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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next The Beastkeeper: Companion-creature based matrial/social class. (PEACH)



Terrichance
2016-12-09, 04:44 PM
Greetings, forumdwellers!

I've been messing around with homebrews for a few years now, mainly in Player Race and Subrace areas. I really wanted to do a 'creature-trainer' class however, and recently with the surfacing of /u/JamesMusicus' Class-making guide, and the most recent Ranger Revision UA with their Beastmaster subclass features, I felt that now was as good a time as any.

This has been through a few revisions already, after having bounced it back and forth with several 5e-saavy friends. What I'm posting here today is the 'version 3' revision, which said group of friends have reached a consensus with on its viability. Now, I'd like a wider range of critiques and suggestions, on where this class should be going.

So, without further ado


'The Beastkeeper'

A human man in fur and leathers cracks his whip, signalling the grizzly in the ring with him to stand upon its hind legs and open its maw, a crackle of lightning emerging from its gullet into a thunderous display, leaving not only the crowd, but the lordly king in attendance in awe.
A female dragonborn rides an elegant hadrosaur across a grassy plain, hot on the trail of a fleeing party of kobolds. Expertly her mount separates a straggler from the crowd, and with a flick of her wrist, she casts a lasso that sends the kobold rolling, tied and bound in a single throw.
An elf woman teeters on the edge of a cliff, her escape blocked by an advancing skeleton army. With a wave of her hand she casts a spell, before leaping off the cliff, only for a portal to open beneath her, releasing a radiant wyvern that catches her and carries her aloft to breathe magical fire upon her foes.
The Beastkeeper is not your ordinary animal caretaker or zookeeper. They can see the potential in creatures to be so much more than they are, and strive to unlock that potential, directing their companion to unleash its full power. Beyond this, the Beastkeeper can also handle themselves in social situations, whether trying to cajole a gambler into betting on their creature, or convincing an Otyugh that no, his fellow party members actually taste really, really bad.

This class gives you two characters in one. A normal humanoid trainer, and a companion creature, upon which your class features focus.

Quick Build: WIS, followed by CHA. Choose the Folk Hero BG.

Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per level
HP at 1st level: 8+ CON mod
HP at higher levels: 1d8 (or 5) + CON mod per level after 1st.

Proficiencies
Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields.
Weapons: Simple weapons, shortswords, whips.
Tools: One musical instrument of your choice.

Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma.
Skills: Animal Handling, and two more from Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Medicine, and Persuasion.

Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background.
-A Shield, or any simple weapon.
-A whip, or any simple melee weapon.
-Dungeoneer’s pack, or Explorer’s pack.
-Leather armor, one musical instrument of your choice, a book of training and creature notes, and a Signal Whistle.




Level
Proficiency Bonus
Learned Traits
Feature Gains


1st
+2
0
Creature’s Bond, Handler Archetype


2nd
+2
1
Learned Traits


3rd
+2
1
Veterinary Care


4th
+2
2
Ability Score Improvement, Training Regimen


5th
+3
2
Coordinated Attack, Keeper's Call


6th
+3
3
Handler Feature


7th
+3
3
Defensive Direction


8th
+3
4
Ability Score Improvement, Training Regimen


9th
+4
4
Animal Experience, Home Stables


10th
+4
4
Synchronized Attack


11th
+4
5
Handler Feature


12th
+4
5
Ability Score Improvement, Training Regimen


13th
+5
5
Extended Attack, Veterinary Care (2)


14th
+5
6
-


15th
+5
6
Dauntless Direction, Home Ranges


16th
+5
6
Ability Score Improvement, Improved Training Regimen


17th
+6
7
-


18th
+6
7
Handler Feature


19th
+6
7
Ability Score Improvement, Improved Training Regimen


20th
+6
8
Master Breeder



Creature’s Bond
Beginning at 1st level, you gain a creature companion whose CR is ½ or lower. It cannot be an undead, construct, humanoid, or giant, and it cannot speak a language. You can choose from a list given later in this class description. You may only have one creature at your side at a time.
Should your companion die, you spend a day in mourning, before you are able to obtain a replacement creature. It must also be of CR ½ or less. You must then spend 8 hours a day training, per your current Beastkeeper level to bring it up to equal with yourself, for it to retroactively benefit from all your current-level class features.
Your animal companion gains a variety of benefits while it is linked to you.
-The animal companion loses its Multiattack action, if it has one.
-The companion obeys your commands as best it can. It rolls for initiative like any other creature, but you determine its actions, decisions, attitudes, and so on. If you are incapacitated or absent, your companion acts on its own.
-Your animal companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. Your companion uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, an animal companion also adds its proficiency bonus to its AC and to its damage rolls.
-Your animal companion gains proficiency in two skills of your choice. It also becomes proficient with all saving throws. This includes death saving throws. They also follow the same rules and restrictions of Raise Dead/Resurrection as other player characters.
-For each level you gain after 1st, your animal companion gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly.
-Your companion shares your alignment, and has a personality trait and a flaw that you can roll for or select from the tables below. Your companion shares your ideal, and its bond is always, “The trainer who travels with me is a beloved companion for whom I would gladly give my life.”

Handler Archetype
Choose a handler archetype, which describes the nature of your bond with your creature. The Summoner, the Rancher, the Wildtamer, or the Tinkerer. all detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features when you choose it at 1st level, and again at 6th, 11th, and 18th level.

Learned Traits
Starting at 2nd level, under your oversight, your creature begins learning new moves and abilities that it might otherwise never learn as it ages, on top of the abilities it started with. You may choose a specific Trait for it to gain. When you gain certain beastkeeper levels, you may teach additional Traits of your choice to your creature, up to a limit determined by the Learned Traits column on the Beastkeeper table.
Some particular traits may need pre-requisites that you must qualify for before taking them. In addition, your creature cannot un-learn these traits once they’ve been chosen, except as dictated in the Training Regimen feature.

Veterinary Care
At 3rd level, you gain the “Healer” feat as a bonus feat. You may use its ability one extra time per long/short rest at 13th level

Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Training Regimen
At 4th level, your creature also gains its own ability score increases as you do, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level. You can increase one of its scores by two, or 2 of its scores by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
You may also at this point, choose one of your creature’s Learned Traits and replace it for another Trait that it qualifies for.

Coordinated Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you and your animal companion form a more potent fighting team. When you use the Attack action on your turn, if your companion can see you, it can use its reaction to make a melee attack.

Keeper’s Call
Also at 5th level, should you and your current companion ever become physically separated due to terrain, obstacles, or impeded movement, so long as you are both on the same plane of existence, you can use your Signal Whistle to call upon the power of your bond, in order to instantly summon them to your side, wherever they might have been before. This takes an entire action, and your creature always appears in an unoccupied space no more than 10 feet away from your position.

Defensive Direction
Starting at 7th level, if your companion is within 10ft of you when it makes a saving throw, the companion gains a bonus to the saving throw equal to your CHA mod, minimum +1. You must be conscious to grant this bonus.

Home Stables
You own a location where you can keep additional trained creatures. You may dismiss a companion, choosing to send it to this location where it will rest and live in comfort until you have need of it again. Creatures living here don’t benefit from your features while separated from you. You cannot use your Keeper’s Call feature to instantly summon creatures from this location.
At 9th level, you may now own up to two companions, but you can only handle having one of them with you at any one time. A day must be spent for transfer whenever you choose to switch companions around from your Home Stables.
From now on, whenever you gain an additional companion, or replace a fallen one, you only spend a day and 100 GP per your current Beastkeeper level to bring it up to equal with yourself, for it to retroactively benefit from all your current-level class features. The new creature must also be of CR ½ or less. You can only focus raising one creature at a time with this feature.

Animal Experience
Starting at 9th level, you have advantage with WIS and CHA skills against creatures with intelligence 6 or lower.

Synchronized Attack
At 10th level, the both of you have learned how to best support a companion in combat. In addition to the features from Coordinated Attack, If you and your companion are within 5 ft of each other, when your creature takes an Attack action and you can see them, you may use your own reaction to make one basic melee attack.

Extended Attack
At 13th level, your Coordinated Attack’s proximity range increases from 5 to 10 feet.

Dauntless Direction
At 15th level, your Defensive Direction features’ aura extends further out, from 10 to 30 feet.

Home Ranges
At 15th level, you may now own up to three creature companions. Again, you can only handle one of them on your person at any one time. The remainder of the Home Stable features still apply.

Improved Training Regimen
Starting at 16th level, your companion gains an additional amount of Ability Score Increase points equal to (one-half your WIS Modifier, minimum of 1) every time it takes its Training Regimen feature from now on. You can’t add more than two points to a single score at a single time.
You may still choose one of your creature’s Learned traits and replace it for another Trait that it qualifies for. In addition, your companion’s Ability Score maximum increases from 20 to 22.
This feature can be applied retroactively on all your creatures as if you had this feature since level 4, for one week and 250 GP per feature.

Master Breeder
On reaching 20th level, you may trade out two Learned Traits on all your creatures for another two that they qualify for, in addition to adding one last Learned Trait to their list.
In addition, your creatures at this point, have come to trust your party members just as closely as you. At your discretion, they will allow another player character to use it as a mount, and/or follow another player character’s commands.

------

Handler Archetypes
Handler features are presented thusly. The Summoner adopts its flavor and a few of its features from the Pathfinder class of the same name. The Rancher uses its country-based abilities primarily for crowd and battlefield control. The Wildtamer gives all wannabe Crocodile Hunters a chance to wrestle wild beasts to the ground, as well as whip your companion into shape. The Tinkerer takes its cues from the Artificer, instead building their creatures up as constructs or elementals.

Summoner
--lvl 1 Summoned Bond: Your creature is not a beast of this plane, having been summoned from elsewhere and its energies bound to you after lengthy concentrated effort.
You and your creature can share your pain. Once per Long/Short Rest, when you or your creature are dealt damage, you may use your or your creature's Reaction to take the other’s damage instead. You can’t use this feature again until after a Long/Short Rest
If it is ever slain, its spirit returns to its home dimension. You spend a number of days = your current Beastkeeper level concentrating to summon and bind a new companion. At level 9, this wait time is reduced accordingly to the Home Stables feature.
--lvl 1 Pact Magic: Due to the nature of your creature companion, your bond with it is more akin to the bond shared by a Warlock and their Patron. You gain the Warlock’s Pact Magic spellcasting progression when you take this subclass at lvl 1. Unlike the Warlock however, your spells focus more on supporting your creature in combat. You learn spells from the Bard’s spell list. Your casting ability is Charisma.
--lvl 6 Bound Senses: You are able to perceive the world through your creature. Additionally you can communicate telepathically with your creature, so long as you are both on the same plane of existence. As an action you can see and hear what your creature sees and hears, and gain the benefit of any special senses it may have. You can use a bonus action to stop perceiving the world through your creature. You may only perceive through one creature at a time.
--lvl 11 Shared Spell: When you target yourself with a spell, you may also target one of your creatures if they are within 30 feet.
--lvl 18 Twin Shape: As an action, you assume an alternate form that is a duplicate of one of your creatures. Your race and subrace stats and weapon/natural attacks are replaced by those of your companion’s, and you gain the benefits of all traits that they possess. You retain your class features while in this form. You can keep this form for up to a minute before reverting to normal. You may also end this effect early with a bonus action. You can’t use this ability again until after a long rest.

Rancher
Bonus proficiencies: Land vehicles, leatherworking tools, and hand crossbows.
--lvl 1 Ranch Bred: Your creature is of purebred stock, a fine specimen of its species. You are part of a farm and ranch association which breeds and wrangles these creatures. Your creature may start with an additional Ability Score increase point in any one of its Ability Scores.
Should your creature die, you’ll have to go back to the farm to raise a new companion for a number of days = your current Beastkeeper level. At level 9, this wait time is reduced accordingly to the Home Stables feature.
--lvl 1 Lasso: You may use an action to use the rope from your pack and lasso a single target creature that is no larger than Huge, up to 50 feet away from you. Declare your goal, then make a ranged attack using your DEX and your ProBo. If it hits, that creature must make a DEX saving throw or be either restrained, pulled prone, take 1d4 bludgeoning damage from strangulation, or any combination of two. If the creature is Large or smaller, you can use a bonus action to pull it 10 feet closer to you. A creature caught by your lasso can use its action to make a STR check against your DEX save. On a success, it frees itself.
--lvl 6 Herding: Your creature can sense the gaps in an enemy formation, and can either group them together, or drive them apart. After your creature moves, as an action it can make a
threatening display that enemies within 10 feet will have to resist (Their WIS save vs your creature's Intimidation.) If they fail, they'll have to spend their next turn getting as far away from your creature as possible. If a creature succeeds their saving throw, they become immune to this effect for 24 hours.
--lvl 11 Keen Awareness: You can communicate back and forth with your creature on an almost telepathic level through eye contact alone. In addition, you both become hyper-aware of your surroundings, and the feelings of those around you. Little gets past either you, or your creature. You and your companion gain a bonus to your Passive Perception equal ½ your WIS mod, minimum of 1. In addition, you both have advantage when rolling Insight.
--lvl 18 Conjure Herd: Your creature can use its action to summon 6 fey spirits that take the form of creatures of CR 1 to its side. The summoned creatures are friendly to you and your companions, and act as a group on your creature’s initiative. For 1D8+ (companion's CHA mod) turns, everything your creature does, this new temporary herd will attempt to emulate. At the end of the numbered turns, or when a summoned creature to brought to 0 HP, the fey spirit/s will fade away. You can't use this ability again until after a long rest.

Wildtamer
Bonus Proficiencies: Nets, blowguns.
--lvl 1 Savage Heart: Your character deals and wrestles with wild, dangerous creatures. Your companion is a strong beast, and adds an extra die to its damage rolls when making melee attacks. However, its wild nature means constant supervision on your part. Your companion has the following drawback feature.
---Rampage: On the first round of combat, at the beginning of your creature’s turn, make a CHA save vs your creature's WIS. On a success, it follows your orders as normal for 1d4 turns, but on a failure, it runs wild, and approaches and attacks the nearest creature that isn't you, be they friend /or/ foe. Repeat the save on the turn it stops following your commands, or for every round it runs wild.
If it is ever slain, you will have to spend a number of days = your current Beastkeeper level searching the wilds, to track down new creatures and wrestle with them, finding one and earning enough of their trust to travel with you. At level 9, this wait time is reduced accordingly to the Home Stables feature.
--lvl 1 Wild Wrassle: You and your creature have advantage when grappling creatures of up to one size category larger than the grappler or smaller. If you manage to keep it grappled for 1d6 turns, you and your creature may also spend a bonus action to attempt to calm the creature down, rolling the grappler’s Animal Handling skill vs opponent’s INT save. On a success, the creature becomes docile, and is no longer hostile to you or your companions. It still reacts to any future actions you and your companions make as a neutral creature would.
--lvl 6 Timed Strike: If an opposing creature is within 5 feet of your creature and is about to start its turn, while you and your creature are in sight of each other and it, you may use your reaction to give your creature an extra basic attack on it.
--lvl 11 Tempered Heart: Your creature may give up two points from one of its Ability Scores, to buy off the ‘Rampage’ drawback feature. Your creature has calmed its savage heart, and now respects you and will follow your command from here on in without complaint.
--lvl 11 Crack the Whip: By shouting at your creature, you can encourage it to perform better. You can take the help action to assist your creature, even if you are 30 feet away from your beast or would normally be unable to assist with the task, provided that your creature can hear you.
--lvl 18 Fearsome Display: Your creature can use its action to create an aura of terror on all non-allied creatures that can see it. Said affected creatures must roll a WIS save vs DC= your companion’s Intimidation +10. Those who fail become affected with the Fear condition, while those who succeed become immune to this effect for 24 hours. You can't use this ability again until after a long rest.


Tinkerer
Bonus Proficiencies: Thieves tools, Tinkerer’s tools, Smith’s tools, Investigation.
--lvl 1 Construct’s Focus: Your focus is not on creatures of flesh and blood, but rather, on constructs of every shape and stripe, be they magical or not. You may choose a Construct or Elemental of CR1/2 as your companion creature at character creation. Additionally, you may instead choose a beast of CR1/2, but with construct statistics as dictated by UA Artificer. As they level up, their abilities and ASI increases can be characterized as fine-tuning and upgrading. Any further constructs you adopt can be either from outside sources, or characterized as having been built by yourself in your spare time.
If your construct is ever slain, it will take you a number of days = your current Beastkeeper level to restore it back to working order, or to build a new construct of the same power level from scratch. At level 9, this wait time is reduced accordingly to the Home Stables feature.
--lvl 1 Artifice Dabbler: You have limited magical ability. You can cast the Artificer Spells ‘Detect Magic’ and ‘Identify’ as Rituals. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability.
--lvl 6 Tick Tock Knock: You know what makes most constructs tick, and you know exactly what makes them stop too. As an action, you can cast the Dispel Magic spell, so long as the target of your cast is a magically animated construct or other magical device. In addition, whenever using tools to disable nonmagical constructs and devices, you gain Expertise on your roll.
--lvl 11: Spare Parts: You carry around additional parts responsible for your companion’s Learned Traits. You can also use these parts for yourself when you’re in a pinch. As an action on your turn, you can pick one of your construct’s Learned Traits, and hastily construct a device that enables use of it for yourself. You gain a number of uses of it = INT mod before it breaks down, after which you’ll have to spend another action to either fix it, or enable a different one.
--lvl 18: Overclocking: You have figured out how to infuse the Haste spell into the components that make up your companion construct. Once per Long Rest, as an action, you can command your companion to activate this Haste Mode. It gains the benefits of the Haste Spell for one minute, but such a strain will take a toll on its body. At the end of each of its turns, roll a D10. On a 1, the stress of running so hard causes your companion to break down, ending the Haste effect immediately. Its speed is halved and it makes all its attack rolls and skill checks with disadvantage, until after it has been repaired over a Long Rest.

------

Learned Traits
This area borrows a page from the Warlock's Known Invocations list, though in this case the number of options available are greatly expanded. This is the area most liable to change, and I extend apologies beforehand if any of the below sounds familiar at all. Prepare to see a lot of question marks.


Simple
-Agile: Can disengage or hide as a bonus action.
-Improved Natural Armor: +2 to natural armor.
-Keen Smell: Advantage on Wis perception checks that rely on smell.
-Natural Attack: A creature can gain one of the following, if it is reasonable for it to do so. (IE, a normal Tiger can’t learn the Gore attack, given its lack of horns.) It cannot learn an attack it already knows.
--Bite: 1d6+STR Piercing damage.
--Claws: 1d6+DEX Slashing damage
--Gore: 1d6+STR Piercing damage
--Slam: 1d6+ STR Bludge damage
--Sting: 1d6+DEX Piercing damage
--Tail slap: 1d6+STR Bludge damage
--Tentacles: 1d6+DEX Bludge damage
--Tusk: 1d6+STR Slashing damage
--Spiked hide: 1d4 Piercing damage to attackers.
--Stomp: 1d6+STR Bludge damage
-Scent: Can smell objects/people up to 30 feet away
-Skilled: Creature can apply your ProBo to a certain skill. This can be bought multiple times.
-Sure-footed: Advantage on saving throws vs being knocked prone.
-Swift: Move speed increased by 10 feet.
-Illuminate: As Bonus action, can shed bright light 10 feet, dim light 30 feet.

Limited
-Charge: PreReq, Gore Attack: If moves 20 feet and hits with successful Gore attack on single turn, add 2d6 extra damage.
-Crush: PreReq, STR mod +4: Whenever your creature ends its turn with a creature grappled, it deals STR mod damage. Continues dealing damage each turn till grapple ends.
-Pack Tactics: PreReq, lvl 6: Gains advantage on next attack against a target if an ally is 5 feet away from target and isn’t incapacitated.
-Pounce/Trample.: PreReq, Claw/Stomp Attack: If moves 20 feet and hits with successful Claw/Stomp attack on single turn, target must must succeed a DC (8+ProBo+STR Mod) STR saving throw or else be knocked prone. If target falls prone, can make one attack as bonus action.
-Venom: PreReq, Bite Attack, lvl 8: Bite attack deals additional poison damage. The target must
make a DC (8+ProBo+CON Mod) Constitution Saving throw, taking 1d6 poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
-Run Wild: PreReq, lvl 8: When reduced a target to 0 HP with melee attack on its turn, can use a bonus action to move up to half its speed and make a melee attack.
-Swallow: PreReq, lvl 8, Bite attack, Large size or larger: Grappling a creature of small size or smaller, can perform bite attack to swallow. Grapple ends, target becomes blinded and restrained, has total cover, and takes 2d6 acid damage each turn. Can only have one swallowed target at a time.
-Tremorsense: PreReq, lvl 8: Gains a Tremorsense of 15 feet.
-Natural Mount: PreReq, Large Size or larger, lvl 6: You can mount and ride them without the need for a saddle. You have advantage on saving throws made to avoid falling off your creature. If you fall off your creature, you always land on your feet if you are capable of taking actions. Mounting or dismounting your creature costs you only 5 feet of movement, rather than half your speed.
-Protective Aura: PreReq, lvl 6: You and your allies gain +2 AC when standing within 5 feet of the creature.

Major levels
-Blindsight: PreReq, lvl 14: Creature gains Blindsight up to 30 feet.
-Burrow: PreReq, Claw attack, lvl 14: Gains a burrow speed equal to half its normal speed.
-Deflect: PreReq, lvl 14: AC counts as +3 higher against attacks that hit as a reaction.
-Fly?: PreReq, lvl 17: Creature gains the ability of flight via some means. Gains a Fly speed equal to normal speed.
-Incorporeal Movement: PreReq, lvl 17: Can move through creatures and objects as though they were difficult terrain. Takes 1d10 Force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
-Magic Resistance: PreReq, lvl 14: Has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects that would target it.
-Martial Prowess: PreReq, lvl 17 Deals an extra 2d6 damage to an attack that hits if target is within 5 feet of an ally that isn’t incapacitated.
-Spider Climb: PreReq, lvl 14: Can climb on walls and even ceilings without needing to make an ability check.
-Stench: PreReq, lvl 14: As a bonus action, creature can emit a stench as an aura of 5 feet. Anyone other than you who ends turn inside the aura must succeed a DC (8+ProBo+CON Mod) constitution saving throw or else be poisoned until start of creature’s next turn. On a success, becomes immune for 24 hours.

-Evolution: PreReq, a creature with multiple stages, a level = the new form’s CRx3: Some creatures may qualify to turn into either 'Giant' versions, or mature versions of themselves. You may change your creature's base statistics to this new form’s statistics, when you reach a level triple the new creature's CR rating (IE, a Wolf could turn into a Dire Wolf (CR 1) at level 3, while a Piercer can turn into a Roper (CR 5) at lvl 15.) Use your judgement and work with your DM, to choose or create a ½ CR creature that can evolve into a bigger one, if you want to make use of this feature.
The idea of this particular trait was to allow a Beastkeeper to keep iconic D&D creatures as their companions, such as Pegasi, Griffons, Displacer Beasts, and Owlbears. The plan is to come back later and create 'young-form' statblocks of these higher-CR creatures (Max CR 6), that are at or below CR 1/2, for a Beastkeeper to start with at first level.

Final and big abilities
-Breath Attack: PreReq, lvl 17, 14?: Creature gains a single elemental breath attack, the choice determines size, shape, and damage type. Refer to Dragonborn breath attack for details.
-Elemental Attack: PreReq, Any natural attack, lvl 17, 14?: Creature’s natural attacks gain 2d4 (elemental) bonus damage.
-Eye Rays?: PreReq, eyes, lvl 17: As an action, creature is able to use one sort of eye ray attack, chosen from a list. Confusion, Paralyzation, Fear, and Wounding.
-Regeneration: PreReq, lvl 17: Creature regains HP equal to its CON mod (min of 1) at the start of its turn, unless it’s taken acid/fire damage. This trait stops working if creature hits 0 HP.
-Teleport: PreReq, lvl 17, 14?: Recharge 4-6. As an action, can teleport, along with any equipment it is wearing/carrying, up to 40 feet to an unoccupied space it can see. Before or after teleporting, can make one attack.
-Bonus Resistance: PreReq, lvl 14, Improved Natural Armor: Pick a single damage type. Creature has resistance to that damage type.
-Invisibility: Pre Req, lvl 17: As a bonus action, can turn invisible for 1 hour or until it makes an attack. Any equipment worn or carried turns invisible with it.

And finally, a list of 1/2 CR creatures that qualify as Beastkeeper companions. This may be updated as future expansions are released, or as I finish making 'younger' versions of common D&D monster favorites.

From the Monster Manual
Needle Blight
Twig Blight
Cockatrice
Darkmantle
Pteranodon
Gas Spore
Violet Fungus
Gray Ooze
Piercer
Pseudodragon
Rust Monster
Stirge

Ape
Awakened Shrub
Axe Beak
Baboon?
Black Bear
Blink Dog
Blood Hawk
Boar
Camel
Constrictor Snake
Crocodile
Draft Horse
Elk
Flying Snake
Giant Badger
Giant Bat
Giant Centipede
Giant Crab
Giant Frog
Giant Goat
Giant Lizard
Giant Owl
Giant Poisonous Snake
Giant Rat
Giant Sea Horse
Giant Wasp
Giant Weasel
Giant Wolf Spider
Mastiff
Mule
Panther
Pony
Reef Shark
Riding Horse
Warhorse
Wolf
Worg

From Volo's Guide to Monsters
Gazer
Dimetrodon
Hadrosaurus
Velociraptor

Ox
Rothe
Stench Kow
Dolphin


Current Concerns

I may be adding too much flexibility by allowing Learned Traits to be swapped out at certain points in progression.
Some of the Learned Traits may not have Pre-requisites that make sense, or I might just have way too many of them, period.
The 'waiting period' for training up new creatures might rub some people the wrong way. This was the subject of frequent revision earlier.
I may have made the end-result lvl 20 creature way too powerful, compared to other high-DPS classes like the Barbarian and Fighter at similar levels.


I hope this appeals to some folks. And again, please give me any critiques and concerns you have. Hoping to hear from you all!

PotatoGolem
2016-12-10, 11:14 AM
Two points:

The waiting period is indeed too long. It means that in any time sensitive campaign (which is most of them IME) losing your beast is the same as character death- you have to roll a new character. If time isn't an issue, then it's meaningless because any good DM will just fast forward a few weeks. I get why it's there for fluff reasons, but it's really bad as a rule. Just ditch the waiting period. Yes, it's unrealistic, but so is being beaten down to the point of two failed death saves but being fine after a night's sleep.

Also, the fact that it gets longer and more expensive to find a beast as you get stronger is nonsensical. I see why the cost to train up once you have them is there (although I disagree with it) but there's no reason that you'd get worse at finding beasts to train as you get stronger.

Don't have rampage be both the name of a drawback and the name of a learned ability, that's just confusing.

Overall though, this seems really cool and reasonably balanced.

Terrichance
2016-12-13, 12:16 PM
Two points:

The waiting period is indeed too long. It means that in any time sensitive campaign (which is most of them IME) losing your beast is the same as character death- you have to roll a new character. If time isn't an issue, then it's meaningless because any good DM will just fast forward a few weeks. I get why it's there for fluff reasons, but it's really bad as a rule. Just ditch the waiting period. Yes, it's unrealistic, but so is being beaten down to the point of two failed death saves but being fine after a night's sleep.

Also, the fact that it gets longer and more expensive to find a beast as you get stronger is nonsensical. I see why the cost to train up once you have them is there (although I disagree with it) but there's no reason that you'd get worse at finding beasts to train as you get stronger.

Don't have rampage be both the name of a drawback and the name of a learned ability, that's just confusing.

Overall though, this seems really cool and reasonably balanced.

I'm glad you think it looks balanced! I'm hoping to prettify it and format it PHB-style eventually, but first, the issues you mentioned.

Sorry about that Rampage thing, didn't realize I had put the same name in two different areas. I've gone in and edited the Trait to 'Run Wild'.

As for the waiting period, as I had said, it was the subject of much revision before. The original version actually had it on waiting for six months to a year.

Truth be told, I'd like /some/ sort of drawback for when and if a creature dies, if not in time, then at least in money/materials. You're making an investment in raising your creature, which is why it's in your best interest to not have it die in the first place. In this class, your companion can benefit from being raised and/or resurrected, as if it were a normal player character, if you really wanted. These aren't cheap spells to begin with, so if you want an entirely /new/ creature, it makes sense that you're going to have to spend some cash anyway, to train it to be equal to where your old creature was when it died.

Right now, I'm thinking I could either...

A- Just eliminate the time portion of the replacement feature, but still have it cost you 100GP X your current level, and the later Home Stable feature halves this cost.
B- Just take out the X-level thing altogether, and just have it cost a flat amount of GP regardless of level.


I would still put in a day of mourning before obtaining a new creature, regardless of whichever option I went with.

Does anybody prefer one option over the other?

Leuku
2016-12-13, 02:07 PM
I have some experience (https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/3l7ren/what_the_beast_master_needs_is_accounting/) regarding investigating and understanding companion mechanics, so I'll take a look at this after work today.

Terrichance
2016-12-18, 08:35 PM
I have some experience regarding investigating and understanding companion mechanics, so I'll take a look at this after work today.

Looking forward to it whenever you can. My experience is meager, but I think it's somewhat workable, just need the feedback to polish it. Again, thinking about just taking out the time portion and making up straight-up gold cost.

Potato_Priest
2016-12-18, 08:56 PM
First, I love how this is designed. The Beast Keeper seems like a fairly balanced and fun class to play. I particularly like how it's an entirely nonmagical take on the beastmaster ranger.

A few Notes:
I think that instead of raising your creature's levels through coin, you should have to spend 8 hours training it for each level you want it to have, training for a max of 8 hours per day. (# of hours subject to adjustment in the upwards direction) I think this would establish sufficient penalties for losing your beast, but wouldn't make it a massive gold sink. Spending loads of money on an animal particularly doesn't make sense if you're a crocodile dundee type who lives in the woods and wrestles animals into obeying him.

Crack the whip basically just says that you can take the help action, but limited to a certain number of times per long rest. I think that taking the help action from range is not particularly devastating or overpowered, so here is what I would replace the current one with:

Crack the Whip: By shouting at your creature, you can encourage it to perform better. You can take the help action to assist your creature even if you are 30 feet away from your beast or would normally be unable to assist with the task, provided that your creature can hear you.

Potato_Priest
2016-12-19, 02:03 AM
Once per Long/Short Rest, when you or your creature are dealt damage, you may use your or your creature's Action to take the other’s damage instead.

This is from one of the features under the summoner specialty. This should probably be reaction instead.

Also, some more specification of when which effects of rampage occur would be good. Does the initial effect trigger at the start or end of your turn or the start or end of the creature's? When does the effect wear off? On the start or end of your turn or the start or end of the creature's? It needs to be defined more specifically.

Thanks for putting this homebrew out there. I'm going to try to persuade my DM to see if I can use it next time we re-roll characters. Hopefully it can sate my 2-month long obsession with draft horses.

Potato_Priest
2016-12-19, 11:05 AM
Coordinated Attack
At 5th level, you have both learned how to best support a companion in combat. If you and your companion are within 5 ft of each other when one takes an Attack action, the other may use their reaction to make one basic melee attack.

Perhaps you could stagger this to simulate the DPS increases of a more standard character. For example, at level 5 when you make an attack your creature can make one, at level 10 when your creature makes an attack you can make one. I think that without this change, 5th level fighters with non-optimized builds might feel overshadowed by beastkeeper dps.


Crush: PreReq, DEX mod +4: Whenever your creature has grappled another, it deals STR mod damage. Continues dealing damage each turn till grapple ends.
This might be one of these prerequisites you mentioned that don't make sense. Also, specify exactly when the damage occurs, and what actions are required, if any.


Pounce: PreReq, Claw Attack: If moves 20 feet and hits with successful Claw attack on single turn, target must succeed on STR saving throw or else be knocked prone. If target falls prone, can make one attack as bonus action.

Perhaps this could be Pounce/ Trampling Charge, and the prerequisite could be a hoof, stomp,or claw attack.

One other Idea: Summoners would probably really appreciate a way to temporarily put their creatures in an extra dimensional space, as with a familiar. It would give them an option for getting a large creature past a ladder or hatch or into a building. A common ailment of the mounted combat specialist paladin is the inability to ride their horse into the lich's castle for the final showdown. Beast keepers should not suffer from this same fault.

Terrichance
2016-12-24, 11:24 AM
Sorry for lateness of reply!

The 8 hours training per day sounds like it's probably the best way to go. I would make it a number of days = to current Beastkeeper level.

I had forgotten that the Help action was a thing when I wrote up Crack the Whip. Your change on it seems to be the best way of making it still useful.

I had debated about making the Summoner's health-sharing thing either an Action or Reaction. If you think it'd work better as a Reaction, then you're probably right.

Rampage goes into effect at the start of your Creature's turn, every round that it goes wild. Since speaking is a free action, getting it to follow your directions can be characterized more or less as shouting some sense into it. Sorry I didn't make this clear the first time around.

To be honest, I'm not sure what you mean about Coordinated Attack. I mean yeah, I can nerf it down, but I'm not seeing where you're getting that it can out-perform a fighter. Even an unoptimized fighter gains Extra attacks. And Coordinated Attack is not intended to daisy-chain its attacks from tamer to beast to tamer and so on. I think I need a little more clarification here.

I gave Crush a PreReq of the Dex because Dexterity is what's used to make Grapples in the first place, as far as I'm aware. If you have a different PreReq in mind, I'm game to hear it. The damage should be applied if your turn ends and you still have your target in a grapple.

I didn't think about adding Trampling to Pounce. That's a good move, I should change it to include that.

Now that you bring up getting creatures inside buildings, it occurs to me that this is probably something that all the Beastkeeper subclasses could benefit from, not just the Summoner. If I were to do something like this, I'd make it a core feature. Maybe a summon-to-side action, involving the signal whistle?

Terrichance
2016-12-24, 01:16 PM
And I just realized you probably meant a specific number of hours per Beastkeeper level. I'll wait on editing that change into the main post until I hear again from you.

Potato_Priest
2016-12-24, 03:29 PM
Sorry for lateness of reply!

The 8 hours training per day sounds like it's probably the best way to go. I would make it a number of days = to current Beastkeeper level.

Rampage goes into effect at the start of your Creature's turn, every round that it goes wild. Since speaking is a free action, getting it to follow your directions can be characterized more or less as shouting some sense into it. Sorry I didn't make this clear the first time around.

To be honest, I'm not sure what you mean about Coordinated Attack. I mean yeah, I can nerf it down, but I'm not seeing where you're getting that it can out-perform a fighter. Even an unoptimized fighter gains Extra attacks. And Coordinated Attack is not intended to daisy-chain its attacks from tamer to beast to tamer and so on. I think I need a little more clarification here.

I gave Crush a PreReq of the Dex because Dexterity is what's used to make Grapples in the first place, as far as I'm aware. If you have a different PreReq in mind, I'm game to hear it. The damage should be applied if your turn ends and you still have your target in a grapple.

Now that you bring up getting creatures inside buildings, it occurs to me that this is probably something that all the Beastkeeper subclasses could benefit from, not just the Summoner. If I were to do something like this, I'd make it a core feature. Maybe a summon-to-side action, involving the signal whistle?

8 hours of training per day, 1 day per level seems reasonable.

Thanks for the clarification on Rampage.

My main concern about coordinated attack is this. Let's say I'm a beastkeeper with a Draft Horse. I make an attack on my turn, the horse makes an attack using its reaction. My horse makes an attack on its turn, and I make an attack as a reaction. That's four attacks. 4 attacks at level 5 is only achievable by a fighter if they are dual wielding and get a reaction attack from a sentinel feat or similar. Take into account the fact that my horse will probably be dealing better damage than those dual wielding attacks, and the beast/keeper combo can outdo the fighter in terms of damage. If you postpone the beastkeeper's reaction attack until level 10, then the damage ends up being more similar, with the horse attacking twice and the beastkeeper attacking once.

Let's run the numbers on a blood hawk, ok? So, I'm a wildtamer with a bloodhawk. At level 2 I give my hawk a claw attack, which right away deals 2d6 + 4 damage. (damage dice is doubled by wildtamer, modifier granted by hawk's +2 dex and my probo. The next time I get a learned trait I give my hawk the improved natural defense feature for +2 AC, and at level four I grant my hawk 16 dex. At level 5, my Hawk has AC 18 (dex mod +3, proficiency bonus +3, improved natural defense +2), deals 2d6+6 damage with its attacks (extra d6 from wildtamer, dex +3 probo +3) and has 2 attacks per turn, same as a non-optimized greatsword fighter with a belt of frost giant strength. The hawk has the same AC and Damage as a plate armor greatsword wielding fighter, and then we throw in it's keepers' two attacks. Granted, the hawk has FAR lower health than your greatsword fighter, has a slightly worse bonus to hit, and sometimes goes wild, but you can see why I would be concerned about damage.

Strength is ALWAYS used to initiate a grapple, but either Strength or Dex can be used to escape. (at least in 5e that's true)

Some way to get animals into buildings/across barriers is probably a good idea. A large size creature can squeeze through doors meant for medium creatures, but if my creature is a horse and I'm presented with a ladder that's a pretty tough conundrum.

Also, if there was some way to concentrate the Beastkeeper's mental-based abilities into either wisdom or charisma that would probably be good. As it stands currently, Wild-tamer beastkeepers are reliant on every ability score except for intelligence as follows: Strength: Used for Grappling. Dexterity: Used for Armor. (Beastkeepers have no heavy armor proficiency). Constitution: Useful for everyone. Intelligence: Not used. Wisdom: Animal Handling Checks. Charisma: Keeping your beast from going off the rails, boost your beast's saving throws.

Potato_Priest
2016-12-24, 08:27 PM
Your animal companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. Your companion uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, an animal companion also adds its proficiency bonus to its AC and to its damage rolls.


You should probably clarify what the DCs for your creature's saving throws are. Are they based off your wisdom or charisma, or the beast's strength or dexterity?

Keep in mind that I'm not suggesting all these changes because the beastkeeper is bad, I'm suggesting them because I want to help you improve it, and I want DMs to let me play it. I think that the Beastkeeper is a very creative approach to a pet-based class, and seems like it will be lots of fun to play. :smallsmile:

Terrichance
2017-01-11, 06:10 PM
All-right, main post has been edited a fair bit. Sorry for the wait, holidays happened, not to mention my head wasn't in the right space for homebrew stuff.

The Creature's Bond has been updated to the 8-hours-training-a-day-per-beastkeeper-level change, and all other areas referencing that or similar have been changed to match.

I have gone ahead and nerfed the Coordinated Attack and all those related to it, by making Coordinated Attack itself have just the Companion do the bonus attacking, then changing the 10th level feature to 'Synchronized Attack', which has both you /and/ your creature bonus attacking, and then 'Extended Attack' at 13, stretching the distance from 5 to 10 feet.

Adding a new feature at lvl 5, is Keeper's Call, which will summon your creature to your side if the two of you ever get separated. Have added a bit to Home Stables to note that you can't call creatures directly from the Stables, using the Keeper's Call.

Also, changed Crush's prereq from DEX to STR.

The DC thing, if I'm reading what you're saying correctly, is something of a case-by-case basis, depending on what abilities the creature companion uses. In each of those, I'd say the relevant stats should come from the creature itself. I'd have to go through the list of Learned traits to see which ones need DCs or not.

Terrichance
2017-01-23, 12:22 AM
Have located and detailed all abilities that require DCs. Be sure to yell at me if I've missed any though.

I've also finally put up a list of CR 1/2 creatures for the Beastkeeper to choose from. There will be more choices added to that list as time goes on. One definite plan is to make 'younger' versions of all the D&D favorites, such as Displacer Beasts, Wyverns, and Griffons.

Another plan is to look to certain franchises, and convert a select few creatures from these into D&D monsters, for the Beastkeeper to choose from. If you were a fan of the Tecmo classic 'Monster Rancher', this may be the class for you. A Suezo is essentially a minor Beholder anyways, isn't it?

Terrichance
2017-04-05, 02:02 PM
At the risk of performing necromancy, I've come back to this thread after a while away, with new insight, and can now see what a stupid goober I was.

The following changes have been made-
-1/3rd spell progression doesn't /give/ you spells till lvl 3, so what's the point of giving you the feature at lvl 1? I have changed the Summoner's spellcasting to Pact Magic instead, giving them the Warlock's spellcasting progression (as they're making a pact with their companion creature after all,) but with access to the Bard's spell list instead, for supporting their creature. No school restrictions here.
-Healing kits aren't a tool like the herbalisim kit, they're just an item with charges. You don't /get/ proficiency with them. I have replaced that with proficiency with a musical instrument of your choice instead, and have added getting a musical instrument to the starting equipment as well. One can use this instrument as a way of signaling their creature to do certain actions, or use it to charm other creatures they encounter.
-With the release of the full fledged Artificer class, I have the reference needed to concoct a fourth subclass for the Beastkeeper to take, the Tinkerer. The Tinkerer at lvl 1, can choose a construct or elemental of CR 1/2, or a beast of CR 1/2 with construct statistics as given by the UA Artificer's own Mechanical Servant feature. They can't create magic items, but are quite focused on making their creation the leanest and meanest fighting machine it can be.

I'm still working on list of baby creatures for the Beastkeeper to take. But to add a touch of fullness to this class, I've managed to create an emblem, to represent this class.
https://i.imgur.com/D2ihcrt.png