Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hawk Diesel" data-source="post: 7308091" data-attributes="member: 59848">I don't think people are scared, just cautious. The Beast Master as I presented, for example, allows you to make an attack with your companion by expending your bonus action. The only classes that provide similar abilities are the Berserker Barbarian with their Frenzy ability (requires you to be raging and causes you to take on a level of exhaustion) and the Battlerager Barbarian (limited to 1d4 + Strength and only if you are wearing spiked armor and raging). In my own homebrew versions of these classes, I have adjusted these limitations, but that can provide an example of the power using a bonus action for an attack can have. Especially because with an animal companion in my version of the Beast Master, you could also use that bonus action to have the companion take the Help action, giving it more power and flexibility than either the Frenzy ability or the Battlerager Armor ability. Other characters without such classes are limited to dealing at most 1d6 without their strength/dexterity bonus with an off-hand weapon, and only when they take the attack action (unless they invest in the Dual Wielder feat or have the Two-Weapon Fighting Style). So I think the concern has some merit and an eye needs to be kept on how you are able to use your companion.Well, it is more than a glorified familiar. Familiars are incapable of taking the attack action, with the exception of the Pact of the Chain Warlock. But even then you must use on of your own attacks to allow the familiar to attack. Or you must use the Deliver Spell which uses your character's action and the familiar's reaction. As for NPCs and Mercenaries, there is also a difference there. Such characters are controlled by the DM. Thus, they may not fight to the death. They may get cold feet before a battle. They may betray you when the enemy approaches them with a better offer. They may decide that they don't like your tactics and go off their own playbook. This is how the DM can justify their presence and create a balance. An animal companion does not have those same opportunities, since they are extensions of the players. They are not NPCs, but a part of the player's character. As such, giving them the same amount of free will and action as a DM-controlled mercenary or hireling can create difficulties as it gives the player autonomy over an additional character that is not achievable by the other players. Some of these would certainly be good candidates for the Beast Master ranger abilities. In fact, it has made me think that maybe granting a damage bonus equal to the character's proficiency bonus would be best moved to Superior Strike, to further limit the strength of the animal companion at first.</blockquote>

Verification