🦸♀️(Legacy) 5e - Houndmaster🦸♀️
Whether on a lonely hunt in the deep forest or blazing a path through the battlefield, the image of a rugged figure moving as one with their faithful hound is an iconic one. Often taking work as bounty hunters, survivalists, or mercenaries, these fighters seek a bond with their companions far beyond that of beast and owner.
Level 3: Loyal Hound
When you adopt this Archetype, you complete the training of a Loyal Hound. Your Hound is friendly to you and obeys your commands. It uses the Loyal Hound stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places. You are proficient in the ☠️Beast Unity Tradition.
In combat, your Hound acts during your turn. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but it only takes the Dodge action unless you use a Bonus Action to command it to take an action from its stat block, or another action. Whenever you take the Attack action, you can command the Hound to take the Attack action in place of one of your attacks. If you are ☠️Incapacitated, your Hound acts on its own.
If your Hound is reduced to 0 hit points, it makes death saving throws like a player character would. If your Hound dies, your special skills allow you to find a canine-like creature and train it as a Loyal Hound over the course of a long rest, at which point, that creature uses the Loyal Hound stat block.
Loyal Hounds & other Canines
Depending on your table and game setting, there are many creatures that could be a Loyal Hound.
Loyal Hound
Medium BeastArmor Class: 13 + PB
Hit Points: 5 + 5 x your fighter Level
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +2 | +2 | +1 | -1 | +2 | -1 |
Senses: Passive Perception 12
Languages: Understands the languages you speak
Traits
Hit Dice: Your Hound has a total number of d8 Hit Dice equal to your fighter level. It also gains all the normal benefits of both short and long rests.
Loyal Companion: You add your PB to any ability check or saving throw that your Hound makes.
Keen Senses: Your Hound has ADV on any ability check that relies on their hearing or smell.
Actions
| Attacks | Attack Bonus | Save DC | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +2 + PB | Yours | 40 ft., swim 20 ft. |
Bite: Melee, 1d6 +2 + PB Piercing. STR Save. Failure: The Target is Grappled.
Maul: Melee, 1d8 +2 + PB Slashing.
Level 6: Iron Jaws
Your Hound has been infused with a portion of your own heroic fighting spirit. Your Loyal Hound gains a pool of exertion equal to your proficiency bonus and becomes proficient in the Tooth and Claw combat tradition. It may use its bite attack in place of any melee weapon and uses your maneuver DC in place of its own.
Your hunting companion learns a number of combat maneuvers equal to your proficiency bonus and one each time your proficiency bonus increases. It can only learn maneuvers of a degree you have access to and it must learn at least one maneuver of a degree before learning one of a higher degree.
You must use a Bonus Action to command your hunting companion to perform a maneuver on its turn, except for maneuvers that require a Reaction, which require you to spend your Reaction instead. You can only direct your hunting companion to use one maneuver per round. If the maneuver requires a bonus action, your hunting companion may also make an attack as an action if an enemy is within range.
Level 9: Steadfast Companion
You can face any foe so long as your Hound is by your side. Your Hound has ADV on any Saves it is forced to make so long as it is within 30 feet and can see or hear you.
Also, whenever you use Second Wind, your Loyal Hound also regains hit points equal to 1d10 + your Fighter level.
Level 13: Canine Fury
Your commands inspire wild fury. Whenever you command your Loyal Hound to take the Attack action, it can make two Maul attacks, or one Maul attack and one Bite attack.
Level 17: Hound of Legend
Thanks to your training, your Hound has come to rival the great beasts of legend. When you use Action Surge, your Hound also gains one extra action on that turn.
Moreover, your Loyal Hound’s STR and DEX scores each become +4, thereby increasing the bonus to hit and damage of both its Bite and Maul attacks by +2 each.