D&D 5E Battlemaster and Superiority Dice are causing martials to suffer.

[GMforPowergamers]

I never said it couldn't, but it is not a familiar (without getting the spell) and will not have the same communication options as a familiar.

I think most DMs would not allow the kinds of things I do with a Raven because they usually require communication which is going to be difficult without telepathy.

if DMs wont let non casters train and use pets then we need class and feat features to allow it... MARTIAL non magic one.

 

[Garthanos]

Again either it is powerful or it is not.

No that is silly Power is relative.... compared to the maneuver for instance the maneuver can never be used for anything else like sent scouting can only be used on an enemy with the same range as the weapon you have equipped and only might create advantage once every 2 fights (not exactly it actually takes a resource that only restores every 2 fights but that is potentially 1/6th as often ). That familiar can be more powerful than that and still not be powerful enough to warp the field of battle by always including archers/ranged enemies and metagaming into always attacking it first, and it probably isn't as powerful as a concentration spell and so on. And both the maneuver and the owls helping are kind of dependent on there being a rogue for it's biggest buffs ... is that something you just let the monsters know? or have them assume.

 

[Garthanos]

ie I wonder if NPCs can just guess that guy must be a rogue able to make sneak attacks, making the owl a much bigger benefit than otherwise.... or if that is just the DM metagaming again. And it seems if advantage only pans out with a concrete effect less than 1 in 3 times for most characters besides the rogue.

 

[James Gasik]

Seems to me that the best use of minor illusion is to have an illusory stuffed owl on your shoulder, if enemies are going to attack it on sight.

 

[Garthanos]

No I don't.

You sure act like you do... and ones capable of multi-attacking too

But if you are using your familiar in melee, it will often be easy to get to in melee.

It has that swooping in and out ability for a reason and it isnt staying in reach it is for flying up out of reach, do your spirit birds all fly at melee height throughout the fight? You are the one acting like its so powerful you have to react to it and keep it in check... but at the same time denying its more powerful than the maneuvers. When it is obviously more flexibly and more powerful

It only has a 60 foot move,

yes the melee adversaries which proliferate the monster manual cannot move anything like that up into the air

you can't always use it in melee every turn and simultaneously keep him out of harms way.

I know you have your melee characters/monsters waste an action by delaying to attack (which is now one attack) great now it just effectively healed you from multiple attacks AND prevented you having to roll for concentration check possibly multiple ALL for the benefit that kicks in less than one in three rounds OR wait ? are we or arent we always assuming this is with a rogue still? Do all your parties have rogues? and again all your NPCs know that makes the owl much more serious business.

Cause it reads like DM metagaming just like you having NPCs attacking downed PCS. Because you the DM know hey they will likely get up.

 

[Garthanos]

Seems to me that the best use of minor illusion is to have an illusory stuffed owl on your shoulder, if enemies are going to attack it on sight.

I can just picture the Schrodinger's archers showing up and shouting take out that damn bird don't you know they have a rogue in the party!!!! OR monsters gaining super leap just in case.

 

[ECMO3]

if DMs wont let non casters train and use pets then we need class and feat features to allow it... MARTIAL non magic one.

Did you tead what i posted? I said yes they can train them, but that is different then being a familiar.

A familiar telepathically communicates with its master. that lets me command my familiar to use his mimicry at the exact time i want it, like in the middle of a conversation for example and he will say whatever i want him to say (assuming it is something it has heard before). The familiar has no idea what it is saying, but i do and i am in control of what words come out of its beak. I can use my familiar to actually talk to someone.

I can also look through the familiars eyes and finally the familiar must obey my commands, not even a spell or charm can change that. It is a level of obedience not possible through training.

Finally a trained beast that dies is dead, and a new one will require retraining, while if i still have the spell i can resummon my familiar

 

[Garthanos]

if DMs wont let non casters train and use pets then we need class and feat features to allow it... MARTIAL non magic one.

Fated Beast/Battle Companion the feat

1. Intuitive understanding between the beast and master this is a bit like Lassy... very competent at scouting and knowing what master would want her to do in effect when the player is not there they still run their beast. Dogs are particularly well known for extreme loyalty and the War Dog is a classic in early D&D too ...
   • A human companion similarly knows you incredibly well and can predict your needs/wants like the more combat capable versions of Alfred or Robin for batman ...
   • the companion has a skill proficiency you do not for extra cake of versatility. (or match your own for advantage on the skill check? or treat this as skill expertise for the hero)
2. While fighting in your shadow they have an armor class boost? or perhaps even attacks against them gain disadvantage or even their saves are with advantage.
3. While fighting in your shadow they may perform a help action to one of your individual attacks per round,
4. Your companion is ultimately loyal and immune to any mind control and their overwhelming loyalty is to the degree that you can even bring them back from the "verge of death" since it makes less sense to be constantly replacing them. Though you could be like the Eternal Champion and have a new version of the fated companion who might literally show up the next day or the fight a week from now if you need them.
   • Your companion gets death saves instead of just dying on being hit. Much like PCs who get up or remain alive with a heal check.
   • This companion would also be subject to healing and temp hit points and similar. Generally at zero hit points means disabled til you can treat their injuries maybe only after the fight so we could do this without the actual death saves for simplicity.
5. To make it actually worth a full feat you can spend a bonus action to guide the battle companion making their own attack (for the human this might even be a ranged attack) while weaving through the fight and avoiding making themselves too big of target or protect them completely (maybe you get a free parry maneuver) if the enemy on the off hand decided to target them or perhaps a bonus action or reaction to allow them an extra saving throw.
   • insert companions attack here somewhat weaker than the heroes main one.
   • conversely the companion might even enhance some saving throws of yours for instance how robin emotionally grounds batman a lot of the time and gets physically protected by Batman but not actively most of the time most of the time by bats being the more obviously dangerous one in the room,
   • Berserk : Even if the companion FALLs see 4, then the hero may go a bit berserk and be able to launch another attack as a bonus action ... but they would not have the saves or have the companion using the help action. The attack would be with the heroes weapon but still approximately the same as the companions attack

Number 4 is also why your companion needs to be more resilient because you do not lose the offhand attack from the big fighting feats like Polearm master and such, (but the berserk clause takes care of that too so falling and getting back in the fight is less necessary batman becomes a lot darker without Robin).

This may not be perfectly as versatile as the familiar *but might be more depending on how valuable that extra skill training is, and its not meant to be like spending a subclass on it.

 

[ECMO3]

You sure act like you do... and ones capable of multi-attacking too

It has that swooping in and out ability for a reason and it isnt staying in reach it is for flying up out of reach, do your spirit birds all fly at melee height throughout the fight? You are the one acting like its so powerful you have to react to it and keep it in check... but at the same time denying its more powerful than the maneuvers. When it is obviously more flexibly and more powerful

It only has 60 move. At best it can move in 30 feet and then move away 30 feet. That is best case. As I said earlier it is not always possible, but it often is .

yes the melee adversaries which proliferate the monster manual cannot move anything like that up into the air

To start with yes they can. Anything with hands can throw an improvised weapon 20 feet at short range and 60 feet at long range and the thing is while this is a really weak attack, it will still kill a familiar.

I any case as I said you can't always get to them in melee, but often you can.

Cause it reads like DM metagaming just like you having NPCs attacking downed PCS. Because you the DM know hey they will likely get up.

I attack downed PCs because it is the most effective way to play bad guys and because the PCs are not dead. If he is still breathing hit him again. If it is not breathing move on. Anyone who has watched a horror movie knows that downing someone is not enough. If you prefer playing on easy mode then go for it, but the DM is not playing the enemy as effectively as he could if he is using kid gloves to keep from doing things like killing characters and sending familiars back to their home plane.

I was in a party of 7th level point buy characters that defeated Orcus because the DM could not kill the Barbarian and we healed him every turn so he could get back up and attack again.

 

[Garthanos]

I attack downed PCs because it is the most effective way to play bad guys and because the PCs are not dead. If he is still breathing hit him again.

Nope excuses, Metagaming you have dangerous people around and ignore them to pound on the one that is no longer dangerous

Incredibly unrealistic metagaming which you do because the game has people getting up you wouldnt even imagine it in 1e where a pc that goes down is disabled for a week no matter how many hit points are restored.

A rule easily added to 5e by the way.