Six New Specialist Companions for the Beastmaster

[Giant2005]

I used the monster creation guidelines from the DMG to create 5 new Cr 1/4 Beasts which are intended to be used by the Beastmaster.
They are all specialized in order to enhance their strengths and in some cases reduce the weaknesses of the companion, as a result they are quite a bit more powerful than the other companion options. I recommend using them only if you have an issue with how the Beastmaster's companions perform.

I figured some Beastmasters might want little more out of their companion other than a decent mount. With that in mind, I made the extremely resilient Giant Cockroach. This one is a little unrealistic compared to the others and is more of a parody of a Cockroach than anything resembling reality but I'm sure at one time or another we have all frustratingly decided that Cockroaches are immortal and it is that outburst that leads to the:

Spoiler: Giant Cockroach

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Next up I created an offensive ranged companion option which I feel is a bit of an otherwise unsatisfied need for any Ranger that wants an offensive mount without having to fight in melee. that line of thought gave birth to the:

Spoiler: Giant Bombadier Beetle

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The next two are basic companions that in practice function exactly like the best companions currently do: They require serious ranger levels and the Mounted Combatant feat to survive but are effective melee combatants. These ones are just more offensive variations for those that thing damage is a field where the Beastmaster falls behind.

Spoiler: Giant Wolverine

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Spoiler: Giant Praying Mantis

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The final creation is a melee combatant that unlike the Wolverine and Praying Mantis, doesn't require being mounted in order to survive (And as a smaller creature, can't actually be mounted). It has good offense and defense (Once its HP is boosted by the Beastmaster's passive abilities) and unlike this things defenses/damage are actually pretty realistic considering how monstrous a Tardigrade really is. For those that aren't aware and can't be bothered googling the creature, they are the most resilient things on the planet and look like something born of a nightmare (Shame on that new Errata that prevented me from giving them a functional Frightful Presence).

Spoiler: Giant Tardigrade

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The newest addition is a multi-attacking Deinonychus (Which is the presumably feathered, dinosaur the raptors from Jurassic Park were based off). I may have taken some liberties on this one as no-one really knows how they fought but considering the knives strapped to their feet and their big ol' teeth, it isn't a huge leap to think they were all used as weapons. I figure like flightless birds of today, their combat involves a whole lot of kicking but unlike the flightless birds of today, they didn't have wings to stabilize them while doing so. So I went with a simple bite grapple to keep them upright while they kick like maniacs.

Spoiler: Deinonychus

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It has come to my attention that for some unknown reason, some people cannot see the images. So here are download links for those that can't see the images and are interested enough to bother:

Deinonychus
Giant Bombardier Beetle
Giant Cockroach
Giant Praying Mantis
Giant Tardigrade
Giant Wolverine

[Gurka]

At the risk of seeming dumb, in case I'm doing something wrong (and probably very simple)... I can't see any of the content behind your spoiler tabs. They show as broken images.

[SharkForce]

i was halfway expecting to see a creature that gets a huge amount of attacks that each deal low damage to be boosted by the beastmaster here :P

i have to say, the cockroach is a bit silly... regeneration 8 on a CR 1/4 creature? i presume this is only possible because they literally have no offensive CR whatsoever. personally, i'd say give them a shove or ram that deals 1 point of damage.

[Giant2005]

i was halfway expecting to see a creature that gets a huge amount of attacks that each deal low damage to be boosted by the beastmaster here :P

I would have if I did this prior to the Errata that came out and made multiple attacks impossible but I don't think I would have gone over 3 attacks anyway. I wanted to make things that were better as companions but I didn't want to get too carried away to the point where no-one could ever use them without breaking the game.

i have to say, the cockroach is a bit silly... regeneration 8 on a CR 1/4 creature? i presume this is only possible because they literally have no offensive CR whatsoever. personally, i'd say give them a shove or ram that deals 1 point of damage.

Yeah the Cockroach is easily the silliest of the bunch. I just wanted to make something that would serve as a good, survivable mount if someone were so inclined. And it is kind of thematic with Cockroaches seemingly being invulnerable in real life. The part I enjoyed the most was the Rejuvenation aspect - the fact that Cockroaches can't die without pouring holy water on them seemed so thematic.
And yeah I could have given them a shove or a ram or something but I didn't want to give them too much ad they were already the most ridiculous of my creations. I figured it was better keeping them focused on survival then giving them an attack rider which no-one would have used anyway (Even with some kind of rider on their attack, the Ranger would probably be better off simply attacking himself in most circumstances).

[SharkForce]

to clarify: the cockroach would not be getting an attack rider. they'd be getting an attack, which deals 1 damage. because they should be able to attack, even if they're terrible at it. the attack would be called a shove or ram; it doesn't knock enemies down, or push them back; just does (lousy) damage.

as far as lots of attacks not doing anything, that isn't strictly true. at level 3, it does nothing. once you can command multiattack, 3 or more attacks is definitely helpful. especially so on a beastmaster's companion where you add proficiency damage to each of them... a creature with 5 1d2 damage attacks would be *very* worthwhile at that point.

[Giant2005]

to clarify: the cockroach would not be getting an attack rider. they'd be getting an attack, which deals 1 damage. because they should be able to attack, even if they're terrible at it. the attack would be called a shove or ram; it doesn't knock enemies down, or push them back; just does (lousy) damage.

Oh right I understand now, you have no love for the bite.
I pretty much just chose bite for the Cockroach because I had no idea what Cockroaches actually do in combat. I figured they eat, so biting seemed reasonable enough.

as far as lots of attacks not doing anything, that isn't strictly true. at level 3, it does nothing. once you can command multiattack, 3 or more attacks is definitely helpful. especially so on a beastmaster's companion where you add proficiency damage to each of them... a creature with 5 1d2 damage attacks would be *very* worthwhile at that point.

That is a very good point! I didn't consider that multi-attack can still be useful at level 11+, with 3+ attacks.

EDIT: I thought I'd make a multi-attacking companion to fill that niche but I really have no idea what animals are actually renowned for attacking fast like that. The only thing I can think of is the Mantis Shrimp and making a water-based companion is just a waste of time. If you or anyone else can think of a fast attacking animal that could fill that niche (That isn't already in the books), I'd happily write it up.

[SharkForce]

Oh right I understand now, you have no love for the bite.
I pretty much just chose bite for the Cockroach because I had no idea what Cockroaches actually do in combat. I figured they eat, so biting seemed reasonable enough.

That is a very good point! I didn't consider that multi-attack can still be useful at level 11+, with 3+ attacks.

EDIT: I thought I'd make a multi-attacking companion to fill that niche but I really have no idea what animals are actually renowned for attacking fast like that. The only thing I can think of is the Mantis Shrimp and making a water-based companion is just a waste of time. If you or anyone else can think of a fast attacking animal that could fill that niche (That isn't already in the books), I'd happily write it up.

huh. well, don't i feel silly. you did give the cockroach an attack, it's just a tiny little bit at the bottom of the entry. never mind then =S

(on a side note, you could've made some kind of smaller ape, like a chimp, that throws rocks for your ranged option).

hmmm... as far as multiattack... well, 5e has already decided to represent octopus and squid tentacles as a single attack, and cats no longer have their 3-attack pattern (bite/claw/claw) with 2 rake add-ons in special cases... perhaps there's some kind of dinosaur? alternately, a medium or small scorpion might fit the bill (giant scorpions, which are large, get 3 attacks... whether or not a medium scorpion's claws would be worth resolving separately and could still be done as a CR 1/4 creature is debatable).

also, if you came out with a CR 1/4 version of the flying snake (which is already a good companion at CR 1/8) i'm sure a few people would be happy :)

[Gr7mm Bobb]

At the risk of seeming dumb, in case I'm doing something wrong (and probably very simple)... I can't see any of the content behind your spoiler tabs. They show as broken images.

Same issue, might be because we aren't able to load the images he posted because of where in the world we are viewing this (like work or school).

[Giant2005]

also, if you came out with a CR 1/4 version of the flying snake (which is already a good companion at CR 1/8) i'm sure a few people would be happy :)

That would make me happy too. I imagine it wouldn't be too different to a Giant Poisonous Snake that can fly and had no save check on its venom (Although that sounds like something that should be a higher CR than the Giant Poisonous Snake).
Either way, I can't do it within the Monster Creation Rules - there are only two ways to have a creature end up as a CR 1/4: averaging a 0 and 1/2 offensive/defensive CRs or averaging two CR 1/4 offensive/defensive CRs.
The thing about the Flying Snake is that its offensive CR is 1, which means the best I could hope to achieve is making a version that inflicts the same damage but has 2 less to-hit and 1 extra HP. Essentially, the Flying Snake is already statistically better than anything that can be made at CR 1/4. I could make a version that had a weaker (and less accurate) attack but had other perks like a bonus action attack or something but that would just seem weird for a bigger Flying Snake.

Same issue, might be because we aren't able to load the images he posted because of where in the world we are viewing this (like work or school).

That is quite irksome, I thought I had already fixed that issue...
As a second attempt, I have added some dropbox links to the OP now, so hopefully those will help you and anyone else that can't see the images yet is curious enough to go to the effort.

[SharkForce]

guess that explains a lot of why the flying snake is so good as a companion then =S

[eleazzaar]

Tardigrads!

I wouldn't call them Fearful. Compared to other microscopic life they are about the most charming and cuddly creature you can find.

[Giant2005]

Tardigrads!

I wouldn't call them Fearful. Compared to other microscopic life they are about the most charming and cuddly creature you can find.

Maybe they aren't quite as horrifying to other people then... Still, I don't think there would be many kids rushing out to buy Tardigrade stuffed toys that look like this:

[Giant2005]

hmmm... as far as multiattack... well, 5e has already decided to represent octopus and squid tentacles as a single attack, and cats no longer have their 3-attack pattern (bite/claw/claw) with 2 rake add-ons in special cases... perhaps there's some kind of dinosaur? alternately, a medium or small scorpion might fit the bill (giant scorpions, which are large, get 3 attacks... whether or not a medium scorpion's claws would be worth resolving separately and could still be done as a CR 1/4 creature is debatable).

The Dinosaur was a really good idea! Considering no-one really knows how they fought, it is much easier to take liberties with them. Now the Deinonychus has been brought to DnD!
It took a lot of restraint to keep his multiattack down to 3 attacks. I really, really wanted to give him an extra two kicks for a multiattack with 5 hits in there, but I figured that was a bit too over the top.

[Belac93]

Your stat block of giant wolverines is actually describing normal wolverines quite accurately.
That being said: I love giant cockroaches!

[Giant2005]

Your stat block of giant wolverines is actually describing normal wolverines quite accurately.

Yeah I only went with "Giant" because medium-sized creatures are the same size as humans and that is obviously quite a bit larger than a regular Wolverine. I'm glad you think it seems quite authentic though! I was trying to make them powerful enough to be useful as a companion while still keeping in line with what traits and abilities the creature possesses in reality (Aside from the Cockroach which is more of a parody than reality).

That being said: I love giant cockroaches!

Me too. I don't think I'd ever use one though - if I wanted something that was only useful as a mount, I'd probably use a Paladin with Find Steed instead. Although it was most certainly the most fun companion to make.