with me is a beloved companion for whom I would gladly give my life."
Personality Traits and flaws
d6 Personality Types
1 I'm dauntless in the face of adversity.
2 Threaten my friends, threaten me.
3 I stay alert so others can sleep.
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 Flaws
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 bellyrub.
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.

Exceptional Adaptability

At 7th level, your wolf can make the Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Hide or Help actions as a bonus action.

Bestial Ferocity

At 11th level, your wolf can make two attacks instead of one when it makes the attack action. Additionally, the wolf's damage increase by two additional dice.

Superior Defense\columnbreak

At 15th level, whenever an attacker that your wolf can see hits it with an attack, it can use its reaction to halve the attack's damage against it.