Pets and companions for your Level Up characters!
August 1st
2025
In a typical fantasy RPG, each player controls a character—but nowhere is it written that you can play only one character! With the rules in Companions Compendium, you play as a tightly-knit team: your normal character and their pet or sidekick, called their companion. A companion might be a ranger’s wolf, a wizard’s apprentice, a knight’s squire, a cavalier’s steed—any monster or person that’s loyal to you and shares your adventures could become a companion. Just like your character, you control your companion in battle. And just like your character, your heroic companion can gain levels and new abilities.
Many creatures with stat blocks can become companions, provided a character wins their loyalty. A character might gain a loyal pet simply by buying a warhorse or mastiff. Through the Adventures and Advancement feature of the Criminal background, a character might gain the allegiance of one or more bandits, any of which might become a trusted sidekick. When encountering a wild owlbear, a character might use the Animal Handling skill to turn a potential combat encounter into the start of a beautiful friendship.
A companion is controlled by a specific character (the companion’s bonded character). In fact, the companion is considered to be a feature of that character, just like a feat, an archetype, or a magic item! As is the case with any other character feature, a companion isn’t taken into account when determining an encounter’s difficulty, and a companion doesn’t get a share of the party’s XP. (Whether they get a share of the treasure is up to the party!)
There are two types of companions: pets and sidekicks. Pets have an Intelligence score of 4 or less. They can learn pet tricks (detailed in chapter 3). Companions with an Intelligence score of 5 or greater are sidekicks. They can’t learn pet tricks, but they can use downtime to train in skills and other abilities.
Whether a companion is a pet or a sidekick, they can gain a powerful ability that’s denied to most NPCs: they can become heroic monsters—monsters that gain levels just as heroes do. By adventuring along with the party, one character’s polar bear pet learns ferocious new attacks, while another character’s apprentice mage sidekick gains new spells and spell levels. Even as the party gains levels, their companions remain useful members of the team.
Many creatures with stat blocks can become companions, provided a character wins their loyalty. A character might gain a loyal pet simply by buying a warhorse or mastiff. Through the Adventures and Advancement feature of the Criminal background, a character might gain the allegiance of one or more bandits, any of which might become a trusted sidekick. When encountering a wild owlbear, a character might use the Animal Handling skill to turn a potential combat encounter into the start of a beautiful friendship.
A companion is controlled by a specific character (the companion’s bonded character). In fact, the companion is considered to be a feature of that character, just like a feat, an archetype, or a magic item! As is the case with any other character feature, a companion isn’t taken into account when determining an encounter’s difficulty, and a companion doesn’t get a share of the party’s XP. (Whether they get a share of the treasure is up to the party!)
There are two types of companions: pets and sidekicks. Pets have an Intelligence score of 4 or less. They can learn pet tricks (detailed in chapter 3). Companions with an Intelligence score of 5 or greater are sidekicks. They can’t learn pet tricks, but they can use downtime to train in skills and other abilities.
Whether a companion is a pet or a sidekick, they can gain a powerful ability that’s denied to most NPCs: they can become heroic monsters—monsters that gain levels just as heroes do. By adventuring along with the party, one character’s polar bear pet learns ferocious new attacks, while another character’s apprentice mage sidekick gains new spells and spell levels. Even as the party gains levels, their companions remain useful members of the team.
- Chapter 1: Companions and Allies
- Chapter 2: Character Options
- Chapter 3: Pet Options
- Chapter 4: Equipment and Magic Items
- Chapter 5: Companions
