Why is it that the game designers seemingly hate the idea of a ranger having an animal companion as apposed to a summoned creature (spirit). To me it defeatst he purpose of being a beast master. Summoning an ally just boils it down to another spell which is cast for free. And if anyone says it's to mimic Drizz't's ability with Guenevyr, it should be noted that the panther is an unusual figurine of wonderous power and not a standard animal companion. Thoughts? Has anyone made any changes to their own game? If anyone ever saw the movie Beastmaster, he had actual animals to help him on his adventure. Oh and don't get me started on having to use my own actions to get the beast to do something.
I mean... I think the easy school of thought is that players want to form a bond with their companions. In 3e and earlier, you went out, found a wolf (or whatever), and made friends with it. And then, you had a wolf companion. Which was, at best, a mid fighter with about twenty hit points. Sounds cool at level 3, but at level 9, you're suddenly babysitting your companion nonstop, because it's made of glass, and if it dies, your whole world comes crashing down. So in 5e, they replaced physical companions with spirits who could be re-summoned if they were killed, so you didn't have to halt the game, bury your pet, and go find another one every other session.
As to using your own actions to get the beast to do something, that's an action economy thing.
Why is it that the game designers seemingly hate the idea of a ranger having an animal companion as apposed to a summoned creature (spirit). To me it defeatst he purpose of being a beast master. Summoning an ally just boils it down to another spell which is cast for free. And if anyone says it's to mimic Drizz't's ability with Guenevyr, it should be noted that the panther is an unusual figurine of wonderous power and not a standard animal companion. Thoughts? Has anyone made any changes to their own game? If anyone ever saw the movie Beastmaster, he had actual animals to help him on his adventure. Oh and don't get me started on having to use my own actions to get the beast to do something.
I mean... I think the easy school of thought is that players want to form a bond with their companions. In 3e and earlier, you went out, found a wolf (or whatever), and made friends with it. And then, you had a wolf companion. Which was, at best, a mid fighter with about twenty hit points. Sounds cool at level 3, but at level 9, you're suddenly babysitting your companion nonstop, because it's made of glass, and if it dies, your whole world comes crashing down. So in 5e, they replaced physical companions with spirits who could be re-summoned if they were killed, so you didn't have to halt the game, bury your pet, and go find another one every other session.
As to using your own actions to get the beast to do something, that's an action economy thing.
Just give it the Kenny Feat. Every time it dies, a replacement spawns the next morning in camp. Don't ask where it comes from......