Ranger - Alternate Beast Master Conclave.

[Updated Version - I apologize for the spam, but I realize the the version that got sent out was the 1.0, not the latest 1.1. Sorry about that, but the 1.0 did not have quirk tables, so it was critical to update ASAP (...that's a joke, but it does have quite a few changes based on the first round of testing)]

So this was an ask for last month, but it's been kicking around for awhile. The goals of this is pretty simple - it's nothing too fancy.

Level 3 - be able to build any reasonable beast with somewhat consistent stats, and give it a solid reason that having an animal companion is a good thing. Attacking ~4 times per short rest is going to be pretty good on it's own, but the ability of the beast to take the Help action unprompted makes it something of a super-familiar. You can use your action to attack with the beast if you want (unlimited), as in some cases it might be better off attacking with than you. Having it take either Dodge action while getting the way or the Help action are both going to be pretty useful.

Some people will find the "build a beast" offputting I think, but I don't think selecting a beast from the MM works super well, as it tends to make some options just clearly much better than others, and takes control of what your beast looks like out of your hands, as you realize the a winged snake or whatever is just optimally better than anything else, and it also introduces some clunky mechanics that I don't really reckon were made for players, with non-scaling DCs and the like. I played around with the traits a bit, but I think 2 simple traits builds a pretty consistently useful and balanced beast - it's not too fancy, as this is still just a subclass, and it's pretty strong just for it's hit points and help actions, even ignoring everything else.

Level 7 - not a huge power budget here, and we need to make the beasts attacks magical at some point, so...

Level 11 - This is where having 3 attacks in a turn is no longer busted, so you get three attacks (Ranger 2 + Beast 1).

Level 15 - Okay, this is where I might have strayed off the ranch. Your beast has traveled with adventurers for awhile, and this is a smart puppy (maybe literally), so I figure it might pick up a little something. I considered this awhile, but I didn't want to really "evolve" the beast too much, as while it's bonded to you, I still view it as an animal, basically. So it made sense for it's to learn, rather than evolve, and Barbarian, Fighter, and Rogue seem to be the archetypes best suited to an animal. This might be too good as is, though, and will probably come down a little bit, though I sort of like it where it is, and it gives a solid reason to go deep into Ranger.

Let me know any thoughts. A patron (well a patron's player) has been playing this for a bit, so i have some early playtesting feedback, but more feedback is always better. I feel like it's nothing too "special" but reflecting on the core values of what you'd want to play as a beast master, I thought the really working with your beast and it providing value was the most important part, and help + occasionally attacks seemed like the best way to represent that to me.