Barbarian Path of the Beastmaster
Beastmasters are barbarians that have chosen a path of solitude, often without a tribe. These barbarians have needed to endure the wastelands on their own, and in time, have relied on the other beasts around them for companionship and aid.
ANIMAL COMPANION
Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, you learn to create a powerful bond with a creature of the natural world.
With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 50 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth an animal from the wilderness to serve as your faithful companion. You normally select you companion from among the following animals: an ape, a black bear, a boar, a crocodile, a giant badger, a giant weasel, a panther, or a wolf. However, your DM might pick one of these animals for you, based on the surrounding terrain and on what types of creatures would logically be present in the area.
At the end of the 8 hours, your animal companion appears and gains all the benefits of your Companion’s Bond ability. You can have only one animal companion at a time.
If your animal companion is ever slain, the powerful bond you share allows you to return it to life. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 25 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth your companion’s spirit and use your magic to create a new body for it. You can return an animal companion to life in this manner even if you do not possess any part of its body.
If you use this ability to return a former animal companion to life while you have a current animal companion, your current companion leaves you and is replaced by the restored companion.
COMPANION’S BOND
Your animal companion gains a variety of benefits while it is linked to you.
The animal companion loses its Multiattack action, if it has one.
The companion obeys your commands as best it can. It rolls for initiative like any other creature, but you determine its actions, decisions, attitudes, and so on. If you are incapacitated or absent, your companion acts on its own.
Your animal companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level. Your companion uses your proficiency bonus rather than its own. In addition to the areas where it normally uses its proficiency bonus, an animal companion also adds its proficiency bonus to its AC and to its damage rolls.
Your animal companion gains proficiency in two skills of your choice. It also becomes proficient with all saving throws.
For each level you gain after 3rd, your animal companion gains an additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly.
Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your companion’s abilities also improve. Your companion can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your companion can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature unless its description specifies otherwise.
Your companion shares your alignment, and has a personality trait and a flaw that you can roll for or select from the tables below. Your companion shares your ideal, and its bond is always, “The barbarian who travels with me is a beloved companion for whom I would gladly give my life.”
Your animal companion gains the benefits of your Danger Sense feature, and of your Feral Instinct feature when you gain that feature at 7th level.
d6 Trait
1 I'm dauntless in the face of adversity.
2 Threaten my friends, threaten me.
3 I stay on alert so others can rest.
4 People see an animal and underestimate me. I use that to my advantage.
5 I have a knack for showing up in the nick of time.
6 I put my friends’ needs before my own in all things.
d6 Flaw
1 If there’s food left unattended, I’ll eat it.
2 I growl at strangers, and all people except my ranger are strangers to me.
3 Any time is a good time for a belly rub.
4 I’m deathly afraid of water.
5 My idea of hello is a flurry of licks to the face.
6 I jump on creatures to tell them how much I love them.
BONDED RAGE
Beginning at 6th level, when you enter a rage, so does your animal companion. While raging, your Animal Companion gains the following benefits:
They have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
When they make a melee attack using Strength, they gain a bonus to the damage roll that increases as you gain levels as a barbarian, as shown in the Rage Damage column of the Barbarian table.
They have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
You animal companions rage is bonded with yours. When either your rage or your companions rage ends, the other rage ends as well. Your animal companions rage ends early if it is knocked unconscious or if their turn ends and they haven't attacked a hostile creature since their last turn or taken damage since then.
FURIOUS BOND
Starting at 10th level, your bonded rage only ends early if both you and your companion's turn ends and neither of you have attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then.
COMPANION'S SACRIFICE
At 14th level, when you or an ally are the target of a melee attack and your animal companion is within 5 feet of the target, your animal companion can use its reaction to take half of the damage dealt.
