Animal Companions
Finding your furry friend
Animal companions are beasts that travel with the party of their own free will. They may decide to stay or go of their own volition, and there are many things the party can do to influence the beast's decision.
Which animals can be companions
All unaligned, good or neutral beasts or monstrosities that are large or smaller, with an intelligence of 6 or less are possible companions for a party. Certain races and classes may give the party an advantage in convincing specific types of beasts to stay with the party.
Working with the party
If a beast seems willing to join the party, (ie. it does not attack them) then the party must succeed on an Animal Handling check. The base for this DC is equal to the animals Wisdom Score + 1/2 their CR, though there are a variety of things that can influence the DC of an Animal Handling check the during your travels. The race or class of a party member can effect this DC, along with food being offered, or the landscape the party finds themselves in(see Interaction DC below).
The party will continue to make Animal Handling checks as they interact with their new companion, working and fighting alongside it and teaching it new abilities.
Bonds
The animal companion will have a bond with the entire party as a whole and not with just one party member. Sometimes they will grow close with the first person who approached it, especially if the party has multiple companions. If the party splits for any reason, the companion will decide on its own which group of party members it will travel with.
It will not always respond to commands, but the longer the beast stays with the party, it will be more receptive to listening to the party and working with them.
Taming
When a creature is first approached by the party and they succeed on a check, the creature begins to climb the tameness scale. The number of checks it takes to reach a new level on the scale is variable, based on how wild the animal is. An animal always starts at cautious, (unless they are already familiar and comfortable with humanoids,) regardless of the initial result. A wild or feral animal is much less likely to interact with the party if food is not offered.
In the 24 hours after the 1st check, the party must succeed on 3 additional checks without failing 3 in order for the animal to bond with the party. Most animals will then move up to friendly. The party must continue making animal handling checks as they travel with their new companion, or it will leave after 3 days of minimal contact.
Tameness Scale
| Tameness | Animal Attitude | |
|---|---|---|
| Wild | Animal is hostile towards the party and may attack | |
| Feral | Animal leaves | |
| Cautious | Animal is wary of the party and will follow at a distance | |
| Friendly | Animal follows the party but will take no combat actions | |
| Tame | Animal will assist the party in combat, foraging, tracking, etc | |
| Bonded | Animal will defend the party members with its own life and use its skills to assist in any way possible |
Once the animal reaches tame, it will stick with the group without any additional checks, and it will gain its 1st animal companion level. Until it reached bonded, it is still affected by failed checks and negative experiences, and can still leave the party. Once a companion reaches tame, they will continue to fight alongside the party until they reach cautious, at which point they will leave, abandoning the party. Companions never stop gaining and losing points, though once they are securely in the tame category, paying attention to their general treatment is enough.
Meaningful events
While a companion is traveling with the party, any event that can seriously effect a companions relationship with the party is called a meaningful event. These can be positive or negative, and depending on the severity, they can effect a companions tameness by anywhere from 5 - 25 points.
In order for a companion to reach the bonded stage, 3 meaningful events must happen, without the companion slipping back to friendly. Once bonded, a companion will likely never leave a party, unless several serious negative meaningful events occur.
Meaningful Event Examples
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Tend to mortal wound | Cause serious injury |
| Save life | Attack companion |
| Rescue from peril | Abandon companion |
| Save from kidnapper | Abuse companion |
| Feed companion over self | Neglect companion |
| Rescue companions mate | Tied up or trapped |
| Heal companions mate | Verbally abuse companion |
Interaction DC
A sucess by 10 or more is worth 2 sucessful checks, and a failure by 10 or more is worth 2 failures. When making initial contact with an animal, the party must reach the required number of sucessfull checks to become cautions before they fail 3, or the animal will flee.
Racial Adjustments
| Race | DC Adjustment | |
|---|---|---|
| Underground Races | -1 to all underground beasts | |
| Elves (except drow) | -1 to all woodland beasts | |
| Avian Races | -2 to all flying beasts | |
| Feline Races | -2 to Felines | |
| Aquatic Races | -2 to all Aquatic beasts | |
| Reptilian Races | -2 to all Reptiles |
Class Adjustments
| Class | DC Adjustment | |
|---|---|---|
| Barbarians | -1 for all Bears and Wolves | |
| Druids | -2 for all woodland beasts | |
| Rangers | -1 for all woodland beasts |
General Adjustments
| Action | DC Adjustment | |
|---|---|---|
| Food Withheld(obvious food not offered) | +5 | |
| Party shares food | -2 | |
| Party insults them | +2 | |
| Animal is treated as an equal | -2 | |
| Animal is currently in a terrain it dislikes | +5 | |
| Animal in its natural terrain | -2 | |
| Party Member attacks animal | +10 |
Animal Classifications
Use these classifications to determine an animal's temperament, and how many sucessfull checks it needs to begin traveling with the party, and to climb a level on the tameness scale
Friendly
Frequently interacts with humanoids, clever enough to understand being cute gets it food and attention, often a village pet or former companion.
| Tameness | Sucessfull Checks |
|---|---|
| Friendly | 1 |
| Tame | 3 |
Urban
Well used to humanoids, often a pest or village inhabitant, semi-frequently engaging with humanoids.
| Tameness | Sucessfull Checks |
|---|---|
| Cautious | 1 |
| Friendly | 3 |
| Tame | 6 |
Scavenger
Used to taking advantage of humanoid waste, farms, crops, ect. Freely willing to take food and used to the sight of humanoids.
| Tameness | Sucessfull Checks |
|---|---|
| Cautious | 2 |
| Friendly | 6 |
| Tame | 12 |
Feral
Living on the outskirts of civilization, fending completely for themselves and avoiding humanoids when encountered, these animals are cautious and challenging to tame.
| Tameness | Sucessfull Checks |
|---|---|
| Cautious | 3 |
| Friendly | 12 |
| Tame | 24 |
Wild
Living in the deep wilderness, far from humanoid society, rarely ever encountering seeing humanoids and never, or almost never interacting with them, these animals are extremely cautious and hard to tame.
| Tameness | Sucessfull Checks |
|---|---|
| Cautious | 5 |
| Friendly | 24 |
| Tame | 50 |
Extremophile
Living in the extreme habitats of the world, having never encountered anything even remotely resembling a humanoid, these animals will likely respond to the approach of a humanoid with extreme fear and possibly violence. Built to survive in the harshest climates, these animals are highly attuned to any potential danger and nearly impossible to tame.
Should the party attempt to tame an animal that feels too powerful for their party, use this as a tool to up the difficulty of recruiting the animal.
| Tameness | Sucessfull Checks |
|---|---|
| Cautious | 12 |
| Friendly | 50 |
| Tame | 100 |
Companion Rules
In Combat
Your companion acts on their own initiative unless they are being used as a mount, in which case they act on their riders. If a party member fall unconscious, your companion will prioritize defending them.
Control and Roleplaying
Generally this guide suggests that players fully control their companion in combat. However, outside of combat it is up to the DM and player to determine who they think is best suited to be responsible for role playing the companion.
Communication
While your companion does not understand any language, it will follow simple commands and you are able to instruct it to perform simple tasks. Your Companion is completely loyal to you and will do it's best to be helpful as possible. You must make a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to have your companion complete more complex task.
Barding Armor
Barding armor is described in the Equipment Section of the PHB. Barding for medium and small creatures costs twice as much as normal armor and weighs the same amount.
Magic Items
While magic items for animal companions are somewhat more rare, they are not unheard of. In general, magical armor is fairly easy to convert into barding armor, although it will require the work of an experiencde blacksmith. While traditional magic weapons such as swords and bows are not something companions are equipped to handle, there are other ways to magically enhance their attacks, such as wraps, gauntlets, claw extenders etc.
Training and Tricks
You can teach an animal a specific trick with one week of successful animal handling checks, against the base DC of the trick, modified by any of the influencing factors. An animal can learn a number of trick equal to 3 times its intelligence. Once a trick has been learned you can use your action to perform an DC 10, modified by and influencing factors, Animal handling check to command them to perform a task or tick it knows.
| Trick | Base DC |
|---|---|
| Attack | 20 |
| Defend | 20 |
| Down | 15 |
| Fetch | 15 |
| Guard | 20 |
| Trick | Base DC |
|---|---|
| Heel | 15 |
| Perform | 15 |
| Seek | 15 |
| Stay | 15 |
| Track | 20 |
Companion Class
Companion Class
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Animal Companion |
| 2nd | +2 | Natural Talent |
| 3rd | +2 | Companion Tactics |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Increase |
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack |
| 6th | +3 | True Ally |
| 7th | +3 | Companion Tactics |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Increase |
| 9th | +4 | Companion Tactics |
| 10th | +4 | Natural Talent |
| 11th | +4 | Improved Attacks |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Increase |
| 13th | +5 | Companion Tactics |
| 14th | +5 | Ability Score Increase |
| 15th | +5 | Defensive Tactics |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Increase |
| 17th | +6 | Companion Tactics |
| 18th | +6 | Unwavering Loyalty |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Increase |
| 20th | +6 | Offensive tactics |
Google Docs Animal Compaion Character Sheet
Class Features
As a Companion, you animal companion gains the following class features
Hit Points
- Hit Dice: 1d10 per Companion level
- Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution Modifier
- Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 + Constitution Modifier
Proficiencies
- Armor: All barding armor
- Weapons: Natural Weapons
- Tools: None
- Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution
- Skills: None
Companion
When an animal companion reaches tame for the 1st time, they receive their 1st class level. They earn XP or milestones the same as a PC would, and level up at the same rate. Should a companion leave the party for any reason, and be reunited with them at a later date, they will likely stop gaining levels in their absence.
Natural Talent
At 2nd level, a natural talent has emerged from your companion. They gain an additional Natural talent at 10th level. They cannot choose the same natural talent more than once.
-
Natural Armor Your Companion gains +1 AC.
-
Tough. Your Companion gains an additional 1 hp for each level it has.
-
Precise. Your Companion's attacks have +2 to hit
-
Ferocious. Your companion's attacks have +2 to damage rolls
Companion Tactics
At 3rd level, through training, your companion has developed one of the following tactics. They learn an additional Tactic at 7th, 13th. and 17th level.
-
Protective. When a creature your companion can see attacks a target other than them that is within 5 feet of them, they can use their reaction to impose disadvantage on the Attack roll.
-
Multiattack. When your companion takes the attack action, your companion can make one additional attack as a bonus action. They do not add their ability score modifier to the damage for this attack.
-
Swift. Your companion can Dash as a bonus action.
-
Agile. Your companion can Disengage as a bonus action.
-
Sneaky. Your Companion can Hide as a bonus action.
-
Helpful. Your companion can take the help action as a bonus action.
-
Fast. Your Companion's movement speed increases by 10 feet. You may take this Tactic more than once.
-
Charging. When your companion moves 20 ft before attacking a target, they have advantage on their next attack roll.
-
Territorial. Other creatures provoke an opportunity attack from your companion when they enter your companion's reach.
-
Punishing. If your companion is the target of a melee attack while Dodging they can make an attack against that creature as a reaction.
Ability Score Increase
When your companion reaches 4th level, and again at, 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two Ability Scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Extra Attack
Starting at 5th level, your companion can attack twice when taking the attack action.
True Ally
If you fall unconscious, your companion can stabilize you. Beginning at 6th level, your companion can stabilize creatures, making a DC 10 Survival check. How your companion specifically stabilizes a creature is up to the DM. As examples, your companion may lick your wounds or attempt to move a contorted unconscious body into a more natural position.
Offensive Tactics
At 11th level, chose one of the following options to improve your attacks.
Quick Your companion can attack 3 times when taking the attack action. At 20th level, your companion can attack 4 times when taking the attack action.
Brutal Your companion's attacks deal an extra 1d6 damage and deal a critical hit on an attack roll of 19 and 20. At 20th level this damage is increased to 2d6.
Defensive Tactics
At 15th level, your companion gains one of the following defensive features.
Relentless. Your companion can keep fighting despite grievous wounds. If they drop to 0 Hit Points and don't die outright, they can make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. If they succeed, they drop to 1 hit point instead.
Each time they use this feature after the first, the DC increases by 5. When they finish a short or Long Rest, the DC resets to 10.
Evasion. When your companion is subjected to an effect that allows them to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, they instead take no damage if they succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if they fail.
Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker that your companion can see hits them with an Attack, they can use their reaction to halve the attack’s damage against them.
Enduring. Your companion gains +1 AC. Additionally, they +1 HP per companion level.
Unwavering loyalty
Beginning at 18th level you have mastered your bond with your companion. As long as they can see you, your companion has advantage on saving throws against fear and being charmed.