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.

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	ROLE
Bear	The toughest option, and its Goading Roar pulls attacks onto itself
Boar	Charges through the battlefield and knocks enemies Prone
Wolf Spider	Ranged Webs and a poisonous Bite
Dire Raven	Flies, and can Blind its target
Wolf	A Lunging Bite that wounds and knocks down

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.

The pick matters more than the numbers. The Bear is the durable one and can pull attacks onto itself with Goading Roar. The Wolf Spider brings ranged control through Webs, the Dire Raven flies and blinds, and the Boar and Wolf both knock targets down.

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.