**Beastbond Domain** characters share their life with an **animal companion**—a hound, hawk, horse, wolf, cat, or something stranger. The bond is friendship first: the companion is a character at the table, not a weapon. A Beastbond character might be a farm kid with a loyal dog, a falconer, or a rider who would cross any distance on a trusted mount. ::: wrap tip **Companion Rules (kid-friendly):** Your companion has **HP equal to 5 + your Beastbond Aspect**, **Evasion 10**, **thresholds 4 / 8**, and one simple attack (**1d6**, type fits the animal). It acts on your turn. Giving it a **command** costs **Action Load from your Beastbond Aspect** like any action (most commands cost **1**), and its rolls use **your Beastbond Aspect** dice. Without a command it follows you and defends itself. If it drops to 0 HP it is **hurt, not lost**: it is out of the scene and recovers after a Full Rest. ::: ## Tier 1 Base Card: Beastbond Initiate **Beastbond Aspect:** Choose **Control** (steady hands and patient training) or **Presence** (the pack follows whoever leads). This Aspect powers your Beastbond Features and your companion's rolls. ### Core Feature: Companion Gain an animal companion using the Companion Rules above. You understand its feelings and simple needs, and it understands simple words from you. **Command: Attack** (1 Action Load) — the companion attacks a creature within its reach using your Beastbond Aspect dice + 1d6. Choose **two** Domain Feature Cards from Tier 1. ### Requirements to Advance to Tier 2 (complete 3): - Your companion saves you or an ally from harm - Nurse your companion back from an injury - Use your companion to scout, track, or find something important - Calm or turn away a wild animal without hurting it - Hunt, forage, or herd together to feed the party - Any one **Shared Milestone** (see [Domains](/rules/domains/)) ## Tier 1 Feature Cards ### Call of the Green (Exploration – Passive) **Action Load:** — (Passive) Your bond with beasts opens the old ways of the wild. You gain access to [Nature Spells](/rules/spells/nature/): you know **1 + your Beastbond Tier** Nature spells of a Tier no higher than your Beastbond Tier, and you cast them with your **Beastbond Aspect** (see [Spells](/rules/spells/)). *Beast Tongue* and *Beast Mantle* are favorites. ### Coordinated Attack (Combat – Active) **Action Load:** 2 You and your companion strike the same creature together. Make one attack with your Beastbond Aspect dice, adding **your weapon die and the companion's 1d6**. This counts as one action and one roll. If it hits, the target also has **Disadvantage** on its next attack against either of you. ### Scout Ahead (Exploration – Active) **Action Load:** — (out of combat; takes minutes) Send your companion ahead up to a mile. Roll your Beastbond Aspect against the GM's DC (usually 8–12). On a success it returns and, through body language, tells you **how many** creatures it found, **how far**, and whether they seemed **dangerous**. On a failure it returns spooked: the GM tells you only that something is out there. ### Animal Friend (Roleplay – Passive) **Action Load:** — (Passive) You roll with **Advantage** to calm, befriend, or read the mood of animals. A non-magical animal that is not already hostile won't attack you unless provoked. ### ⚡ Guard Beast (Team Action – Reactive) **Action Load:** 1 When an ally within 5 feet of your companion is targeted by an attack, the companion leaps in front: the attack targets the **companion** instead (use the companion's Evasion and thresholds). ### Mount (Exploration – Passive) **Action Load:** — (Passive) If your companion is large enough to ride, you may ride it. While mounted, your speed becomes the companion's (usually **double** yours), the party's overland travel is **one step faster** when everyone is mounted, and *Command: Attack* costs **0 Action Load** once per round if you also attacked this turn. ### Hunter's Nose (Exploration – Passive) **Action Load:** — (Passive) Your companion can track by scent. You roll with **Advantage** to follow a trail up to a day old, and you can't be surprised by creatures upwind of you. ### ⚡ Companion Snap (Combat – Reactive) **Action Load:** 1 When a creature within your **companion's reach** **moves away from it**, the companion may make its usual attack against that creature (companion's attack die; no extra Load beyond this Feature's 1). ## Tier 2 Base Card: Beastbond Adept At Tier 2, the bond deepens: your companion is tougher and learns from you. ### Core Feature: Stronger Bond Your companion's HP increases by **5**, its thresholds become **5 / 10**, and its attack becomes **1d8**. It learns one **trick** of your choice (fetch, guard a spot, play dead, carry a message to a known place). Choose **two** Domain Feature Cards from Tier 2. ### Requirements to Advance to Tier 3 (complete 4): - Your companion defeats a foe or drives it off - Find your companion when it is lost, taken, or hurt far away - Fight alongside your companion through a whole battle without either of you dropping - Befriend a rare or dangerous animal - Teach your companion a new trick through play - Any one **Shared Milestone** ## Tier 2 Feature Cards ### Pack Tactics (Combat – Passive) **Action Load:** — (Passive) When you and your companion are both within 5 feet of the same creature, your attacks against it (and your companion's) have **Advantage**. ### Speak with Beasts (Roleplay – Active) **Action Load:** 1 For one scene, you can talk with animals and understand their answers. Animals remember simple things (who passed, what they smelled, where the water is). Asking a wary animal for help is a Beastbond Aspect roll against the GM's DC. ### ⚡ Loyal Rescue (Team Action – Reactive) **Action Load:** 1 When you or an ally within 30 feet of your companion drops to **0 HP**, the companion rushes over and drags them up to **30 feet** to cover without provoking reactions. Attacks against the fallen creature have **Disadvantage** until the start of your next turn. ### Night Watch (Exploration – Passive) **Action Load:** — (Passive) While your companion is with you, the camp **cannot be surprised**: it wakes you at the first sign of danger, and you roll to notice hidden threats at night with **Advantage**. ### Trample (Combat – Active) **Action Load:** 2 Your mounted companion charges up to its speed in a straight line through creatures smaller than it. Each creature in the path rolls **Agility** or **Fortitude** Resistance against your Beastbond Aspect roll. On a failure it takes **1d8 Bludgeoning** and is knocked **Prone**; on a success it takes nothing. Requires *Mount* or a companion large enough to ride. ## Tier 3 Base Card: Beastbond Expert ### Core Feature: Of One Mind Once per round, a **simple command** (attack, move, guard, fetch) to your companion costs **0 Action Load**. You always know where your companion is and whether it is hurt, if it is within a mile. Choose **three** Domain Feature Cards from Tier 3. ### Requirements to Advance to Tier 4 (complete 4): - Defend a herd, flock, or nest from a real threat - Earn the trust of a great or legendary beast - Ride or run with your companion through a storm, fire, or battle line - Raise or rehabilitate a young or injured animal - Win a fight in which your companion's actions turned the tide - Any one **Shared Milestone** ## Tier 3 Feature Cards ### Shared Senses (Exploration – Active) **Action Load:** 1 (in combat) or — (out of combat) Close your eyes and see, hear, and smell through your companion while it is within a mile, until you choose to stop. While you do, you are **Sightless** to your own surroundings. Your companion's scouting rolls gain **Advantage**. ### Second Companion (Team Action – Passive) **Action Load:** — (Passive) Gain a second companion using the Tier 1 Companion Rules (it does **not** get *Stronger Bond*). Both share one command each turn: a command can direct **either** companion, not both, unless you pay for two commands. ### Savage Bond (Combat – Passive) **Action Load:** — (Passive) Your companion's attacks deal **+1d4** damage, and when it causes a **Serious** or **Critical** wound the target is knocked **Prone** (if the companion is at least the target's size). ### Beast Speaker (Roleplay – Active) **Action Load:** — (out of combat; takes an hour) Call to the animals of the region. Birds, rats, foxes, or fish bring you news: answer up to **three** questions about what has happened in the area over the last day (who passed, where a creature dens, which road is watched). ### ⚡ Shield of Fur (Team Action – Reactive) **Action Load:** 1 When an ally within **10 feet** of your companion is hit, your companion shields them: reduce the wound severity by **one step**, and the companion takes **1 HP** of damage instead. ## Tier 4 Base Card: Beastbond Master ### Core Feature: Legendary Companion Your companion becomes legendary: larger, wiser, and able to speak with you in words. Its HP increases by **5** more, its Evasion becomes **12**, and its attack becomes **2d6**. It can make one **Command: Attack** each round at **0 Action Load** in addition to *Of One Mind*. Choose **three** Domain Feature Cards from Tier 4. ## Tier 4 Feature Cards ### Call of the Wild (Team Action – Active) **Action Load:** 2 (once per adventure) Animals of the land answer: a pack, a flock, or a herd arrives within a round and fights beside the party for one scene. Treat them as a **swarm** with HP equal to **3 × your Tier**, Evasion 10, that attacks once per round using your Beastbond Aspect dice + **2d6** against every enemy you choose within 10 feet of it (roll once, compare to each). ### Great Mount (Exploration – Passive) **Action Load:** — (Passive) Your companion gains **flying**, **swimming**, or **climbing** at its speed (choose one; you may change it after a Full Rest). It can carry you and one other rider. ### Beast Lord (Roleplay – Active) **Action Load:** 2 Every non-magical animal within 60 feet must roll **Willpower** Resistance against your Beastbond Aspect roll. On a failure it obeys one simple command from you for the scene (flee, stop, guard, follow). Magical beasts roll with **Advantage**. ### Unstoppable (Combat – Active) **Action Load:** 3 You and your companion whirl through the fight. Make one attack roll with your Beastbond Aspect dice + your weapon die + the companion's attack die, and compare it to **every enemy within 5 feet** of either of you. Each one you hit takes damage normally. ### Never Apart (Team Action – Passive) **Action Load:** — (Passive) Once per scene, your companion can arrive at your side instantly from anywhere within a mile (it was always just out of sight). While you are within 5 feet of each other, you both gain **+1 Evasion**.