We have a Beast Master in our current game and have been sadly unhappy with how it's been playing. I'm sure everyone has seen this topic a billion times, so my apologies in advance if it's annoying. But I thought I would throw this homebrew up and get some feedback on what yall think about it.
*This is a Homebrew that's intended for Ranger Beast Master of the Player's Handbook rules as written. Redesign by Tofu_llama*
Spirit Guide
The Spirit Guide archetype embodies a connection between the civilized races and the spirits of the wild. United in focus, spirit and ranger fight the monsters that threaten civilization and wilderness alike. It is the harmony of the pairing that guides the Ranger in their adventures.
Spiritual Familiar
At 3rd level, you gain a Fey Spirit of the Wild that bonds to you. It takes the form of a beast. Whether it materializes in front of you or is a beast you discover that develops a connection with you, the way it happens is between the player and DM. The spirit manifests itself through the beast.
Choose a beast that is no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower (appendix D presents statistics for the hawk, mastiff, and panther as examples). Not only is it a Beast type, but also Fey. Either a Fey Spirit manifests itself into a Beast or the Beast is imbued with the Fey Spirit. Either way, it's considered both. Similar to the spell Find Familiar.
It's AC is (8+ your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom Modifier while it's not wearing Barding). If you decide to outfit your Familiar with Barding, replace the Dex Modifier Bonuses with your Wisdom Modifier. If the Barding is magical and requires attunement, it goes off the total attuned items the ranger is allowed to have. This replaces the Beast's AC.
It's Attack Rolls are considered weapon attacks. Normally melee unless it has a natural ranged weapon. Claws would be slashing, Biting is piercing. Any other form of attack, use your best estimate with DM approval. Its attack rolls are calculated by using your Wisdom Modifier + your proficiency Bonus. This replaces any way the Beast calculated it's attacks.
It's damage rolls at 3rd level are 1D4 + your Wisdom Modifier. At 5th level the damage dice becomes a D6, at 11th level a D8, and at 17th level it finishes at a D10.
Any Saving Throws it's Proficient in adds your proficiency bonus. If it is not proficient in any saving throws, it becomes proficient in it's two highest Ability Scores as saving throws and then adds your proficiency bonus to them.
Skills it is proficient in get your proficiency bonus added to them. If it only has one proficient skill, choose a second that makes sense to the beast for it to be proficient in and then add your proficiency bonus to it. If it has none, choose two. All at DM approval.
Its hit point maximum starting at 3rd level is 6 + 1D6(or 4) + 1D6(or 4) + your Wisdom Modifier 3 times. For example, if you have a plus 2 Modifier, then you would add 6 to the health. Not multiply the total by 3. Every level there after roll 1D6 (or take 4) plus your Wisdom Modifier and add that to it's hit point maximum. If your Wisdom Modifier ever increases, it works retroactively towards your Familiar's Health similar to how your own works. It's considered to be the same level as your levels in Ranger. It has D6 hit dice equal to it's level for spending Hit Dice on a Short Rest to regain hit points.
Any DC saves the Spiritual Familiar can inflict, it is calculated at your spell save DC for your Ranger Class. (8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom Modifier)
The beast obeys your commands as if you were one mind. The connection between Ranger and Spirit allows for a supernatural understanding in the heat of battle. It takes its turn on your initiative. On your turn, you can verbally command the beast where to move as long as it can hear you. If it can see you, you may use body language. No action is required for movement. You can use your bonus action to command (vocal or body language like movement with same rules) the Familiar to take an action under your control. If it takes the attack action, it can only make one attack regardless of how many attacks it's stat block states it has. If you don't issue a command, and the beast is within 5 feet of you, it readies an attack action that triggers on the first creature to attack you. If the beast is not within 5 feet of you but can see you, it takes the dodge action. Otherwise it acts independently under DM control, no Bonus Action Required.
If you are incapacitated or the beast is, you both will know through the connection you share as long as you share the same plane of existence. The beast acts on its own if you are incapacitated, focusing on protecting you and itself. It will either come find you if it is not present or find help if it can. You both know the other's location at all times as long as you share the same plane of existence. The beast never requires your command to use its reaction, such as when making an opportunity attack.
While traveling through your favored terrain with only the beast, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.
If your Spiritual Familiar is brought to 0 and is not killed outright, it makes death saving throws as normal. If your familiar dies, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form. The Fey Spirit carries the essence of the beast back to the Ranger no matter where they may be and merges with their essence as if it were a pocket dimension. If the Ranger dies while the Familiar is in this state, so too does the Fey Spirit and the essence of the beast die. If the Ranger dies and the Familiar is not in this state, the Fey Spirit of the Wild and the Beast that it inhabits or materializes itself as, returns to the wilderness.
If both Ranger and Spiritual Familiar are dead and the Ranger is brought back to life, the Ranger must either have the Familiar resurrected or choose a new one. Rules for resurrection spells apply to the Familiar. For example, if a spell requires the body or parts of it, you cannot resurrect your Familiar. It's body disappears when it dies as stated above.
When your Spiritual Familiar dies and you don't, you can perform an hour long ritual to bring it back. This can be done as a Short Rest. It comes back with 1 hit point. It reappears within 5 feet of you taking it's original form.
Exceptional Bond
Beginning at 7th level, on your turn, you can use an action to expend one spell slot to heal your Spiritual Familiar if it is within 30 feet of you. It's 1d8 + your Wisdom Modifier per level of the spell slot expended. For example, a 2nd level spell slot would be 2D8 + your Wisdom Modifier. It regains the total in hit points.
In addition, the beast's attacks now count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Bestial Fury
Starting at 11th level, when you command your beast companion to take the Attack action , the beast can make two attacks, or it can take the Multiattack action if it has that action.
Share Spells
Beginning at 15th level, when you cast a spell targeting yourself, you can also affect your beast companion with the spell if the beast is within 30 feet of you.
Instead of a monster block of text citing the dozen different ways you're modifying the base critter's stat block, just invent a stat block the same way Wizards did for the Iron Defender and Alchemical Homunculus in the artificer class. I can see you mimicking the artificer critter rules in this subclass, which is great - the Battlesmith is sorta what the Beastmaster should have been - but you've got these crazy formulas for altering a normal beast's stats in a dozen different ways to try and keep it competitive.
Why? Just create a generic template and then, if you like, have a couple of modifiers for different broad types of beast form your spirit companion can take. That will simplify things immensely.
One of the things Jeremy Crawford himself has stated concerning the artificer test build is that because Wizards knew exactly what the companion critter the artificer had was going to be (because it had the same stat block no matter what it looked like), they could more freely tune the subclass to make the critter competitive and useful without having to account for every possible beast that could ever exist as a ranger's companion. If I were you, I'd worry less about making the straight Beastmaster work and lean into this fey spirit companion angle, instead. perhaps a'la the following (broad strokes ideas).
3rd: You learn an ancient ritual which summons a fey spirit to aid you, in the form of a mystical beast. The spirit can take the shape of any beast of size Medium or smaller, but it uses the Spirit Companion stat block. Your spirit companion takes its turn immediately after yours, using your bonus action to do cool Spirit Companion stuff or just Dodging otherwise. When an enemy attacks you, your spirit companion can immediately use its reaction to attack that enemy if it's within five feet of the attacker.
7th: "Mercurial Companion" Choose a season: Spring (acid), Summer (fire), Fall (lightning) or Winter (cold). Your spirit companion's appearance takes on elements related to the chosen season. Your spirit companion's attacks deal an extra 1d4 damage of the element associated with their season. The companion's attacks are now magical. Your spirit companion can teleport up to 30 feet, dealing 2d6 damage of the element associated with its season to any creature within five feet of where it reappears and immediately making an attack against one such creature. You may change the season your companion is attuned to upon finishing a long rest.
11th: "Relentless Companion" Your companion may attack twice, instead of once, when it uses the Attack action on your command. Your companion has advantage on attacks made against a creature you damaged on your own turn, or against a target affected by your Hunter's Mark spell.
15th: "Dire Companion" You may use an action on your turn to cause your spirit companion to grow as per the Enlarge spell, becoming Large in size. While enlarged, your companion gains temporary HP equivalent to its normal HP maximum, its Mercurial Companion bonus damage becomes 2d4 rather than 1d4, and it is wreathed in an aura corresponding to its season. While within ten feet of your enlarged companion, your attacks deal 2d4 additional damage of the companion's season element. In addition, both your companion and any friendly creatures within ten feet of it have resistance to damage of the type associated with its season. Once you have used this ability, you cannot use it again until you complete a long rest.
In addition, when you cast a spell targeting only yourself, you can also target your spirit companion with it if the companion is within thirty feet of you.
We have a Beast Master in our current game and have been sadly unhappy with how it's been playing. I'm sure everyone has seen this topic a billion times, so my apologies in advance if it's annoying. But I thought I would throw this homebrew up and get some feedback on what yall think about it.
*This is a Homebrew that's intended for Ranger Beast Master of the Player's Handbook rules as written. Redesign by Tofu_llama*
Spirit Guide
The Spirit Guide archetype embodies a connection between the civilized races and the spirits of the wild. United in focus, spirit and ranger fight the monsters that threaten civilization and wilderness alike. It is the harmony of the pairing that guides the Ranger in their adventures.
Spiritual Familiar
At 3rd level, you gain a Fey Spirit of the Wild that bonds to you. It takes the form of a beast. Whether it materializes in front of you or is a beast you discover that develops a connection with you, the way it happens is between the player and DM. The spirit manifests itself through the beast.
Choose a beast that is no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower (appendix D presents statistics for the hawk, mastiff, and panther as examples). Not only is it a Beast type, but also Fey. Either a Fey Spirit manifests itself into a Beast or the Beast is imbued with the Fey Spirit. Either way, it's considered both. Similar to the spell Find Familiar.
The beast obeys your commands as if you were one mind. The connection between Ranger and Spirit allows for a supernatural understanding in the heat of battle. It takes its turn on your initiative. On your turn, you can verbally command the beast where to move as long as it can hear you. If it can see you, you may use body language. No action is required for movement. You can use your bonus action to command (vocal or body language like movement with same rules) the Familiar to take an action under your control. If it takes the attack action, it can only make one attack regardless of how many attacks it's stat block states it has. If you don't issue a command, and the beast is within 5 feet of you, it readies an attack action that triggers on the first creature to attack you. If the beast is not within 5 feet of you but can see you, it takes the dodge action. Otherwise it acts independently under DM control, no Bonus Action Required.
If you are incapacitated or the beast is, you both will know through the connection you share as long as you share the same plane of existence. The beast acts on its own if you are incapacitated, focusing on protecting you and itself. It will either come find you if it is not present or find help if it can. You both know the other's location at all times as long as you share the same plane of existence. The beast never requires your command to use its reaction, such as when making an opportunity attack.
While traveling through your favored terrain with only the beast, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.
If your Spiritual Familiar is brought to 0 and is not killed outright, it makes death saving throws as normal. If your familiar dies, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form. The Fey Spirit carries the essence of the beast back to the Ranger no matter where they may be and merges with their essence as if it were a pocket dimension. If the Ranger dies while the Familiar is in this state, so too does the Fey Spirit and the essence of the beast die. If the Ranger dies and the Familiar is not in this state, the Fey Spirit of the Wild and the Beast that it inhabits or materializes itself as, returns to the wilderness.
If both Ranger and Spiritual Familiar are dead and the Ranger is brought back to life, the Ranger must either have the Familiar resurrected or choose a new one. Rules for resurrection spells apply to the Familiar. For example, if a spell requires the body or parts of it, you cannot resurrect your Familiar. It's body disappears when it dies as stated above.
When your Spiritual Familiar dies and you don't, you can perform an hour long ritual to bring it back. This can be done as a Short Rest. It comes back with 1 hit point. It reappears within 5 feet of you taking it's original form.
Exceptional Bond
Beginning at 7th level, on your turn, you can use an action to expend one spell slot to heal your Spiritual Familiar if it is within 30 feet of you. It's 1d8 + your Wisdom Modifier per level of the spell slot expended. For example, a 2nd level spell slot would be 2D8 + your Wisdom Modifier. It regains the total in hit points.
In addition, the beast's attacks now count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Bestial Fury
Starting at 11th level, when you command your beast companion to take the Attack action , the beast can make two attacks, or it can take the Multiattack action if it has that action.
Share Spells
Beginning at 15th level, when you cast a spell targeting yourself, you can also affect your beast companion with the spell if the beast is within 30 feet of you.
Interesting idea. Waayyy too complicated.
Instead of a monster block of text citing the dozen different ways you're modifying the base critter's stat block, just invent a stat block the same way Wizards did for the Iron Defender and Alchemical Homunculus in the artificer class. I can see you mimicking the artificer critter rules in this subclass, which is great - the Battlesmith is sorta what the Beastmaster should have been - but you've got these crazy formulas for altering a normal beast's stats in a dozen different ways to try and keep it competitive.
Why? Just create a generic template and then, if you like, have a couple of modifiers for different broad types of beast form your spirit companion can take. That will simplify things immensely.
One of the things Jeremy Crawford himself has stated concerning the artificer test build is that because Wizards knew exactly what the companion critter the artificer had was going to be (because it had the same stat block no matter what it looked like), they could more freely tune the subclass to make the critter competitive and useful without having to account for every possible beast that could ever exist as a ranger's companion. If I were you, I'd worry less about making the straight Beastmaster work and lean into this fey spirit companion angle, instead. perhaps a'la the following (broad strokes ideas).
3rd: You learn an ancient ritual which summons a fey spirit to aid you, in the form of a mystical beast. The spirit can take the shape of any beast of size Medium or smaller, but it uses the Spirit Companion stat block. Your spirit companion takes its turn immediately after yours, using your bonus action to do cool Spirit Companion stuff or just Dodging otherwise. When an enemy attacks you, your spirit companion can immediately use its reaction to attack that enemy if it's within five feet of the attacker.
7th: "Mercurial Companion"
Choose a season: Spring (acid), Summer (fire), Fall (lightning) or Winter (cold). Your spirit companion's appearance takes on elements related to the chosen season. Your spirit companion's attacks deal an extra 1d4 damage of the element associated with their season. The companion's attacks are now magical. Your spirit companion can teleport up to 30 feet, dealing 2d6 damage of the element associated with its season to any creature within five feet of where it reappears and immediately making an attack against one such creature. You may change the season your companion is attuned to upon finishing a long rest.
11th: "Relentless Companion"
Your companion may attack twice, instead of once, when it uses the Attack action on your command. Your companion has advantage on attacks made against a creature you damaged on your own turn, or against a target affected by your Hunter's Mark spell.
15th: "Dire Companion"
You may use an action on your turn to cause your spirit companion to grow as per the Enlarge spell, becoming Large in size. While enlarged, your companion gains temporary HP equivalent to its normal HP maximum, its Mercurial Companion bonus damage becomes 2d4 rather than 1d4, and it is wreathed in an aura corresponding to its season. While within ten feet of your enlarged companion, your attacks deal 2d4 additional damage of the companion's season element. In addition, both your companion and any friendly creatures within ten feet of it have resistance to damage of the type associated with its season. Once you have used this ability, you cannot use it again until you complete a long rest.
In addition, when you cast a spell targeting only yourself, you can also target your spirit companion with it if the companion is within thirty feet of you.
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Oooooh yes! I love it, thank you for the response.