Dungeons & Dragons 2024 (D&D) Class: Tamer

Level 1: Pocket Familiar

You become bonded to a companion that accompanies you on your adventures and is trained to fight alongside you. Choose a Small or smaller creature with a challenge rating of 1/2 or lower that isn’t a Humanoid, Giant, or swarm to become your companion. When a creature becomes your companion, it has a maximum number of Hit Points equal to the average of its Hit Dice, as indicated in its statistics, and it can’t cast spells. Work with your GM to find a companion that suits your campaign world. This companion obeys your commands and is friendly to you and your allies.

Vessel. When not summoned, your companion exists inside a magical vessel of your own design, such as a painted animal skull, bejewelled egg, or crystal sphere. While in this vessel, the companion has full cover from all attacks and other effects, is unaffected by area of effects that originate from outside the vessel, and exists in stasis; it doesn’t need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe, and it is immune to Poison and disease, although a poison or disease already in its system is suspended, not neutralised. A companion at 0 Hit Points is instantly stabilised when it enters its vessel.

If a vessel is broken, or a companion is released from its vessel for any other reason, the creature within it ceases to be a tamer’s companion. It acts according to its own wishes and retains any improvements it gained while a companion.

Summoning. As a Magic action, you can summon your companion from a vessel, causing it to appear in an unoccupied space that you can see within 30 feet of you, or any unoccupied space within 5 feet of you. You can dismiss a companion within 30 feet of you as a Bonus Action or Magic action, drawing it back into its vessel. To summon or dismiss a companion, you must be holding its vessel in hand. You can only have one companion summoned at a time.

Combat. In combat, your companion shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its Reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a Bonus Action or Magic action on your turn to command it to take different actions. Those actions can be in its statistics or some other action, Bonus Action, or object interaction. If you are incapacitated, the companion can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge. Your companion can’t take the Multiattack action until you reach 5th level in this class, even if it would otherwise be able to.

Rest. A companion gains the benefits of a Long Rest when its tamer finishes a Long Rest; if it has at least 1 Hit Point, it regains all its Hit Points when you finish a Long Rest. Unlike other creatures, a companion can’t spend its own Hit Dice to recover Hit Points at the end of a Short Rest. See the Soul Bond feature for details on recovering Hit Points.

Items. Armour, barding, and weapons can be equipped to enhance your companion. A companion can wear or carry any equipment that their size and body shape permits. However, your companion must be proficient with the armour or weapon to make full use of it. If your companion wears armour that it lacks proficiency with, it has Disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity. A companion that is not proficient with a weapon type does not add its proficiency bonus to attack rolls made with that weapon type.

Item Bonding. Over the course of an hour, you can bond a companion to one object that it can wear or carry that is not any sort of container or storage. When a companion is recalled, all items it is wearing or carrying that it is not bonded to are dropped in the space from which it was recalled. A companion can be bonded to up to 3 items at any one time. Companions can’t attune to magic items, unless they have a specific ability that allows them to do so.

Companion Barding. You can purchase armour for your companion. Any type of armour can be purchased as barding. The cost and weight is doubled for each size category above Medium, and halved for each size category below Small. In addition, the cost is further doubled if the companion is not humanoid in shape.

Level 1: Soul Bond

Companions make Death saving throws, die, and can be revived like any player character. A companion that has been stabilised remains unconscious until it regains hit points, or until you finish a long rest. Companions that are stable and have 0 Hit Points when you finish a Long Rest regain half their maximum Hit Points.

You have a pool of healing power equal to five times your tamer level that replenishes when you finish a Long Rest. Whenever you finish a short rest, you can choose to draw power from that pool, restoring a total number of Hit Points amongst your companions up to the maximum amount remaining in your pool.

Level 1: Monster Trainer

As you gain levels in this class, your companions become more powerful. Your companions use your proficiency bonus instead of their own, potentially increasing their attack, saving throw, and skill modifiers, and their saving throw DCs.

Training. Whenever you gain an Ability Score Improvement from gaining a level in the tamer class, you pass on your hardened resolve to all your companions, causing them to gain 1 additional Hit Die. Increase your companion’s Hit Point maximum by rolling this Hit Die and adding your companion’s Constitution modifier (minimum of 0).

Whenever you gain a level beyond 1st in this class, each companion to which you are bonded gains one of the following improvements. Bespoke familiars such as those from Heliana’s Guide or L’Arsene’s Ledger have unique improvements that can be taken instead of these.

Any newly gained companions receive these additional Hit Dice and improvements as if you had them since your 1st level in Tamer.

Companion Improvement Training

Level 1: Tame Creature

One way to defeat deadly foes: have deadlier friends. As you explore, you will encounter new creatures which you may wish to make your companions. You can tame a Small or smaller creature of CR 1/2 or lower, as described below. As you gain levels in this class, the size and challenge rating of creatures you can tame increases, as shown in the Tamer Companion Summary table.

Vessel. To tame a companion, you must first prepare a vessel using special inks, gems, or other materials. Preparing the vessel takes 8 hours of work and components with a value in gold pieces equal to at least one hundred times the target creature’s CR.

Taming a Creature. As a Magic action, you can throw an empty vessel at a creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The creature must succeed on a Charisma saving throw against your tamer spell save DC or be trapped within the vessel. A creature automatically succeeds on this saving throw if:

• It is a Humanoid, Giant, or Swarm.
• It is larger than your maximum companion size (use a creature’s unaltered size if it is under the influence of a size-changing magical effect, such as Enlarge/Reduce).
• It has a higher CR than your maximum companion CR (see the Tamer Companion Summary table).
• It has a higher CR than the vessel can capture.
• It has more than half of its Hit Points.

If a creature doesn’t automatically succeed on this saving throw for one of the above reasons, and has either fewer than ten Hit Points or one-quarter of its Hit Points, it automatically fails this saving throw. A creature that fails the saving throw is trapped in your vessel and becomes your companion when you next finish a Long Rest.

Lost Traits. When a creature becomes your companion, it loses the following from its stat block:

• The ability to cast any spells, though it retains its spells known.
• Any summoning actions or actions that create additional creatures (such as a wraith’s Create Specter action or an ooze’s Split reaction).
• The Regeneration, Rejuvenation, and Legendary Resistance traits.
• Any effect that restores Hit Points, unless that effect has a limited number of uses per day.
• Any Legendary Actions, Mythic traits, Legendary Action options, and Mythic Action options.
• Any Lair Actions and Regional Effects.

Tamer Companion Summary

Level 2: Spellcasting

You have learned to cast spells through your harnessing of your mental fortitude to augment the potential of others. See chapter 7 of the PHB for the rules on spellcasting. The information below details how you use those rules with Tamer spells, which appear in the Tamer spell list later in the class’s description.

Cantrips. You know two cantrips of your choice from the Bard spell list. Dancing Lights and Vicious Mockery are recommended.

Whenever you gain a Tamer level, you can replace one of your cantrips with another cantrip of your choice from the Tamer spell list.

When you reach Tamer levels 10 and 14, you learn another cantrip of your choice from the Tamer spell list, as shown in the Cantrips column of the Tamer Features table.

Spell Slots. The Tamer Features table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your level 1+ spells. You regain all expended slots when you finish a Long Rest.

Prepared Spells of Level 1+. You prepare the list of level 1+ spells that are available for you to cast with this feature. To start, choose two level 1 spells from the Tamer spell list. Charm Person, Color Spray, Dissonant Whispers, and Healing Word are recommended.

The number of spells on your list increases as you gain Tamer levels, as shown in the Prepared Spells column of the Tamer Features table. Whenever that number increases, choose additional spells from the Tamer spell list until the number of spells on your list matches the number on the table. The chosen spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For example, if you’re a level 5 Tamer, your list of prepared spells can include four spells of levels 1 and 2 in any combination.

If another Tamer feature gives you spells that you always have prepared, those spells don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare with this feature, but those spells otherwise count as Tamer spells for you.

Changing Your Prepared Spells. Whenever you gain a Tamer level, you can replace one spell on your list with another Tamer spell for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your Tamer spells.

Spellcasting Focus. You can use a Creature's Vessel as a Spellcasting Focus for your Tamer spells.

Level 2: Bolster

While your companion is within 100 feet of you and you are holding its vessel, or if you are holding its vessel with it inside, you can use a Magic action to expend one spell slot to restore Hit Points to your companion equal to your spellcasting ability modifier (minimum 1) plus an additional 2d4 per level of the spell slot expended.

Level 2: Psychic Bond

While your companion is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as a Magic action, you can see through your companion’s eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the companion has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses.

Spell Swap. While your companion is summoned, is within 100 feet of you, and you hold its vessel, any spells your companion knows are added to your known spells. In addition, when you cast a spell with a range of self or touch, your companion can be the target of that spell.

Level 3: Pocket Family

The number of companions and maximum size of companion to which you can become bonded increases. You can be bonded to two, three, four, five, or six creatures at levels 3, 7, 11, 15, and 19, respectively. Your companions can be sized Medium at level 5, 11 (Large), and 17 (Huge). If you are already bonded to your maximum number of companions and become bonded to a new companion, you must choose one existing companion to release from its vessel.

When you bond with a new companion, the companion gains improvements and Hit Dice based on its CR and your Tamer level.

Level 3: Tamer Subclass

You gain a Tamer subclass of your choice. The Leader Paradigm, Infuser Paradigm, Necromancer Paradigm, Siphoner Paradigm, Splicer Paradigm, and Swarmslinger Paradigm subclasses are detailed after this class’s description. A subclass is a specialization that grants you features at certain Tamer levels. For the rest of your career, you gain each of your subclass’s features that are of your Tamer level or lower.

Level 4: Ability Score Improvement

You gain the Ability Score Improvement feat (see chapter 5 of the PHB) or another feat of your choice for which you qualify. You gain this feature again at Tamer levels 8, 12, and 16.

Level 5: Multiattack

Through rigorous training, you can access the innate fury of your companions. When you take a Bonus Action or Magic action to command your companion, you can command it to use its Multiattack action, if it has one.

Level 5: Malleable Presence

While your companion is within 100 feet of you, you can order it to change its behaviour towards one creature you can see as part of the Bonus Action or Magic action you use to command it. Choose either the Aggressive or Cautious behaviours. At the start of each of the target creature’s turns for the next minute, it must make a Wisdom saving throw against your tamer spell save DC if it is within 30 feet of your companion and can see your companion. On a failure, it suffers the effects of the associated behaviour until the start of its next turn. On a success, it is unaffected.

Aggressive. The creature has Disadvantage on attack rolls it makes against creatures other than your companion.

Cautious. The creature has Disadvantage on attack rolls against your companion if there is another creature hostile towards the attacker within 5 feet of the attacker.

After you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a Short or Long Rest.

Level 6: Alpha Strike

While summoning a companion, your psychic connection is at its closest, allowing you to quickly relay your intent. As part of the Magic action to summon a companion, you can command it to take an action in its stat block or some other action, which it does so on its turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Tamer spellcasting ability modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses of this feature when you finish a Long Rest.

Level 6: Wilful Blows

Your magical potency is channeled through your companions’ strikes. Your companions’ attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Level 13: Switcheroo

You learn how to switch places with your companion in the nick of time. While you and your companion are within 100 feet of each other, you can use a Bonus Action, or a Reaction when you or your companion is the target of an attack by an attacker you can see, to magically switch places with your companion. If performed as a Reaction, the creature that appears in the targeted creature’s space becomes the new target of the attack. You have a number of uses of this feature equal to your Tamer spellcasting ability modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a Long rest.

Level 17: Magnificent Presence

While your companion is within 100 feet of you, you can order it to change its behaviour as part of the Bonus Action or action you use to command it. Choose either the Provoking Poise or Shrinking Violet behaviours.

Provoking Poise. For the next minute, your companion draws the attention of nearby creatures. While within 15 feet of your companion, any creature that is hostile towards your companion and that can see it has Disadvantage on attack rolls it makes against creatures other than your companion.

Shrinking Violet. For the next minute, your companion appears small and unassuming, making little noise. Any creature that is hostile towards your companion has Disadvantage on attack rolls against your companion if there is another creature hostile towards the attacker within 15 feet of the attacker.

After you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long rest.

Level 20: Summon the Hoard

In times of great need, a Tamer can summon many of its companions simultaneously. As a Magic action, you can summon additional companions which remain summoned for 1 minute. You can have a maximum of three companions summoned simultaneously as a result of using this feature.

As a Magic action on subsequent turns, you can issue mental commands to all your companions at once, allowing them to take an action in their stat block or some other action. You choose the order in which your companions act each round. After the minute elapses, all your companions bar one (which you choose) return to their vessels and a wave of lethargy sweeps over you; you can’t move or take actions until the end of your next turn. Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long rest.