An Animal Companion for Anyone!

[robbie374]

I don't like how familiars are so easily killed, nor that Rangers' beasts don't allow for other Ranger subclasses, nor that Druids can't get animal companions. And why shouldn't anyone be able to get a companion? Here are some rules for anyone to get a companion.

Animal Companion

You have an animal companion! Choose any creature. Based on that creature, your companion has the following statistics:
- Your companion may be any size equal to or smaller than the normal creature's size.
- Your companion loses all of its combat abilities.
- Your companion is indestructible and cannot be targeted.
- Your companion refuses to carry anything except its own personal items.
- Your companion can serve as a mount, but when ridden it matches its speed to the speed of its rider.
- Your companion's available movement is never less than yours.
- Your companion can understand any language you do.
- Your companion can benefit from any magical or non-magical effect that you do, if you wish.
- In combat:
--- When you attack, cast a spell, or do something else to affect a target, if your companion has enough movement to reach the target, it can deliver the effect on your behalf. Movement used in this way doesn't count against its remaining available movement.
--- All rolls are made as if you delivered the effect yourself.
--- Your target knows that you were responsible if and only if it would have without your companion's participation.
--- Afterward, you seem to have misplaced any resources that you would have expended to make the attack.
- If you gain a familiar, beast companion, or other permanent companion, your Animal Companion may serve that role instead. It gains all of the abilities of that companion and loses all of the above features, reverting to these Animal Companion rules if it dies.

(The intent is to make this Animal Companion an extension of your character for RP purposes, allowing it to function as a weapon or deliver spells, etc, but have no mechanical impact on the game.)

[JackPhoenix]

Alternative: There's an animal. It uses the normal stats of an animal. It acts on its own, behaving like a normal animal. You may use Animal Handling to try to command it. You may have to train it first, which will take some time. Or you may buy already tamed animal, using price from PHB.

[MagneticKitty]

Yeah these rules are bulky. Not to mention if the animal is large (rideable) and invulnerable you can use it to body block doors since enemies cannot travel through another creatures space. Not to mention the weird rules of what if an aoe hits them too. And a mount that can bee hit is stealing the thunder from mounted combatant feat.
If you're going to do this I'd limit size and not let them do what a familiar can. No scouting, no spell channeling. Just flavor.

Maybe model them after Warlock raven queens raven. While perched on your shoulder(or in your space) they can't be targeted. Meaning if you risk putting them out there on their own they can die. Must be tiny, mundane, a beast, and cr 1/4 or lower. They can retrieve small items less than or equal to half their own weight.

[CTurbo]

I've given PC's pets before. I let an entire group buy Mastiff puppies once. I even let them pay for a "class" that taught the Animal Handling skill. I even went one step further and let them choose between two different homebrewed subclasses of Mastiffs.

You had the brute that was a bit larger and got a +1 Str and +2 Con.
and you had the smart one that got a +2 Dex and +1 Int and got to learn 2 useful tricks.

For quick reference their normal stat block is 13 Str, 14 Dex, 12 Con, 3 Int, 12 Wis, 7 Cha

I did give them 2 extra hit dice so they wouldn't be SO easy to kill and let them gain a 3rd later on. I did this because there was no getting them back if they died.

They were treated like true pets though. They acted accordingly and did not get a "turn" in combat or could not really follow orders any better than a normal dog.

I made each player roll a d100 to see what alignment the dogs were as far as Lawful Neutral to Chaotic Neutral. 1 was fully chaotic and 100 was fully lawful. This determined how easily the dogs would follow orders or learn tricks.

Oh and they started off as helpless puppies with 1 hit point. The group had a lot of fun with them though. I'd definitely use this again in the future.

[sophontteks]

Druids can get animal companions. It takes some work.There are a few required spells.
- Speak to animal spell. Shepherd druids can just talk to animals at will.
- Animal friendship- Charm that lasts for 24 hours without concentration.
- Beast bond- Allows the rapid communication nessesary to command them in combat.

So, speak to them, charm them. You get advantage on charisma checks You can raise its standing with you with food, persuasion and animal handling. My DM allows animal handling to be used with wisdom, or charisma depending on what I'm doing.

Making it a full companion takes time, but eventually it'll be your buddy and stop trying to eat your buddies.

[JoeJ]

An invulnerable animal that doesn't have the normal abilities for an animal of its type but can understand whatever languages I can and acts just like an extension of me? I would find that extremely immersion breaking. If I have an animal companion I want it to be an actual animal.