a ranger in my game is about to go level 3, and has requested a pseudo dragon as thier companion. It seems to fit most of the qualifiers other than it is not a beast. Should I allow this, or does the psudodragons other abilities make it over powered?
I should also not neglect to mention that the Ranger is my significant other, so I do not want to appear to be engaging in favoritism.
Whilst it's not technically allowed under the rules for the Beast Master ranger subclass, I would personally allow it. The subclass is often thought by people to be underpowered, so allowing some small concessions like this seems ok.
The Pseudodragon doesn't seem to have anything particularly powerful that couldn't be gained from other beasts. The only exceptional things are its intelligence of 10 and the limited telepathy ability.
Yeah, I'd say give it to them. Psudodragons are barely stronger than the average animal and is a fun cool thing to add to the game with minimal cost to balance.
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I'm on board with the idea and, as an aside, you can avoid the "favoritism" call by making the acquisition something of a side-quest rather than waking up with it. My fiancee has a pseudodragon as a familiar (lock) and I have yet to see it do anything that seems unbalanced or broken. I had her communicating with her patron and searching in some really fun places (Great Old One) to get to her familiar. I even went so far as to change the basic form of the critter to give it 4 wings and 6 legs to reflect being a further connection to her patron. It's not anywhere near what Find Familiar is supposed to do, but it gives some weight to the addition of a new body in the party, and gives the player a sense of accomplishment, story, and personal connection to the critter.
Allow it, but turn the acquisition of it into an adventure. Maybe they need to hack their way through the jungle to the migratory mating grounds of the pseudo-dragons. You know past the ruined temple with it's undead, and watch out for the attacks of the local Lizarfolk tribes, etc.
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It's great getting feedback about twisting the rules as such a new gm.
We are currently playing through the starter set lmop, and the players are in the red brand hideout. I suspect that they will reach level three by the time they finish this section, so was thinking about placing whatever animal is chosen I'm the cells, severely beaten and on deaths door, so our ranger can choose to nurse it back to health and establish a bond that way.
Why a pseudo dragon would be there, I have yet to figure out.
Why a pseudo dragon would be there, I have yet to figure out.
Maybe the wizard had his thugs capture it for him, because he planned to use an alternate version of the Find Familiar called, "Enslave Familiar" which he was going to be taught as part of his services. The pseudodragon can communicate this, as it's intelligent.
If you give them a way to work towards getting a pseudodragon pet, and make it reasonably difficult to get one, then I see no problem. I'm actually in a similar situation with a player who likes collecting cool mounts, and last time our group met they put in some serious effort to try and figure out how to tame an Owlbear I had thrown at them.
If they put in effort to get information about where they could find one, look for one, tame it, etc. Then I think you can definitely reward them with it. Either that or get forced into your players schemes.
If the pseudodragon is too strong for the party, you could talk 1-on-1 with the player about limiting it a bit until the party levels some more.
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a ranger in my game is about to go level 3, and has requested a pseudo dragon as thier companion. It seems to fit most of the qualifiers other than it is not a beast. Should I allow this, or does the psudodragons other abilities make it over powered?
I should also not neglect to mention that the Ranger is my significant other, so I do not want to appear to be engaging in favoritism.
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D&D Beyond FoundersWhilst it's not technically allowed under the rules for the Beast Master ranger subclass, I would personally allow it. The subclass is often thought by people to be underpowered, so allowing some small concessions like this seems ok.
The Pseudodragon doesn't seem to have anything particularly powerful that couldn't be gained from other beasts. The only exceptional things are its intelligence of 10 and the limited telepathy ability.
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If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
Yeah, I'd say give it to them. Psudodragons are barely stronger than the average animal and is a fun cool thing to add to the game with minimal cost to balance.
I'm on board with the idea and, as an aside, you can avoid the "favoritism" call by making the acquisition something of a side-quest rather than waking up with it. My fiancee has a pseudodragon as a familiar (lock) and I have yet to see it do anything that seems unbalanced or broken. I had her communicating with her patron and searching in some really fun places (Great Old One) to get to her familiar. I even went so far as to change the basic form of the critter to give it 4 wings and 6 legs to reflect being a further connection to her patron. It's not anywhere near what Find Familiar is supposed to do, but it gives some weight to the addition of a new body in the party, and gives the player a sense of accomplishment, story, and personal connection to the critter.
DMThac0 hit it on the head.
Allow it, but turn the acquisition of it into an adventure. Maybe they need to hack their way through the jungle to the migratory mating grounds of the pseudo-dragons. You know past the ruined temple with it's undead, and watch out for the attacks of the local Lizarfolk tribes, etc.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
Thanks for the responses guys.
It's great getting feedback about twisting the rules as such a new gm.
We are currently playing through the starter set lmop, and the players are in the red brand hideout. I suspect that they will reach level three by the time they finish this section, so was thinking about placing whatever animal is chosen I'm the cells, severely beaten and on deaths door, so our ranger can choose to nurse it back to health and establish a bond that way.
Why a pseudo dragon would be there, I have yet to figure out.
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D&D Beyond FoundersMaybe the wizard had his thugs capture it for him, because he planned to use an alternate version of the Find Familiar called, "Enslave Familiar" which he was going to be taught as part of his services. The pseudodragon can communicate this, as it's intelligent.
Pun-loving nerd | Faith Elisabeth Lilley | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
If you give them a way to work towards getting a pseudodragon pet, and make it reasonably difficult to get one, then I see no problem. I'm actually in a similar situation with a player who likes collecting cool mounts, and last time our group met they put in some serious effort to try and figure out how to tame an Owlbear I had thrown at them.
If they put in effort to get information about where they could find one, look for one, tame it, etc. Then I think you can definitely reward them with it. Either that or get forced into your players schemes.
If the pseudodragon is too strong for the party, you could talk 1-on-1 with the player about limiting it a bit until the party levels some more.