An animal companion is an animal that develops a close bond with a druid or ranger and accompanies her on adventures. Most animal companions are typically one of the following: badger, bird, camel, cat, dire rat, dog, horse, pony, snake (viper or constrictor), or wolf. The GM may allow other animals not on this list.
Animal companions are bigger, stronger, and smarter than the typical animal of its kind. To create an animal companion, start with the base stats for the animal. As your animal companion gains levels, these stats will increase. Your animal companion gains levels anytime you do. If you are a druid, your companion's level will always be one level lower than yours, since you gain one at level 2. Rangers get animal companions at level 4, so your companion will always be three levels lower.
If you release your companion from service or your companion dies, you can replace it. Doing so requires a 24-hour ceremony in the environment where the new companion typically lives.
Animal companions have the following scores.
Animal companions have the same ability scores as their common counterparts.
Your companion has saving throw scores for each of its abilities. At level 1, they start with the same saving throws as their base animal form. Each time your animal gains a level, you get two ranks to increase these saving throws. This functions in the same way as your normal saving throw ranks.
Animal companions start with the same AC as common animals, though they get a special dodge bonus to AC that they can add on top of any other dodge bonuses (including that from Dexterity) that they already have. The special dodge bonus increases each level, as follows.
| Companion Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special Dodge Bonus to AC | +0 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +7 | +8 | +9 | +10 | +10 | +11 | +12 | +13 | +14 | +15 | +15 | +16 |
At level 1, your animal companion has the same number of hit points as its common counterpart. Every level afterward, it gains 1d10 more hit points (no Con bonus).
Your animal companion's combat proficiency bonus increases as you level up. Use the following combat proficiency scale instead of the common animal's listed bonus.
| Companion Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CP | +1 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +10 | +11 | +12 | +12 | +13 | +14 | +15 | +15 |
Your companion has the same types of attacks that their common counterparts have. That is, your companion wolf will have a bite attack that a normal wolf does. If your creature has more than one attack (like a horse's "2 hooves") it can use one of those attacks normally, or both of them when making a full-round attack.
The damage inflicted by these attacks is different from their common cousins. All companion attacks start out at 1d4+3 damage. At levels 3, 9, and 15 this damage increases by 1 (to 1d4+4, 1d4+5, and 1d4+6).
As usual, your companion's melee attack bonus is equal to its Combat Proficiency Bonus + its Strength Bonus, and its ranged attack bonus is equal to its Combat Proficiency Bonus + its Dexterity Bonus.
Animal companions have the following skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Athletics (Str), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Nature (Wis). Companion's scores are equivalent to the skill scores of common animals. If the creature doesn't have a score for any of these skills, the companion will make a straight ability check to perform them.
You companion is still an animal, so you never have complete control over them like you would with a familiar. Animal companions can only perform whatever tricks you've taught them to do (see Animal Handling for a list of these tricks). All animal companions know the companion trick for free. In addition, you can teach them four other tricks. As their level increases, the number of tricks you can teach them also increases. Unlike common pets, however, you do not need to take time to train your companion when you gain new tricks. Your companion learns them automatically.
| Companion Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra Tricks | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Animal companions have all the same special abilities (trip, grab, constrict, etc.), sensory abilities (scent, darkvision, low-light vision, etc.) , and movement that regular versions have.
Companions also gain special abilities at certain levels. These abilities are particular to animal companions and not common among regular animals.
| Companion Level | Companion Abilities |
|---|---|
| 1st | Link, share spells |
| 2nd | -- |
| 3rd | Evasion |
| 4th | Ability score increase |
| 5th | Summon (paladin only) |
| 6th | Devotion |
| 7th | -- |
| 8th | -- |
| 9th | Ability score increase |
| 10th | -- |
| 11th | Magical Beast (paladin only) |
| 12th | -- |
| 13th | -- |
| 14th | Ability score increase |
| 15th | Improved evasion, Spell Resistance (paladin only) |
| 16th | -- |
| 17th | -- |
| 18th | -- |
| 19th | -- |
| 20th | Ability score increase |
You make animal handling checks at advantage for your companion. If you don't have any ranks in Animal Handling, you may make a Wisdom check at advantage instead. Unlike normal animals, this takes a free action for you and your companion. If you are pushing your companion to do something they normally wouldn't do it takes a movement action instead.
If you choose, you may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) you cast on yourself also affect your companion. The companion must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the companion if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the companion again even if it returns to you before the duration expires. Additionally, you may cast a spell with a target of "You" or "Self" on your companion (as a touch range spell) instead of on yourself. Spells shared this way affect your companion even if they normally only affect humanoids.
If an animal companion is subjected to an attack that normally allows a Dex saving throw for half damage, it takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw.
The animal companion adds +1 to any one of its ability scores.
An animal companion gains advantage on saves against enchantment spells and effects.
When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Dex saving throw for half damage, an animal companion takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and only half damage if the saving throw fails
Paladin's mounts are a special kind of animal companion, ones endowed with certain magical qualities. In addition to the standard abilities, paladin mounts get the following.
Once per day, as a full-round action, you may magically call your mount to your side by using two points from your energy pool. The mount immediately appears adjacent to you.
At 11th level, the mount becomes a magical beast for the purposes of determining which spells affect it. It gains darkvision 60 feet and has a spell resistance of 7. It also has weapon resistance 5 and 5 points of energy resistance.
At 15th level, your mount gains spell resistance equal to your level + 11.