Beast Rider

Rangers and their animal companions often have special bonds that they form. Failure to do so can cause a dissonance with you and your animal friend. Rangers of the Beast Rider archetype often mock the Beast Masters that don't know how to control the strongest of beasts. Beast Riders terrify many when seen charging into battle with their exotic mounts and battle companions.

Level 3: Ranger's Companion

At 3rd level, you gain a beast companion that accompanies you on your adventures and is trained to fight alongside you. Choose a beast that is no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower. Add your proficiency bonus to the beast’s AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals its normal maximum or four times your ranger level, whichever is higher. The beast obeys your commands as best as it can. It can either take its own turn in initiative, or act on your turn. It tries to follow any command you give it or it acts on its own. On your turn, you can verbally command the beast where to move, take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action. While traveling through your favored terrain with only the beast, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.
If the beast dies, you can obtain another one by spending 8 hours magically bonding with another beast that isn’t hostile to you, either the same type of beast as before or a different one.

You can also choose one of the **Primal Companions** in the revised 2024 ranger options.

You magically summon a primal beast, which draws strength from your bond with nature. Choose its stat block: Beast of the Land, Beast of the Sea, or Beast of the Sky. You also determine the kind of animal it is, choosing a kind appropriate for the stat block. Whatever beast you choose, it bears primal markings indicating its supernatural origin.

The beast is Friendly to you and your allies and obeys your commands. It vanishes if you die.

The Beast in Combat. In combat, It tries to follow any command you give it or it acts on its own. On your turn, you can verbally command the beast where to move, take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action. While traveling through your favored terrain with only the beast, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.. If you have the Incapacitated condition, the beast acts on its own.

Restoring or Replacing the Beast. If the beast has died within the last hour, you can take a Magic action to touch it and expend a spell slot. The beast returns to life after 1 minute with all its Hit Points restored.

Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can summon a different primal beast, which appears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you. You choose its stat block and appearance. If you already have a beast from this feature, the old one vanishes when the new one appears.

Beast of 1/4 CR or lower

Choose any beast with CR 1/4 or lower.

Beast of the Land

Beast of the Sea

Beast of the Sky

Level 7: Saddling Beasts

Beginning at 7th level, you can ride your beast into battle, and both you and the beast gain a bonus while doing so. If your animal companion is willing and able to carry you, you can use it as a mount in battle. While you are doing this, it shares an initiative count with you. While you are riding your animal companion, you and your mount gain advantage on any [saving throw]Dexterity[/saving throw] or [saving throw]Wisdom[/saving throw] saving throws, and your mount isn't affected by difficult terrain.

You can Mount and Unmount as a [Tooltip Not Found] in combat.

Level 11: Master Tamer

Starting at 11th level, you can tame and calm almost any creature easier. This allows you to befriend more complicated monsters. You now ignore the challenge rating of beasts when choosing an animal companion, and can calm any creature to not be hostile to you.

Calming a hostile creature requires constant effort. You can roll an animal handling check to attempt to portray yourself as a non-hostile to it. You have to beat a Calming DC, which is 10 + the creature's wisdom modifier + the creature's proficiency bonus. You can only do 1 check at a time in combat, which takes your action on your turn, and it requires 3 successful rolls for the creature to become non hostile towards you. If you attack the creature, it can become hostile to you again and any successful rolls you made to attempt to calm it get reset.

Level 15: Monster Tamer

Beginning at 15th level, any creature you calm can become your animal companion, not being limited to just Beasts any more. Also, bonding with an animal companion takes less effort. Whenever you calm a monster and get it to where it isn't hostile to you, you can spend time bonding with it to replace your previous animal companion. Also, now when you spend time bonding with something to make it an animal companion, it only takes 2 hours instead of 8 hours.