I thought the Druid should ave an animal companion like in previous editions, so I made the Circle of the Beast. Any feedback is welcome.
Animal Companion
At 2nd level, you learn to use your magic to create a powerful bond with a creature of the natural world. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 50 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth an animal from the wilderness to serve as your faithful companion.You normally select your companion from among the following animals: an ape, a blackbear, a boar, a giantbadger, a giantweasel, a mule, a panther, or a wolf. However, your DM might pick one of these animals for you, based on the surrounding terrain and on what types of creatures would logically be present in the area.
At the end of the 8 hours, your animal companion appears and gains all the benefits of your Companion’s Bond ability. Youcan have only one animal companion ata time. If your animal companion is ever slain, the magical bond you share allows you to return it to life. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 25 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth your companion’s spirit and useyour magic to create a new body for it. You can return an animal companion to life in this manner even if you do not possess any part of its body.
If you use this ability to return a former animal companion to life while you have a current animal companion, your current companion leaves youand is replacedby the restored companion.
Companion’s Bond
Your animal companion gains a variety of benefits while it is linked to you. The animal companion loses its multiattack action, it it has one. The companion obeys your commands as best it can. It rolls for initiative like any other creature, but you determine its actions, decisions, attitudes, and so on. If you are incapacitated or absent, your companion acts on its own.
Your animal companionhas abilities andgame statistics determined in part by your level. Your companion uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, an animal companion also adds its proficiency bonus to its AC and to its damage rolls. Your animal companion gains proficiency in two skills of your choice. It also becomes proficient with all saving throws.
For each level you gainafter 2nd, your animal companion gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly. Your animal companion gains proficiency in two skills of your choice. It also becomes proficient with all saving throws. Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your companion’s abilities also improve. Your companion can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your companion can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature unless its description specifies otherwise.
Master of Beasts
Starting at 6th level, you may cast the Druid spells Animal Friendship and Speak With Animals once each as first level spells without expending a spell slot. Additionally, you may cast the Druid spell Animal Messenger once as a second level spell without expending a spell slot. When you cast spells using this ability you do not need to have the spells prepared. Once you cast these spells using this ability, you must finish a long rest before you can do so again.
Share Spells
At 10th level, your bond with your Animal Companion allows you to share your magical power with it. If you are not incapacitated, your Animal Companion can use an action to cast a spell from your spell list that has a range of touch. The spell uses your Attack Bonus and Save DC. Additionally, when your Animal Companion does so, your next attack roll against the creature has advantage, as long as the attack is made before your Animal Companion’s next turn.
Shared Concentration
By 14th level, the bond you share with your Animal Companion allows you to split your mind with it. As a bonus action on your turn, you can shift one concentration spell from yourself to your Companion. As an action, your companion can concentrate on the spell for as long as the duration lasts. While your companion is concentrating on a spell, it may not be moved if the spell is capable of moving. This allows you to cast another concentration spell, and concentrate on it. Once you use this ability, you must take a long rest before you can do so again.
in my group we had a great civil war regarding Animal Companion and the Rager's Beast Master Archetype. After a truce, and a great deal of research and rules cannibalism (sorry), we came up with this:
Find Animal Companion (Druid and Ranger Spell)
3rd-level conjuration
Casting Time: 8 hour Range: 10 feet Components: V, S, M (50 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, consumed by the animal) Duration: Instantaneous
You gain the service of a animal companion, a spirit that takes the physical body of an animal you befriend: choose any beast that is no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of 1 or lower. The animal companion has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a celestial, fey or fiend (your choice) instead of a beast. Additionally, if your animal companion has an Intelligence of 5 or less, its Intelligence becomes 6, and it gains the ability to understand one language of your choice that you speak. Your animal companion acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A animal companion can attack on his own or take other actions as normal. Using a bonus action, you may order your animal companion to act. While within 30 feet of your animal companion, you can make any spell you cast that targets only you also target your animal companion. When the animal companion dies, the spirit leaves the animal companion body, leaving behind the dead beast physical form. While your animal companion is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an action, you can see through your familiar's eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are effectively incapacitated. You can't have more than one animal companion at a time. If you cast this spell while you already have an animal companion, you instead cause it to enter the body of a new beast.
This renders the Beast Master obsolete and gives a Druid a chance to have an animal companion.
The only problem I had with this is the lack of scaling; even at character level 15, your animal companion will still only have about 25 HP. I think the Unearthed Arcana beast master fixed this issue, and I wanted to replicate that with the Druid, for old times sake. Whatever works for your group though. I appreciate the feedback.
I like this subclass as well. Oddly enough when I was looking for just such an option I found this thread and one other that has similar intent and the exact same name. Uncanny :P
I'm letting my player decide which she likes better, but if she chooses this one I'll post any suggestions we come up with.
I really like this Druid circle but it does not talk about the wild shape. I feel like you wildshape ability should be a bonus action when you are in combat.
I really like this Druid circle but it does not talk about the wild shape. I feel like you wildshape ability should be a bonus action when you are in combat.
If I may... I know it could sound a bit rude: I think you had an excellent idea but some of it just didn't bell right to me... Your work was really fantastic and I appreciate you sharing it with the community, but if I may, I was trying to make it feel a little different, to tone it differently a bit.
Just hope it doens't offend anyone and that, maybe, some of you may give some feedbacks. >___< Again, HughGraham, thanks for all the work you did. Hope you would like it!
Druid - Circle of the Beasts v1.1
Animal Companion
At 2nd level, you learn to use your magic to create a powerful bond with a creature of the natural world. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 50 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth an animal from the wilderness to serve as your faithful companion. You normally select you companion from among the following animals: an ape, a black bear, a boar, a giant badger, a giant weasel, a mule, a panther, or a wolf. However, your DM might pick one of these animals for you, based on the surrounding terrain and on what types of creatures would logically be present in the area. At the end of the 8 hours, your animal companion appears and gains all the benefits of your Companion’s Bond ability. You can have only one animal companion at a time. If your animal companion is ever slain, the magical bond you share allows you to return it to life. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 25 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth your companion’s spirit and use your magic to create a new body for it. You can return an animal companion to life in this manner even if you do not possess any part of its body. If you use this ability to return a former animal companion to life while you have a current animal companion, your current companion leaves you and is replaced by the restored companion.
Companion's Bond
Your animal companion gains a variety of benefits while it is linked to you. The animal companion loses its Multiattack action, if it has one. The companion obeys your commands as best it can. It rolls for initiative like any other creature, but you determine its actions, decisions, attitudes, and so on. If you are incapacitated or absent, your companion acts on its own. When using your Wild Shape feature, your animal companion can understand what you say by your speech or movements even if you transformed in a beast of a different nature of your companion. Your animal companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. Your companion uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, an animal companion also adds its proficiency bonus to its AC and to its damage rolls. Your animal companion gains proficiency in two skills of your choice. It also becomes proficient with all saving throws. For each level you gain after 2rd, your animal companion gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly. Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your companion’s abilities also improve. Your companion can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your companion can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature unless its description specifies otherwise. Your companion shares your alignment, and has a personality trait and a flaw that you can roll for or select from the tables of the Companion's Bond feature of the Revised Ranger. Your companion shares your ideal, and its bond is always, “The druid who travels with me is a beloved companion for whom I would gladly give my life.” Your animal companion gains the benefits of your Timeless Body feature, and of your Beast Spells feature when you gain that feature at 18th level.
Two as One
At 6th level, if your animal companion is within 5 feet of you whenever you use your Wild Shape feature, it can transmute in the same beast you are shaping yourself. Rules from the Wild Shape feature apply to you companion with the only difference that it cannot decide to revert to it's normal form on its own, since you're the one mantaining the magic. The duration of the shape acts indipendently on you and your companion, unless you revert to your normal form earlier by using a bonus action on your turn. If you do so, you end both effects at once.
Share Spells
At 10th level, your bond with your animal companion allows you to share your magical power with it. You can cast spells as though you were in your companion's space, but you must use your own senses. Also, if you are not incapacitated, your animal companion can use an action to cast a druid spell from your spell list that doesn't need concentration. The spell uses your spell attack bonus and spell save DC. Additionally, when you cast a druid spell that can only target yourself, you can also grant the same effect to your animal companion if it's within 5 feet of you.
Share Concentration
By 14th level, the bond you share with your animal companion allows you to split your mind with it. As a bonus action on your turn, you can shift one concentration spell from yourself to your companion. You apply the concentration rules to your companion and it can concentrate on the spell for as long as the duration lasts. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Lemme know what you think. Any feedback is appreciated!
I've got a player using this homebrew and she loves it! I was trying to figure out how to create a subclass that would allow me to put her companion on her character sheet (with scalable hp etc like the ranger's drakewarden does) but I haven't figured out how to do that yet....
I thought the Druid should ave an animal companion like in previous editions, so I made the Circle of the Beast. Any feedback is welcome.
Animal Companion
At 2nd level, you learn to use your magic to create a powerful bond with a creature of the natural world. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 50 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth an animal from the wilderness to serve as your faithful companion.You normally select your companion from among the following animals: an ape, a black bear, a boar, a giant badger, a giant weasel, a mule, a panther, or a wolf. However, your DM might pick one of these animals for you, based on the surrounding terrain and on what types of creatures would logically be present in the area.
At the end of the 8 hours, your animal companion appears and gains all the benefits of your Companion’s Bond ability. You can have only one animal companion at a time. If your animal companion is ever slain, the magical bond you share allows you to return it to life. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 25 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth your companion’s spirit and use your magic to create a new body for it. You can return an animal companion to life in this manner even if you do not possess any part of its body.
If you use this ability to return a former animal companion to life while you have a current animal companion, your current companion leaves you and is replaced by the restored companion.
Companion’s Bond
Your animal companion gains a variety of benefits while it is linked to you. The animal companion loses its multiattack action, it it has one. The companion obeys your commands as best it can. It rolls for initiative like any other creature, but you determine its actions, decisions, attitudes, and so on. If you are incapacitated or absent, your companion acts on its own.
Your animal companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. Your companion uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, an animal companion also adds its proficiency bonus to its AC and to its damage rolls. Your animal companion gains proficiency in two skills of your choice. It also becomes proficient with all saving throws.
For each level you gain after 2nd, your animal companion gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly. Your animal companion gains proficiency in two skills of your choice. It also becomes proficient with all saving throws. Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your companion’s abilities also improve. Your companion can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your companion can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature unless its description specifies otherwise.
Master of Beasts
Starting at 6th level, you may cast the Druid spells Animal Friendship and Speak With Animals once each as first level spells without expending a spell slot. Additionally, you may cast the Druid spell Animal Messenger once as a second level spell without expending a spell slot. When you cast spells using this ability you do not need to have the spells prepared. Once you cast these spells using this ability, you must finish a long rest before you can do so again.
Share Spells
At 10th level, your bond with your Animal Companion allows you to share your magical power with it. If you are not incapacitated, your Animal Companion can use an action to cast a spell from your spell list that has a range of touch. The spell uses your Attack Bonus and Save DC. Additionally, when your Animal Companion does so, your next attack roll against the creature has advantage, as long as the attack is made before your Animal Companion’s next turn.
Shared Concentration
By 14th level, the bond you share with your Animal Companion allows you to split your mind with it. As a bonus action on your turn, you can shift one concentration spell from yourself to your Companion. As an action, your companion can concentrate on the spell for as long as the duration lasts. While your companion is concentrating on a spell, it may not be moved if the spell is capable of moving. This allows you to cast another concentration spell, and concentrate on it. Once you use this ability, you must take a long rest before you can do so again.
Mr. Graham,
in my group we had a great civil war regarding Animal Companion and the Rager's Beast Master Archetype. After a truce, and a great deal of research and rules cannibalism (sorry), we came up with this:
Find Animal Companion (Druid and Ranger Spell)
3rd-level conjuration
Casting Time: 8 hour
Range: 10 feet
Components: V, S, M (50 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, consumed by the animal)
Duration: Instantaneous
You gain the service of a animal companion, a spirit that takes the physical body of an animal you befriend: choose any beast that is no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of 1 or lower. The animal companion has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a celestial, fey or fiend (your choice) instead of a beast. Additionally, if your animal companion has an Intelligence of 5 or less, its Intelligence becomes 6, and it gains the ability to understand one language of your choice that you speak.
Your animal companion acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A animal companion can attack on his own or take other actions as normal. Using a bonus action, you may order your animal companion to act. While within 30 feet of your animal companion, you can make any spell you cast that targets only you also target your animal companion.
When the animal companion dies, the spirit leaves the animal companion body, leaving behind the dead beast physical form.
While your animal companion is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an action, you can see through your familiar's eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are effectively incapacitated.
You can't have more than one animal companion at a time. If you cast this spell while you already have an animal companion, you instead cause it to enter the body of a new beast.
This renders the Beast Master obsolete and gives a Druid a chance to have an animal companion.
I hope it helps...
The only problem I had with this is the lack of scaling; even at character level 15, your animal companion will still only have about 25 HP. I think the Unearthed Arcana beast master fixed this issue, and I wanted to replicate that with the Druid, for old times sake. Whatever works for your group though. I appreciate the feedback.
I like this subclass as well. Oddly enough when I was looking for just such an option I found this thread and one other that has similar intent and the exact same name. Uncanny :P
I'm letting my player decide which she likes better, but if she chooses this one I'll post any suggestions we come up with.
I really like this Druid circle but it does not talk about the wild shape. I feel like you wildshape ability should be a bonus action when you are in combat.
Maybe you don't get wildshape...
If I may... I know it could sound a bit rude: I think you had an excellent idea but some of it just didn't bell right to me...
Your work was really fantastic and I appreciate you sharing it with the community, but if I may, I was trying to make it feel a little different, to tone it differently a bit.
Just hope it doens't offend anyone and that, maybe, some of you may give some feedbacks. >___<
Again, HughGraham, thanks for all the work you did. Hope you would like it!
Druid - Circle of the Beasts v1.1
Animal Companion
At 2nd level, you learn to use your magic to create a powerful bond with a creature of the natural world.
With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 50 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth an animal from the wilderness to serve as your faithful companion. You normally select you companion from among the following animals: an ape, a black bear, a boar, a giant badger, a giant weasel, a mule, a panther, or a wolf. However, your DM might pick one of these animals for you, based on the surrounding terrain and on what types of creatures would logically be present in the area.
At the end of the 8 hours, your animal companion appears and gains all the benefits of your Companion’s Bond ability. You can have only one animal companion at a time.
If your animal companion is ever slain, the magical bond you share allows you to return it to life. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 25 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth your companion’s spirit and use your magic to create a new body for it. You can return an animal companion to life in this manner even if you do not possess any part of its body.
If you use this ability to return a former animal companion to life while you have a current animal companion, your current companion leaves you and is replaced by the restored companion.
Companion's Bond
Your animal companion gains a variety of benefits while it is linked to you.
The animal companion loses its Multiattack action, if it has one.
The companion obeys your commands as best it can. It rolls for initiative like any other creature, but you determine its actions, decisions, attitudes, and so on. If you are incapacitated or absent, your companion acts on its own.
When using your Wild Shape feature, your animal companion can understand what you say by your speech or movements even if you transformed in a beast of a different nature of your companion.
Your animal companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. Your companion uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, an animal companion also adds its proficiency bonus to its AC and to its damage rolls.
Your animal companion gains proficiency in two skills of your choice. It also becomes proficient with all saving throws.
For each level you gain after 2rd, your animal companion gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly.
Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your companion’s abilities also improve. Your companion can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your companion can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature unless its description specifies otherwise.
Your companion shares your alignment, and has a personality trait and a flaw that you can roll for or select from the tables of the Companion's Bond feature of the Revised Ranger. Your companion shares your ideal, and its bond is always, “The druid who travels with me is a beloved companion for whom I would gladly give my life.”
Your animal companion gains the benefits of your Timeless Body feature, and of your Beast Spells feature when you gain that feature at 18th level.
Two as One
At 6th level, if your animal companion is within 5 feet of you whenever you use your Wild Shape feature, it can transmute in the same beast you are shaping yourself. Rules from the Wild Shape feature apply to you companion with the only difference that it cannot decide to revert to it's normal form on its own, since you're the one mantaining the magic. The duration of the shape acts indipendently on you and your companion, unless you revert to your normal form earlier by using a bonus action on your turn. If you do so, you end both effects at once.
Share Spells
At 10th level, your bond with your animal companion allows you to share your magical power with it. You can cast spells as though you were in your companion's space, but you must use your own senses. Also, if you are not incapacitated, your animal companion can use an action to cast a druid spell from your spell list that doesn't need concentration. The spell uses your spell attack bonus and spell save DC.
Additionally, when you cast a druid spell that can only target yourself, you can also grant the same effect to your animal companion if it's within 5 feet of you.
Share Concentration
By 14th level, the bond you share with your animal companion allows you to split your mind with it. As a bonus action on your turn, you can shift one concentration spell from yourself to your companion. You apply the concentration rules to your companion and it can concentrate on the spell for as long as the duration lasts.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Lemme know what you think. Any feedback is appreciated!
I've got a player using this homebrew and she loves it! I was trying to figure out how to create a subclass that would allow me to put her companion on her character sheet (with scalable hp etc like the ranger's drakewarden does) but I haven't figured out how to do that yet....
Love this. Was just looking for such a rule. Thanks for sharing.