Beast Buddy

Rangers of this tradition bond themselves to a beast and work in tandem with them. Through this bond, a ranger can train their beast to preform complex feats, and as their experience together grows they can utilize a form of spiritual magic to enhance their dynamic.

Animal 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 Large and that has a challenge rating of 1/2 or lower (appendix D presents statistics for the hawk, mastiff, and panther as examples). Add your proficiency bonus to the beast’s attack rolls, damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals its normal maximum or five times your ranger level plus its Constitution modifier, whichever is higher. If the beast has Multiattack, it looses this feature as it exchanges some of its animistic fury for superior training.

The beast takes its turn directly after your initiative, and obeys your commands as best as it can. You can use your bonus action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action. If it is given no instructions, the beast will instinctively take the Dodge action if it is engaged with a foe, or Disengage action if threatened by an area of effect damage. You can verbally command the beast where to move and when to take reactions (no action required by you).

While traveling through your favored terrain with only the beast, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.

If your 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.

Trained Maneuvers

At 3rd level, you have developed different maneuvers to give you both an edge in combat. Choose to learn two of the Trained Maneuvers below that your beast fits that requirements for. You may spend a long rest retraining your beast and exchange the maneuvers it has learned.

You gain two superiority dice (d8s). To use a trained maneuver, you must spend a superiority die. You regain all spent superiority dice after a short or long rest.

You gain an additional superiority die at 7th, 10th, and 15th level.

Challenge

Your Animal Companion lets loose a threatening roar, hiss, or shriek at a target within 60 feet of it. The target takes thunder damage equal to the superiority dice, and must make a Wisdom saving throw equal to 8+its proficiency bonus. On a failure, the target has disadvantage on attacks against any creature other than your Animal Companion. On a success, the target is unaffected. 

Discipline

Your Animal Companion suppresses its bestial nature in order to think clearer in a moment of danger. Upon being forced to make a Wisdom, Charisma, or Intelligence saving throw the beast can use its reaction to add a superiority dice to its roll.

Extended Pack

The Animal Companion chooses an amount of allies within 60 feet up to the amount rolled on a superiority die. For the next minute, these allies gain the Pack Tactics feature.

(requires a beast with the Pack Tactics feature)

Flyby

Your Animal Companion makes a melee attack against a target, adding a superiority die to the damage. It may then use its bonus action to make a Disengage action.

(requires a beast with a fly speed)

Nimble Attack

When your beast makes an attack, you may spend one superiority dice and add it to your beast's AC until the start of its next turn.

Squirmy

If your Animal Companion has been grappled, it may add a superiority die to for a roll to break the grapple.

(requires a Small or smaller beast)

Swipe

You may spend one superiority die and add it to an attack that your beast makes. If the attack hits, the beast may make a contested Strength or Dexterity check to steal an object that the target was carrying in a prominent, visible place. If the object is too heavy for your beast to carry, the target drops the object on a failed check.

Tackle

Your Animal Companion makes a melee attack against a creature after moving at least 10 feet towards the creature. If the attack hits, you may spend a superiority die and add the roll to the damage. The creature must make a Strength DC (8+proficiency+Strength) saving throw. On a failure, the creature is pushed up to 5 feet in a direction of its choice and is knocked prone. If the creature succeeds on the save, or is two size categories larger than your beast, it automatically succeeds.

Supernatural Bond

At 7th level, you forge a spiritual connection with your beast companion. You and your beast instinctively know the direction and distance between the two of you. If you are on separate planes of existence, you are aware of this, but not of which plane. You may uses your action to read the emotional and physical state of your beast, or send a message composed of simple thoughts or emotions to the beast.

Additionally, if you and your beast are within 120 feet of each other, both of your ranged and melee attacks are magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance or immunity to non-magical attacks and damage. Once per turn, you may choose to add an additional 1d8 force damage to one of your attacks. If this effect is used for a ranged weapon, the projectile is magical until it hits or misses its target.

Relentless Loyalty

At 11th level, if your Animal Companion drops to zero hit points while it is within 90 feet of you and is aware of your presence, it instead drops to one hit point unless the damage kills it outright.

Additionally, if you see your Animal Companion take damage from a creature, you may use your reaction to make one weapon attack against that creature.

Ultimate Partnership

At level 15, you and your beast can read each other's intents without any consultation. Commanding your Animal Companion to do any action on its turn is now a free action.