DM Foster
Commoner
Posts: 6
Favorite D&D Class: Druid
Favorite D&D Race: Dwarf
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Post by DM Foster on Mar 21, 2016 15:15:13 GMT
I love having companions, in adventure league i ended up with a Hook Horror companion.
In my Home game as a druid i was able to tame a Polar Bear. My question to you folks is, Is there anything I can do or have you guys put into your system where after so long I will be in tune with the companion and he will attack either as my bonus action or on his own?
thus far I have been talking with my DM and we came up with animal handle checks each day to see if i move closer to making him a true companion I have to make 4 days without a 1-3 on the dice to make a companion where i dont have to cast animal friendship each day. if i do roll a 1-3 i lose a day of progress. In Elemental Evil there is a spell called Beast Bond where i can send him in to attack.
Thanks everyone, Im looking forward to hearing anything you guys have to offer.
Thanks, DM Foster
If there is already a thread that i couldnt find through the search then please link that.
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Post by Tesla Ranger on Mar 21, 2016 16:11:43 GMT
I don't know that there's another thread but think I can remember seeing a Ranger build somewhere that brought back the animal companion. There's been at least a few variants published in Unearthed Arcana so you might start here: media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/DX_0907_UA_RangerOptions.pdfEven if none of that is helpful for you, it might give you or your DM a notion for how to handle companions going forward. I have a Fighter who has an animal companion (a really old wolf) for roleplay purposes but the only mechanical advantage that grants him is to tracking. We figured the poor ol' hound was too old to fight any longer so it doesn't have a very big impact on the gameplay. If it's the story elements you're after then that might be a simple way to tackle the challenge.
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Post by joatmoniac on Mar 21, 2016 21:11:27 GMT
If it were me I would work with your DM to build out a feat that represents what you are going for. I only say that so that you could potentially have mroe than just your average animal companion, who would become a liability sooner rather than later in any campaign. That way you also eliminate the need for spells to play into the equation as well. I think what you have been doing is solid using Animal Handling checks coupled with Beast bond, and you could be using Animal Friendship/Speak With Animals as well.
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Post by dm_mainprize on Mar 22, 2016 15:52:22 GMT
I think a feet is a great way to go. I have a player who is a ranger and recently got his animal companion. Its an owlbear cub. I created a dumbed down stat block based of the owlbear in the MM. I also a page from the 3.5 Handle Animal skill and gave my player the option to spend time during long or short rests to make CHA checks to teach the animal a variety of commands. This is directly from the 3.5 SRD, but I tweaked it a bit to fit with the 5e verbage. Maybe explore something like this as well.
Attack (DC 20): The animal attacks apparent enemies. You may point to a particular creature that you wish the animal to attack, and it will comply if able. Normally, an animal will attack only humanoids, monstrous humanoids, giants, or other animals. Teaching an animal to attack all creatures (including such unnatural creatures as undead and aberrations) counts as two tricks.
Come (DC 15): The animal comes to you, even if it normally would not do so.
Defend (DC 20): The animal defends you (or is ready to defend you if no threat is present), even without any command being given. Alternatively, you can command the animal to defend a specific other character.
Down (DC 15): The animal breaks off from combat or otherwise backs down. An animal that doesn’t know this trick continues to fight until it must flee (due to injury, a fear effect, or the like) or its opponent is defeated.
Fetch (DC 15): The animal goes and gets something. If you do not point out a specific item, the animal fetches some random object.
Guard (DC 20): The animal stays in place and prevents others from approaching.
Heel (DC 15): The animal follows you closely, even to places where it normally wouldn’t go.
Perform (DC 15): The animal performs a variety of simple tricks, such as sitting up, rolling over, roaring or barking, and so on.
Seek (DC 15): The animal moves into an area and looks around for anything that is obviously alive or animate.
Stay (DC 15): The animal stays in place, waiting for you to return. It does not challenge other creatures that come by, though it still defends itself if it needs to.
Track (DC 20): The animal tracks the scent presented to it. (This requires the animal to have the scent ability)
Work (DC 15): The animal pulls or pushes a medium or heavy load.
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DM Foster
Commoner
Posts: 6
Favorite D&D Class: Druid
Favorite D&D Race: Dwarf
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Post by DM Foster on Mar 26, 2016 1:06:33 GMT
wow guys, Thanks so much for this feedback! I will talk with my DM about it. Keep on Dungeon mastering
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Post by DM Windhover on Mar 31, 2016 20:34:23 GMT
dm_mainprize, that trick-teaching list is awesome. I had no idea 3.5 had that. Is there any limitation to the number of tricks an animal can learn, based on its intelligence or your training ability? Because I'd like to add this as a houserule in my own games, but I'd want it to be a lot easier to teach a dog a trick than, say, a giant scorpion.
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Post by dm_mainprize on Mar 31, 2016 20:52:49 GMT
You could totally add a limit based on INT. I think there is a lot in 3.5 that could be adopted or adapted into 5e without much trouble. Let me know what you decide.
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Post by DM Windhover on Apr 1, 2016 3:22:43 GMT
I can see a really simple system as working pretty well--animal can learn a number of tricks equal to its intelligence score plus your Animal Handling modifier. Someone with proficiency in Animal Handling should be able to teach even a less intelligent animal enough to make it useful. And I'd probably make the checks for teaching the tricks based on the Wisdom based Animal Handling skill as well, rather than Charisma. But that's a personal preference thing.
Thanks so much for posting this--some of my players will really love it. I'm actually considering building a new version of the 5e Beastmaster Ranger based on this as the fundamental mechanic. It would give a sense of developing a relationship with the chosen companion over time, and adds a real sense of loss should that companion die; not only is there emotional attachment, but you'd have to start training a new companion from scratch.
Edit: For the new version of the beastmaster, I'll probably say an animal can learn a number of tricks equal to its INT plus 1/2 your Ranger level (min 1), so it's tied to class progression.
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Post by joatmoniac on Apr 1, 2016 20:26:40 GMT
The two paragraphs above the ones DM Mainprize pasted help a lot in relation to number of tricks and what to do if the animal does not know a trick you want it to perfom. " “Push” an Animal To push an animal means to get it to perform a task or trick that it doesn’t know but is physically capable of performing. This category also covers making an animal perform a forced march or forcing it to hustle for more than 1 hour between sleep cycles. If the animal is wounded or has taken any nonlethal damage or ability score damage, the DC increases by 2. If your check succeeds, the animal performs the task or trick on its next action. Teach an Animal a Trick You can teach an animal a specific trick with one week of work and a successful Handle Animal check against the indicated DC. An animal with an Intelligence score of 1 can learn a maximum of three tricks, while an animal with an Intelligence score of 2 can learn a maximum of six tricks. Possible tricks (and their associated DCs) include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following." Granted houseruling into whatever you think works best for you and your players is always the best options. It's a solid jumping off point though for how many and how to "handle" untrained tricks, haha.
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Post by DM Windhover on Apr 2, 2016 2:20:13 GMT
Just in case anyone is interested, here's my WIP Ranger Beast Master archetype. Fingers crossed that I've figured out how Imgur works and it shows up.
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