Beast Friend

You summon a Beast of a type you choose, causing it to appear in an unoccupied adjacent space. The beast must be of size Large or smaller, have an Intelligence of 3 or less, and have a Challenge Rating no greater than 1/4. A list of common options is provided below.

The creature that appears is a real, living being that chooses to accept your summon. If a summon is denied, you are informed why and the spent spell slot is refunded. You may only have one summoned beast friend at a time, and each type of beast can only be summoned once every 8 hours.

Communication. You and the summoned beast can communicate verbally, as if you were under the effects of the spell Speak with Animals. The quality of communication depends on the beast's intellect. You can use social skills when interacting with it, and you are able to understand its social cues.

Disposition. Each time you summon a particular type of beast it is the same individual. Initially that individual is friendly to you, and you have advantage on social skills when interacting with it. After the first summoning, its behavior depends on how it has been treated. If the beast ever becomes truly hostile to you, the spell ends and that type of beast will not answer future summons.

Behavior. The beast acts according to its nature. It rolls its own initiative and takes its own turns. It is an ally but it does not have to follow orders. The summoned beast will typically avoid dangerous situations, but will attack if enraged or cornered.

Disappearance. The creature disappears and returns to its native realm when the spell ends. Either you or the creature can end the spell at will, requiring no action. If the creature would die, the spell ends and the creature returns home to heal.

If you cast this spell while you already have an active beast friend, it summons the existing creature from wherever it happens to be. This does not extend the spell's duration.

Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. Every spell level past 2nd increases the Challenge Rating of the creature you can summon. The maximum CR is 1/2 for 3rd level, CR 1 for 4th level, CR 2 for 5th level, CR 3 for 6th level, CR 4 for 7th level, CR 6 for 8th level, and CR 8 for 9th level. Using a spell slot of at least 6th level allows any size of Beast and removes the Intelligence limit.

Common Qualifying Beasts

CR 0. Frog, Sea Horse, Badger, Bat, Cat, Crab, Deer, Eagle, Giant Fire Beetle, Goat, Hawk, Hyena, Jackal, Lizard, Octopus, Owl, Quipper, Rat, Raven, Scorpion, Spider, Vulture, Weasel

CR 1/8. Blood Hawk, Camel, Flying Snake, Giant Crab, Giant Rat, Mastiff, Mule, Poisonous Snake, Pony, Stirge

CR 1/4. Axe Beak, Boar, Constrictor Snake, Dimetrodon, Draft Horse, Elk, Giant Badger, Giant Bat, Giant Centipede, Giant Frog, Giant Lizard, Giant Poisonous Snake, Giant Wolf Spider, Hadrosaurus, Ox, Panther, Riding Horse, Wolf

CR 1/2. Black Bear, Crocodile, Giant Goat, Giant Sea Horse, Giant Wasp, Reef Shark, Warhorse

CR 1. Brown Bear, Deinonychus, Dire Wolf, Giant Hyena, Giant Spider, Giant Toad, Lion, Tiger

CR 2. Aurochs, Giant Boar, Hunter Shark, Plesiosaurus, Polar Bear, Rhinoceros, Saber-toothed Tiger

Note: Bigger and smarter creatures become available at spell level 6+. Only higher CRs are presented after this, but a few additional options are also available at lower CRs.

CR 3. Ankylosaurus, Giant Scorpion, Killer Whale

CR 4. Archelon, Elephant, Hippopotamus, Stegosaurus

CR 5-6. Brontosaurus, Giant Crocodile, Giant Shark, Mammoth, Triceratops

CR 7-8. Giant Ape, Sperm Whale, Tyrannosaurus Rex