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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Zardnaar" data-source="post: 7598307" data-attributes="member: 6716779">Pt 2 Solution Here I will offer up some solutions to the D&D pet idea, the concept is not flawed but no one has really gotten it right perhaps in any edition of D&D. This will also be about pets as a class feature not a pet that anyone can get such as a domestic animal or fantasy equivalent. A herd of sheep could be useful in a trap infested dungeon but anyone can get said herd assuming resources and availability.Power Level of the Pet To Strong/Weak This is purely a game design mechanic. The only time I think someone got this right was in 3.5 with the Ranger class but people tend to remember the Druid version. The Ranger was treated as a Druid in terms of pet but at 50% strength. I think 5E Druids might have a solution here. A 5E pet is a major or minor class feature and the CRs used for the 5E Druid wildshape give some fairly decent examples. A minor pet feature is the pet can deal damage roughly equal to a single attack/dice of damage, while a major pet probably needs to deal damage similar to a Rogue or Fighter without feats. At certain levels the pet could break the CR guidelines but its a fixed example like the Druids elemental wildshape rather than any pet of CR XYZ. Can the Pet Act Independently of YouThe solution here I think is it depends. If the pet is a minor pet yes it can or perhaps it uses your bonus action. For example a beastmaster rangers pet isn't that great except at low level. A single attack is going to be comparable to an off hand attack. Hunter rangers can stack in extra dice or attacks and combine that with hunters quarry so it gives you an idea of how much damage a pet should be able to do independently or as a bonus action. A Beastmaster Ranger giving up a bonus action is missing out on the hunter ranger bonus damage ability plus the off hand attack or hunters quarry so any pet dealing up to around 8-10 points of damage is fine. A major pet would be something like a black bear at low levels or a dinosaur at higher levels using the Moon Druids wildshape CR as a guideline. Is the Pet a Major Class Feature? If the pet can deal damage similar to a fighter or Rogue the class you are designing needs to be a lot weaker at combat perhaps dealing cantrip level damage. Your pet+ a cantrip in a round is fairly decent damage. Higher level character can get a higher level CR critter, or the pet scales in some way such as the En5ider Mahout or the 3.5 Ranger. Any class with a big pet should not be a primary spellcaster, have multiple attacks or extra dice of dmaage like a Rogue assuming the pet acts independently of you. If the pet requires a bonus action you can probably make the class be a half caster or get a 2nd attack at level 5 or 6 like he martial characters or valor bard. What Happens of the Pet Dies and How Do you Get a Replacement Not the 5E beastmaster doesn't get a replacement pet even though its a class feature. You can't take away the Hunters bonus damage but you can kill a pet. For any pet based class I would treat the replacement as a ritual that you can summon one in 10 minutes. This means out of combat its not hard to replace them, and the extra damage since it is not guaranteed like say a Rogues can perhaps be marginally higher (1d8 vs d10 or d120 than say a hunter rangers abilities. The Size of the Pet Moon Druid wild shape is great, until you hit level 6 or so or when you start wildshaping you are so large/huge you get in the way of your own team mates. This problem doesn't go away if you are allowed to use beasts but t does if the beasts scale in some way so you can have a medium sized wolf that deals damage comparable to a dire wolf and has a similar amount of hit points. It also goes away if the pet is a fiend or celestial of some description or even a Dragon. using the Moon Druid as a guideline they can turn into a mammoth at level 18, a Dragon Summoner could conjure a Dragon CR6 or lower (a wyvern perhaps). A pet doesn't have to be a beast nor does it have to be a higher CR critter that is also larger physically. Said Pet in the Campaign[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif] This doesn't really go away but a trapper with a very tough dog/wolf mountain lion is a lot less of a problem than one that rocks up with a CR 3 or 4 Dinosaur. A 3.5 Ranger could have a higher CR beastie or a tougher lower CR beastie. A Summoner with a fiend or celestial that can disguise itself is less of a problem than a pet mammoth, giant snake etc. So that is basically it, work out how tough the pet is and scale the class that gets it to its abilities. [/FONT]</blockquote>

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