Companion Guidelines

There are four kinds of companions: Domesticated animals, tamed/wild animals, hirelings, and companions.

A PC can have any reasonable number of non-combat animals and hirelings with them (as determined by the DM) during an adventure for simple work such as pulling carts, delivering messages, etc. A player character can have at maximum only one combat-trained domestic or tamed animal, fighting hireling, or sidekick. Class features and spells, such a ranger’s animal companion or paladin’s summoned steed, and mounts do not count against this maximum.

## Temporary Hirelings

**Hirelings** are NPC professionals that can be paid to undertake certain tasks for or with the player characters. Many hirelings, such as messengers or laborers, are simply hired according to the prices in the PHB. More exotic hired help, or hired workers in especially hazardous conditions (such as adventuring) may cost more, at DM discretion. Occasionally, players may be tempted to hire professional soldiers to help on adventures. Since D&D is intended to played on a smaller scale, this is strongly discouraged in general, always requires DM approval, and never extends beyond a single adventure.

The exception to this rule are the retainers that come with certain backgrounds, like the Noble. These count as hirelings that stay with the character from adventure to adventure, and especially in between adventures. They use the stats of any NPC “monster” of the player’s choosing with CR of ½ or lower, such as nobles, or bandits.

## Companions

**Companions** are adventurers in their own right. They have race, class, and levels as a PC adventurer would. They have their own personalities, goals, and motivations, as any PC would. A temporary companion can be gained on an adventure, as determined by the DM, through good roleplay, Persuasion checks, etc. Becoming a permanent companion requires admin approval, both of the character itself and for converting them to companion status. Converting a temporary companion into a permanent one usually requires a special adventure to create a more permanent bond, often treated to the companion’s personal motivations and goals.

A companion is more independent than any other type of companion, but also more costly. They take an equal share of the xp and gold/treasure from the PC they are attached to. They gain levels and buy equipment for themselves normally. They gain no dtp, but otherwise largely act as a secondary PC on the adventure. A companion is controlled by the player, but the DM should remember that they are people, not automatons, and if treated poorly may leave, or even turn on their hero. This option should only be done in extreme circumstances, of course, and a player should always be warned if their actions towards their companion might lead to them parting ways. A companion may risk their life for the hero they adventure with, but only if the hero would do the same for them.

Companion function in most ways as any other player character, with the following exceptions:

* Companions share Inspiration with their PC. Any Inspiration the DM hands out to the player is owned equally by the PC or the companion. A player can not have both the PC and companion be individually Inspired.
* Companion will never progress in levels to equal or exceed the attached PC unless the player chooses to allow them to do so to close their story or begin a new one. Excess xp beyond this point cannot be banked and given to the companion when it will no longer push them over the line. Any xp that would raise the companion to equal level is lost.
* Companion may be nominated by DMs to gain the rewards of running sessions. The companion gains all xp and gp the DM would gain for running the session, it may not be split between the companion and their hero. DTP is gained for the account as normal.
* Companions gain no dtp for sessions they adventure in, but they can spend it for training or other purposes just as any PC could.
* Companions may not adventure separately from their attached hero, and can only be attached to one PC at a time, never to a group.
* Companions usually choose levels, spells, feats, etc. as decided by the player, but the creating DM may choose a specific path as needed by the story,
* Companions may not progress past level 17 by any means.

A companion may leave the service of the PC at any time at the player’s discretion. When the team is dissolved, one of three things happens, as chosen by the controlling PC: First, the companion may become a town NPC owned by the player or by the DM that originally created them. Second, the companion may join another PC temporarily, again requiring a special adventure to become a permanent companion. Or third, the companion may become a hero in their own right. Upon taking the third option, the companion loses companion status and becomes a normal PC under the control of the player, following all the normal rules for player characters on the server. Note that, upon taking this option, the companion and hero can no longer adventure together or buy, sell, or trade between each other. Once this option is chosen, it is irreversible.

## Beasts and beyond

No PC may have more than one tamed creature in a session at a time, though there is no limit to the number of tamed or domesticated creatures a PC may have outside of a session.

### Taming beasts

Domesticated animals are the animals that can be purchased from the PHB equipment chapter, as well as those additional animals listed as available in Luskan. They function as the PHB describes, acting as controlled mounts when ridden, and on their own otherwise. The only cost of acquiring them is the listed gold. Note that only warhorses and mastiffs in the PHB are trained for combat. Other animals are capable of fighting, but are likely to flee if possible. A domesticated creature is considered Tame and trained for Riding or Hauling if appropriate.

Other domesticated animals may be available in certain locations beyond Luskan during sessions, refer to the Beasts and Beyond spreadsheet.

Other animals can be tamed or befriended by adventurers if they put in the time and have the skills to make it work. A single use of the Animal Handling skill might be enough to avoid a conflict with a growling wolf, but it takes substantially more to get her to come back to town with you and then go on further adventures.

Taming an animal is done in stages: First, the PC must encounter it on an adventure (a DM may be contacted and an adventure constructed for the purpose of finding the creature in question, or it might be found during the course of an existing adventure). The animal obviously must survive the adventure and be returned to town, either through purchase, capture, successful Animal Handling checks, magical compulsion, or other means at the DMs discretion. Finally, the process of taming the creature during down time. As anyone that’s trained animals can tell you, this is a lengthy process.

Creatures up to CR 8 that are beasts with Intelligence of no higher than 4 can be tamed, trained for riding or hauling, and even combat. A creature must be tamed before they can be trained for riding or hauling, and trained for riding or hauling before being trained for combat.

The use of Animal Friendship or similar magic gives advantage on the roll. If the roll fails, the player may spend 10% of the money and downtime listed to try again until they either succeed or give up. Rolls must be made in #dm-supervised-rolls and overseen by a Founder or Keeper.

Note that tamed animals are not ranger companions, and will still act according to their nature. The DM is free to call for Animal Handling checks during adventures if the PC is trying to convince a tamed animal to act in a way substantially contrary to its wild instincts (e.g. trying to prevent a riding stag from fleeing if noticeably injured).

### Taming creatures beyond beasts

A character may encounter even more exotic and rare creatures that may be tamed and trained. These creatures can be much more difficult and expensive to train, no less find and acquire in the first place. No creature beyond CR 8 may be tamed or trained by PCs, refer to the Monstrosities, Fey, etc. tab in this sheet for what creatures are available.

Use the following table to adjust the DCs and Costs above.

 Beast with Int 5+
 Monstrosity type
 Fey type
 Dragon type
 Aberration type
 Chaotic alignment
 Lawful alignment
 Evil alignment
 Intelligence 8+