7
\$\begingroup\$

The UA revised ranger's Animal Companion feature for the Beast Conclave says that any beast of roughly CR 1/4 can be a companion (size Medium or below, 15 or less HP, and deals 8 damage or less a turn).

The giant owl is large with 19 HP and deals 8 damage.

This is comparable to the ape or black bear in HP and Damage.

The giant owl has a fly speed of 60 feet. This is the main issue I see, as neither the original or UA ranger companion list had beasts with a fly speed, making me think this is a powerful feature.

As an ordinary owl is CR 0, it hardly seems viable for a companion.

If the giant owl's size were reduced to Medium, it fits with the guidelines and is comparable to default companions.

Is it reasonable to allow a giant owl as a UA revised ranger's animal companion, or will it be over powered?

Improve this question
\$\endgroup\$
0

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
7
\$\begingroup\$

Not without larger changes.

A RAW interpretation of the UA Beast Ranger says no, there are no flying animals in the list of creatures, so adding a fly speed would not fit the pattern.

However, for the purpose of trying to say yes to player requests for options (AKA, with DM approval), here is my analysis of the Owl/Giant Owl stat blocks as ranger companions.

The Flyby ability of the Owl and Giant Owl are significantly more powerful for a combat proficient creature than anything else available for UA animal companions. Combining this with a flyspeed of 60ft, and they could fly in, attack, and fly out without taking an attack. This effectively makes them untouchable by melee combatants.

This feature is also not comparable to the abilities of other animal companions such as: Keen Smell, Charge, Relentless, Sure-footed, and Pack Tactics.

Also, the other animal companions have a 40ft walking speed, and do not have darkvision.

All in all, this companion is objectively better than the other UA companion options. 120ft darkvision, 60ft fly speed, and the flyby ability are all individually more powerful than the standard companion.

I would start by removing/reducing all of these features. Limit the darkvision to 60ft, reduce the flyspeed to 40ft, and eliminate the flyby ability. Then reduce it to fit the UA rules on companions. Do not replace flyby with a new ability, since you still have some darkvision and a fly speed.

Remember, the UA Beast Ranger is a bit OP compared to the other ranger archetypes, with an effective multi-attack at level 3, plus a pseudo-multiattack on top of this at level 5, so you should err on the side of underpowered when creating a new ranger companion option.

Improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$
2
  • \$\begingroup\$ Also, as a large creature it is suitable as a mount for the ranger \$\endgroup\$
    – Dale M
    Feb 24, 2017 at 21:40
  • 5
    \$\begingroup\$ The UA Ranger states that a creature must be medium size to qualify as a companion. OP stated this in his post, and I reiterated it when I said "Then reduce it to fit the UA rules on companions." My discussion was on the acceptability of the abilities of the owl/giant owl, not listing every little thing that must be changed. The giant owl also has 19 HP, even though the UA ranger says that companions cannot have more than 15. \$\endgroup\$
    – Shem
    Feb 24, 2017 at 21:45
0
\$\begingroup\$

Probably balanced, but the DM has to be clever about it. The flyby attack and high move makes them mostly immune to non-readied melee attacks.

I've been using one as a YARV ranger, and any owl is amazing. 5e flyby attack is astonishingly good. They really can fly in, attack, and fly out without taking an attack. I typically have my owl 'help', thus providing me with advantage, which then triggers my Elven Accuracy...It's great. And as far as I can tell, commanding the companion (verbally) doesn't take an action. The DM could limit 'how it understands your commands', but Beast Sense can be used to overcome that.

Improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$
2
  • 2
    \$\begingroup\$ Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance. While it may be "great", this doesn't really clearly say whether it's balanced or overpowered. You should clarify that, and support your assessment with evidence or experience. \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast
    May 1, 2019 at 20:50
  • \$\begingroup\$ I guess I object to the entire premise of 'balance' in an RPG--if something is overpowered, the DM has the whole universe to counter it. My owl got 'nerfed' by a hydra one session, which took it out in a single readied action. \$\endgroup\$
    – Mox
    Jun 20, 2021 at 22:30

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .