Subclass Ranger Beast Master

What Is the Beast Master?

The Beast Master is a Ranger subclass built around an animal companion that takes its own turn in initiative. Ranger's Companion at Level 3 summons a beast of your choice, and Companion's Bond — also at Level 3 — adds your Wisdom modifier to its Armour Class, attack rolls, and damage rolls. Exceptional Training at Level 7 frees the companion's Bonus Action for Dash, Disengage, and Help, and Bestial Fury at Level 11 grants Extra Attack along with a Hunter's Mark rider.

Every beast runs on one shared stat block rather than its own creature entry: a single melee attack, a Charge, and the same ability scores, Hit Points, and Armour Class. The species you pick changes the flavour of the attack and how the beast moves, not its numbers.

Class Features

Progression Overview

LEVEL	FEATURE
3	Ranger's Companion, Companion's Bond
7	Exceptional Training
11	Bestial Fury

Level 3

Ranger's Companion An Action that spends your single Ranger's Companion charge to summon a beast within 9m. The charge returns on a Long Rest.

COMPANION	ATTACK	MOVEMENT	NOTES
Bear	Claws — 1d8 Slashing	12m	Charge
Boar	Tusk — 1d8 Bludgeoning	12m	Charge
Wolf Spider	Bite — 1d8 Piercing	12m	Charge, Jump, Darkvision, immune to Web, Perception +5 and Stealth +7
Dire Raven	Beak — 1d4 Piercing	9m, flying	No Charge; doesn't provoke Opportunity Attacks when it flies out of reach
Wolf	Bite — 1d8 Piercing	12m	Charge

Every attack adds the beast's melee ability modifier on top of the die, plus your Wisdom modifier from Companion's Bond.

Charge An Action plus 6m of movement. The beast rushes up to 6m and slams into the first creature in its path for 1d8 + 1d6 + its melee ability modifier Bludgeoning damage. On a failed Strength saving throw, the target is also knocked Prone. The Dire Raven is the one companion without it.

The companion has its own place in the initiative order and acts on its own turn, so commanding it costs you nothing.

Once the charge is spent, a second entry appears in the Ranger's Companion menu: expend a spell slot of any level, with no Action required, to restore one Ranger's Companion charge. It does not summon anything by itself — it only refills the resource, so you can then summon the beast as normal for an Action instead of waiting for a Long Rest.

The companion's stat block scales with your Ranger level:

RANGER LEVEL	HIT POINTS	HIT DICE
3-4	15 (Dire Raven 12)	3d8
5-6	25 (Dire Raven 20)	5d8
7-8	35 (Dire Raven 28)	7d8
9-10	45 (Dire Raven 36)	9d8
11+	55 (Dire Raven 44)	11d8

Every beast shares the same base ability scores — Strength 14, Dexterity 14, Constitution 15, Intelligence 8, Wisdom 14, Charisma 11 — and an Armour Class of 11 before Companion's Bond. The Dire Raven trades that for Dexterity 16, Constitution 13, and Armour Class 10, and it attacks with Dexterity.

Companion's Bond Your Wisdom modifier is added to the companion's Armour Class, attack rolls, and damage rolls.

Level 7

Exceptional Training Your companion can Dash, Disengage, and Help as a Bonus Action, so it can move and still attack in the same turn.

Level 11

Bestial Fury Your companion gains Extra Attack, making two attacks when it takes the Attack action. The first time each turn it hits a creature under the effect of your Hunter's Mark, it also deals an extra 1d6 Force damage.

Playstyle Notes

The Beast Master's advantage is action economy: the companion has its own turn, so its attack costs you nothing. Two characters' worth of attacks come out of one party slot, and the companion also soaks attacks that would otherwise land on you.

Because all five beasts share one stat block, the pick is about positioning rather than power. The four ground beasts move 12m — a third further than most enemies — and all of them carry the same Charge, so the practical question is whether you want a body that closes the distance or one that ignores the ground entirely. The Dire Raven flies at 9m, doesn't provoke Opportunity Attacks when it leaves an enemy's reach, and hits for a smaller die in exchange; the Wolf Spider brings Darkvision, Jump, and the best Stealth of the group.

Charge is the reason to hold the companion's Action rather than spend it on a plain attack. It costs the Action plus 6m of movement and lands more damage than the beast's own attack, and a failed Strength save leaves the target Prone for your party to swing at with Advantage. With 12m of movement to set it up, the beast can start well outside the enemy line and still open the turn with a knockdown.

Companion's Bond arriving at Level 3 rather than later means the beast is never a stat block you have to carry. It runs on Wisdom — the ability you are already maximising for spell save DC and Hunter's Mark uptime — so at 20 Wisdom the companion attacks and defends at +5 from the moment you summon it. Its Hit Points climb with your Ranger level as well, so it stays a real body on the field rather than a one-hit summon.

The charge economy changes how you treat a dead companion. Losing the beast no longer costs a Short Rest — it costs a spell slot, spent as a free part of your turn, after which you still need an Action to bring it back. In practice, a death mid-fight costs you one Action and one slot of any level, which makes bringing it back in the same combat a reasonable choice rather than a write-off.

Exceptional Training at Level 7 removes the choice between moving and attacking, and Bestial Fury at Level 11 doubles the companion's output. The Hunter's Mark rider on Bestial Fury only fires on the first hit each turn, so it does not double with Extra Attack — but it does mean your marked target takes Hunter's Mark damage from both of you.