Beastlord (5e Class)

Beastlord

Guardians of the Wilds

Creating a Beastlord

Quick Build

You can make a Beastlord quickly by following these suggestions. First, Strength should be your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom. Second, choose the Outlander background. Third, choose one simple weapon of your choice, leather armor, 10 darts, and the explorer's pack and totemic focus.

Class Features

As a Beastlord you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per Beastlord level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution modifier per Beastlord level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light, Medium
Weapons: Simple Weapons, Daggers, Scimitars, Shortswords
Tools: One Artisan's Tools of your choice
Saving Throws: Strength, Wisdom
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Animal Handling, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) One Simple Weapon of Your Choice or (b) 2 Daggers
• (a) Leather Armor or (b) Padded Shirt
• 10 Darts
• (a) Explorer's Pack, Totemic Focus or (b) One Artisan's Tool of Your Choice

Table: The Beastlord

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Ki Points	Features	—Spell Slots per Spell Level—
				1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
1st	+2	--	Animal Speech, Warder	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+2	--	Spellcasting, Warder Spirit	2	—	—	—	—
3rd	+2	--	Bestial Ancestry, Bestial Fighting Style	3	—	—	—	—
4th	+2	2	Ability Score Improvement	3	—	—	—	—
5th	+3	2	—	4	2	—	—	—
6th	+3	3	Warder Spirit Improvement	4	2	—	—	—
7th	+3	3	Bestial Rage	4	3	—	—	—
8th	+3	4	Ability Score Improvement	4	3	—	—	—
9th	+4	4	—	4	3	2	—	—
10th	+4	5	Bestial Ancestry Feature, Warder Ability Increase	4	3	2	—	—
11th	+4	5	Bestial Beat	4	3	3	—	—
12th	+4	6	Ability Score Improvement	4	3	3	—	—
13th	+5	6	—	4	3	3	1	—
14th	+5	7	Warder Spirit Improvement	4	3	3	1	—
15th	+5	7	Bestial Ancestry Feature	4	3	3	2	—
16th	+5	8	Ability Score Improvement	4	3	3	2	—
17th	+6	8	—	4	3	3	3	1
18th	+6	9	Warder Ability Increase	4	3	3	3	1
19th	+6	9	Ability Score Improvement	4	3	3	3	2
20th	+6	10	Wild Sage	4	3	3	3	2

Animal Speech

All Beastlords can speak to animals as a bonus language, which allows them to communicate with any beast. Given the intelligence of most animals, this form of communication is crude, to say the least. However, it is sufficient enough for the Beastlord to gather information from any animal, avert all but the hungriest of wildlife, and even glean small favors from the local fauna.

Although an animal will be usually friendly and helpful to a Beastlord who speaks its tongue, it is in no way under the Beastlord's control.

Warder

The Beastlord's empathy with animals and their tie to the spiritual world allow them to form a unique companionship with a single animal, which becomes the Beastlord's warder. Each race that produces Beastlords has a certain type of animal it tends to adopt, due to both geography (The animal is found near the race's homeland) and custom. For example, Elves tend to take panthers as their warder, Gnomes take weasels, Lizardfolk take swamp alligators, Half-Orcs take wolves, Kobolds take pseudodragons, Faeries take wasps or hornets, and so on. Consult your DM on the local terrain and/or your background as a Beastlord to determine what animal can become your warder.

Starting at 1st level, a Beastlord make take on an animal warder - A creature native to the character's home terrain with a CR no greater than 1/2 the Beastlord's level, which functions like a familiar or animal companion. It acts on its own initiative, but may only defend itself if not given a command. As a bonus action, you may issue a simple command, such as "Run" or "Fight." As an action, you may issue a more detailed command. The Beastlord may speak to its warder using the Animal Speech class feature. The warder will rest whenever the Beastlord rests, and will faithfuly serve them until the warder's death. If a warder dies and is not restored back to life through divine magic, the Beastlord may seek out a new animal to replace the fallen warder. The search typically lasts one week, assuming the beastlord roams the terrain and climate appropriate to the animal type.

Spellcasting

Drawing on the animal spirits that rule the wildlands, you can cast spells to bring their will into the world. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and chapter 11 for the druid spell list.

Preparing and Casting Spells

The Beastlord table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these Beastlord spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

You prepare the list of Beatlord spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the Beastlord spell list. When you do so, choose a number of Beastlord spells equal to your Wisdom modifier + 1/2 your Beastlord level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

For example, if you are a 6th-level Beastlord, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Wisdom of 18, your list of prepared spells can include seven spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell Cure Wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list o f prepared spells.

You can also change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of Beastlord spells requires time spent in silent communion with the animal spirits in the region: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

Spellcasting Ability

Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your Beastlord spells, since your magic draws upon your attunement to the animal spirits. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Beastlord spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier

Ritual Casting

You can cast a Beastlord spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use a totemic focus (found in chapter 5) as a spellcasting focus for your Beastlord spells.

Warder Spirit

At 2nd level, the Beastlord's warder becomes a spiritual conduit, and its spirit becomes strong enough to manifest itself in various ways. It gains the following effects:

• As an action, you may add your proficiency bonus to its AC, attack and damage rolls.
• The warder's Intelligence becomes 10, if it is not already 10 or higher.
• The warder's hit point maximum becomes 1/2 the Beastlord's maximum, if it is not already higher.
• The warder may cast any 1st level spell the Beastlord has prepared, using The Beastlord's Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC and its own for making a spell attack. It may not do so again until the Beastlord finishes a long rest.

By 6th level, the Warder's Wisdom increases by the Beastlord's proficiency modifier, to a maximum of 20. By 14th level, the warder may cast any spell the Beastlord has prepared a number of times equal to the Beastlord's proficiency bonus. It regains all uses of this spellcasting ability when the Beastlord finishes a long rest.

Bestial Ancestry

By 3rd level, the wilds bless the Beastlord with visions of their future, granting guidance and becoming their mentor through experience from past lives and unseen heritage. The Beastlord may either become an Animist, or Savage at 3rd level. Each Bestial Ancestry is listed in greater detail at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 10th level and 15th level.

Bestial Fighting Style

At 3rd level, you learn to fight by emulating the techniques of wild animals. You may learn one Bestial Fighting Style. Once you choose this style, you may not choose any of the others. You may not choose the same fighting style twice, even if you are allowed to choose again. The styles you may pick are listed below:

Lion Style

Before making the Attack Action on your turn, you may use a bonus action to move up to your movement speed towards an opponent in a bounding leap before attacking. If the attack is successful, the opponent will be knocked prone if they are the same size as you or smaller.

Spider Style

You may add your Wisdom modifier to your damage rolls as Poison damage, taking advantage of wild diseases and toxins in a precise blow to the enemy's bloodstream. The opponent must make a Constitution saving throw equal to 10 + your Strength Modifier + your Proficiency Bonus or be poisoned after the attack for 1 minute. Each round the opponent can make the saving throw again, ending the effect on a successful save, and taking Poison damage equal to 1d4 on a failed save.

Shark Style

You gain a swim speed equal to your movement speed, plus an additional 20ft. As a bonus action, you may use a bite attack whenever you end your movement within 5ft of an opponent. Your bite attack deals 1d8 piercing damage on a successful hit.

Bear Style

You gain advantage on Strength ability checks and saving throws. In addition, you now have advantage on grapple checks.

Ability Score Increase

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Bestial Rage

By 7th level, as an action, you are able to command your warder to attack a creature of your choosing at the same time as yourself. This feature combines both your attack damage as well as the damage of your warder's attack. You may use this feature a number of times equal to your wisdom modifier (minimum of 1), and regain expended uses upon finishing a long rest.

Warder Ability Increase

At 10th level, and again at 18th level, the Beastlord may increase two of its warder's ability scores by 2, to a maximum value of 20. Additionally, The warder gains one of the Beastlord's saving throw proficiencies with each ability score increase of your choice.

Bestial Beat

At 11th level, your attunement with animals is so great that your heart begins to beat to the rhythm of the wild. You may treat creatures affected by your Animal Speech feature as people for the purposes of using skills, ability checks, and mind-affecting spells.

Wild Sage

By 20th level,the Beastlord truly becomes at one with the wilds. You now have proficiency in perception and nature checks. If you are already proficient in perception or nature, double your proficiency bonus for it. You also increase your Strength and Wisdom scores by 2; and your maximum scores for these abilities now becomes 22. In addition, every one of your warder's ability scores now equal yours.

Bestial Ancetries

The Beastlord chooses their path by following the traditions of those who lived before him. In traveling their paths, and learning from their lives and deaths, the Beastlord gains a greater attunement to the wilds. The following are three Bestial Ancestries available to the Beastlord, chosen by certain instances in their lives.

Animist

The Animist is a Beastlord who chooses to become a true animal, learning through their warder the intricacies of the mind of an untamed beast. Their connection to the warder is that of student and master, as the Beastlord begins taking on more animistic mannerisms and behaviors. Though oftentimes considered a savage by the untrained eye, those who have traveled with an Animist know the true wisdom they seek and the inner intelligence they show through their abilities.

Primal Wisdom

You gain proficiency in Nature and Arcana at 3rd level. If you already have one of these proficiencies, you may teach one of your proficiencies to your warder.

Your warder also gains proficiency in one language of your choice, and can manifest its spirit to allow it to communicate normally to non-Beastlords, using the learned language. It's Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores are also all raised to 12, if they weren't already higher.

Animal Metabolism

At 3rd level, you no longer have to worry about food poisoning from eating raw meat or drinking water from a natural water source. Your body begins to change to become more primal, allowing you to treat the wilds the same as any other wild animal would.

Animal Tribe Mindset

At 10th level, if you or your warder is within 30ft of a friendly creature, you may use your reaction to make an attack or cast a spell - with a casting time to greater than 1 action - at an opponent the friendly creature attacks. You may use this feature 3 times, and regain expended uses upon finishing a short or a long rest.

Animist Warder Improvement

Also at 10th level, your warder's spirit strengthens, and the bond between you grows in power. Whenever your warder is within 30ft of you, you gain a bonus to Perception, Survival, and Insight checks equal to your warder's Wisdom Modifier.

Your warder's Wisdom score increases to 16 - if it wasn't already higher - and it gains proficiency in Perception, Survival, and Insight. It also gains a bonus to those skills equal to your Wisdom modifier if it is within 30ft of you.

Protective Spirit

At 15th level, the bond between you and your warder is so strong that it begins to act as both sword and shield against the perils of the wilds. You and your warder gain temporary hit points equal to 2d8 plus your combined Wisdom modifiers.

Savage

A savage is a beastlord who has all but abandoned their humanity. Though human in appearance, they are all animal on the inside. Many who see a Savage are unsettled by them, though they do not know why.

Starting at 3rd level,

Starting at 3rd level,

Starting at 10th level,

Starting at 10th level,

Starting at 15th level,

Beastlord Spell List

You know all of the spells on the basic druid spell list and additional spells based on your archetype.

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the <!-class name-> class, you must meet these prerequisites:

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the <!-class name-> class, you gain the following proficiencies:

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