Trainer
Trainers have a magical connection to other beings which allows them to befriend tame, and train nearly any creature in existence. With little combat prowess themselves, trainers rely on the power and magical abilities of their tamed companions. Experienced trainers command a roster of fantastical and deadly monsters.
You must have a Wisdom score of 13 or higher in order to multiclass in or out of this class. If you multiclass into the Trainer class you gain proficiency in Animal Handling.
Trainer
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | Menagerie Capacity | Gym Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Companion, Menagerie | 1 | |
| 2nd | +2 | Collector, Pocket Monster | 2 | |
| 3rd | +2 | Trainer Gym | 2 | 1 |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Increase | 3 | 1 |
| 5th | +3 | Multitasker, Taming Ritual | 3 | 1 |
| 6th | +3 | Ability Score Increase, Steady Gains | 3 | 1 |
| 7th | +3 | Battle Commands | 4 | 1 |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Increase | 4 | 1 |
| 9th | +4 | Gym Feature | 4 | 2 |
| 10th | +4 | Trainer Tools | 4 | 2 |
| 11th | +4 | Endurance Training | 4 | 2 |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Increase | 4 | 2 |
| 13th | +5 | Tool Improvisation | 4 | 2 |
| 14th | +5 | Master Commander | 4 | 2 |
| 15th | +5 | Gym Feature | 4 | 3 |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Increase | 4 | 3 |
| 17th | +6 | Tool Wielding | 4 | 3 |
| 18th | +6 | Ability Score Increase | 4 | 3 |
| 19th | +6 | Gym Feature | 4 | 4 |
| 20th | +6 | Tag Team | 4 | 4 |
Quick Build
You can make a trainer quickly by following these suggestions. First, put your highest ability score in Wisdom, followed by Constitution. Second, choose the athlete background.
Class Features
As a Trainer, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d6 per trainer level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per trainer level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: None
Weapons: Quarterstaffs and slings
Tools: Cartographer's tools and a Musical Instrument of your choice
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Intelligence
Skills: Animal Handling, plus two more of your choice from Arcana, Insight, Medicine, Nature, and Survival
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a scholar's pack or (b) a explorer's pack.
- A staff, a sling, and 20 sling bullets.
- A musical instrument of your choice.
Companion
You have a Companion, which is a beast of CR ½ or less. It is your first tamed creature.
If its CR is less than ½, you can choose for it to use the game statistics of a similar beast whose CR is ½.
All of your tamed creatures, including your Companion, gain the following benefits:
- They use your proficiency bonus instead of their own.
- They refuse to serve as a mount, but are friendly to you and your allies, and willingly accompany you.
- They understand your speech and can use body language and vocalizations to convey simple concepts and emotions to you (if you don't otherwise share a language).
- All damage they deal counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical damage.
- In combat, they take their turn immediately after you do. They use their action to Dodge and attempt to remain within 10 ft of you, unless otherwise commanded. If you are unresponsive they might attempt to drag you to safety.
Command
As an action on your turn you can give verbal commands to one of your tamed creatures who can hear you. You control their movement and choose their actions until the start of your next turn.
Note for GMs:
A Trainer must choose a beast for their companion because many non-beasts have abilities that let them turn invisible, pass through walls, etc. Abilities that low level parties don't normally have access to.
If your player wishes to start with a non-beast companion, carefully consider whether their desired companion has abilities that seem unbalanced for the player's level. If you decide their choice is reasonable, feel free to allow it!
Menagerie
You have an arcane menagerie, which is an extradimensional space that can hold your tamed creature. It is safe, comfortable, and suits the creature contained within it. For example, a menagerie containing a brown bear might contain a patch of woodland forest filled with beehives.
- When one of your tamed creatures would be killed or reduced to 0 hit points, it disappears to your menagerie with 0 hit points but stable.
- When you complete a short rest, one creature in your menagerie regains hit points equal to your Trainer level + your Wisdom modifier.
- When you complete a long rest, all the creatures in your menagerie do as well.
As a bonus action on your turn you may dismiss a tamed creature to your menagerie, or summon one from it. Summoned creatures appear within 10 feet of you.
Collector
At 2nd level your menagerie expands, allowing you to capture and tame one additional creature.
As an action, you may try to capture a non-humanoid you can see within 30 feet whose CR is less than 1. Roll a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check against a DC equal to the creature’s Intelligence score + their remaining hit points. On a success, the creature is tamed and enters your menagerie. On a failure, the creature takes force damage equal to your Trainer level.
You cannot tame more creatures than your menagerie can hold, and your menagerie can only hold one creature of a kind (it cannot hold two Black Bears, for instance, though it could hold one Black Bear and one Brown Bear).
When you catch a creature, you can make room for it by releasing a previously tamed creature (you cannot release your companion). When you release a tamed creature it disappears to a random location in its home plane, and it is no longer considered tame.
Your menagerie expands again, allowing you to capture additional creatures, at certain levels as shown on the Trainer class table.
Pocket Monster
Starting at 2nd level, when you summon a creature from your menagerie you can choose what size it is (to a minimum of Tiny, and a maximum of its regular size). Its game statistics do not change, apart from its size.
Your tamed creatures cannot attack or take hostile action while they are tiny, unless that is their regular size.
Trainer Gym
At 3rd level you choose a Trainer Gym to align yourself with, reflecting your approach and priorities as a trainer. You may choose from the Master, Researcher, or Specialist Gyms. Your choice of Gym grants you certain benefits at 3rd, 9th, 15th, and 19th levels.
You are granted the first rank in your Gym, allowing you to tame more powerful creatures. You can now attempt to tame any creature whose CR does not exceed your Gym Rank, as shown on the Trainer class table.
At 3rd level, and each time your Gym Rank increases, you may Evolve your companion, as detailed below.
Evolve
When a tamed creature evolves, it transforms into a more powerful creature of the same type. You choose what creature it becomes, as long as its new CR does not exceed your Gym Rank.
You can choose to halt your creature's evolution. If you do so, or if their new form's CR is less than your trainer rank, they gain the following benefits:
- Their maximum hp increases by 15.
- They gain a +1 bonus to their attack rolls and DCs, and a +2 bonus to their damage rolls.
- Their CR counts as being 1 higher than before, rounded down. For example, a CR ½ Black Bear would become a CR 1 Black Bear.
These benefits are tied to their current form, and are lost if they transform into a different creature.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 6th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 18th 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.
Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.
Multitasker
At 5th level, you gain the following benefits:
- When you use your use your action to issue commands, you can command two of your tamed creatures at the same time.
- When you take damage, you can use your reaction to have one of your tamed creatures take half of the damage for you, if they are within 10 feet of you.
Taming Ritual
At 5th level you learn a magical taming ritual. The ritual takes one hour to perform, during which you name a creature whose type matches your companion's, and whose CR does not exceed your Gym Rank.
When the ritual is complete you and your tamed creatures are transported to an extradimensional arena where you are attacked by 1d4 of the creature you named. You remain in the arena for 10 minutes, until you capture or defeat the creatures, or until you are defeated. When you leave the arena you are returned to your point of origin (at 0 hp and stabilized, if you were defeated).
The appearance of the arena reflects the nature of the creature you are battling. For example, a Giant Octopus' arena might be a coral reef.
Once you complete your Taming Ritual you cannot perform it again for 1d4 days.
Steady Gains
At 6th level, and every time you gain an even level in this class, you may Evolve one of your tamed creatures whose CR is less than your Gym Rank.
Battle Commands
Starting at 7th level, when you use your action to issue commands, you may issue a special battle command to your creatures. They gain one of the following benefits until the start of your next turn:
- Aim. Their attacks gain a bonus to hit equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1).
- Defend. They gain a bonus to their AC and saving throws equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1).
- Focus. They gain a bonus to their ability checks and DCs equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1).
- Move. They can Dash or Disengage as a bonus action on their turn.
- Strike. The first time they damage a creature on their turn, that creature takes additional damage of the same type equal to half your Trainer level.
You can use this feature 3 times, regaining all uses when you complete a short or long rest.
Trainer Tools
At 10th level you learn to create special training tools. When you complete a long rest you create a number of tools equal to your proficiency bonus.
You can use one of your tools as a bonus action on your turn. Your created tools disappear after being used, or when you complete a long rest.
- Antidote. Removes all poisons and diseases from a creature within 5 feet, and grants them immunity to disease and the poisoned condition for one minute.
- Pepper Spray. Deals d12 acid damage to a creature within 5 feet and blinds them until the end of your turn. This damage cannot reduce them below 1 hit point.
- Scanner. Reveals the exact remaining hit points of a creature within 30 feet.
- Shell. Grants a creature within 5 feet resistance to acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison damage (choose which when you create this tool) for one minute.
- Tracker. Discreetly places a magical mark on a creature or object that you can see within 20 feet. For 8 hours, you innately know what direction it lies relative to yourself.
Endurance Training
Starting at 11th level, you regain a use of your Battle Commands feature each time you roll for initiative.
Tool Improvisation
Starting at 13th level you can create one additional trainer tool when you complete a short rest.
Master Commander
Starting at 14th level you can choose two benefits instead of one each time you use your Battle Command feature.
Tool Wielding
Starting at 17th level you can use two tools as a bonus action, insead of one.
Tag Team
At 20th level you learn to perform a devestating coordinated attack.
When one of your tamed creatures finishes its turn, you can use your reaction to summon every creature who is in your menagerie. One at a time, they appear in a space you choose within 30 feet, they take a single action of your choice, and then they disappear back to your menagerie. They benefit from your Battle Commands feature if you used it on your previous turn.
After you use this feature you cannot do so again until you complete a short or long rest.
Trainer Gyms
Master
The Master Gym focuses on developing a special relationship with each creature.
Best Friends
At 3rd level you forge new bonds of trust with your tamed creatures. They are now willing to serve as mounts for you and your allies. Due to the discomfort of being ridden they lose any swimming, flying, or burrowing speeds while acting as a mount.
A tamed creature serving as a mount takes its turn immediately before its rider does. It takes the Dodge action and moves as its rider wishes, unless you command it otherwise.
Surf, Fly, Dig
Starting at 9th level, your tamed creatures are able to swim, fly, and burrow, even while being ridden.
Additionally, each of your tamed creatures magically gains one of the following boons of your choice. When you tame a new creature, it gains one of these boons as well.
- A 40 ft. flying speed, and the ability to breathe air.
- A 30 ft. swim speed, and the ability to breathe water.
- A 20 ft. burrowing speed, and tremorsense out to 20 ft.
Quick Attack
Starting at 15th level you roll all your initiative checks with advantage.
True Heart
Starting at 19th level you can magically charm a non-humanoid who isn't hostile to you. They remain charmed for 24 hours or until you or your allies demonstrate hostile intent. Once you use this feature, you cannot do so again until you complete a long rest.
Researcher
The Researcher Gym focuses on gaining tactical information about enemy creatures.
Research
At 3rd level you gain a magical tome containing information about almost every creature in existence. As a bonus action on your turn, you can research a non-humanoid you can see within 30 feet to gain one of the following benefits:
- You learn their CR, armor class, and skill proficiencies.
- You learn their resistances, immunities, and vulnerabilities.
- You grant an ally who can hear you advantage on their next attack roll against the creature.
Once you research a creature, you cannot research them again until you complete a long rest.
Expert
Starting at 9th level you can choose two benefits when you research, instead of one, and you gain the following options:
- You learn their saving throw modifiers.
- You learn their spell list and legendary actions.
Professor
Starting at 15th level you can choose three benefits when you research. Additionally, when you use a Scanner tool on a creature you gain the benefits of researching them.
Ready Defenses
Starting at 19th level, when you research a creature you can create one Shell trainer tool as part of the same bonus action. Once you use this feature you cannot do so again until you complete a short or long rest.
Specialist
Each Specialist trainer favors a particular type of creature.
Type Specialization
At 3rd level you pick a type of creature to specialize in:
| Creature Type | Spell | Damage Type |
|---|---|---|
| Beast | Beast Sense | Poison |
| Dragon | Feather Fall | Lightning |
| Fiend | Detect Evil and Good | Fire |
| Monstrosity | Detect Magic | Acid |
| Undead | False Life | Necrotic |
When you Evolve one of your tamed creatures, you can choose for it to transform into a creature of your chosen type. For example, at 3rd level you could evolve your CR ½ Crocodile companion into a CR 1 Copper Dragon Wyrmling.
You also learn the spell associated with your specialization, and can cast it a number of times equal to your Gym Rank. You regain all castings when you complete a long rest. Your casting ability is Wisdom.
The damage type associated with your specialization is used by features you gain later.
Special Attack
Starting at 9th level, your tamed creatures grow in power if their type matches your specialization. Once per turn when they roll damage they can add a d6 to their damage roll. If they do, all the damage dealt is of your specialization’s damage type.
At 19th level they add 2d6 instead of one.
Super Effective
Starting at 15th level, when your creatures deal damage they ignore resistance to your specialization's damage type and they treat immunity to it as resistance instead.