empireofchaos
First Post
I'll probably regret wading into this, since the topic is largely beaten to death, and elicits strong reactions on all sides, but here goes: I know people have proposed a spell mechanic to allow the BM to situationally circumvent the stringent action economy, but how about a skill-based mechanic? I find it strange that hardly anyone brings up Animal Handling in all the numerous threads dedicated to the BM, and "fixing" it. It's like either the beast is completely obedient, and you don't have to roll, or it's completely disobedient or lost (ditto). There isn't even a stipulation that the BM needs the skill in order to enter the archetype.
But what if: Instead of using a bonus action to automatically compel the beast to do whatever you want (against the RAW, but in accordance with what a lot of people are doing in their homebrews), you need to make an Animal Handling check to get the animal to take an action in response to a command issued by the BM as a bonus action? That way, you limit the violation of the action economy (and fighters, rogues, etc. violate it also, within certain limits), and you create an in-game explanation for why the beast sometimes fails to act when commanded ('there is a battle of wills between ranger and beast' seems easier to accept than 'the animal just stands around doing nothing'). If you want to add more crunch, you could stipulate greater DCs for some actions than others (something like Dash 5, Disengage, Dodge, Help 10, Attack 15), or limit the number of consecutive rounds in which you can successfully command the creature. The limitation avoids having to come up with silly spirit animals whose existence is justified because they are not always "there", so it's OK to give the beast a free attack when it is.
Lastly, in order to avoid the common charge that the useless BM stands around commanding her beast while the enterprising whoever-it-is just buys an attack dog that charges into battle, you can institute an animal trainer feat, without which you can't really command an animal to act in the way you want without being micromanaged (giving up your action). The feat would be a watered-down version of what the BM could do, viz.: - You gain a proficiency (or expertise) in Animal Handling - You can add your proficiency bonus to an animal's Performance rolls to do tricks (prance, jump through hoops whatever seems appropriate for the animal type) - You can use an action to command an animal to take any action (Dash, Dodge, Disengage, Help, Attack). - As a bonus action, you can make an Animal Handling check to prompt the beast to take an action as above. If these changes are instituted, we'll start seeing BM rangers with Wisdom as their primary stat, but that's as it should be.
But what if: Instead of using a bonus action to automatically compel the beast to do whatever you want (against the RAW, but in accordance with what a lot of people are doing in their homebrews), you need to make an Animal Handling check to get the animal to take an action in response to a command issued by the BM as a bonus action? That way, you limit the violation of the action economy (and fighters, rogues, etc. violate it also, within certain limits), and you create an in-game explanation for why the beast sometimes fails to act when commanded ('there is a battle of wills between ranger and beast' seems easier to accept than 'the animal just stands around doing nothing'). If you want to add more crunch, you could stipulate greater DCs for some actions than others (something like Dash 5, Disengage, Dodge, Help 10, Attack 15), or limit the number of consecutive rounds in which you can successfully command the creature. The limitation avoids having to come up with silly spirit animals whose existence is justified because they are not always "there", so it's OK to give the beast a free attack when it is.
Lastly, in order to avoid the common charge that the useless BM stands around commanding her beast while the enterprising whoever-it-is just buys an attack dog that charges into battle, you can institute an animal trainer feat, without which you can't really command an animal to act in the way you want without being micromanaged (giving up your action). The feat would be a watered-down version of what the BM could do, viz.: - You gain a proficiency (or expertise) in Animal Handling - You can add your proficiency bonus to an animal's Performance rolls to do tricks (prance, jump through hoops whatever seems appropriate for the animal type) - You can use an action to command an animal to take any action (Dash, Dodge, Disengage, Help, Attack). - As a bonus action, you can make an Animal Handling check to prompt the beast to take an action as above. If these changes are instituted, we'll start seeing BM rangers with Wisdom as their primary stat, but that's as it should be.
