Hello, friends!
Ginny Di here, and this video is all about pets.
(audience claps) (audience cheers)
No, not you. I wanna talk about imaginary pets.
Today, we're gonna talk about pets in "D&D."
(audience boos) Wait!
I know some DMs hate them,
but give me a chance to convince you.
(upbeat music)
You've probably run into at least one DM that hates pets,
and I have to say, I kinda get it.
A lot of times animal companions end up
at best being forgotten,
or at worst, actively slowing down the game.
They can definitely make things more complicated.
Is your wolf allowed to accompany you
into the palace to meet the queen?
Who's gonna mushroom-sit your new Campestri
when you delve into a deadly dungeon?
And what if a monster sees your trusty mount
and thinks, "Mm, lunch." Not to mention the fact
that a lot of our "D&D" companions can't actually die.
For some people, an unkillable pet is narratively boring.
And I say this as someone who has definitely knowingly sent
my familiar, Nightshade the pseudodragon,
into deadly situations.
I mean, the only real stakes are an hour
and 10 gold worth of charcoal and incense.
(foreboding music) I said I was sorry!
And of course, there are the other logistics
of pet maintenance.
Bears are badass in a fight,
but they must have to eat a ton.
Holy shit, Alaskan brown bears
eat 80 to 90 pounds of food a day.
Better permanently dedicate a slot to Goodberry.
Please don't get me wrong, I love animal companions.
I have pets, mounts, or familiars in both of my home games.
I'm just saying that I understand why some DMs
aren't eagerly building pet shops into their towns.
So today, in the interest
of adorable animal companions everywhere,
I'm gonna go over five tips to make pets easier to handle
and more fun for your games.
(air whooshes) (calm upbeat music)
When playing with pets, you will run into situations
where you're not sure what to do with it.
Should a pet be included in the body count for teleport?
Do you need to carry food for your mount?
Does your pet need to roll the same saves
that your character does?
I suggest that when you find yourself
asking these questions, you make that call
by answering another question,
what will make the game more fun?
This might be different from table to table.
Maybe the pirate's shoulder parrot
constantly being left behind when the party teleports
and then finding its way to you days afterwards exhausted,
"Homeward Bound" style, is a great running joke for you.
But if it's just gonna be annoying or disruptive,
who really cares if the parrot gets to teleport?
Is it gonna break the game?
At the end of the day, it's your game
and you get to pick the rules.
Just make sure to take a quick note about the decision,
so that you can stay consistent
and your players know what to expect.
My DM Jesse, whose channel I will link in the cards,
has a great rule for this, our pets have plot armor
as long as we don't try and use them as anything but pets.
Until we try to give our cute little winged kittens
a turn in combat or send them scouting
into the big bad's territory, they're basically invincible.
But if we choose to bring them into the fray,
they become vulnerable to damage, just like the rest of us.
(air whooshes) But that's not realistic!
(gasps) Sorry, didn't see you there.
But, listen, if you really don't wanna suspend disbelief,
you can explain it away pretty easily.
I mean, it's fantasy.
Just give 'em some kinda magic amulet or something.
The amulet of pet invulnerability.
Wondrous item! Rare!
Any pet that attunes to this amulet forgoes their ability
to enter initiative, and is now completely immune
to all forms of damage and cannot suffer from any condition.
Or something. I dunno, it's your game.
But if Matt Mercer can give Laura Bailey
a necklace that safely stores an entire bear
in case of emergency, so can you.
If you find yourself getting caught up in the logistics
and looking for angles that might allow your players
to take advantage of your ruling, just talk to them.
You're allowed to say, above table,
"Hey, I'd love to give you pets,
but we all need to agree that they're just pets.
No being sneaky about it."
You don't need to make your rulings airtight
if you can trust that your players
aren't trying to break them.
But, Ginny!
Ah! You're still here.
If the animal can't die, there are no real stakes.
How do we make sure players care about it?
That's a really good question, comment section.
You're smart and thoughtful,
and your hair looks great today.
That's a perfect segue to my next point!
(air whooshes) - As the mist clears,
the hulking figure turns towards you, eyes glowing red.
(gentle mystical music) - Shoot, it's 10 pm.
Should we do this next session?
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(air whooshes) (calm upbeat music)
If it bugs you when players forget about pets,
animal companions, or mounts until they become relevant,
you can choose to bring them up more often.
When you enter a building,
ask "What are you doing with your owlbear?"
Maybe your dire wolf
has to be included in the marching order
as you're going across this rickety bridge.
When the party meets a new NPC, maybe they comment on
an animal companion or ask to pet them.
If you like, you can even roleplay animals
as if they were NPCs joining the party.
Not every DM is gonna wanna shoulder
that kind of commitment,
but if you want pets to be more involved,
you don't have to just wait for players to bring them up.
And if you make a habit of mentioning them regularly,
your players will start to think about them more often too.
For DMs who wanna bring realism into a game,
you can remind players of their animal's needs.
Pets need to be fed,
or they might go off on their own to hunt or forage,
making them unavailable for scouting missions
or maybe even alerting others to the party's location.
A carnivorous mount might seem really cool
until they get hungry
and the DC for animal handling checks goes way up.
If you wanna add some emotional tension,
you can even try tying animals into a quest.
Think of "Avatar," when Aang's Sky Bison Appa got kidnapped.
That quest became really emotionally impactful
because everyone loved Appa so much
and didn't wanna see him hurt.
(buzzer blaring) - Warning, warning.
- Please, do not kill a pet
without talking about it above table first.
Many of us have had to deal with losing pets in real life,
and playing that circumstance out in game
may not be fun for everyone.
This should be something that's discussed in session zero.
What's session zero?
Jesus Christ! Hoo.
It's basically just a session
that happens before the game starts
where you set expectations and boundaries.
But it's never too late to bring it up,
especially if your players don't get pets
until later on in the game.
Also, even if you don't want animal companions
to have their own actions in battle,
you and your players can still make them part of the action
through your narration.
Even if it's the ranger who rolled a successful attack,
you can still describe how her elk companion
distracted the werewolf with its bugle
so that she could land her shot
with a silver-tipped arrow.
Maybe a dexterity save that just meets the DC
means one of the horses was able to bite down
on the rogue's belt
just before he fell off the edge of the cliff.
Situations like that help the players start to bond
with the animals in the party and see them as characters,
instead of just extra tokens on the map.
They don't have to be part of the mechanics
in order to be part of the story.
But let's say that you do want them
to be part of the mechanics,
this next tip is crucial in those cases.
(air whooshes) (calm upbeat music)
Raise your hand if you have ever made the mistake
of letting the party's animal-lover tame a creature
that was way too powerful to include in encounters.
(gentle chime) Humans can bond
with nearly anything, as Pixar's successful merch-ification
of a literal spork has shown us, so trust me,
your players will not be dissuaded from wanting to adopt
that Banderhobb just because it says neutral evil
under its name.
I mean, look at that big smile!
That's a friend-shaped guy. That's a big slimy buddy!
First of all, don't make the mistake of equating one,
or even several good Animal Handling rolls
to a domesticated creature.
Just because the druid rolled a natural 20
doesn't mean they have complete control over an animal.
There is such a thing as impossibility in "D&D."
There's a point to be made here about when you choose
to allow a roll in the first place,
but I will save that for another video.
No matter how much the players want it
or how high they roll, some creatures can't be domesticated.
A wild animal is still a wild animal, even if the party
successfully gets it to cooperate on something.
One bad command or poor animal handling check later on
could make it abandon the party altogether,
or even worse, attack.
A Winter Wolf is probably never gonna respond to Fido,
no matter how hard you try.
So you're telling me there's a chance.
Speaking of animal handling, it is way too easy
to forget what is and isn't an animal in "D&D."
Keep a close eye on those creature types,
because there's a good reason that the Druid
can't use a first level spell
to be instant BFFs with an Aboleth.
The Banderhobb might look like a friend,
but his type is monstrosity.
I suggest you set your limits right off the bat.
Ask yourself, "What do I do if a player tries to hatch
a creature egg, rather than sell it?
What if they decide to raise that dire wolf puppy
after they slay its mother?
What do I do if, for some ungodly reason,
they wanna try and befriend the griffon
rather than fight it?"
If you wanna allow players to raise or train animals,
I would advise that you establish a system for that
before it comes up in game, so that you're prepared.
And if it comes up before you're ready for it,
don't be afraid to be transparent with your players
and tell them it's not possible,
or that you need some time to prepare,
rather than rushing into making a call
that might be game-breaking down the line.
You can always present another opportunity later on
if taming a monster is something that their heart
is absolutely set on.
If you're looking for a place to start with the mechanics,
you might consider checking out
the Sidekicks section of "Unearthed Arcana."
What's an Unearthed Arca-
I'm so glad you asked!
"Unearthed Arcana" is basically a playtest supplement
produced by Wizards of the Coast.
So it's not technically official "D&D,"
but it's like official-adjacent.
The Sidekicks system has limitations
on what type of creature can be a sidekick,
and then rules for that sidekick gaining levels
and abilities over time.
It's actually pretty cool,
in my opinion, more cool than Warlock or Wizard familiars,
who stay pretty static for the whole campaign.
But if all that sounds too complicated,
then this next tip is probably gonna suit you better.
(air whooshes) (calm upbeat music)
If your beef with animal companions
is just that the rules are too complicated,
then simplify them.
When I play Aisling,
my familiar Nightshade's turn is combined with mine,
even though rules as written
say that she should get her own initiative.
But this way is just easier, for me and for my DM,
so we just made that call.
Some rules might make the game less fun.
It's okay to identify which specific mechanics
or circumstances are creating problems,
and think of ways that you can streamline them.
For example, the Druid casts Conjure Woodland Beings.
There are a few ways to interpret that spell,
but Jeremy Crawford once clarified that the intention
was that the Druid would get to pick which category
of summoning they want, say, two fey creatures of CR one
or lower, and then the DM chooses the fey creatures
that meet that criteria.
Then you dig up the stat blocks for those creatures,
add them to the battle map, and roll their own initiative.
(Ginny yawns)
Yeah, I know, I'm already bored.
If this process is a pain point at your table,
you can decide to change it.
Maybe you create or find a rolling table
so you can select those creatures quickly.
Or maybe you have the Druid put together
a set list of creatures for each option that you approve,
and then you use that every time the spell gets cast.
Just channel the father in a '90s sitcom
telling their kid that if they want a puppy,
they'll have to take care of it.
It's totally okay to hand off the responsibility
for animal companions to your players.
DMs have enough on our plates.
It is completely valid to say,
"You wanna get an animal involved?
Okay, but you're the one
who's gonna have to keep track of it."
(air whooshes) (calm upbeat music)
If any character can have a pet that's as good as
or better than a Beast Master Ranger's animal companion,
for example, that's gonna be frustrating
for anybody playing a Beast Master.
Imagine this, the fighter rescues a bear from a trap.
He rolls really high on Animal Handling
and you decide to let him keep the bear as a companion.
Suddenly the fighter, who was already formidable in combat,
gets a second turn in the initiative order where his bear
can use multi-attack, and now he's wiping the floor
with all your enemies practically on his own.
An animal companion as a class feature
is part of what makes that class powerful.
A fighter has other features to make it powerful.
So when you stack a bear on top of a class
that usually doesn't get a companion,
it can become overpowered really quickly.
It would be like if you handed the Rage ability to a monk.
Obviously, the barbarian would not be thrilled,
since they don't get to use Ki Points
to make four attacks per round.
Listen, rangers already have it rough
in the "D&D" community.
Boo! Rangers suck!
Just don't make it harder for them.
Make sure your choices around pets and animal companions
aren't making other classes or subclasses redundant.
Let's try that example again, the fighter rescues a bear
and befriends it, but it's still a wild creature.
It has a mind of its own
and if the fighter wants it to participate in combat,
the DM controls it, not the fighter.
It can't be used as a mount,
and it won't be allowed inside any cities.
On the other hand, the ranger's giant owl
is allowed anywhere the ranger goes,
and it has its own full turn in combat
thanks to the Beast Master's mechanics.
In this case, the fighter gets a cool bear companion,
but the ranger still has class features
that other characters don't.
In short, the ranger gets exclusive access to the things
that make their class special.
Speaking as a DM who once accidentally gave my players
a pet blink dog, you can trust me when I say,
think about how you're gonna handle animals
before it comes up at the table.
There is no purer disappointment
than somebody getting their puppy taken away.
Now, I talked a lot in this video about tweaking rules,
and if you think that's something you might do,
my house rules video
is a really important one to watch next.
Adjusting the rules for your own table can be really useful,
but it can also be really risky.
Making a rule change without exploring the possible fallout
can get you into hot water really quick.
Check out this video next
to make sure that you don't shoot yourself in the foot!