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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Beast Master Fix (PEACH)



DracoKnight
2015-07-13, 09:33 PM
Most people like to post fixes for the 5e Fighter. Personally, I think that we should be focusing our drive to fixes classes on the Beast Master Ranger. Here's my proposal.

Beast Companion
Beast Master Rangers may get a CR 1/4 (or lower) beast companion when they choose this Archetype. They do this by performing a ritual where they invision the beast that they wish to form a bond with. The ritual must be performed over at least 4 hours over a long rest, and at the end of the ritual the beast you summoned teleports into an empty space that you can see within 60 feet, and is bonded to you the moment you touch it. At level 6 you may bond with a beast that is CR 1/2 or lower. At level 9 you may bond with any beast that is CR 1 or lower. When you reach level 12 you may bond with a CR 2 or lower beast. At level 15 you may bond with a beast CR 3 or lower. At level 15 you may also bond with any monstrosity that is of a CR you can bond with. At level 9 your beast companions attacks count as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance. Your Beast Companion also gains Death Saving throws, just like the rest of the party.

Thoughts?

And I would like to point out that Druids can cast Conjure Animals (a 3rd level spell) to gain 2 CR 2 beasts at level 5. They outdo the Beast Master at the one thing that it claims it can do.

JNAProductions
2015-07-13, 10:18 PM
This doesn't really address what most people consider the flaws in Beastmaster. You're still giving up your action to attack with them, you don't get share spells till late down the line, you can't multiattack early... Etc.

DracoKnight
2015-07-13, 10:24 PM
This doesn't really address what most people consider the flaws in Beastmaster. You're still giving up your action to attack with them, you don't get share spells till late down the line, you can't multiattack early... Etc.

No, it doesn't. I'm working on how to balance that...I've figured this out (Or I think that I have), and fixing those is the next step for me :)

unbeliever536
2015-07-13, 11:05 PM
I've actually been eyeing a beastmaster fix (and maybe a full Ranger fix) for a while now. My druid fix takes priority though.

WotC screwed up two big things with the beastmaster, in design terms. These are (1) the action economy (beastmaster has a bit of a deficit...) and (2) future-proofing. For the first, the ranger needs to be able to make their companion effective in combat with less than their entire action every turn. They also need to not completely break the action economy, which is fairly strict in 5e. Care should be taken here, but we know WotC got it pretty horribly wrong. A common fix is that the ranger spends one action to "set" the beast's order (attack the enemy, protect that guy, etc) and then it does that thing independently until the ranger spends an action to change it. The alternative is that the ranger direct with a bonus action, but that might be too much power, while also interfering with spellcasting. To future-proof the ranger, you need to replace the open ended "One animal of at most CR X" with specific options. The offensive/defensive CR guidelines are decent, but some day soon some designer is going to either ignore them or screw them up somehow, and then you'll wind up with an animal that is clearly superior to the alternatives for a ranger. I call this the Polymorph Problem. There's less worry for it with the Ranger, being limited to animals (and unable to totally replace his/her own stats), but it's there.

The other thing you should probably have is a way for the animal companion to be more than a normal creature of its kind. I'm not sure what I'd do here, but maybe look at the 3.5 druid animal companion and sorcerer/wizard familiar for inspiration.

DracoKnight
2015-07-14, 03:05 PM
I've actually been eyeing a beastmaster fix (and maybe a full Ranger fix) for a while now. My druid fix takes priority though.

WotC screwed up two big things with the beastmaster, in design terms. These are (1) the action economy (beastmaster has a bit of a deficit...) and (2) future-proofing. For the first, the ranger needs to be able to make their companion effective in combat with less than their entire action every turn. They also need to not completely break the action economy, which is fairly strict in 5e. Care should be taken here, but we know WotC got it pretty horribly wrong. A common fix is that the ranger spends one action to "set" the beast's order (attack the enemy, protect that guy, etc) and then it does that thing independently until the ranger spends an action to change it. The alternative is that the ranger direct with a bonus action, but that might be too much power, while also interfering with spellcasting. To future-proof the ranger, you need to replace the open ended "One animal of at most CR X" with specific options. The offensive/defensive CR guidelines are decent, but some day soon some designer is going to either ignore them or screw them up somehow, and then you'll wind up with an animal that is clearly superior to the alternatives for a ranger. I call this the Polymorph Problem. There's less worry for it with the Ranger, being limited to animals (and unable to totally replace his/her own stats), but it's there.

The other thing you should probably have is a way for the animal companion to be more than a normal creature of its kind. I'm not sure what I'd do here, but maybe look at the 3.5 druid animal companion and sorcerer/wizard familiar for inspiration.

I'd love to see what you do if you go ahead to fix it. I don't really have a problem with the Hunter, but the Beast Master is soooo underpowered. Even the Champion Fighter is better. The Champion Fighter is actually not as bad as people say it is though. 10 and eventually 15% chance to crit is nothing to laugh at.