Has any of you tried a CR progression For Beast Master Ranger

[KorvinStarmast]

I was reviewing the Druid wild shape, and had an idea. Without changing anything else about Beast master, I got the idea to do something similar to the Druid's wild shape progression for Ranger based on the Ranger's proficiency score.

levels 1-4: as is.
levels 5-8: CR 1/2 (having a black bear might be a power spike at first)
levels 9-12: CR 1
levels 13-16: CR 2
levels 17-20: CR 3

As I mull over encounter design in Tier 3 and Tier 4 play, I still get a sense of the beast having survival issues, just not as severe as now.

But before I go any further, has anyone tried this and did it work?

[Yunru]

Coughs in Tinker Ranger (see signature)
:P

And yes, it worked a treat.
It has enough health to not immediately die, and it has enough hit dice to actually heal on its own.

[KorvinStarmast]

Coughs in Tinker Ranger (see signature)
:P
Ah, thanks! :)

It looks to be similar enough, but the power progression well exceeds what I have in mind.

Companion Construct:
Choose a construct with a maximum CR of 1/2 to craft.
As you level up, the maximum CR increases, to a CR of 1 at 5th level, a CR of 2 at 9th level, a CR of 3 at 13th level, and a CR of 4 at 17th level.

You can reconstruct your companion, either if it dies or to change it's form, with one hour of tinkering. You companion always has the highest maximum hit points possible. That's not where I was intending to do.

[Yunru]

Ah, thanks! :) Did you ever put it into play?

It looks to be similar enough.

Indeed I did. Had great fun with a Aloy-esque character (still found the core class kinda "eh" though :( ).

[Yunru]

It looks to be similar enough, but the power progression well exceeds what I have in mind.
That's not where I was intending to do.

Bare in mind that my version doesn't get your proficiency bonus to attacks accuracy, damage, and AC.

If you just want to increase CR and keep the proficiency, you'll find your pet will be even more strong-but-brittle.

Unless you're on about the one hour resurrection, in which case feel free to switch it to 8.

[theVoidWatches]

The thing about this, I think, is that while it works perfectly well, it also means changing your companion out every few levels. This works alright if you're imagining them as, say, a nature spirit that can take increasingly powerful forms, or if you're a pokemon trainer who continuously catches new monsters to assist you, but most people who want to play beastmasters (at least in my experience) like the flavor of having the one companion who sticks by you forever.

[Yunru]

The thing about this, I think, is that while it works perfectly well, it also means changing your companion out every few levels. This works alright if you're imagining them as, say, a nature spirit that can take increasingly powerful forms, or if you're a pokemon trainer who continuously catches new monsters to assist you, but most people who want to play beastmasters (at least in my experience) like the flavor of having the one companion who sticks by you forever.

It also works if you have several variants of the same animal (bears, for instance), but there's not many of those.