I love that the UA Beast Master mechanics allow for the companion to persist. I think it lends itself to building the class around the beast. I'm currently playing a ranger who grew up in the forest with an undead panther (uses the same stats as the regular panther, but is grosser and the cleric doesn't like her). Her mother - a powerful necromancer - raised the mother panther from the dead after a nasty fight that left both of her parents dying. Her father - an OK wizard in his own right - implanted the idea that my character is the panther's child.
She was raised feral and learned early on that her panther mom could regenerate its physical body. She makes a practice of harvesting her mom's hide, bones, sinew, etc. to make her clothes, armor, and weapons - never ending Giving Tree style. I've always loved rangers, but never more than my anti-social, panther-femur-arrow shooting, wild child.
Reading through some of the replies I have seen a call for mule pets and I am playing Saturday with a new character who will be having a mule as his companion. I'll make sure to post how it goes.
The story behind why I chose the mule: I am the primary DM for this campaign but every now and then my players want a shot at running an adventure. As a result I asked them what they would want as a player in the party via a strawpoll. The result, a ranger. I had this idea for a half-orc dual wielding axes and being a primal hunter. This was going to be fun. Then came my stat rolls... 6, 7, 9, 9, 11, 18. With all those negatives I decided to take human to shore up the modifiers and put the lower stats (7 and 8) into Charisma and Intelligence. As a result I decided on an uneducated local brewer who had a mule to plow the land he used to raise the crops for making this alcohol. Now him and the mule have been adventuring for some time now due to a background of Folk Hero. I'm think he defied some agents of a tyrant. Either way, sure the mule isn't the most awesome companion but I think it will be fun to play regardless.
Reading through some of the replies I have seen a call for mule pets and I am playing Saturday with a new character who will be having a mule as his companion. I'll make sure to post how it goes.
The story behind why I chose the mule: I am the primary DM for this campaign but every now and then my players want a shot at running an adventure. As a result I asked them what they would want as a player in the party via a strawpoll. The result, a ranger. I had this idea for a half-orc dual wielding axes and being a primal hunter. This was going to be fun. Then came my stat rolls... 6, 7, 9, 9, 11, 18. With all those negatives I decided to take human to shore up the modifiers and put the lower stats (7 and 8) into Charisma and Intelligence. As a result I decided on an uneducated local brewer who had a mule to plow the land he used to raise the crops for making this alcohol. Now him and the mule have been adventuring for some time now due to a background of Folk Hero. I'm think he defied some agents of a tyrant. Either way, sure the mule isn't the most awesome companion but I think it will be fun to play regardless.
That's pretty awesome! If my DM hadn't told us explicitly that his game was geared "to kill [us]", I'd have tried something like that. I'd recommend some barding for that mule, and have him Dodge a lot! And you GOTTA make him stubborn as...well...a mule! ;)
I have a UA Beast Master Conclave Ranger called Aelin Naïlo Xylia who has an albino companion Panther called Fayre. Aelin is a Hideling which is a homebrew race that is the equivalent of an elf but inspired by norse fairytales. When she was 8 (currently 58 which is young adult) she went from the village bog to the forest to play and when she came back the village was gone with no sign of how. From then on she has lived in the forest and became a ranger. At the age of 10 she found cub Fayre abandoned by her mother (because she is white and that is very rare for panthers so she was outcast) and little Aelin decided to nurse the cub back to health and they created a bond that way. Because Hidelings live so long, Fayre has been brought back from natural death 4 times (a panther's lifespan is about 12 years) and she is all Aelin has as a family. I really play into Aelin being uncomfortable and weird around people as she grew up in the forest. This is not too much of a problem though as our party consists of her, a pony sized centaur (3ft and a bit), a draft horse sized centaur (10ft), a satyr and a dragonborn, so they all have some animal-ish aspects. By now they have been traveling together for about 6 months and are trying to find a solution to drive off an invasion from an army of Mindflayers and their slaves who have taken over half the continent.
There was a gimmick build off-site, that put a Halfing riding the AC dual wielding Lances. That was the only viable build that worked in core. Ignoring that, any Ranger can have an extra +1 item or so, tossed at them thank you DM. New/Newest UA Ranger doesn't have that problem, or need that solution.
No problems at all. The game is international. They're coming out with translations into a bunch of different languages, and each one of them will have it's own rules problems.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
2 "B" or not 2 "B" , that is the question my kitty avatar's Tail is secretly signing. You can see it, I know you can.
This thread may be dormant, but I wanted to say that I'm one of the (apparent) few who's playing with a boar, and it's really fun. I basically made him a super cheerful friend who loves everyone in our party (even when they're not getting along with each other), although the DM has made it canon that if you don't secure your rations before bedding down, he will eat them.
I bought him some chainmail to buff his AC, since he's always in the middle of combat and even at level 4 is still pretty squishy. But with Charge and the ASI boost to strength at level 4, he's been a damage dealing machine. It's also fun to RP him as a boar, because he is utterly fearless and can shame PCs into battle when they might otherwise "hang back." Anyway, he's certainly not the "optimized" companion like panther, wolf, or ape, but I really recommend the boar.
This thread may be dormant, but I wanted to say that I'm one of the (apparent) few who's playing with a boar, and it's really fun. I basically made him a super cheerful friend who loves everyone in our party (even when they're not getting along with each other), although the DM has made it canon that if you don't secure your rations before bedding down, he will eat them.
I bought him some chainmail to buff his AC, since he's always in the middle of combat and even at level 4 is still pretty squishy. But with Charge and the ASI boost to strength at level 4, he's been a damage dealing machine. It's also fun to RP him as a boar, because he is utterly fearless and can shame PCs into battle when they might otherwise "hang back." Anyway, he's certainly not the "optimized" companion like panther, wolf, or ape, but I really recommend the boar.
I considered playing a boar...was going to name him "Kevin". Went with a mountain lion (panther) named "Mellencamp" instead who craves attention and uses the Pounce ability to knock over party members and friendly NPCs to force them to pet him.
Playing a lizardfolk ranger, wtih a Crocodile companion named "Trapjaw". I like that his bite grapples and restrains, giving me advantage on my ranged attacks against the same target and they can't close the gap on me.
Playing a lizardfolk ranger, wtih a Crocodile companion named "Trapjaw". I like that his bite grapples and restrains, giving me advantage on my ranged attacks against the same target and they can't close the gap on me.
One tactic I use with my mountain lion (Mellencamp) is to have him move up to an opponent and Dodge on his turn, then on my turn he can use his reaction to attack (via Coordinated Strike). In that way he's able to attack each round, but is always imposing Disadvantage to any enemy trying to attack him. I think this would be a good tactic for Trapjaw, to help mitigate the chance of damage against him while he's holding your opponent.
I'm playing a Tiefling Ranger, Karmonis, and my DM let me have a tatzelwurm, Aesmyr, as my companion (think if you took a fox and a snake and mashed it together, that's a tatzelwurm. Looks badass, but really doesn't have any special powers other than being a really long scaled fox). We're going to homebrew the stats, but since my ranger is only level 2 right now, we're ruling it that Aesmyr is still a kit who's learning all her commands. Once I hit level 3 however, we'll see what kind of shenanigans I can pull off.
(Until then, Aesmyr mostly just climbs on top of my tiefling's horns, or on one occasion, attempted to steal fish out of a noble's pond, leading to an entertaining background scene where Karmonis was trying to keep her from stealing fish while the rest of the party had a Serious Plot Important Conversation with the noble.)
In my campaign with a group of friends, my ranger character prevented a dire wolf from attacking the group by rolling really well with animal handling (added by some tasty fresh rabbits he recently caught). The villain had kept the dire wolf captive most of its life and tried to make it attack us. After the battle Jeffrey (thats what I ended up naming the dire wolf :P) didn't want to leave my characters side so the DM let me keep him and us him as my companion which is awesome.
I was thinking of the giant owl because of the flyby attack, but was pretty sure my DM wouldn't allow it. But playing a small character and using it as a mount...that's awesome.
I love that the UA Beast Master mechanics allow for the companion to persist. I think it lends itself to building the class around the beast. I'm currently playing a ranger who grew up in the forest with an undead panther (uses the same stats as the regular panther, but is grosser and the cleric doesn't like her). Her mother - a powerful necromancer - raised the mother panther from the dead after a nasty fight that left both of her parents dying. Her father - an OK wizard in his own right - implanted the idea that my character is the panther's child.
She was raised feral and learned early on that her panther mom could regenerate its physical body. She makes a practice of harvesting her mom's hide, bones, sinew, etc. to make her clothes, armor, and weapons - never ending Giving Tree style. I've always loved rangers, but never more than my anti-social, panther-femur-arrow shooting, wild child.
ANIMAL COMPANION MILESTONE
My cougar (Mellencamp) successfully pounced a frost giant! The roll was very close, with the giant BARELY failing the check, and down he went!
Reading through some of the replies I have seen a call for mule pets and I am playing Saturday with a new character who will be having a mule as his companion. I'll make sure to post how it goes.
The story behind why I chose the mule: I am the primary DM for this campaign but every now and then my players want a shot at running an adventure. As a result I asked them what they would want as a player in the party via a strawpoll. The result, a ranger. I had this idea for a half-orc dual wielding axes and being a primal hunter. This was going to be fun. Then came my stat rolls... 6, 7, 9, 9, 11, 18. With all those negatives I decided to take human to shore up the modifiers and put the lower stats (7 and 8) into Charisma and Intelligence. As a result I decided on an uneducated local brewer who had a mule to plow the land he used to raise the crops for making this alcohol. Now him and the mule have been adventuring for some time now due to a background of Folk Hero. I'm think he defied some agents of a tyrant. Either way, sure the mule isn't the most awesome companion but I think it will be fun to play regardless.
I have a UA Beast Master Conclave Ranger called Aelin Naïlo Xylia who has an albino companion Panther called Fayre. Aelin is a Hideling which is a homebrew race that is the equivalent of an elf but inspired by norse fairytales. When she was 8 (currently 58 which is young adult) she went from the village bog to the forest to play and when she came back the village was gone with no sign of how. From then on she has lived in the forest and became a ranger. At the age of 10 she found cub Fayre abandoned by her mother (because she is white and that is very rare for panthers so she was outcast) and little Aelin decided to nurse the cub back to health and they created a bond that way. Because Hidelings live so long, Fayre has been brought back from natural death 4 times (a panther's lifespan is about 12 years) and she is all Aelin has as a family. I really play into Aelin being uncomfortable and weird around people as she grew up in the forest. This is not too much of a problem though as our party consists of her, a pony sized centaur (3ft and a bit), a draft horse sized centaur (10ft), a satyr and a dragonborn, so they all have some animal-ish aspects. By now they have been traveling together for about 6 months and are trying to find a solution to drive off an invasion from an army of Mindflayers and their slaves who have taken over half the continent.
2 "B" or not 2 "B" , that is the question my kitty avatar's Tail is secretly signing. You can see it, I know you can.
This thread may be dormant, but I wanted to say that I'm one of the (apparent) few who's playing with a boar, and it's really fun. I basically made him a super cheerful friend who loves everyone in our party (even when they're not getting along with each other), although the DM has made it canon that if you don't secure your rations before bedding down, he will eat them.
I bought him some chainmail to buff his AC, since he's always in the middle of combat and even at level 4 is still pretty squishy. But with Charge and the ASI boost to strength at level 4, he's been a damage dealing machine. It's also fun to RP him as a boar, because he is utterly fearless and can shame PCs into battle when they might otherwise "hang back." Anyway, he's certainly not the "optimized" companion like panther, wolf, or ape, but I really recommend the boar.
UA Revised Ranger Beast Master
Homebrew DM
"Mellencamp." I see your joke, Bondious, and I respect it.
UA Revised Ranger Beast Master
Homebrew DM
Just started playing a Dragonborn Beast Master ranger with a black bear named Marshmellow (don't ask - that's what she told me her name was)
I'm looking forward to seeing how well it works
Skameros - Bugbear Barbarian - Out of the Abyss - By Kerrec
Follow your Arrow where it Points - Tabaxi Monk - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
Citron Pumpkinfoam - Fairy Monk - Project Point: Team Longsword
Could my Tiefling have a dragon for a companion? She saved it from sure death when it was a wyrmling.
"You attack Me? Of all the Tieflings here? You're going to regret that..."
Samudra - Dragonborn Druid- Mistbusters, Curse of Strahd
"You attack Me? Of all the Tieflings here? You're going to regret that..."
Samudra - Dragonborn Druid- Mistbusters, Curse of Strahd
Playing a lizardfolk ranger, wtih a Crocodile companion named "Trapjaw". I like that his bite grapples and restrains, giving me advantage on my ranged attacks against the same target and they can't close the gap on me.
I'm playing a Tiefling Ranger, Karmonis, and my DM let me have a tatzelwurm, Aesmyr, as my companion (think if you took a fox and a snake and mashed it together, that's a tatzelwurm. Looks badass, but really doesn't have any special powers other than being a really long scaled fox). We're going to homebrew the stats, but since my ranger is only level 2 right now, we're ruling it that Aesmyr is still a kit who's learning all her commands. Once I hit level 3 however, we'll see what kind of shenanigans I can pull off.
(Until then, Aesmyr mostly just climbs on top of my tiefling's horns, or on one occasion, attempted to steal fish out of a noble's pond, leading to an entertaining background scene where Karmonis was trying to keep her from stealing fish while the rest of the party had a Serious Plot Important Conversation with the noble.)
In my campaign with a group of friends, my ranger character prevented a dire wolf from attacking the group by rolling really well with animal handling (added by some tasty fresh rabbits he recently caught). The villain had kept the dire wolf captive most of its life and tried to make it attack us. After the battle Jeffrey (thats what I ended up naming the dire wolf :P) didn't want to leave my characters side so the DM let me keep him and us him as my companion which is awesome.
In a group I run, one player is a ghostwise halfling nightrider, with a modified giant owl that she uses, and often rides
Post under the same name at Giant in the Playground, and rarely here.
I was thinking of the giant owl because of the flyby attack, but was pretty sure my DM wouldn't allow it. But playing a small character and using it as a mount...that's awesome.
And, it is from the lore.
Post under the same name at Giant in the Playground, and rarely here.