You and your animal companion understand each other regardless of language and you have an instinctive bond with it that allows you to fight as a seamless unit.

The following rules apply to your animal companion:

• The animal companion uses a template from one of the great beast spirits you know, and it gains two of the wild trait options available to that template. When you reach 10th and 14th level in this class, your animal companion gains one additional wild trait from the options available to its great wild spirit - for a total of three at 10th level and four at 14th level.

• You can increase the animal companion’s Strength or Dexterity score (your choice when you obtain the animal companion) by an amount equal to your Wisdom modifier.

• The animal companion is friendly to you and your companions, and it obeys your commands.

• The animal companion has a number of hit points equal to 10 + 5 per druid level you have, and it has a number of Hit Dice [d8] equal to your druid level.

• The animal companion has proficiency in Constitution or Wisdom saving throws (your choice when you obtain the animal companion).

In combat, the animal companion shares your initiative count and you take your turns simultaneously. As an action on its turn, the animal companion can use one of its attacks. The animal companion can also use one of these attacks as a reaction on its own when another creature provokes an opportunity attack. In addition, the animal companion can use an action to dash, dodge, disengage or help. The DM may allow the animal companion to take other actions that make sense, such as action required to interact with certain objects.

On you turn, you can use an action or a bonus action to draw on your bond with the animal companion:

• Quick Cue. You can use a bonus action to allow the animal companion to use any of its available bonus actions.

• Wild Attack. You can use an action to have the animal companion attack twice instead of once using any of its attack. Special attacks (such as those granted by wild traits) can only be used once per turn each.

You can obtain a new animal companion by spending 8 hours meditating and contacting a great beast spirit. If your animal companion dies, you cannot obtain a new companion in this way before 1 week has passed. You can at any time replace or obtain a new animal companion by spending one hour bonding with a beast that can see and hear you that isn’t hostile to you (the DM should use any of the great beast templates to represent this animal companion). You cannot have more than one animal companion at any one time.

Deeper Dungeons