The Ranger
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Natural Explorer, Favored Enemy, Honed Skills | - | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | +2 | Fighting Style, Spellcasting | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 3rd | +2 | Ranger Archetype | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack / Matured animal companion | 4 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 6th | +3 | Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer Improvement | 4 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 7th | +3 | Ranger Archetype Feature | 4 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement, Land's Stride, Vanish | 4 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 9th | +4 | ─ | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — |
| 10th | +4 | Natural Explorer Improvement, Hide in Plain Sight | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — |
| 11th | +4 | Ranger Archetype Feature | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — |
| 13th | +5 | ─ | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 14th | +5 | Favored Enemy Improvement. Feral Senses | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 15th | +5 | Ranger Archetype Feature | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 17th | +6 | ─ | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 18th | +6 | Foe Slayer | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 20th | +6 | Worldly Protector | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
For Version 2: https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-LsJ92BURfzON8Z53l3W
Class Features
As a ranger, you gain the following class features
Hit Points
- Hit Dice: 1d10 per ranger level
- Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Consitution Modifier
- Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per ranger level after 1st
Proficiencies
- Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
- Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
- Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
- Skills: Nature, Survival. In addition, choose two from Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Perception, and Stealth.
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
- (a) two shortswords or (b) two simple melee weapons
- (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
- A longbow and a quiver of 20 arrows
Natural Explorer
You are skilled at navigating the wilderness and living off the land. You gain expertise in Nature and Survival. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of these two proficiencies.
In addition, you are particularly familiar with one type of natural environment and are adept at traveling and surviving in such regions.
Choose one type of favored terrain: arctic, coast, desert, forest, grassland, mountain/hill, swamp, the Underdark/cavern or urban. You gain these benefits corresponding to your favored terrain:
- You have advantage to Intelligence and Wisdom checks related to your favored terrain.
- You ignore difficult terrain.
- You have advantage on initiative rolls.
- On your first turn during combat, you have advantage on attack rolls against creatures that have not yet acted.
In addition, you gain the following benefits when traveling for an hour or more in your favored terrain:
- Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel.
- Your group can't become lost except by magical means.
- Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.
- If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.
- When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.
- While tracking other creatures, you have advantage any skill check to determine their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
You choose additional favored terrain types at 6th and 10th level.
Favored Enemy
Beginning at 1st level, you have significant experience studying, tracking, hunting, and even talking to a certain type of enemy.
Choose a type of favored enemy: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can select two races of humanoid (such as gnolls and orcs) as favored enemies.
- You gain a bonus to damage against your favored enemies equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1)
- You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.
- When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies, if they speak one at all.
You choose one additional favored enemy, as well as an associated language, at 6th and 14th level. As you gain levels, your choices should reflect the types of monsters you have encountered on your adventures.
Honed Skills
Starting at 1st level, your years spent in your favored terrain has given you unique survival skills. You gain a unique skill based on your favored terrain:
Arctic. When you roll hit die as part of a short rest, treat a roll of less than your Constitution modifier as equal to it. You have advantage on saving throws to resist being pushed by battering winds, magical or otherwise.
Coast. You gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed and can hold your breath for an additional 10 minutes. If you already have a swimming speed, it increases by 10 feet.
Desert. You can go twice as long without water before suffering exhaustion. You have advantage on ability checks and saving throws against visual illusions.
Forest. You gain proficiency in the Perception skill if you don’t already have it. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses it and when determining your passive Perception.
Grassland. Your walking speed increases by 10 feet.
Mountain/Hill. You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed. You also ignore the first 30 feet of a fall when determining any damage from falling, unless you are incapacitated.
Swamp. You gain resistance to poison damage and have advantage on Constitution saving throws against contracting diseases or becoming poisoned.
Underdark/Cavern. you gain darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. If you already have darkvision, its range increases by 30 feet.
Urban. You gain proficiency in the Investigation skill if you don’t already have it. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses it and when determining your passive Investigation.
Only your favored terrain at level 1 gives you a unique skill. By your DMs discretion, enough time spent in one of your favored terrains gained at 6th and 10th levels along with appropriate skill checks, you may gain another unique skill.
Fighting Style
At 2nd level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.
Archery
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.
Defense
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +I bonus to AC.
Dueling
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
Two-Weapon Fighting
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Great Weapon Fighting
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
Protection
When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.
Spellcasting
By the time you reach 2nd level, you have learned to use the magical essence of nature to cast spells, much as a druid does. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and chapter 11 for the ranger spell list.
Spell Slots
The Ranger table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain ali expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
For example, if you know the 1st-level spell animal friendship and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast animal friendship using either slot.
Preparing and Casting Spells
The Ranger table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells. To cast one of your ranger spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
You prepare the list of ranger spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the ranger spell list. When you do so, choose a number of ranger spells equal to your Wisdom modifier + half your ranger level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
For example, if you are a 5th-level ranger, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Wisdom of 14, your list of prepared spells can include four spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell cure wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd- level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.
You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of ranger spells requires time spent in planning and preparation: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.
Spellcasting Ability
Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your ranger spells, since your magic draws on your attunement to nature. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a ranger spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell Save DC
Spell attack modifier
Ranger Archetype
At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you strive to emulate: Hunter or Beastmaster, both detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 11th, and 15th level.
Ability Score Improvements
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Extra Attack / Matured animal companion
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
If you have taken the Beastmaster archetype at level 3, then instead of an extra attack your animal companions damage is no longer halved and any possible DC becomes whatever number is appropriate for it. If you acquire the Extra Attack feature through other means, such as multiclassing, then you may attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Land's Stride
Starting at 8th level, moving through nonmagical difficult terrain costs you no extra movement. You can also pass through nonmagical plants without being slowed by them and without taking damage from them if they have thorns, spines, or a similar hazard.
In addition, you have advantage on saving throws against plants that are magically created or manipulated to impede movement, such those created by the entangle spell.
Ambush Setter
Starting at 8th level, you can use the Hide action and the Dash action as a bonus action on your turn. Also, you can’t be tracked by nonmagical means, unless you choose to leave a trail.
Hide in Plain Sight
Starting at 10th level, you can remain perfectly still for long periods of time to set up ambushes. When you attempt to hide on your turn, you can opt to not move on that turn. If you avoid moving, creatures that attempt to detect you take a −10 penalty to their Wisdom (Perception) checks until the start of your next turn. You lose this benefit if you move or fall prone, either voluntarily or because of some external effect. You are still automatically detected if any effect or action causes you to no longer be hidden. If you are still hidden on your next turn, you can continue to remain motionless and gain this benefit until you are detected.
Feral Senses
At 14th level, you gain preternatural senses that help you fight creatures you can’t see. When you attack a creature you can’t see, your inability to see it doesn’t impose disadvantage on your attack rolls against it.
You are also aware of the location of any invisible creature within 30 feet of you, provided that the creature isn’t hidden from you and you aren’t blinded or deafened.
Foe Slayer
At 18th level, you become an unparalleled hunter. Once on each of your turns, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the attack roll or the damage roll of an attack you make. You can choose to use this feature before or after the roll, but before any effects of the roll are applied.
Worldly Protector
At 20th level, your travels across the land have given you experience, insight and knowledge of all types of terrain. Your Natural Explorer abilities now apply to all terrains.
Ranger Archetypes
Hunter
Emulating the Hunter archetype means accepting your place as a bulwark between civilization and the terrors of the wilderness. As you walk the Hunter's path, you learn specialized techniques for fighting the threats you face, from rampaging ogres and hordes of orcs to towering giants and terrifying dragons.
Hunter's Magic
Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Hunter Spells table. The spell counts as a ranger spell for you and is always prepared but doesn't count towards your prepared spells.
| Ranger Level |
Feature |
|---|---|
| 3rd | entangle |
| 5th | see invisibility |
| 9th | slow |
| 13th | hallucinatory terrain |
| 17th | far step |
Focused Hunter
At 3rd level, your skill at hunting down targets has honed your senses. If you cast the Hunter’s Mark spell, you can cast a version of it that does not require concentration. The spell ends if the target isn't within 90 feet of you or when the target of your Hunter’s Mark drops to 0 hit points. You can only have one Hunters mark spell active at a time.
Starting at 11th level, if the target of your Hunter’s Mark drops to 0 hit points before the spell ends, you can use a bonus action on a subsequent turn to mark a new creature
Hunter's Prey
At 3rd level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.
Colossus Slayer. Your tenacity can wear down the most potent foes. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, the creature takes an extra ld8 damage if it's below its hit point maximum. Vou can deal this extra damage only once per turn.
Giant Killer. When a Large or larger creature within 5 feet of you hits or misses you with an attack, you can use your reaction to attack that creature immediately after its attack, provided that you can see the creature.
Horde Breaker. Once on each of your turns when you make a weapon attack, you can make another attack with the same weapon against a different creature that is within 5 feet of the original target and within range of your weapon.
Defensive Tactics
At 7th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.
Escape the Horde. Opportunity attacks against you are made with disadvantage.
Multiattack Defense. When a creature hits you with an attack, you gain a +4 bonus to AC against all subsequent attacks made by that creature for the rest of the turn.
Steel Will. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Multiattack
At 11th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.
Volley. You can use your action to make a ranged attack against any number of creatures within 10 feet of a point you can see within your weapon’s range. You must have ammunition for each target, as normal, and you make a separate attack roll for each target.
Whirlwind Attack. You can use your action to make a melee attack against any number of creatures within 5 feet of you, with a separate attack roll for each target.
Superior Hunter's Defense
At 15th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.
Evasion. You can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a red dragon's fiery breath or a lightning bolt spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
Stand Against the Tide. When a hostile creature misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to force that creature to repeat the same attack against another creature (other than itself) of your choice.
Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack's damage against you.
Beast Master
The Beast Master archetype embodies a friendship between the civilized races and the beasts of the world. United in focus, beast and ranger work as one to fight the monstrous foes that threaten civilization and the wilderness alike. Emulating the Beast Master archetype means committing yourself to this ideal, working in partnership with an animal as its companion and friend.
Beastmaster's Magic
Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown on the Beastmaster Spells table. The spell counts as a ranger spell for you and is always prepared but doesn't count towards your prepared spells.
| Ranger Level |
Feature |
|---|---|
| 3rd | heroism |
| 5th | warding bond |
| 9th | catnap |
| 13th | dominate beast |
| 17th | awaken |
Animal Companion
At 3rd level, you learn to use your magic to create a powerful bond with a creature of the natural world. If you don't already have an animal companion of which you want to bond with, you can spend 8 hours of work and expend 50 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food to call forth an animal from the wilderness to serve as your faithful companion.
At the end of the 8 hours, your animal companion appears and gains all the benefits of your Companion’s Bond ability. You can have only one animal companion at a time. If your animal companion is ever slain, the magical bond you share allows you to return it to life. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 25 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth your companion’s spirit and use your magic to create a new body for it. You can return an animal companion to life in this manner even if you do not possess any part of its body. If you use this ability to return a former animal companion to life while you have a current animal companion, your current companion leaves you and is replaced by the restored companion.
Choose beast that is no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of 1/2 or lower and that isn't a swarm of beasts.
At level 3, total damage done from your companions attacks do half the amount they would normally do and the DC of any abilities that would cause a saving throw, such as a Wolfs bite attack, is set to 10.
At level 5 your companions damage is no longer halved and any possible DC becomes whatever number is appropriate for it.
This is done for balancing the the companion at early levels, but feel free to come up with a reason as to why your companion isn't as powerful as others of it's kind. For example, perhaps it is not fully grown yet or maybe it has become domesticated under your care and must be trained to regain the wild instincts it has lost.
Companion's Bond
Your animal companion gains the following abilities and game statistics, some determined in part by your level:
-
The animal companion loses its Multiattack action, if it has one.
-
The companion uses your proficiency bonus instead of it's own, in addition to where it normally applies its proficiency bonus, apply it also to the beasts damage rolls. When your proficiency bonus increases, apply the changes to the following areas: AC, attack and damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in.
-
Your companion has an amount of hit dice equal to half your ranger level (rounded up). Your companion regains all lost hit points after it finishes a long rest and can spend Hit Dice during a short rest. Its hit point maximum equals the amount listed in its stat block or your wisdom modifier + the beasts constitution modifier together times your ranger level, whichever is higher.
-
When using your Natural Explorer feature, you and your animal companion can both move stealthily at a normal pace.
-
Your animal companion gains proficiency in two skills of your choice. It also becomes proficient in all saving throws. Your animal companion also gains the benefits of your Favored Enemy feature. The creatures extra damage matches your wisdom modifier (minimum of 1).
-
In combat, the creature shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take an action your turn to command it to take one of the actions in its stat block or the Dash, Disengage, or Help action. you can also verbally command the beast where to move (no action required by you). When you create your bond with your companion, you gain access to a second action that can only be used to command the beast.
-
Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your companion’s abilities also improve. Your companion can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your companion can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature unless its description specifies otherwise.
If you are incapacitated or absent, the beast acts on its own, focusing on protecting you and itself. The beast never requires your command to use its reaction, such as when making an opportunity attack.
Your companion shares your alignment, and has a personality trait and a flaw that you can roll for or select from the tables below. Your companion shares your ideal, and its bond is always, “The ranger who travels with me is a beloved companion for whom I would gladly give my life.”
d6 Trait
1 I’m dauntless in the face of adversity.
2 Threaten my friends, threaten me.
3 I stay on alert so others can rest.
4 People see an animal and underestimate me. I use that to my advantage.
5 I have a knack for showing up in the nick of time.
6 I put my friends’ needs before my own in all things.
d6 Flaw
1 If there’s food left unattended, I’ll eat it.
2 I growl at strangers, and all people except my ranger are strangers to me.
3 Any time is a good time for a belly rub.
4 I’m deathly afraid of water.
5 My idea of hello is a flurry of licks to the face.
6 I jump on creatures to tell them how much I love them.
Primeval Awareness
Beginning at 3rd level, your mastery of ranger lore allows you to establish a powerful link to beasts and to the land around you.
You gain proficiency in the Animal handling skill, if you don't already have it.
You have an innate ability to communicate with beasts, and they recognize you as a kindred spirit. Through sounds and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas to a beast as an action, and can read its basic mood and intent. You learn its emotional state, whether it is affected by magic of any sort, its short-term needs (such as food or safety), and actions you can take (if any) to persuade it to not attack.
You cannot use this ability against a creature that you have attacked within the past 10 minutes.
Exceptional Training
At 7th level, while your companion can see you, it has advantage on all saving throws.
In addition, the beast’s attacks now count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Bestial fury
Starting at 11th level, your beast companion can make two attacks when you command it to use the Attack action.
Share Spells
Beginning at 15th level, when you cast a spell targeting yourself, you can also affect your beast companion with the spell if the beast is within 30 feet of you.
Design notes
Thank you for taking the time to go through my version of the ranger class, I haven’t been a player that long and this is the first homebrew I've made so please let me know what you think!
I tried to mix both the PHB ranger and Revised Ranger (RR) since i though that RR was a little too over tuned in a couple areas. Here’s my reasoning for the different changes and add-ons in this ranger revision:
Proficiencies
I automatically gave the ranger nature and survival in order to help make it better at tracking and exploring then a rogue or bard with expertise.
Natural Explorer, Favored Enemy and Favored Terrain
They are essentially the classes core abilities, and while I love them for the customization you can give to your ranger, they were useless unless you’re in that specific terrain or fighting that specific enemy.
For favored Enemy I took the PHB version and added the RR bonus to damage but changed the damage from to match your wisdom mod. Since the PHB gives 3 favored enemies instead of the 2 RR gives you, I figured it would be better the spread out the damage increase a bit instead of a +2 then a +4 at level 6. Other than that, I couldn’t find another way to improve it without completely rewriting how it worked or removing it all together.
For natural explorer, I think RR was going in the right direction, but all those effects all time was a bit strong in my opinion. So instead I kept the PHB effect for all terrains and added the new effects from the RR to the favored terrain mechanic. That way you have the best of both worlds.
For natural explorer specifically, I gave automatic expertise in nature and survival since this is suppose to the rangers bread and butter, it would be sad if a bard or rogue did its job better, also I changed the last effect so that you actually have to roll to discern enemy info instead of the DM just giving it to you. With expertise and advantage, you still have a very high chance of getting the info but now its not just free info.
Honed Skills
I saw some other ranger builds incorporate a special ability based on your favored terrain. I thought that it added an early level uniqueness to the ranger without having to ask the DM what terrains are going to be featured or the DM having to rewrite the campaign to include more of the rangers favored terrain. I still kept the combat abilities for favored terrain since it makes sense, its the terrain you've honed your skills in, thus you should kick butt in it. I also kept the ability to gain more favored terrains as you level up but for only the Combat abilities, not the unique skills. I'm not sure if I want to keep this but I liked the original Favored Terrain systems concept and I still want to apply it if I can. If the campaign changes location fairly often then the additional favored terrains might not be a problem.
Fighting style
I added Great Weapon Fighting. I don’t really see why they didn’t give it to the ranger in the first place.
Vanish
Basically, it took way too long to get this ability, so I put it with lands stride at level 8. I was also thinking of putting it at level 7 or 9.
Feral senses
Same issue as Vanish, it’s a cool ability but how many games get to 18th level? So I put it at 14Th were Vanish was.
Foe slayer
Good ability but terrible capstone, so I moved it down to 18th level.
Worldly Protector
Ill admit, im no game designer and I had no idea what to put for 20th level, I knew that Foe slayer definitely wasn’t good enough. Granted, making every terrain favored is what RR gets at level 1 but as I said, I believed that was too strong for level 1. Not all Capstones have to be like the paladin or Druid but I think this is good enough.
Subclasses
For both Hunter and Beastmaster I gave them bonus spells like the Xanathar subclasses. I tried to follow the idea they had: Thematic spells to the subclass that weren’t already on the ranger spell list. Hunter was easy enough, but Beastmaster im not 100% on sanctuary or beacon of hope. Unfortunately, most of the spells that effect beasts are already on the ranger spell list so figured these worked in the sense that the Beastmaster would work with and protect its companion.
Hunter
Nothings changed from PHB. Even the RR didn’t change anything as far as I could see. At least with the bonus spells it can compete with the Monster Slayer from Xanathars.
Focused Hunter
Hunters mark is arguably the most important spell the ranger has, but with it being concentration, half the ranger spells compete with it. Instead of making it a class feature, I decided to make it so that you can cast a weaker version of it if you want. Essentially you still get the damage bonus, but you can’t mark a new target after the first one dies, and the spell ends if the target is 90 feet away from you, nerfing the tracking element to it too.
10/12/2019: I've decided to make this exclusive to the Hunter archetype since after looking over the Xanathar subclasses, I can see they all have a Hunter's Mark - esque ability to make up for the normal dependancy on the spell, and with some recent revisions ive made to the Beastmaster, I find the animal companion itself to be powerful enough to make up for it. I rewrote the ability so that all it does is remove cncentration, making it similar to the ability the Monster Slayer archetype has, only
Beastmaster
Now for this one I picked and choosed effects I liked from both PHB and RR. For the companion itself I borrowed a lot from the Artificers Iron defender and Homunculus with how their HP is calculated, when they acted in a turn and how the ranger commanded them. While I think RRs beast conclave was better than beastmaster, I had a problem with how the companion essentially became a second character instead of a partner to your ranger. Now you can have it move for free and use your bonus action to command it. And since it takes the dodge action when given no command, it has better survivability, specially if you really need someone to flank or the rogue needs that extra body to sneak attack.
pimeval awareness
I added the beast sense ability from Revised Ranger and made it a beastmaster ability, it seems more in line with it then with all rangers.
Action to command companion
The PHB beast master used its action/one attack action to command the beast, it wasnt until I made this revision that I figured out the reason for it: to preserve the bonus action. A lot of the rangers combat spells use bonus actions as well as dual welding using it for the bonus attack. Unfortunately that made the ranger clunky for the two levels were it had the beast but no extra attack. So the choice of using one of your attack actions or your bonus action seems like a decent compromise since if you need to cast hunters mark or something you can still make the beast attack or if you want your inner Drizzt to come out with dual wielding. I dont think its perfect though and honestly I dont think this subclass is meant for dual wielding specially since my version of the ranger has access to the Great Weapon Fighting fighting style for strength based rangers. But I like options and this doesnt seem overpowered to me at the moment (I'm sure theres a spell or combo im not thinking of that make this op) and now both Drizzt players and Minsc players can flourish!
subclass spells
I'm not 100% on the subclass spells, for beast master I'm thinking of swapping Beacon of hope with Catnap and Dominate beast with either Dominate monster it death ward For Hunter I'm not sure about enhance ability or slow.
Making the Beast companion weak at first
This is done for balancing the the companion at early levels, as the beastmaster essentially gains an "Extra Attack" feature in the form of the companion at level 3. To reduce the massive amount of potential damage, the companion itself will be weaker until level 5, were instead of gaining the extra attack for the ranger, the beast will be back to normal. This method is the only way I could find were neither the ranger nor the companion has the sacrifice their turn in order to let the other have an action for levels 3 and 4.
Feel free to come up with a reason as to why your companion isn't as powerful as others of it's kind. For example, perhaps it is not fully grown yet or maybe it has become domesticated under your care and must be trained to regain the wild instincts it has lost.