D&D 5E ALL BEAST MASTERS HELP ME

[The Boogeyman]

As a certified beastmaster ranger i have bonded with my giant spider muffin, but one problem is her AC. 15 isnt bad but she has died like thrice already. I heard of barding but im not sure how it works and if it works on muffin also prices and armor types for barding are a mystery to me so help

 

[The Boogeyman]

please

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

You can get studded leather barding, which would add 2 to the spider's AC (for 12+Dex+Your Proficiency bonus). It would cost 4 times normal studded leather. Best of luck to you and Muffin 4.0!

Barding

Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) Fifth Edition (5e) Equipment, Gear, & Items - Barding - Barding is armor designed to protect an animal’s head, neck, chest, a...

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[Mistwell]

Yeah, you want barding for sure.

Can you ride Muffin as a mount? I think you can. It just needs to be larger than you (it's Large size), willing to be a mount (should be willing) and have appropriate anatomy to do it (should work OK).

If you meet those criteria, you can then pick up the Mounted Combatant feat.

I would recommend this video about mounted combat and the mounted combat feat, which allows you to direct some attacks against your mount to you instead, and kind of gives your mount evasion. That should increase your mounts survivability, given you advantage to attack, and be lots of fun.

 

[Quickleaf]

A giant spider is breaking the normal rule that your Ranger's Companion must be CR 1/4 or less, so I'm not sure if your GM is still using the clause from the Ranger's Companion feature...

"Add your 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."

...Normally a giant spider has AC 14 (3 points from Dex, 1 point from natural armor). But if this rule is still in effect (check with GM) then your proficiency bonus would be added. At 1st to 4th level, your proficiency bonus is +2. Which would give it AC 16.

Now, barding! Because Muffin has Dexterity modifier +3, light armor is the way to go to take advantage of that +3 bonus and to avoid metal armor that could overheat or impede being sneaky.

The best light armor barding is Studded Leather Armor (base AC 12+DEX, cost = 45 x 4 = 180 gp), which would replace Muffin's natural armor. Technically you take whichever value is higher.

This would give Muffin AC 15.

Another trick you can use in the 2nd spell Barkskin (a ranger can cast this when they reach 5th level), which would briefly give Muffin AC 16.

 

[Ellorghast]

A giant spider is breaking the normal rule that your Ranger's Companion must be CR 1/4 or less, so I'm not sure if your GM is still using the clause from the Ranger's Companion feature...

"Add your 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."

...Normally a giant spider has AC 14 (3 points from Dex, 1 point from natural armor). But if this rule is still in effect (check with GM) then your proficiency bonus would be added. At 1st to 4th level, your proficiency bonus is +2. Which would give it AC 16.

I think OP might be using the Primal Companion rules from Tasha's, since as you point out, the rules details given here don't make sense otherwise. At 3rd level, a "giant spider" with the Beast of the Land statblock would have AC 15.

If that's the case, then OP would probably want to use medium barding, not light barding, since the Beast of the Land only has +2 DEX. Scale mail barding would get the spider's AC up to 16; however, it'd cost 200 GP, and Muffin would get equivalent AC just through normal progression at 5th level anyway, so it may not be worth it financially. Half-plate barding's not a good option for similar reasons, IMO, since it'd cost 3,000 GP and would be obsolete at 9th level, all for a fairly minor benefit.

So, barding's kind of a mixed bag. Taking Mounted Combatant only works if OP's character is Small, since the Beast of the Land is medium. Barksin's obsolete by the time OP would get it, similar to barding, and Warding Bond and Shield of Faith aren't ranger spells, and also expensive in terms of HP/concentration/spell slots.

Overall, if OP's using the Tasha's version, there's not really a lot that can be done to improve the companion's survivability. However, that's kind of baked into the design, since the companion can be revived easily by spending a spell slot. The only concern there is the hour limit for raising the companion. However, getting Gentle Repose via the Ritual Caster feat would potentially solve that issue. (The wording's unclear, but I suspect most DM's would allow it.)

 

[The Boogeyman]

oh sorry no not the giant spider but the giant wolf spider. im a small race and its medium

 

[Ellorghast]

oh sorry no not the giant spider but the giant wolf spider. im a small race and its medium

In that case, yeah, studded leather barding will run you 180 gp and boost Muffin's AC by 2, which should help a bit short-term. If you want her to be survivable long-term, the Mounted Combatant feat is probably your best bet. 4 HP/level isn't a lot, especially since she needs to be on the front lines to be effective, so in order for her to survive, you need some way to keep her from being hit more reliably than even an AC of 17 or 18. Mounted Combatant achieves that.

 

[GMMichael]

If you want her to be survivable long-term, the Mounted Combatant feat is probably your best bet. 4 HP/level isn't a lot, especially since she needs to be on the front lines to be effective . . .

If dying doesn't keep Muffin down, I'd say she has long-term survivability. Spiders aren't front-line fighters, though. . .

As a certified beastmaster ranger i have bonded with my giant spider muffin, but one problem is her AC. 15 isnt bad but she has died like thrice already. I heard of barding but im not sure how it works and if it works on muffin also prices and armor types for barding are a mystery to me so help

Spiders are ambushers. They lie in wait to poison unsuspecting prey ( i.e. surprised), and that prey is usually smaller than they are. Dying is a companion's best way of telling his master, "hey, you're misunderstanding our relationship, " so Muffin might be complaining about needing to use her excellent (relatively speaking) AC of 15 too often.

 

[Ellorghast]

Spiders are ambushers. They lie in wait to poison unsuspecting prey ( i.e. surprised), and that prey is usually smaller than they are. Dying is a companion's best way of telling his master, "hey, you're misunderstanding our relationship, " so Muffin might be complaining about needing to use her excellent (relatively speaking) AC of 15 too often.

From a DM's point of view, I agree with you, but I think when you're talking about an animal companion for a PC, it's a bit different. Running ambushes is a pretty heavy playstyle investment for the whole party, and while that can work for some groups and campaigns, a lot of the time, you just don't have that luxury—villains act, heroes react, etc. A hit-and-run style doesn't really work here either; the spider doesn't have any way to gracefully exit melee or ranged combat options, so if ambush tactics are off the table, frontlining's really the only option.