Curious ranger question

[Kaeso]

The beastmaster archetype gets to choose an animal companion that's medium sized or smaller and has a CR of at best 1/4. In another thread we've already discussed in depth whether this is a worthwhile class feature or not, but I've thinking about a strategy that may or may not work. As a medium character, you need an animal that's large or bigger before you can ride it, so you cannot ride your animal companion. But what if you have a medium sized bird or other flying creature? Could it lift you (by the arm, for example) and carry you through the skies? That would simply depend on how much you and your armor weigh and how much your pet can carry, right? So a lithe elf in leather armor could have his animal companion fly him around, right? Or am I overlooking something? It would be a nice way to gain flight, and make for a cool tactic with a beastmaster with a light crossbow and the crossbow expert feat (which, IIRC, allows him to reload his weapon with only one hand).

[Eslin]

The beastmaster archetype gets to choose an animal companion that's medium sized or smaller and has a CR of at best 1/4. In another thread we've already discussed in depth whether this is a worthwhile class feature or not, but I've thinking about a strategy that may or may not work. As a medium character, you need an animal that's large or bigger before you can ride it, so you cannot ride your animal companion. But what if you have a medium sized bird or other flying creature? Could it lift you (by the arm, for example) and carry you through the skies? That would simply depend on how much you and your armor weigh and how much your pet can carry, right? So a lithe elf in leather armor could have his animal companion fly him around, right? Or am I overlooking something? It would be a nice way to gain flight, and make for a cool tactic with a beastmaster with a light crossbow and the crossbow expert feat (which, IIRC, allows him to reload his weapon with only one hand).

It'll work with a halfling or a gnome.

[pwykersotz]

I suppose it depends on the strength of the creature. It's total carrying capacity is Strength x15, so it would need to be pretty buff to fly you around unless, as Eslin said, you're a Halfling or Gnome, and in that case you can ride MANY of the companions, flying or no.

[Person_Man]

I'd be fine with it. But I would observe that many DMs HATE it when PCs regularly use flight.

It completely changes every combat when one of the players is basically an attack helicopter. The DM is forced to put enemies with flight and/or ranged weapons into a majority of his encounters, or put artificial limitations (like low ceilings or very poor visibility) into place to negate the flight.

It also changes the nature of many quests. What would Lord of the Rings have been like if one of the Giant Eagles had been Bilbo's animal companion?

[Naanomi]

It also changes the nature of many quests. What would Lord of the Rings have been like if one of the Giant Eagles had been Bilbo's animal companion?
A quick death to a fell-beast and it's ring-wraith rider when he flew away from the rest of the party?

[Jlooney]

You should look at the encumbrance rules. A medium flying companion would need at least a 14 str to carry you and armor. And that's if your character took a huge poop and dropped a few pounds.

[Jacob.Tyr]

Y'all don't constantly throw ranged enemies at your parties? Half the time I find it to be the only way to lay any damage on them during a fight. Guy overhead hanging from a bird is going to start matching his feathery companion pretty quickly.

[archaeo]

I'd be fine with it. But I would observe that many DMs HATE it when PCs regularly use flight.

It completely changes every combat when one of the players is basically an attack helicopter. The DM is forced to put enemies with flight and/or ranged weapons into a majority of his encounters, or put artificial limitations (like low ceilings or very poor visibility) into place to negate the flight.

It's hard to come away from reading the 5e books without concluding that flight is supposed to be an important component of the adventurer's tool kit. Between the spell, a dozen magic items, and numerous class features, being airborne is pretty much guaranteed at some point in the level 1-20 stretch.

The "DM is forced" to take this into account, sure, but more or less in the same way that DMs are forced to take magic into account, or skill checks. You can eliminate it from your game, certainly, the same way you can take out magic or skills, but the default assumption is definitely in favor of allowing flight. In return, the game does give you all kinds of things to use; if you want to read that as "force," I guess, feel free.