D&D 5E Help with creating Animal Companions for players.

[WarpedAcorn]

Hmm... Are you saying to avoid having it join in combat as it will only complicate things? or is this from personal experiences that you have had in the past with animal companions?

As a DM one of my greatest concerns is setting a precedent. I want my players to do cool and interesting things, but I don't want them to rely on that one cool trick all the time. With regards to the Boar, I think its cool and inventive so it deserves rewarding playing that way. But on the flip side, if something happens to the Boar I wouldn't want to player to just go out and get another one doing the same thing.

The combat angle sets this precedent where the player can start fighting by proxy with the Boar like a Pokemon, and although you don't have any Rangers in this particular game, Players might be discouraged from trying that class in the future if a key element (a pet) is readily available to non-Beastmaster Rangers. My fear would be that if allowed, then next game everyone is out in the woods looking to tame animals to use.

So I advise to just let the Boar be an Out-Of-Combat participant for funsies.

 

[Tonystar73]

As a DM one of my greatest concerns is setting a precedent. I want my players to do cool and interesting things, but I don't want them to rely on that one cool trick all the time. With regards to the Boar, I think its cool and inventive so it deserves rewarding playing that way. But on the flip side, if something happens to the Boar I wouldn't want to player to just go out and get another one doing the same thing.

The combat angle sets this precedent where the player can start fighting by proxy with the Boar like a Pokemon, and although you don't have any Rangers in this particular game, Players might be discouraged from trying that class in the future if a key element (a pet) is readily available to non-Beastmaster Rangers. My fear would be that if allowed, then next game everyone is out in the woods looking to tame animals to use.

So I advise to just let the Boar be an Out-Of-Combat participant for funsies.

I see what you mean, and that would defiantly cause a bit of a problem if you think about it that way.

Although... I could, in an attempt to avoid this, reason with the players, letting them know on there next session, that they are free to each attempt to tam an animal, however... opportunities to tam an animal will be rare, and can not be simply forced on.

Then if the players attempt to Force opportunities to tam animals, such as looking in the forest for another giant boar, i 'Could' / 'May' give a negative outcome towards the players or against the players current campaign, such as failing to save a town from an incoming attack, putting the players in a negative outlook by the residents of that town/city.

Also, i feel like my players would not be too happy if i said that there companion could not participate in combat... I'll likely have a mutiny on my hands if i said that. XD

 

[Tonystar73]

I just had a thought, what if this giant boar was a group companion?

And since my little bro was the one who wanted to attempt to tam it, it will be him who will mostly control for combat?

I propose this as its not often my little bro gets the chance to play with the group, and if he is away when the rest are playing, other players could take it in turn commanding it during each encounter perhaps?

Just trying to figure out ways to let them still use the companion in combat with out getting too crazy and overpowering...

 

[ArwensDaughter]

In a (currently on hiatus) game I run with my teen children, most characters will soon end up with an animal companion. I play a BM Ranger (to make balancing easier), my son really wants a pseudo dragon familiar (MM optional rules), and one of my daughter's characters Has a backstory that lends itself to a wolf companion, something I can play with in the adventure. (she plays 2; I was finding it hard to balance encounters with less than 4 PCS)

My plan was to let the companions level up every 2nd level of their master, at least in terms of hit points. Prof bonus probably with PC. Hadn't sorted out how to handle combat. This was all before the UA BM Ranger.

In terms of letting a BM Ranger be special, one possibility would be to give them the ability to use beast sense x times/short rest without spell slots, and to make their companion more effective in combat that companions of non BM Ranger players.


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