Hellhound Tamer (Spells Fixed)

Ranger Conclave

Many are the attractions the Dark Carnival offers, but few are so dangerous and awe-inspiring as the collection of hellhounds kennelled on its grounds. The ravenous hunger of such fiendish creatures cannot be easily sated, nor their thirst for destruction satisfied, yet there they behave as any domesticated beast would. The reason for their uncharacteristically placid temperament is thanks to a select cadre of infernal-minded individuals – the appropriately named hellhound tamers of the Dark Carnival.

There are few who wish to endeavor such a potentially fatal occupation, so the list of aspirants is always short if any could be listed at all. The Dark Ringmaster is likewise incredibly selective of who may fill such a role, even going so far as to recruit from outside the Dark Carnival for this job alone, and oftentimes not giving potentials a choice to decline the offer. Those who fail will die, and those who succeed were likely to have Darkling potential anyway – for only a fiendish heart can hope to tame the ever-burning savagery of beasts from the Lower Planes.

On the battlefield, hellhound tamers will bring the full force of their pack to bear upon the hapless enemies of their Dark Ringmaster. Astride nightmare steeds gifted by their illustrious patron, they ride forth alongside their fiery pack, voracious in their appetite and keen in their desire for wanton murder and mayhem – just as the Man with the Crooked Grin always knew they would.

Eccentric Quirks

The controlling of fiends requires more heartlessness than finesse, thus most if not all hellhound tamers came with some interesting personality traits that can range from brash to dangerous.

Eccentric Quirks

d6	Quirk
1	I like fire. I like it a lot. I especially like it when it burns things down.
2	I could say I don’t bite, but that would be a lie.
3	I am always in search of another chew toy for my pups – living or not.
4	I am one with my pack, and will howl with them at the same time every night.
5	You cannot possibly comprehend the number of fire puns in my arsenal.
6	I don’t enjoy the company of humanoids because they will only let me down, but even my pack cannot sate my loneliness.

First Ember

At 3rd level, through vicious conditioning of yourself and your new ward, you develop mutual respect and comradery with your first pup. You gain the following benefits:

• You learn the fire bolt cantrip, which is a ranger spell for you.
• You learn to speak, read, and write Infernal or one other language of your choice.

Hellhound Tamer Magic

You learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Hellhound Tamer Spells table. Each spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of ranger spells you know.

Hellhound Tamer Spells

Ranger Level	Spell
3rd	burning hands
5th	scorching ray
9th	fireball
13th	wall of fire
17th	flame strike

Hellhound Companion

The Pack Grows

The dark flames burn brilliant and terrible within you and your pack; a sign of greater infernos to come. Starting at 7th level, you can summon a number of hellhounds per long rest up to half your proficiency bonus. You can issue the same command to all of your hellhounds simultaneously. You can expend one, some, or all uses of this feature simultaneously. While at least one hellhound is summoned, you and your hellhounds gain the following benefits:

• Your hellhounds grow to Medium size, having gone from pups to full-fledged fiends. You can use any one of your hellhounds as a mount if your size is Medium or smaller.
• When your hellhounds make a Bite attack against a creature, they deal an additional 1d6 fire damage.
• You gain resistance to fire damage and are immune to fire damage done by your hellhounds.

Release the Inferno

At 11th level, you feel it is time to remove the muzzle and loose the burning howl of your wards. As an action, you can order one of your hellhounds to exhale a 15-foot cone of fire. Each creature in the cone must make a Dexterity saving throw equal to your spell save DC, taking 6d6 fire damage on a failed saved, or half as much damage on a successful one.

The hellhound that does so cannot use its reaction until the start of your next turn. This replaces any bonus action to command your hellhounds, and cannot be used if you already used your bonus action to command your hellhound.

Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a spell slot of 3rd level or higher to use it again.

The Dogs of War

At long last, you have become master of bestial fiends just as the Dark Ringmaster knew you would be. At 15th level, you and the first hellhound you summoned with the Hellhound Companion feature since your last long rest (if multiple at summoned, choose one) receive the following benefits:

• Your chosen hellhound grows to Large size, grows a second head, and its reach increases by 5 feet.
• Your chosen hellhound can attack twice, rather than once, whenever it takes the Bite action on its turn.
• While you are within 5 feet of your chosen hellhound or using it as a mount, the chosen hellhound can use its reaction to make a Bite attack which it takes when a creature it can see and reach succeeds on an attack roll against you.

If the chosen hellhound dies, a new one may not be selected until you finish a long rest.