"If not friend, why friend shaped?" This is the rallying cry of the internet age when faced with some of the most fearsome and yet cuddly-looking creatures in existence. As true as this is for real-life animals like lions, tigers, and bears (oh my), it is even more true of the fantastical creatures one might encounter in a D&D campaign. After all, we’re here to play. Why can’t we play with the owlbear? We want to play with the owlbear.

Well, I have good news for you. With the companion creature rules included in MCDM's Flee, Mortals!, which has recently been added to D&D Beyond, you can play with the owlbear, and fight alongside it, too.

• What Are Companion Creatures?
• Types of Companions

What Are Companion Creatures?

The companion rules are a set of new mechanics and stat blocks presented in Flee, Mortals! to represent wild creatures that have allied themselves with an adventuring party. Companions are an optional addition to the standard D&D rules that can add a fun dynamic to your games.

What Companions Aren’t

Before we talk about some of the features of a companion, let’s talk quickly about what a companion isn’t:

• A New Playable Species. Companions are designed to be NPC allies for the party, not player characters.
• A Player Class/Subclass. Companions can be allies to parties of any class makeup. They’re also not replacements for Beast Master Rangers or any other subclass that has an animal companion component.
• Immortal Pets. Companions are mortal creatures who have a finite pool of Hit Points just like the player characters. They do get to make Death saving throws, though.
• Mindless Thralls. Companions work with the party as allies at the DM’s discretion. A companion creature that is mistreated or neglected is under no obligation to remain allied with a group.

Caregiver

In order to provide balance and prevent bogging down speed of play, each party is limited to a single companion creature. Typically a single player character is designated as the caregiver for the creature, a role that can be handed off and shared with other members of the party after a Short or Long Rest. Think of it like trading off walkies duties for your dog. Or in game terms, passing around a volatile magical item between party members.

Companions in Battle

Rather than roll their own Initiative, companions move on their caregiver’s turns. As a default, they can only use the Dodge, Dash, or Disengage actions. The caregiver can use a Bonus Action on their turn to direct the companion to take a different action, including making an attack. Each companion stat block has a melee attack designated as a signature attack, which serves as their primary attack option.

The companion rules and stat blocks are designed with player characters in mind. DMs crafting NPCs with accompanying creatures should use the standard monster stat blocks for those creatures.

Ferocity

Companion creatures are not domesticated pets. They’re more willing to socialize and partner with the players’ party, but they’re still wild animals and monsters. To reflect the idea of a monster getting more and more riled up in the heat of battle, each companion has a stat called ferocity. This is a pool of points that grows at the start of each of the companion’s turns by a rate of 1d4 + the number of enemies within 5 feet of the companion. There is no limit to how much ferocity a companion creature can gain during combat, but there are definitely consequences for having too many.

Consequences, You Say?

Remember how I said these are wild creatures? That means they can easily lose themselves as a battle rages. Once a companion’s ferocity reaches 10 points or more, the caregiver must make a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check as a free action to see if they can keep their companion in check. The DC for this is 5 + the companion’s ferocity. If the caregiver fails this check, can't make it due to being Incapacitated, or if the companion can’t see or hear them, the companion enters a rampage.

When rampaging, the companion moves up to their full speed toward the nearest creature—enemy or ally—and attacks them with their signature attack. The caregiver has only the most minor control over a rampaging companion: If enemies and allies are equidistant to the companion, the caregiver’s player rolls a die to determine if the companion attacks an enemy on an even roll or an ally on an odd roll. If two enemies or allies are equidistant, then the caregiver’s player can choose which creature the companion attacks, including their own.

So How Do You Get Rid of Ferocity?

There are three ways to reduce a companion’s ferocity. First, each companion stat block includes a list of special moves with a ferocity cost. For example, a mimic companion can spend 5 ferocity to latch onto each creature within 5 feet of them using their pseudopods, forcing the creatures to pass a Dexterity check or be Grappled by the mimic. Ferocity moves always take an action and can’t be used as a Reaction or while a creature is rampaging.

After a companion has rampaged and makes their signature attack on the nearest creature, their ferocity drops to 0 at the end of their turn, depleting their pool and ending their Rampage. Finally, if combat ends, the companion’s ferocity is converted into Hit Points regained by the companion.

Essentially, allowing your companion to accrue ferocity is a gamble. Let it get high enough, and you can access some powerful attacks and moves. But if you’re not careful, you risk the creature lashing out at your party or, at the very least, losing its accumulated ferocity.

Companion Stats

Each creature with a companion stat block has its own stats fitting to its creature type, but your companion creature also gains a Proficiency Bonus and a Hit Dice pool equal to their current caregiver. All companions use a d8 for their Hit Dice.

Can I Ride My Companion?

If your companion is of a big enough size to bear the weight, they can be used as a mount. Very little changes about the mechanics of a companion being ridden, except if they rampage, their rider still counts as a creature within 5 feet of them and can be attacked, but at Disadvantage.

Types of Companions

Flee, Mortals! contains companion stat blocks for 31 different creatures. Here are a few of our personal favorites from known D&D monsters and a sampling of their companion abilities to give you an idea of the variety of creatures at your disposal.

Owlbear

The owlbear companion’s signature attack is a Claw attack, unsurprisingly. But with 5 ferocity, an owlbear can leap up to half its speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks, and any creature within 5 feet of where it lands must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be knocked Prone. Plus, once per Long Rest, the owlbear can use a Bonus Action called Give a Hoot that grants its caregiver Temporary Hit Points.

Shambling Mound

The shambling mound companion has a Vine Lash attack for its signature attack. With 8 ferocity, the mound can attempt to pull a Large or smaller creature into its body, causing it to take Poison damage and be Restrained if the mound succeeds. The mound can also disguise itself as an ordinary plant, allowing its caregiver to Hide within it.

Gibbering Mouther

The gibbering mouther companion delivers Psychic damage with its Reality Rend signature attack. With its natural Viscous Vicinity feature, it turns the area within 10 feet of it into Difficult Terrain, and with various levels of ferocity at its disposal, the gibbering mouther can pull targets toward itself or grant extra movement to allies.

Looking for Companions

This is a pretty broad overview of the new companion rules included in Flee, Mortals!, but this system and the stat blocks included for the creatures do a lot to play up the ways these different monsters and beasts would adapt to working alongside the party. It also drives home the precarious nature of such an alliance. What creature would you want to have as a companion?

Riley Silverman (@rileyjsilverman) is a contributing writer to D&D Beyond, Nerdist, and SYFY Wire. She DMs the Theros-set Dice Ex Machina for the Saving Throw Show, and has been a player on the Wizards of the Coast-sponsored The Broken Pact. Riley also played as Braga in the official tabletop adaptation of the Rat Queens comic for HyperRPG, and currently plays as The Doctor on the Doctor Who RPG podcast The Game of Rassilon. She currently lives in Los Angeles.