Canine Warrior

In the deepest corners of the wilderness, where the spirits of the wild roam free, a special connection between certain rangers and their canine companions transcends mere companionship. These individuals, known as Canine Warriors, have honed their instincts and forged a spiritual bond with the wolves and other canine creatures that roam their ancestral lands. Drawing upon the primal energy of the pack, they harness wolf-like abilities to become formidable hunters and defenders. Canine Warriors are often members of tribal societies or have ancestral ties to ancient clans deeply rooted in the wild, seen as the protectors of their people, entrusted with the sacred task of defending their homeland from threats both natural and supernatural.

This subclass is a rework of nachomagic's wolf pack hunter subclass.

Claws

Starting at 3rd level, your connection with the primal spirit of the wolf enhances your melee attacks. You can now summon translucent canine-like claws at will to make melee attacks with instead of traditional weapons. When you make an attack with your claws, you roll a d6 for damage, and you add your Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls.

At 7th level, your connection with the wolf's power grows stronger. Your claws' damage increases to a d10.

Finally, at 15th level, your claws become imbued with a magical essence. Your claw attacks are now considered magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks.

Primal Partner

You gain the service of a familiar, a wolf or other similarly sized and shaped beast. Whatever creature you pick it uses the Dire Wolf statblock (see below). Your familiar acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. 

You can use an action to summon your familiar. It appears within 30 feet of you and follows your verbal commands. If you fall unconscious or are unable to command it, the familiar will defend itself and those it considers allies. If your Dire Wolf is reduced to 0 hit points, it disappears, and you can't summon it again until you finish a short or long rest.

When the familiar drops to 0 hit points, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form. While your familiar 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 deaf and blind with regard to your own senses.

As an action, you can temporarily dismiss your familiar. It disappears into a pocket dimension where it awaits your summons. As an action while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 30 feet of you.

Additionally, when you reach 15th level if you manage to deal 20 damage or more when taking the attack action, your familiar can take the attack action for free as part of your attack action.
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DIRE WOLF

Large beast, unaligned

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)

Hit Points 37 

Speed 50 ft.

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +4

Senses passive Perception 13

Languages —

Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Keen Hearing and Smell. The wolf has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Pack Tactics. The wolf has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the wolf’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Forceful Strikes

Starting at 11th level, you've learned to infuse your attacks with primal energy, tapping into the very essence of the wolf spirits that guide you. As an action, when you make a melee attack with your claws or any weapon, you can expend a ranger spell slot to empower your strikes with forceful energy. The damage dealt by this attack is augmented by additional force damage equal to the level of the spell slot you expended + {{proficiency#unsigned}} (your proficiency bonus). This force damage lasts until the start of your next turn.

Additionally, your Dire Wolf companion benefits from this empowered attack, adding the same amount of force damage to its bite attack when it makes an attack on the same turn.

Aspect of the Canine Warrior

At 15th level, you reach the pinnacle of your Canine Warrior abilities, embodying the dual aspects of offense and defense. You can choose one of the following options:

Ferocious Assault

You embrace your wolf-like ferocity and become an unstoppable force in combat. When you take this aspect, you gain the following benefits:

• Rapid Strikes: Your claw attacks now strike with blinding speed. You can make one additional claw attack as a bonus action when you take the attack action.

• Predator's Mark: Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack, you can mark that target as your prey. You deal an additional 1d6 damage on all subsequent attacks against that creature until the end of your next turn.

• Alpha's Fury: You can channel your primal rage into a devastating attack. Once per short rest, whenever you hit with an attack you can choose to double the damage dealt.

Resilient Ward

You prioritize defense and survival, drawing upon the protective instincts of the wolf. When you take this aspect, you gain the following benefits:

• Guardian's Presence: Your presence on the battlefield becomes imposing and protective. You gain a permanent +1 bonus to your Armor Class.

• Pack Shield: As a reaction when an ally within 30 feet of you takes damage, you can absorb a portion of that damage. You take half of the damage, and the ally takes the other half, both round down.

• Alpha's Vigor: You can tap into your inner strength to heal your wounds. Once per long rest, you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to your ranger level plus your Wisdom modifier.