Jack Bitters
2017-09-09, 06:50 PM
Context: An idea I've had floating around for a while regarding the Ranger's pet is that you can always polymorph it into something else if you don't appreciate what you've got. Now, the rules for polymorph state that the CR of the new creature must be equal or less than the original. Fairly limiting, if you're stuck with a CR 1/4 beast for your entire adventuring career. But hold on! The CR of the Ranger's pet does increase, and may be recalculated with the rules on pages 274-275 of the DMG.
Take the iconic Giant Crab, for example. A level 9 Ranger adds a proficiency bonus of +4 to the crab's armor class, attack rolls, damage rolls, and the crab's hitpoints also increase to 4x the level of the Ranger. Its new stats are AC 20, HP 36, and it attacks at +8 to hit and 1d6+6 (9) damage. Its new CR is 2 (2 defensive, 3 offensive). You could polymorph it into an Allosaurus or a Polar Bear at this point if you wanted to.
But let's get into the craziness. True Polymorph imposes no restriction on creature type. Your CR 2 Giant Crab is now a gargoyle, or a peryton, or... a dragon wyrmling. We'll say silver dragon wyrmling. Now, on page 86 of the Monster Manual, it lays out dragon age categories. At the age of 6, a dragon grows up from wyrmling to young dragon. So, if your Giant Crab still ages once polymorphed into a silver dragon wyrmling, after 6 years or so, it grows into a young silver dragon. Which is CR 9.
Now, if the DM allows it, this silver dragon is technically the same creature as the Ranger's Giant Crab, because the True Polymorph can be dispelled to reverse the change, and because it retains its alignment and personality during the transformation. A Ranger's pet is magically bonded with its master, and obeys the Ranger's commands to the best of its ability. If it is indeed still the Ranger's pet, even after growing into young silver dragonhood, it is reasonable to assume that the Ranger applies his proficiency bonus to the dragon's armor class, attacks, damage, and saving throws. And can order it around, just like a normal beast. And did I mention it's a Large creature, so you can ride it as a sick mount?
Final cheese: If you're not about to wait 6 years for your silver dragon to grow up, you can also feed it potions of longevity (DMG 188). These reduce your age by 1d6+6 years, minimum of 13. But the dragon isn't 13 years old yet! The kicker is that they also have a 10% cumulative chance to age you by 1d6+6 years, which means that after a half dozen potions or so, your dragon will spontaneously age into young silver dragon mode.
So all this assumes a lot:
1) You can recalculate the CR of your animal companion and polymorph it based on that new CR.
2) You can polymorph it into a dragon, and once polymorphed, the creature will age normally and grow up.
3) The "new" creature still counts as your "animal" companion and receives bonuses based on your ranger level.
4) Dragons physically grow if magically aged.
But hey! It's a Ranger buff! That comes online once you unlock polymorph or true polymorph, but still... Buy a scroll or something. And watch out for dispel magic. Other colors of dragons are available, although blue and gold wyrmlings are CR 3 and red dragon wyrmlings are CR 4.
Take the iconic Giant Crab, for example. A level 9 Ranger adds a proficiency bonus of +4 to the crab's armor class, attack rolls, damage rolls, and the crab's hitpoints also increase to 4x the level of the Ranger. Its new stats are AC 20, HP 36, and it attacks at +8 to hit and 1d6+6 (9) damage. Its new CR is 2 (2 defensive, 3 offensive). You could polymorph it into an Allosaurus or a Polar Bear at this point if you wanted to.
But let's get into the craziness. True Polymorph imposes no restriction on creature type. Your CR 2 Giant Crab is now a gargoyle, or a peryton, or... a dragon wyrmling. We'll say silver dragon wyrmling. Now, on page 86 of the Monster Manual, it lays out dragon age categories. At the age of 6, a dragon grows up from wyrmling to young dragon. So, if your Giant Crab still ages once polymorphed into a silver dragon wyrmling, after 6 years or so, it grows into a young silver dragon. Which is CR 9.
Now, if the DM allows it, this silver dragon is technically the same creature as the Ranger's Giant Crab, because the True Polymorph can be dispelled to reverse the change, and because it retains its alignment and personality during the transformation. A Ranger's pet is magically bonded with its master, and obeys the Ranger's commands to the best of its ability. If it is indeed still the Ranger's pet, even after growing into young silver dragonhood, it is reasonable to assume that the Ranger applies his proficiency bonus to the dragon's armor class, attacks, damage, and saving throws. And can order it around, just like a normal beast. And did I mention it's a Large creature, so you can ride it as a sick mount?
Final cheese: If you're not about to wait 6 years for your silver dragon to grow up, you can also feed it potions of longevity (DMG 188). These reduce your age by 1d6+6 years, minimum of 13. But the dragon isn't 13 years old yet! The kicker is that they also have a 10% cumulative chance to age you by 1d6+6 years, which means that after a half dozen potions or so, your dragon will spontaneously age into young silver dragon mode.
So all this assumes a lot:
1) You can recalculate the CR of your animal companion and polymorph it based on that new CR.
2) You can polymorph it into a dragon, and once polymorphed, the creature will age normally and grow up.
3) The "new" creature still counts as your "animal" companion and receives bonuses based on your ranger level.
4) Dragons physically grow if magically aged.
But hey! It's a Ranger buff! That comes online once you unlock polymorph or true polymorph, but still... Buy a scroll or something. And watch out for dispel magic. Other colors of dragons are available, although blue and gold wyrmlings are CR 3 and red dragon wyrmlings are CR 4.