Dungeons & Dragons players tend to love collecting things, and they aren’t always satisfied with the loot their Dungeon Master planned to reward them with. A party of adventurers might walk out of a dungeon with level-appropriate magic items, but also a kobold they decided to befriend, or an owlbear they want to adopt, leaving accommodating DMs searching for rules to make that work.
They can find help in EN Publishing’s Pets & Sidekicks, which launched its Kickstarter campaign on July 8. Written by Paul Hughes, who previously gave Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition DMs plenty of exciting new threats in the excellent Level Up: Monstrous Menagerie, the book offers rules for animal companions and allies that level up with the characters.
“You can have a unicorn companion, but at level 1 you’re not going to get a full, noble, majestic unicorn that’s challenge rating 5,” Hughes told Polygon in a Zoom interview. “You’re going to get a baby unicorn, and they’re going to grow up along with you. You’re going to be their caretaker. A unicorn is also sentient, so this isn’t a pet — they’re kind of a kid, and eventually they’re going to make their own decisions. Any intelligent creature can decide ‘Do I want to stay with you? Do I want to leave? Do I want to live my own life?’”
That conflict is a key part of raising a dragon hatchling, in rules which Polygon got to exclusively preview. Characters can raise a dragon wyrmling for 10 levels, but then the young dragon is going to want to go off on its own. It might remain a friend who will sometimes help out the PC who raised it, or a bitter enemy, depending on how it was treated. Baby dragons are hard to train, but can help out in combat with a bite attack, and with a breath weapon based on their type, which increases in strength as they level.
The book also contains rules for sidekicks: Hughes let Polygon preview the bard companion, who will follow a PC, chronicling their accomplishments, like The Witcher’s Dandelion/Jaskier. Bard companions play like a simplified version of the Bard class, bolstering allies with their Bardic Inspiration ability, and gaining new spells as they level. That makes the companion easy for the DM to run, or for a player to control in addition to their regular character, which can be helpful for D&D groups that can’t get four or five players together regularly.
The simple rules for leveling up companions make it easy for a DM to build an encounter for any level with whatever type of adversaries they’d like. They can also be a boon for new players.
“I play a lot of games with my kids and their friends, and somebody frequently says, ‘I want to be a unicorn,’ and I think ‘What do I do? There [are rules for] a centaur, and I can give you a horn attack. But now you can say ‘Great, we’ve got a unicorn for you.’”
Beyond adventuring companions, the book contains rules for NPCs that will craft items for your PCs, or marshal their armies. There are new magic items designed for animal companions, like a signal whistle that summons your horse, a sort of PokeBall that lets you put your horse away so you can navigate a dungeon more easily, and even a leveled-up Bag of Tricks that summons higher-level critters. Pets can be enhanced by magic weapons and barding, and there are treats that make them easier to train and keep them happy.
Hanging out with your pet during downtime can boost their loyalty, making them more willing to follow orders without attacking other PCs. They can also learn tricks that can prove highly useful outside of combat, including just comforting PCs who are suffering from strife, the mental version of fatigue and exhaustion introduced in the Level Up 5th Edition ruleset.
“While you’re traveling, your wolf might be off foraging, or your little mushroom spore might be foraging for plants, or just keeping you company and helping out your sanity as you deal with eldritch evils,” Hughes said.
Beyond having rules for 200 monsters, Pets & Sidekicks offers ways to build your own from general abilities divided by creature type, like undead, celestial, or plant. There are also qualities that can be flaws or perks, depending on the circumstances.
“Your skittish animal may be extra-vulnerable to fear, but it is always a little more perceptive than everybody else, always keeping an eye on things,” Hughes said. “Your creepy eldritch ooze that’s on your shoulder is extra intimidating, but also off-putting. A big part of fantasy is, ‘My horse is skittish, my dog is grumpy, my mule is stubborn. This pet is flawed, but I love them anyway.’”
The Pets & Sidekicks Kickstarter will run through August 7 at 6 p.m. ET.
The post Train a dragon or play a unicorn with the new D&D Pets & Sidekicks book appeared first on Polygon.
