Iampower
2019-04-02, 10:34 PM
So still new to all this. But ive been thinking about the ranger beast monster on the phb(not really a fan of the revised simply cause its an overhaul - just a personal preference). And ive thought of some (hopefully) minor changes to the phb ranger that (hopefully) makes a big enough difference.
Now i dont intend for the ranger to be a major damage dealer that can compete with the fighter or something like that - i personally dont think it was meant to be one. But i figured it needs some kind of leg up and in the tweeks ive done, i included in the BM at level 11 for the beast to get one of the character's saving throws. So this got me to think why dont i just create a beast that already has saves. Thoughts? Has anyone done this before and how did it go?
Cor reference below are the changes i did to ranger
Favored Enemy
Choose a type of favored enemy: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can select two races of humanoid (such as gnolls and goblins) as favored enemies.
You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them. You gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with weapon attacks against any of your favored enemies. When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies, if they speak one at all.
You choose one additional favored enemy, as well as an associated language, at 6th and 14th level, increasing the bonus damage by 1 each time. As you gain levels, your choices should reflect the types of monsters you have encountered on your adventure
Primeval Awareness
Beginning at 3rd level, you can use your action and expend one ranger spell slot to focus your awareness on the region around you. For 1 minute per level of the spell slot you expend, you can sense whether one of the following types of creatures and any of your favored enemies are present within 1 mile of you (or within up to 6 miles if you are in your favored terrain): aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This feature doesn't reveal the creatures' location or number, only the direction and relative strength. A distant but powerful creature will have a similar signal to a relatively weaker but closer creature, and a single powerful creature will have a similar signal to a group or cluster of relatively weaker creatures.
Beastmaster Archetype
Ranger's Companion
At 3rd level, you gain a beast companion that accompanies you on your adventures and is trained to fight alongside you. Choose a beast that is no larger than Medium and that has a chaIlenge rating of 1/4 or lower (the hawk, mastiff, and panther as examples). Like any creature, the beast can spend Hit Dice during a short rest. Add your proficiency bonus to the beast's AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals its normal maximum, or four plus half your prociciency bonus rounded down then multiplied by your ranger level, whichever is higher.
The beast obeys your commands as best as it can. It takes its turn on your initiative. On your turn, you can verbally command the beast where to move (no action required by you). You can use your action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, or Help action. Once you have the Extra Attack feature, you can make one attack yourself and you can command the beast to take an Attack action. If you don’t issue a command, the beast takes the Dodge action.
If you are incapacitated or absent, the beast acts on its own, focusing on protecting you and itself. The beast never requires your command to use its reaction, such as when making an opportunity attack.
Your beast companion benefits from your Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer, and Hide in Plain Sight features. When you cast spells targeting yourself, you can also affect your beast companion with the spell if the beast is within 10 feet of you. The range where your beast companion is affected by the spell increases by 10 feet at ranger level 6 and 14.
While traveling through your favored terrain with only the beast, you can move stealthily at a normal pace. lf the beast dies, you can obtain another one by spending 8 hours magically bonding with another beast that isn't hostile to you, either the same type of beast as before or a different one.
Exceptional Training
Beginning at 7th level, on any of your turns when your beast companion doesn't attack, you can use a bonus action to command the beast to take the Dash, Disengage, or Help action on its turn. In addition, the beast’s attacks now count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Greater Beast Companion
Starting at 11th level, when you command your beast companion to take the Attack action, the beast can make two attacks, or it can take the Multi-attack action if it has that action. If it does not have any saving throw proficiencies, it gains proficiency in one of your saving throws.
Coordinated Attack
Beginning at 15th level, when you cast a spell that requires an action and affects any number of creatures, your beast companion can immediately make a single attack on an affected creature within it's range as part of your action.
Now i dont intend for the ranger to be a major damage dealer that can compete with the fighter or something like that - i personally dont think it was meant to be one. But i figured it needs some kind of leg up and in the tweeks ive done, i included in the BM at level 11 for the beast to get one of the character's saving throws. So this got me to think why dont i just create a beast that already has saves. Thoughts? Has anyone done this before and how did it go?
Cor reference below are the changes i did to ranger
Favored Enemy
Choose a type of favored enemy: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can select two races of humanoid (such as gnolls and goblins) as favored enemies.
You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them. You gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with weapon attacks against any of your favored enemies. When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies, if they speak one at all.
You choose one additional favored enemy, as well as an associated language, at 6th and 14th level, increasing the bonus damage by 1 each time. As you gain levels, your choices should reflect the types of monsters you have encountered on your adventure
Primeval Awareness
Beginning at 3rd level, you can use your action and expend one ranger spell slot to focus your awareness on the region around you. For 1 minute per level of the spell slot you expend, you can sense whether one of the following types of creatures and any of your favored enemies are present within 1 mile of you (or within up to 6 miles if you are in your favored terrain): aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This feature doesn't reveal the creatures' location or number, only the direction and relative strength. A distant but powerful creature will have a similar signal to a relatively weaker but closer creature, and a single powerful creature will have a similar signal to a group or cluster of relatively weaker creatures.
Beastmaster Archetype
Ranger's Companion
At 3rd level, you gain a beast companion that accompanies you on your adventures and is trained to fight alongside you. Choose a beast that is no larger than Medium and that has a chaIlenge rating of 1/4 or lower (the hawk, mastiff, and panther as examples). Like any creature, the beast can spend Hit Dice during a short rest. Add your proficiency bonus to the beast's AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals its normal maximum, or four plus half your prociciency bonus rounded down then multiplied by your ranger level, whichever is higher.
The beast obeys your commands as best as it can. It takes its turn on your initiative. On your turn, you can verbally command the beast where to move (no action required by you). You can use your action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, or Help action. Once you have the Extra Attack feature, you can make one attack yourself and you can command the beast to take an Attack action. If you don’t issue a command, the beast takes the Dodge action.
If you are incapacitated or absent, the beast acts on its own, focusing on protecting you and itself. The beast never requires your command to use its reaction, such as when making an opportunity attack.
Your beast companion benefits from your Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer, and Hide in Plain Sight features. When you cast spells targeting yourself, you can also affect your beast companion with the spell if the beast is within 10 feet of you. The range where your beast companion is affected by the spell increases by 10 feet at ranger level 6 and 14.
While traveling through your favored terrain with only the beast, you can move stealthily at a normal pace. lf the beast dies, you can obtain another one by spending 8 hours magically bonding with another beast that isn't hostile to you, either the same type of beast as before or a different one.
Exceptional Training
Beginning at 7th level, on any of your turns when your beast companion doesn't attack, you can use a bonus action to command the beast to take the Dash, Disengage, or Help action on its turn. In addition, the beast’s attacks now count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Greater Beast Companion
Starting at 11th level, when you command your beast companion to take the Attack action, the beast can make two attacks, or it can take the Multi-attack action if it has that action. If it does not have any saving throw proficiencies, it gains proficiency in one of your saving throws.
Coordinated Attack
Beginning at 15th level, when you cast a spell that requires an action and affects any number of creatures, your beast companion can immediately make a single attack on an affected creature within it's range as part of your action.