D&D 5E "Houndmaster" Fighter

[Fenris-77]

It would have to be a pretty big hack because I'm not picturing a spellcaster. (Off-topic, but if I had my druthers, the base Ranger class would be spell-free, and put the spellcasting in a sub-class.)

The Battlemaster isn't a caster. You must be thinking of the Eldritch Knight.

 

[Guest 6801328]

The Battlemaster isn't a caster. You must be thinking of the Eldritch Knight.

Doh. Somehow I read Beastmaster.

Battlemaster is...interesting.

 

[Fenris-77]

Doh. Somehow I read Beastmaster.

Battlemaster is...interesting.

Yeah, I might dump or alter the die mechanic and focus on "things the dog and man can do together". If the hound has a base attack profile, that attack could be sacrificed for a variety of effects and/or conditions. The out of combat utility could be about degrees of communication, guarding, tracking, that sort of thing.

 

[Eltab]

Not needed, but I'm thinking of a subclass to make it more a part of who the character is. Not just a fighter who happens to have a hound, but one who has always fought alongside his faithful companion.

Fair enough. I'm AFB and did not want to send you on a wild goose chase by mis-remembering something, but offer a short-term "try this out for a session or two" while you get the real work done between sessions.

 

[Weiley31]

Yeah, calling this a feat was my first instinct. If you really wanted this to work and be cool the Mastiff probably needs to level along with the Fighter somehow. Not necessarily to do a ton more damage, but in terms of durability. I think it need to function outside the action economy too. If you can shout a few words for free, you can order your Mastiff to attack, or heel, or whatever.

Apply Artificer's Might of The Master or Revised Rangers Beast scaling rules.

 

[Fenris-77]

Apply Artificer's Might of The Master or Revised Rangers Beast scaling rules.

Those would work. At the very least they give you a solid template for what's reasonable.

 

[SkidAce]

Or just surgically lobotomize the Revised Ranger Beast rules and give it to the standard fighter or any class that gains an animal companion.

Or just UA Sidekick rules it. If you UA Sidekick it, you can have a Mastiffs that can get ASIs or choose to gain feats if ya want.

I did this for a fighter in my game that raised an owlbear pet.

 

[Iry]

Background: Houndmaster.
You can easily train animals to do simple tricks. Any friendly animal you spend a few days with can perform the same tasks as an unseen servant.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I modded a dog companion for a PC using the sidekick rules.

I wouldn't make it a fighter subclass, it doesn't so much step on the beastmaster's toes as run over them with a steamroller.

 

[delphonso]

Instead of feats/backgrounds...

For a subclass, the dog (which is effectively equipment) needs to be the focus. I would wager a historical houndmaster had several hounds trained for war, as they are kind of expendable. So I would steer away from training tricks or the ranger's wolf.

Instead, the houndmaster should give benefits to dogs on the field and gain benefits for having one out. To not make the game insufferable for other players, limiting it to one or two dogs out at a time makes sense. This would have to be done mechanically, since a mastiff is only 25 gold - the average adventurer could own hundreds in no time.

Without a subclass, a trained dog can already attack and give you help actions, only at the cost of bonus actions to direct them (if I remember right.)

I'd start thinking of setting up something like "leashed and unleashed" hounds. Leashed taking attacks on the fighter's attack action or giving help actions. Unleashed getting extra movement (free dash actions) or dodging AoO.

Something along these lines maybe.