Houndmaster

Carrying his chipped sword over one shoulder, a male warrior with a blond hair and beard strides into the foreground. An eyepatch covers one eye and a green hood covers his head.

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Travel the Land with a Good Dog at Your Side

Stretching ever onward, the road is grueling and unforgiving. But, as Houndmasters know, it need not be lonely. A single dog, mankind’s most loyal companion, can make all the difference in the world. Houndmasters are never found without their dogs, who both serve as inseparable companions and fearsome defenders as the need arises.

Level 3: Faithful Hound

Your loyal hound is always at your side. It uses the Hound stat block and the following rules.

The Hound in Combat. In combat, your hound acts during your turn. It can move and use its Reaction on its own, but the only action it takes is the Dodge action unless you take a Bonus Action to command it to take an action in its stat block or some other action. If you have the Incapacitated condition, the hound acts on its own and isn’t limited to the Dodge action.

The Hound Dropping to 0 Hit Points. If the hound drops to 0 Hit Points, it has the Unconscious condition until you finish a Long Rest or it regains any Hit Points. When you finish a Short or Long Rest, it regains all of its Hit Points and loses this condition. See the sidebar “Does the Dog Die?” for information about losing or replacing your hound.

Hound Medium or Small Beast, Unaligned
AC 12 + your Strength or Dexterity modifier HP 5 plus five times your Vagabond level (the hound has a number of Hit Dice [d8s] equal to your Vagabond level) Speed 40 ft.
		MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE			MOD	SAVE
STR	13	+1	+1	DEX	14	+2	+2	CON	12	+1	+1
INT	3	−4	−4	WIS	12	+1	+1	CHA	7	−2	−2
Skills Perception +3, Survival +3 Senses Passive Perception 13 Languages None CR None (XP 0; PB equals your Proficiency Bonus)
Traits
Good Dog. The hound adds your Proficiency Bonus to any ability check or saving throw it makes. Pack Tactics. The hound has Advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of the hound’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally doesn’t have the Incapacitated condition.
Actions
Bite. Melee Attack Roll: Bonus equals your Strength or Dexterity modifier plus your Proficiency Bonus, reach 5 ft. Hit: 1d6 plus your Strength or Dexterity modifier Piercing damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it has the Prone condition.

Level 3: Sick ‘Em! [Maneuver]

As a Bonus Action, you can expend one Battle Die to command your hound to attack a creature you can see within 40 feet of it. The hound moves up to its Speed
without provoking Opportunity Attacks and makes one Bite attack against the target, adding the Battle Die to its attack and damage roll.

Level 3: Desperate Companion

While you are Bloodied, your hound has Advantage on attack rolls.

Does the Dog Die?
Your hound isn’t just a minion to be sacrificed in combat. It’s your most loyal companion and an integral component of your playstyle. Therefore, discuss with your GM how to handle losing your dog. It might be narratively impossible to lose your dog. Or the kidnapping or death of your dog might represent a pivotal moment in your story. You may even want to adopt another subclass, such as Adrenaline Junkie, during your dog’s absence.

Level 6: Hound’s Instincts

Your dog has a sixth sense for danger.

Blindsight. The hound has Blindsight with a range of 30 feet.

Supernatural Scent. The hound can sense if a creature is possessed, magically disguised, or shape-shifted.

Level 10: Loyal Redirection

When a creature you can see hits your hound while it is within 5 feet of yourself with an attack roll, you can take a Reaction to force the attack to hit you instead. Alternatively, your hound can take a Reaction to use this feature to cause an attack that hits you to hit it instead.

Level 14: Old Dog, New Tricks

Your dog has learned how to perform dangerous combat maneuvers.

Battle Dice. Your hound has two Battle Dice, which are d10s. A Battle Die is expended when your hound uses it. It regains all of its expended Battle Dice when it rolls Initiative or finishes a Short or Long Rest.

Maneuvers. Your dog knows two of your maneuvers that don’t have a prerequisite. The hound’s Bite counts as using a Melee weapon for the purpose of maneuvers.

Saving Throws. If a maneuver requires a saving throw, it uses your Maneuver save DC.