Beast Companion as a Feat?

[EditorBFG]

While working on a 5E D&D game set in the Westeros/Game of Thrones universe, I came across the fact that there are a lot of characters in the settings who you wouldn't call rangers who have beast companions (like all the Stark children). I also don't think the Beast Companion attributes of the ranger archetype are good enough to compete with the Hunter archetype. So, I think in my game I am going to do a feat instead. What do you think?

[sblock="Beast Cohort Feat"]Beast Cohort
You have a long-time pet with whom you maintain a preternatural bond. This animal is extremely loyal to you and will fight on your behalf. A character with this feat gains the following benefits:
• Choose a beast no larger than Medium that has a challenge rating of ¼ or lower. You gain one beast of this type as your cohort. The beast obeys your commands as best it can. In combat, the beast cohort rolls their own initiative and acts on its own turn. Unless you are incapacitated or more than 120 feet away (in which case you have no influence over the beast’s actions), the bonded beast cannot take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action unless you use your action to order the beast to attack, but it can take other actions as normal. The beast cohort gains advantage on attacks against creatures within 5 feet of you. The beast’s hit point maximum equals its normal maximum or four times your level, whichever is higher. The beast cohort remains bonded to you until you choose to release it, but even after that, the beast cohort will always remain friendly to you. You can never have another beast as a cohort with this ability, unless the previous beast cohort has died and the new beast is a blood relative of the previous one, and you spend 8 hours establishing a new bond. You can never have more than one beast cohort at once. At 3rd level, the beast may be Large size or smaller, provided that it has a Challenge Rating 1 or lower. An existing beast cohort can also grow into a beast of such size. It is assumed that at lower levels the beast was still maturing, and that the new creature is its adult form (raising a Wolf into a Dire Wolf, for example). At 4th level, you add your own proficiency bonus to the beast’s AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in.
• Beginning at 7th level, on any of your turns when your beast companion doesn't attack, you can use a bonus action to command the beast to take the Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action on its turn.
• Starting at 11th level, your beast companion can make two attacks when you command it to use the Attack action.
• Beginning at 15th level, when an attacker that you can see hits your beast cohort with an attack, you can call out a warning. If your beast cohort can hear you, it can use its reaction to halve the attack’s damage against it.[/sblock]

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

I might be the only one that thinks this, but...

Why can't characters just have pets? Just get an animal/monster/whatever, raise it, and train it, et voila - and if you want to "upgrade" it, how about the awaken spell or giving it a few spare magic items if you have them?

The awaken spell, as well as a few spells of similar theme that are lower level, actually lets you make a pet out of an already grown creature.

 

[bedir than]

The use of a feat represents everything you bring up. Take "Tavern Brawler" for example. Why can't everyone be one? Well, because only certain characters dedicate a significant part of their life to that type of activity.

 

[I'm A Banana]

While working on a 5E D&D game set in the Westeros/Game of Thrones universe, I came across the fact that there are a lot of characters in the settings who you wouldn't call rangers who have beast companions (like all the Stark children). I also don't think the Beast Companion attributes of the ranger archetype are good enough to compete with the Hunter archetype. So, I think in my game I am going to do a feat instead. What do you think?

[sblock="Beast Cohort Feat"]Beast Cohort
You have a long-time pet with whom you maintain a preternatural bond. This animal is extremely loyal to you and will fight on your behalf. A character with this feat gains the following benefits:
• Choose a beast no larger than Medium that has a challenge rating of ¼ or lower. You gain one beast of this type as your cohort. The beast obeys your commands as best it can. In combat, the beast cohort rolls their own initiative and acts on its own turn. Unless you are incapacitated or more than 120 feet away (in which case you have no influence over the beast’s actions), the bonded beast cannot take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action unless you use your action to order the beast to attack, but it can take other actions as normal. The beast cohort gains advantage on attacks against creatures within 5 feet of you. The beast’s hit point maximum equals its normal maximum or four times your level, whichever is higher. The beast cohort remains bonded to you until you choose to release it, but even after that, the beast cohort will always remain friendly to you. You can never have another beast as a cohort with this ability, unless the previous beast cohort has died and the new beast is a blood relative of the previous one, and you spend 8 hours establishing a new bond. You can never have more than one beast cohort at once. At 3rd level, the beast may be Large size or smaller, provided that it has a Challenge Rating 1 or lower. An existing beast cohort can also grow into a beast of such size. It is assumed that at lower levels the beast was still maturing, and that the new creature is its adult form (raising a Wolf into a Dire Wolf, for example). At 4th level, you add your own proficiency bonus to the beast’s AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in.
• Beginning at 7th level, on any of your turns when your beast companion doesn't attack, you can use a bonus action to command the beast to take the Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action on its turn.
• Starting at 11th level, your beast companion can make two attacks when you command it to use the Attack action.
• Beginning at 15th level, when an attacker that you can see hits your beast cohort with an attack, you can call out a warning. If your beast cohort can hear you, it can use its reaction to halve the attack’s damage against it.[/sblock]

I think this feat is pretty huge. The first benefit alone is verging on too huge. I probably wouldn't allow it in my games.

Having an animal friend is powerful.

• Compare the hit points of the beast with the hit points granted by Tough. If what you want is hit points, this feat trumps Tough in most respects - be a barbarian, send in your beast first, and follow up behind it, and you will last longer than if you take the Tough feat (not to mention the way a companion can help eat up enemy actions).
• Compare the advantage-granting with something like Lucky. If what you want is to hit more reliably, this feat trumps Lucky in most respects - EVERY attack your furry friend makes can be at advantage. Anything with multiattack is going to rival the rogue for damage output. And if you are a rogue...
• Compare what it can do out of combat (the Help action especially) with something like Dungeon Delver. Advantage on whatever checks you want, it's another pair of eyes and ears, and you can send it first into trap-filled corridoors, and get a new one when this one breaks.

Aside from just letting the beast be an NPC party member, you might also consider using the rules for magical items. I could see the first feature being something that a rare or very rare item might grant, with attunement.

 

[jadrax]

The use of a feat represents everything you bring up. Take "Tavern Brawler" for example. Why can't everyone be one? Well, because only certain characters dedicate a significant part of their life to that type of activity.

The key difference to me is that Tavern Brawler represents skills intrinsic to your person, while getting a Pet/Henchman/Steed is external. It would be the equivalent of adding a Feat that gave you a +1 Sword.

I think its far better to let the GM worry about what companions a player can have, and have a Feat that allows you to mechanically enhance them, like the Mounted Combatant Feat.

 

[graypariah]

There is a difference between having a pet and having a well trained animal companion that you can use in combat to any great effect. I am not sure that I would even go as high as CR1/4 for the companion if I made a feat for it - even a CR1/4 enemy can be used to great effect. I would probably just make them take levels in ranger if they wanted to do something like this.

 

[mellored]

IMO:

*You can have animal companions with a total CR upto 1/4 your level. You can also train one of your pets, increasing it's CR (counting against the total). Increasing it's CR gives it (whatever the Monster Manual says). You get a companion by some making a successful animal handling check.

*Your pets know the commands "attack" and "come". You can train pets to learn additional simple command or trick such as "fetch", "stay" or hooting when it sees another creature, upto their Int score. More complicated commands or tricks may count as 2 or 3 commands. The commands can be verbal or gestures.

*It takes concentration to command your pets, and you can issue 1 command on your turn. Multiple pets can follow the same command if they know it. If you lose concentration the pets will only defend themselves taking the dodge or disengage action. It takes an action to reassert control. Pet's cannot be commanded to commit suicide or harm themselves. Abuse of pets may cause them to leave at your DM's discretion.

*Pet's use the PC dying rule. During a short rest you can spend a hit dice to heal your pet instead of yourself.


As for comparison. Find Familiar is a CR 1/4, and that's just a spell.

 

[graypariah]

Find Familiar is CR1/4? I think warlocks can have their familiar be something that is CR1/4 but I thought everyone else has CR0. Regardless, familiars can't attack in combat so their CR is pretty much decorative.

To put it in in perspective - it is an Action by a Ranger to have the animal companion attack a target on their turn - otherwise the animal companion cannot attack.
Controlling the animal companion with concentration is more powerful than a class feature which is more powerful than a feat IMO.

 

[the Jester]

I give this a big fat "hell no", personally. Not conceptually, but in execution. It is not only too powerful for my tastes, I don't like the level-based benefits and I REALLY dislike how much it steps on the beastmaster's toes.

You want a pet without having the right class features? There are plenty for sale in the equipment section.

 

[mellored]

It takes part of an action to make an attack.
And beastmaster beasts get proficiency to damage and a lot more HP.
Not to mention, they are generally considered weak.


Also, animate dead might be a good place to look. Maintain 4 *1/4 CR skeletons = CR 1 +1/2 per spell level.
Bonus action to command, no concentration.