Animal Companions

Companions are different than pets. A pet implies ownership. An animal companion is a creature that travels with you of its own free will. The worg that travels with us, Worg (yes I named the worg Worg. I was inspired by Good Omens) is such an example. The Ranger beastmaster archetype gets a beast companion that bonds with you and won’t abandon you. This animal companion is under no such obligation to do so.

So let’s take a look at how the animal companion works. If your party comes upon a beast that it doesn’t attack - I know, fat chance that happens, but let’s pretend. Now this beast, Burt the brown bear, has lost his way and ends up near the outskirts of the city you are in. It’s lonely and confused and looks at you with more curiosity than hate. With its Keen Smell ability, it senses the jar of honey that the rogue stole for no other reason than he’s a rogue. Even though Burt is just a brown bear, he’s not an idiot. He knows if he attacks the rogue, the party will kill him, so he stares longingly at the pouch holding the honey. Our Druid, seeing an opportunity to make an animal friend, asks the DM if they can work with our buddy Burt.

Now just because we want a furry friend doesn’t mean we just get one. I’ve consulted with the best DM ever, Stephen, and this is what we’ve come up with to get us our friend, Burt, to hang out with us.

First, we are looking at this from a party standpoint, not as an individual character. The DM would call for an animal handling check by the party. Whoever has the highest bonus rolls. If they fall the check by 5 or less, the animal is wary of staying and will follow the party at a distance. If they fail the check by 10 or more, the animal will leave. Multiple party member can make animal handling checks, but if 2 or more characters fail their checks, the animal will leave.

So how do we determine the DC of the animal the party is trying to befriend? A DC 10 animal handling check seemed like the right place to start. But a DC 10 didn’t seem right for a camel on one hand and an eagle on the other. The DC is adjusted based on the beast’s Wisdom score, so our camel would be a DC 9 and our eagle would be more difficult at a DC 12. Intelligence was discussed as the modifier, but since these are mostly animals we are talking about, we thought it more important for the creature to be swayed by how they felt about the party (insight), versus the creature’s investigatory ability (Investigation).

Two final questions remain. How often does the party need to make a check to see if the animal will continue to travel with the party and what things would have an effect on the creature’s willingness to stick around.