Note: I've had to split this post in 2, the rest of the rules are in the comments

Before I dive into the meat of this post I wanna make a quick pitch.
I built this system after a significant amount of time searching for a way to tame animals in 5e that wasn't
stupid broken or too simple to be fun. I wanted to make taming and raising a wild creature a meaningful
process that takes time and effort but can be ultimately rewarding. To this end I made a mostly unobtrusive
system that makes taming and training a creature a lengthy and tricky process that is still fun and rewards
planning and role-playing.
With this system a player can capture and train up a simple creature to be battle ready is roughly 4 and a half
months (8 and a half to fully train). The process involves an intense taming process which takes roughly 2-3
ingame weeks during which time players roleplay with the creature each ingame day. Once the creature is
tamed the player can choose to invest time training it to follow commands, doing so doesn't burden the player
and allows them to continue in their murderhobo ways unhindered while still allowing them to frequently
interact with their new pet. Throughout both these processes the player is frequently interacting with their pet
and can watch their efforts pay off as it it rises from wild untamed monster to a faithful companion. With any
luck the process gives the player a sense of attachment to the creature, making them actually care about it
(which could create some very tragic moments indeed if a DM was so inclined).
The system also allows for the ridiculous, it's actually possible to tame and train a Terrasque if one is very
lucky. The odds are stacked hard against you and it would take many ingame years, but it is possible.
If you feel like it's too complicated just remember that most of what's below is there to help with the initial set
up and that the process from the player's perspective is far simpler.
Anyway, without further ado, here it is!
Taming a wild animal


Step One: Capture
Pretty straight forward. Find and capture the beast you intend to tame (Whether or not the creature can
even be tamed is at the discretion of the DM). The only thing to note here would be the method the players
use to capture the creature: using nonviolent and non-magical methods is much more difficult obviously, but
will make the taming process easier as the creature would have less reason to resent you. (Some exceptions
may apply depending on the creature, some creatures may only respond to violence for instance)



Step Two: Taming
Once you capture/pacify the creature then you have arduous task of making it not hate you. This is arguably
the most difficult stage of the process and requires certain number of stars to align before you have much of a
chance of taming the beastie which I'll get to in a moment.

The actual taming of the animal will be handled through a modified skill challenge. Each day the player must
spend at least 3 hours near the creature and 1 hour having one on one bonding sessions (4 hours total).
During that time they make an animal handling skill check, on a success that days bonding went well, on a fail
the bonding went poorly (there can be consequences for poor bonding sessions, one I read was to have the
creature bite off the player's hand). The player must succeed on x checks before failing y checks in order to
tame the creature (eg. you must reach 10 successes before you reach 5 fails)

Once the player has passed the skill challenge then their creature has been tamed. The creature becomes
friendly towards the player and will follow them around if not left contained. The creature will not defend the
player, but will attack perceived threats to itself. The creature retains it's alignment while tamed and, though
friendly towards the player, will still be hostile towards those it would normally consider a threat (A tamed
creature with an evil alignment may not attack the player, but it may still be inclined to eat babies).

The specifics of taming a creature may be influenced by a number of things including: The creature's
alignment and intelligence, the creature's Challenge rating, the creature's size, the player's class, the player's
roleplaying skill and of course the method used during the creature's capture.
(Note: In general you want to keep the base skill checks high enough that taming an animal
would be a task you'd need to carefully plan around. I use 10 successes before reaching 5
failures with a DC of 15)
 The Creature's Alignment
Different alignments should have different effects on the requirements of the creature.
 Unaligned, true neutral and lawful creatures have no change
 Chaotic creatures are automatically harder to tame than normal, increasing the number of
successes required to pass the skill challenge by 2.
 Good creatures respond better to good aligned players. If a good aligned player is taming a good
aligned creature then the number of fails needed to fail the skill challenge is increased by 1. This same
rule applies to evil players taming evil creatures.
 Conversely, a good creature responds poorly to evil aligned players. If an evil aligned player is
taming a good aligned creature then the number of fails needed to fail the skill challenge is decreased
by 1. This same rule applies to good players taming evil creatures.
 The Creature's Intelligence
A creatures intelligence can influence parts of the taming process.
 A creature with 4 or less intelligence have no change
 A creature with more than 4 but less than 10 intelligence can potentially understand what you're
trying to do and may help or hinder your efforts at the discretion of the DM (A Harpy may recognise that
you are attempting to train it but allow you to continue so long as you continue to provide the food it
craves)
 Creatures with more than 10 intelligence most likely cannot be tamed through this method (The DM
may allow exceptions).
 The Creature's Challenge Rating
A creature's challenge rating should influence the DC of the skill challenge.
 Challenge ratings less than 1 should be easier than normal (At the discretion of the DM)
 Challenge ratings between 1 and 3 have no change
 Above 3 the challenge should get progressively harder (I use a rate of +1 to the DC every 2
challenge levels. so CR3 = DC15 || CR4 = DC16 || CR6 = DC17 and so on so forth)
 The Player's Class
Some classes are naturally more adept at taming animals than others.
 Rangers have the DC for the skill challenge lowered by 2
 Druids and Beastmasters have the DC for the skill challenge lowered by 4
 Beastmasters are naturally better with animals. The number of successes needed to pass the skill
challenge is decreased by 2 and the fails needed to fail it are increased by 2. (eg. 10 successes before
reaching 5 fails becomes 8 successes before reaching 7 fails)
 Rogues are incredible at the skills they practice. But for some reason they just can't seem to tame
animals. A player with any levels in the rogue class is unable to tame a creature through this method.
 Rogues can procure already tamed animals however. The details of this process is detailed at the
bottom of this post.
 The Creature's Size
Bigger creature's are tougher to train, the bigger the beastie the bigger the challenge.
 Small, Medium and Large creatures have no changes
 Tiny creatures allow all skill checks in the skill challenge to be taken with advantage
 Huge creatures can only be trained if the whole party chips in to help. The full party must be present
at all stages of the taming process, in addition the creature requires an additional 2 hours of one on one
time each day. Increases the number of successes required by 2
 Gargantuan creatures can only be trained if the whole party chips in to help. The full party must be
present at all stages of the taming process, in addition the creature requires an additional 6 hours of
one on one time each day and all skill checks involved in the challenge must be taken with
disadvantage. Increases the number of successes required by 4 (Note: When the whole group is
required then the party must elect a player to become the lead trainer, that player's
character is the only one used when determining the difficulty of the skill challenge)
 The Capture Method
The way a player catches a creature can influence the chances of taming it.
 Using nonviolent methods to capture or pacify a creature makes it more friendly towards you. If
nonviolent methods are used then lower the DC of the skill challenge by 1
 Violent methods have the opposite effect, making a creature less responsive to your training. If
violent methods are used then increase the DC of the skill challenge by 1
 Roleplay bonuses
Player's who roleplay a taming session well might earn bonuses at the discretion of the DM. Some possible
bonuses could include:
 Taking a single check in the skill challenge with advantage
 Lowering the DC of a single check in the skill challenge
 Crits and Fumbles
Finally we can't finish this off without adressing natural 20's and natural 1's. Quite simply:
 A natural 20 counts as 2 successes
 A natural 1 counts as 2 failures



Step Three: Training
A tamed creature is all well and good, but you want something that can fight by your side, something to ride
into glorious battle on! For that you'll need to train your creature. This step is significantly easier than taming
your creature, however it take a significantly longer time.
There are 4 basic commands that you must teach your creature before you are able to teach it other
commands:
 Move
 Stay
 Come
 Calm
Once your creature has learned the basics it becomes more docile. It will no longer follow it's baser instincts
will not attack another creature unless provoked (it will still be hostile towards creatures it perceives as a threat
or prey, and it may attack you do not calm it). You may now teach it more complex commands. These
commands are:
 Dash
 Help
 Disengage
 Ready
 Action
Note: The action command refers to any actions the creature is able to perform. Each action is
treated as a separate command and must be taught separately. Multiattack is treated as an
action and is automatically known once all other actions have been taught.
Once all complex commands have been taught then the creature is considered fully trained.
Other special commands do not count when determining if a creature is fully trained and can only be taught to
certain creatures (at the discretion of the DM), these can also only be taught after the creature knows the 4
basic commands. Some example special commands include:
 Search
 Track
 Forage
There is one other command. Advanced attack is a unique command that you can only take if the DM
took the Beastmaster Supreme optional rule detailed at the end of this post. Advanced attack can only be
taught to a creature that has has learned all other basic and complex commands and has known all it's action
commands for at least 2 months. (The beastmaster can teach this command immediately without needing to
teach any action commands)

Teaching each command takes time and effort. Basic commands only require time, complex commands
however, also require you to pass a skill challenge in order to successfully teach them to your creature. If you
fail a training skill challenge you are unable to teach your creature any commands for 1 week (you can
reattempt any failed commands after the week). You can only teach one command at a time.
Some things influence the training times for each command: Creature size, creature alignment and player
class.
Note: The DM should alter the time between individual checks as necessary to compensate for
altered learning times
 Creature Size
 Tiny Creatures halve the time required to teach each command and double the number of fails
needed to fail a skill challenge (applied after other modifiers)
 Large and Huge creatures increase the number of successes needed to pass a skill challenge by 1
 Large creatures double the time required to teach a command
 Huge creatures triple the time required to teach a command
 Gargantuan creatures quadruple the time required to teach a command and double the number of
successes needed to pass a skill challenge (applied after other modifiers)
 Creature Alignment
 Chaotic Creatures increases the time to teach a command by 1 month (applied before other
modifiers)
 Lawful Creatures halve the time required to teach a command
 Player Class
 Druids and Rangers reduce the number of successes required by 1
 Beastmasters halve the time required to teach a command
 Roleplay bonuses
Player's who roleplay a training session well might earn bonuses at the discretion of the DM. Some possible
bonuses could include:
 Taking a single check in the skill challenge with advantage
 Lowering the DC of a single check in the skill challenge
 Crits and Fumbles
 A natural 20 counts as 2 successes
 A natural 1 counts as 2 failures



Command List


Command: Move
Time required: 1 month (3 months if creature flies)
Skill Challenge: None
Command type: Basic (no action required)
Description: You teach your creature to move to precise locations you command. You can verbally
command the creature where to move.



Command: Stay
Time required: 1 week
Skill Challenge: None
Command type: Basic (no action required)
Description: You teach your creature to remain stationary and not follow you. You can verbally command
the creature to stop moving, it will remain stationary until otherwise instructed.



Command: Come
Time required: 1 week
Skill Challenge: None
Command type: Basic (no action required)
Description: You teach your creature to come to you when called. You can verbally command the creature
to return to your side and follow you around.



Command: Calm
Time required: 1 month
Skill Challenge: None
Command type: Basic (no action required)
Description: You teach your creature to calm down on command. You can verbally command the creature
to calm down, it will immediately cease any hostile activity it was performing.



Command: Action
Time required: 1 month
Skill Challenge: 3 successes before 2 fails (one check per week)
Command type: Complex (1 action required)
Description: You teach your creature to perform an action on command. You can use your action to
verbally command the creature to perform one of it's actions.



Command: Dash
Time required: 1 week
Skill Challenge: 3 successes before 3 fails (one check per day)
Command type: Complex (1 action required)
Description: You teach your creature to dash on command. You can use your action to verbally command
the creature to take the Dash action.



Command: Help
Time required: 1 month
Skill Challenge: 3 successes before 2 fails (one check per week)
Command type: Complex (1 action required)
Description: You teach your creature to help another creature on command. You can use your action to
verbally command the creature to take the help action.



Command: Disengage
Time required: 1 week
Skill Challenge: 3 successes before 3 fails (one check per day)
Command type: Complex (1 action required)
Description: You teach your creature to Disengage on command. You can use your action to verbally
command the creature to take the Disengage action.



Command: Ready
Time required: 2 months
Skill Challenge: 6 successes before 3 fails (one check per week)
Command type: Complex (1 action required)
Description: You teach your creature to ready and action on command. You can use your action to verbally
command the creature to take the Ready action.



Command: Search
Time required: 4 months
Skill Challenge: 6 successes before 3 fails (one check every 2 weeks)
Command type: Special (1 action required)
Description: You teach your creature to search for an object on command. You can use your action to
verbally command the creature to take the search action.



Command: Track
Time required: 4 months
Skill Challenge: 6 successes before 3 fails (one check every 2 weeks)
Command type: Special (no action required)
Description: You teach your creature to track. You can verbally command the creature to track something
(DMG pg. 244). If the creature has the keen senses ability then it has advantage on all tracking checks.



Command: Forage
Time required: 4 months
Skill Challenge: 6 successes before 3 fails (one check every 2 weeks)
Command type: Special (no action required)
Description: You teach your creature to forage for food. You can verbally command the creature to forage
for food in the surrounding area (DMG pg. 111). If the creature has the keen senses ability then it has
advantage on all foraging checks.



Command: Advanced Attack
Time required: 6 months
Skill Challenge: 7 successes before 2 fails (one check every 3 weeks)
Command type: Unique (1 action required)
Description: You teach your creature to attack a target. You can use your action to verbally command your
creature to attack another creature, your creature will continue to attack to target without requiring you to use
any actions until it is issued another command or until the target is dead.



Congratulations! You have now tamed and trained a Wild animal!


Hopefully you guys enjoy this and find it at least somewhat useful. Any critique and suggestions are more than
welcome!
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level 1
BellTowerX
2 points·3 years ago
I like it, seems like a reasonable and logical system, a few questions though.
Why are rogues unable to tame and can only train creatures of certain alignments? Is there a particular issue
with balance with expertise? In which case should it apply to bards as well?
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level 2
Smyris
1 point·3 years ago
Yeah it was mainly the expertise thing. A rogue with the right stats can be achieving a base roll of 27 on all
animal handling checks. Had to nerf em (the alignment restriction was a bit more arbitrary and I think I'll
remove it).
I'd forgotten about the bard, I don't really wanna lock him out since he's not nearly as bad as the rogue, but
maybe I can make bards only be able to tame creatures less than or equal to to their level or something...
What do you think?
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level 3
BellTowerX
1 point·3 years ago
The thing is Wisdom isn't a primary or secondary stat for rogues and bards, and animal handling isn't even
one of the skill proficiencies rogues can choose.
The main issue would be that rogues have their Reliable Talent, but that's only if they are proficient and that's
relatively high level. If they really want to be a great tamer rogue, I say let them, they don't gain that much as
long as you limit what they can tame. Level limitation seems like a good idea any way, just to keep players
from taming anything too powerful.
Also maybe limit the number of trained creatures you can have (based on level/CR/size) so they aren't
wandering around with zoos. The PCs can have more of them at home, but no matter how well trained, its
difficult to command 20 dogs at once.
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level 4
Smyris
1 point·3 years ago·edited 3 years ago
I've thought about it a bit and I reckon the rogue and bard should stay the way they are. The bard's bonuses
are not large enough to be a real problem and, as you said, it's not a primary stat. Rogues on the other hand
still pose a huge threat, pretty much purely because, if they wanted, they could tame any creature they wanted
without fail.

As for the creature limit thing. There's a bit of a cap already in that the time, money and effort needed to train
and then maintain a group of something like 20 dogs is monumental.
Assuming you're not a beastmaster then it'd take a minimum of 6 years and 8 months, and cost 480 gp
(assuming each dog costs 1 copper a day to feed) to train 20 mastiffs to the most basic level of combat
readiness. However even then you can only have one dog attack at a time as none of the dogs would have
the advanced attack option.
If you were to give the dogs the advanced attack option (assuming you were using the beastmaster supreme
option) then it would instead take 29 years and 2 months, and cost 2,100 gp to train them up. But again it'd
take 20 turns before all 20 mastiffs are attacking.
In both scenarios you can bet you'd be better off
Edit: changed the rules a bit so that the more creatures you have the less control you have
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level 1
Smyris
1 point·3 years ago·edited 3 years ago
Other Rules
COMBAT
During combat your creatures will react differently depending on their level of training.
 Tamed Creatures with minimal Training
A tamed Creatures with minimal training is just that: A creature that has been tamed but has not been taught
all of it's basic commands yet.
 These creatures will generally stay by their trainers side during combat
 If the creature is attacked it must make a DC14 wisdom saving throw. On a success or if the
creature is immune to being frightened then it holds it's ground.
 If the creature succeeds but it's attacker is the same size or larger than it, it becomes frightened of
it's attacker for 1 minute and uses all of it's movement to move directly away from the source of it's fear.
In this state it will only respond to the calm command.
 If the creature fails it's saving throw then it loses itself to it's instincts, once again becoming untamed
and reacting however it would react in the wild.
 If the creature is at least 1 size larger than it's attacker it gains advantage on this saving throw.
 A tamed creature that has become wild again can only be retamed if it's trainer is the same size or
larger than it. Re-taming a creature follows the same steps for taming as normal, however the skill
challenge has both the number of success and fails required halved (rounding up).
 Creatures with Basic training
A creature with basic training won't revert back to it's baser instincts when threatened, however it's never been
trained in combat and still doesn't know how what to do when fighting alongside it's trainer.
 A creature with basic training is a creature that knows all it's basic commands but hasn't been
taught any complex commands
 If the creature is attacked it must make a DC12 wisdom saving throw. On a success the creature
holds it's ground.
 If the creature fails the saving throw but is at least 2 sizes larger than it's attacker or is immune to
being frightened then it has disadvantage on all saving throws and grants advantage to the next attack
against it.
 Otherwise on a failure the creature becomes frightened of it's attacker for 1 minute and uses all of
it's movement to move directly away from the source of it's fear and has disadvantage on all saving
throws and grants advantage to the next attack against it. When frightened the creature will only
respond to the calm command
 Creatures with Basic Combat Training
A Creature with basic combat training understands the basics of fighting and will not falter in a fight so long as
it feels it's trainer is by it's side directing them. However it's still not completely ready and fold under pressure.
 A creature with basic combat training knows at least one of their 'Action' commands, but is not yet
fully trained.
 If the creature is attacked and hasn't been issued any complex commands in the last 2 rounds (4 if
the trainer is a beastmaster) it must make a DC11 wisdom saving throw. On a success the creature
holds it's ground.
 If the creature fails the saving throw but is at least 2 sizes larger than it's attacker or is immune to
being frightened then it has disadvantage on all saving throws and grants advantage to the next attack
against it.
 Otherwise on a failure the creature becomes frightened of it's attacker for 1 minute and uses all of
it's movement to move directly away from the source of it's fear and has disadvantage on all saving
throws and grants advantage to the next attack against it. When frightened the creature will only
respond to the calm command
 Fully trained creatures
Fully trained creatures are disciplined and prepared. They know their trainer won't always be there to direct
them will take some initiative to defend themselves if they need to. Even when fear takes hold, a fully trained
creature actively fights the urge to flee.
 A fully trained creature knows all it's simple and complex commands
 If the creature is attacked and hasn't been issued any complex commands in the last 2 rounds (4 if
the trainer is a beastmaster) it must make a DC10 wisdom saving throw. On a success the creature
holds it's ground and automatically takes the dodge action on it's next turn if not ordered otherwise.
 On a failure, if the attacker is the same size or larger than it, the creature becomes frightened of it's
attacker for 1 minute responding only to the calm command. The creature can retake this saving throw
at the beginning of each of it's turns.
 If the creature fails the saving throw but is larger than it's attacker or is immune to being frightened
then it holds it's ground but gives advantage to the next attack made against it.
 Creatures that know the 'advanced attack' command do not need to make a saving throw if they are
currently acting on an 'advanced attack' command.



CREATURE HAPPINESS
Every creature is different and every creature has different needs. Most trainers can keep their creature happy
by making sure it's appropriately well fed. The cost of keeping such a creature fed can either be calculated
daily or added to the trainer's lifestyle costs (the bigger the creature and its appetite, the bigger the cost).
Some creatures, in particular those with a level of intelligence may require something more from the trainer
not coverable by lifestyle costs. These requirements are determined by the DM (A powerful evil creature might
ask for a once a month human sacrifice for example).
If for some reason you are unable to fulfill your creature's needs the consequences could be anything. A
couple of possible consequences:
 the creature gets sick
 the creature ignores your orders
 the creature runs away and becomes untamed and untamable
 the creature turns on the trainer and attacks, becoming untamed and untamable



BEASTMASTER BONUS
 Beastmasters can communicate to their creatures without needing to speak. The beastmaster can
give verbal commands to their creatures without speaking so long as they are able to move their head
and the creature can see them.


ROGUES AND CREATURE TRAINING
Rogues cannot tame creatures. However if they can procure a creature that has been tamed by someone else
then they can convince the animal to start listening to them and take over as the creature's trainer. The
creature the rogue wishes to train must not know any commands when it is acquired, it must have a true
neutral or unaligned alignment and must have a challenge rating equal to or lower than the rogue's level.
Once the creature has been acquired, the rogue can attempt to convince it to let the them take over as the
creature's trainer. The rogue must make a DC 10 (+ the creature's challenge rating) animal handling check. on
a success, the creature allows the rogue to become it's trainer; on a failure, the creature attempts to either flee
or attack the rogue, if the creature can be calmed then the rogue can reattempt this check after 1 hour.
Once a creature accepts the rogue as it's trainer it follows the rules for training as normal.


(While writing this thing up I noticed the beastmaster seemed a bit lackluster, these rules do
help him out a bit but if you still feel he needs more then consider adding the Beastmaster
Supreme Optional Rule)

OPTIONAL RULE: Beastmaster Supreme
 Gives access to the Advanced Attack command.
 Any beast the beastmaster is using as his companion via the Ranger's Companion feature can
attack using the rules outlined in the Advanced Attack command listed above. In addition the
beastmaster can magically bond with a creature it has tamed and trained, turning it into their 'Ranger's
Companion'. The creature chosen must be fully trained and know the Advanced Attack command.
In addition the creature must be true neutral or unaligned, be no larger than Large and have a challenge
rating less than or equal to the beastmaster's level.
 Change to Bestial Fury: "Starting at 11th level, you use can command 2 creatures with a
complex command instead of 1."