Kickstarter Kickstarter Launch: Manera’s Guide to Taming the Wild

[Fat Unicorn]

Kickstarter Launch: Manera’s Guide to Taming the Wild – True Scaling Companions for 5e

Hey EN World community,

I'm thrilled to announce that Manera’s Guide to Taming the Wild is now live on Kickstarter!

This 5e-compatible supplement (compatible with 5.5e as well) delivers a complete system for turning any Beast, Monstrosity, Dragon, or other eligible creature into a fully fledged, heroic companion that grows alongside your character — no more leaving your wolf pup, pseudodragon, or owlbear behind at low levels.

Key Features:​

• Companion Creation & Taming: Start with a young pup, fledgling, or juvenile (Tiny/Small size) and watch it progress through clear stages (Pup → Youth → Adult → Prime) with your handler.
• Scaling & Progression: Companions scale naturally with the party via milestones and level-based rules. They gain Ability Score Improvements (or Reverse ASIs for higher-CR starts), new traits, and deeper synergy options as the campaign advances. They stay on par with player characters across all tiers of play.
• Challenge Rating (CR) Handling: The system is built to work with creatures of any CR. You can tame a wide range of monsters while the rules convert and scale them appropriately — retaining their original abilities and flavorful identity without breaking encounters. No cookie-cutter templates; each companion feels unique yet balanced.
• Group Size & Party Balance: Designed specifically for real tables, especially small groups of 2–4 players (plus DM). D&D adventures often assume a standard 4–5 player party, but many groups run smaller or deal with missing players. Companions act as full party members you control, filling missing roles (tank, healer, scout, etc.) without requiring the GM to rewrite encounters, adjust monster stats, or do extra balancing math. They enhance the table without overshadowing the player characters — balance is achieved by design, not restriction.

Core Gameplay:​

• Synergy Mechanics: Share senses, combine attacks, split healing, fuse modifiers, and more. Your hawk scouts while you sneak; your bear tanks while you strike from its flank. True partnership over simple command.
• Legendary Unique Actions (LUAs) and Legendary Trait Feats (LTFs) for powerful, thematic abilities.
• Playtested companion sheets, barding system, and ten creature-type progression paths (Beast, Fiend, Celestial, Aberration, etc.).

Check out our full announcement post with gorgeous art, more details, and previews here:Fat Unicorn Games

Back the project and secure early tiers + secret rewards here:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fatunicorn/maneras-guide-to-taming-the-wild

Whether you're running a small intimate table or want more meaningful animal/monster companions in a larger group, this guide is built to make bonds matter and sessions run smoothly.

What’s your dream companion? A dire wolf that becomes a pack alpha? A clever pseudodragon sage? An owlbear guardian? Or something more exotic? Share your ideas below — I’d love to hear them!

Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback.


— Fat Unicorn Games

 

[Waller]

How does this compare to Pets & Sidekicks?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/enworld/companions-compendium

 

[Fat Unicorn]

Out rules allow you to use any creature with any CR and retain all of their abilities and powers from the stat blocks, as well as scale them from level 1-20 to be on par with a player Character.

Sidekicks, while useful, lock you into a premade limited "sidekick class" and removes their natural abilities.

 

[Waller]

Out rules allow you to use any creature with any CR and retain all of their abilities and powers from the stat blocks, as well as scale them from level 1-20 to be on par with a player Character.

Sidekicks, while useful, lock you into a premade limited "sidekick class" and removes their natural abilities.

No, not D&D's existing sidekicks, the book Pets & Sidekicks which looks like it's the exact same thing you are doing? I was just wondering how the two compare?