Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 SnigTheWorg Jun 24, 2015 6:55:35	I'm trying to homebrew a rogue with a animal companion similar to a beastmaster. Without giving up my assassin archetype, can any of you think of a trade off that would keep things balanced? Some ideas I had was - drop cunning action - delay sneak attack progression or nerf it in some other way? Basically I'm looking for a way to balance a rogue taking the beastmaster archetype along with assassin.
#2 jaappleton Jun 24, 2015 7:05:08	Well, there is one natural way to do it. Urchin background has you start with a pet mouse. And I think... I think one of the Gnomes can cast Speak With Animals naturally. So you can have a mouse companion for urban landscapes, sneak under a door and see how many enemies are in the room and such.
(Reply to #2) SnigTheWorg	jaappleton wrote:
#4 jaappleton Jun 24, 2015 7:27:55	If you can get your hands on the Enlarge spell somehow, and your race size was Small, I think you can ride a huge mouse. :P
#5 Macv12 Jun 24, 2015 7:28:14	What exactly are you hoping this companion will be capable of? Do you just want to beast master subclass features and no ranger features? You could get a mount without making it a class feature.
#6 SnigTheWorg Jun 24, 2015 7:43:19	Basically I'm looking for some way to nab a Beastmaster animal companion as a rogue. Being a rogue with only a single attack we couldn't both attack on the same turn (until bestial furry). But it could take reactions, or defend me if I'm incapacitated. Using WotC unearthed arcana article about customizing classes, in trying to swap something from rogue to gain animal companion (something other than my rogue archetype).
#7 jaappleton Jun 24, 2015 8:55:44	Ok. Here's the deal: To gain something, you have to give something up. So what are you willing to trade, and is it worth it? The Rogue had scaling sneak attack damage, as well as defensive capabilities, such as using its reaction to have damage. So what are you trading, and is it worth it?
#8 Macv12 Jun 24, 2015 9:31:13	I would sooner tell the DM "hey, I'd like to find and train an animal in this campaign to help me out, let's talk options and how I should start this journey," or "my background includes having this pet that I've bonded with, what do you think? Let's work out how to run it mechanically." If you mainly want a mount that isn't a primary combat option, that's by far the easiest solution.   Is the beast master feature important because of the scaling attacks and HP? If you only want it to be strong enough to defend you after you die, 5e is already designed so a lower-level monster can still have an impact on higher-level enemies. The scaling that ranger beasts get isn't going to let them go toe-to-toe with something that would have blown them away otherwise.   If you really feel that a class feature is the only way to accomplish what you want, I might cut your Sneak Attack progression in half. Or grant it as a feat; lack of spells and Extra Attack makes the feature less valuable to you. (And you could have used that feat on Find Familiar, so gaining ready access to Sneak Attack is a non-issue to me.)
#9 Captain_Kobold Jun 24, 2015 10:58:17	Also, look at the Beastmaster Ranger archetype and decide what options you are after? Just an Animal Companion? Or an animal companion with scaling HP, extra attacks and special options?   You can probably just buy a trained and potentially loyal animal with GP. If you're actually after having full progression of two archetypes as well as your class, however, that has more issues. As Jappleton said: you will have to give up some things if you're not willing to achieve what you're after the way the rules let you.
(Reply to #8) Marandahir	Macv12 wrote:
#11 SnigTheWorg Jun 24, 2015 13:53:27	I'm willing to give up some rogue features to gain an animal companion on par with the beastmaster. I suggested maybe giving up cunning action and or uncanny dodge? Perhaps a less powerful version of sneak attack? It's important that it's not just a regular mount. Id like to trade a rogue class feature for the bm feature. Keep in mind that the feature would be much less powerful for a rogue then a ranger.
#12 Tfuture Jun 24, 2015 18:22:26	I would say lose uncanny dodge (or whatever its called that 1/2s your damage as a reaction) and gain sneak attack every 3rd level instead of 2nd would do the trick.   So sneak attack would be  1:  1d6 4: 2d6 7: 3d6 10: 4d6   etc   Or take 5 levels in paladin.. Rogue/Pally is an awesome combo
#13 Veleria Jun 26, 2015 8:51:36	I would give up your subclass in exchange for the ranger beast master subclass if your DM is willing.
(Reply to #13) SnigTheWorg	Veleria wrote:
#15 JackOfAllTirades Jun 26, 2015 14:27:09	There's a related concept I've been working with lately, but it doesn't involve an animal you could ride.   If you're using feats, you could take the Magic Initiate feat (1st level for human, 4th level for any other), and get the Find Familiar spell. You'll have a highly useful animal sidekick who can help you in all sorts of ways.