Hey Nerdimmersion, i was curious about something. I was just creating a character sheet for a Beastmaster Ranger, and was about to use the Primal Companion feature, but a thought popped into my head. The standard Ranger's Companion must be a beast that is CR 1/4 or lower. Does that mean that, in theory, you could turn your Ranger's Companion into a Sidekick? And if so, which is better, a Primal Companion or a Ranger's Companion that is also a Sidekick?
Getting a thug expert would be nuts since they could share the love and give party members advantage as a bonus action. Not to mention the skills they’d have. If nobody in the party wanted to be a rogue they’d make a pretty decent stand-in and they’d be tankier than most rogues too
I would like to note that pixies CAN get weapons that are of their size. If you look at Sprites, they get a longsword and a shortbow. Granted they only do 1 point of damage, but they can still get weapons.
I wasn't worried about size, but they don't have any weapon proficiencies in their stat block and the sidekick types that grant weapon proficiencies say you need to be humanoid not fey.
@@NerdImmersion Eh, seems like a really weird restriction given what the creature is. I'd personally call a DM fiat and just allow the pixie to be proficient. They're tiny bidal human looking people with hands. I mean again look at sprites, they have a CR 1/4 same as the pixie, and they get a longsword and shortbow.
@@michaelsellers4788 Personally, I'd rule that if say they were able to manipulate objects, I might allow it. Might be a bit leery allowing Apes to use weapons, but they use rocks in their stat block, and don't get me started on skeletons. I mean you could rule that they need a minimum of 6 in both Intelligence and Wisdom, and manipulative hands, in order to use weapons and shields.
I’m currently playing a Kobold Beast Master who has a giant owl in Icewind Dale. It’s super fun to fly above the ground and get the jump on things trying to get the jump on the party.
Shadow as a sidekick has so much potential as a warrior with the strength drain ability especially if you're playing as a shadow sorcerer or something along those lines in an evil campaign
Yeah if you're DM is allowing you to have a chaotic evil undead creature as a sidekick, than sure. I guess you could go the Peter Pan route and have it not be evil, but I feel the abilities would need to be changed up a bit
@@NerdImmersion I actually made a homebrew warlock patron for my friend (a cabal of shadowy beings from another realm, who are actually all of the sylvans that have been banished from the Feywild by one of the two queens). The first feature it gives you is the ability to control your own shadow by giving it telepathic instructions. The way I handled it was giving the shadow all the same states, feats, and skills as the character, but with different abilities. It can’t attack, but it can interact with the living and objects by interacting with their shadows. (My player took the grappler feat and now usually uses his shadow to pin incredibly confused enemies, though he occasionally does do things like push enemies off cliffs or carry his friends to safety.) The shadow can only be harmed by silvered weapons and radiant damage, but only has as much health as the character’s level.
@@gusg6197 this is one of the best homebrew concepts ive seen. Id love to see the write up for this patron. Im.. displeased with the current way the Shadowfell is used. Banished Fey beings make a lot of sense.
a cleric owl bound to Auril sounds like a very interesting character to bring to a certain icewind dale campaign... the opportunity for conflict and resolution would be great.
From what I've read, the Warrior Sidekicks get proficiency with Simple and Martial weapons, providing that that are humanoid or have a weapon in their stat block. Also, humanoid or otherwise, they get access to *all* armor. This means that, depending on the creature's strength, they could wear plate armor if they have a 15 strength stat for 18 ac, or rather Splint as that tends to be cheaper for 17 ac. Likewise, if they have at least a 14 in their Dexterity, they could wear Half-Plate for a max of 17 ac, or use Scale Mail, which is cheaper, for a max of 16 ac. This Armor proficiency would be useful for those with normally a lower ac. Also, no rule says that Sidekicks can't use magic weapons or armor. Granted, it might be difficult for a normal non-magical beast (like wolves and warhorses) to use magical weapons, but that can be modified, using say the Monk's Ki-Powered Strikes or the Beastmaster's Exceptional Training as inspiration, to say that the beast's attacks count as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks, that or give Fang some Magic Claws and Thunder some Magic Horseshoes that allow them to do magic damage.
My wife is currently running a game for our daughter and some of her friends where everyone is a Sidekick and a Fey of some type. There is a Mist Dog (Blink Dog), Faun (Satyr), Sprite Fey Cat, and a Pixie. So far the girls are really enjoying it.
I love this, because it also would allow players who aren’t interested in playing any of the millions of pc options they have to play something really weird and unconventional without making the dm home brew a brand new race/class combo. Love the content Ted!
I like the idea of monster specific languages given the sidekicks wrinkle. Now you have to know that difficult, niche language to get that sidekick instead of knowing Elvish out something. You better believe that's how I'm going to run that.
I'm playing a Paladin/Fighter in a LOTR world campaign and I'm a knight that goes round fighting in competitions for a living, and my DM saw these rules and let me get a (slightly lower level than us) Dragonborn Warrior sidekick as my squire and it's pretty damn cool. I really like these rules!
Some other ideas that I was a bit surprised weren't on the list include is a Skulk, which can only go Warrior because it can't actually speak. It is chaotic neutral, it basically has Expertise in Stealth, as it has +8 Stealth with only a 19 Dex, but would be perfect as a child/former child's "imaginary friend". It is permanently invisible and can only be seen by children and is only vaguely visible under other very rare circumstances. Its claw attack only does 1d4+4, but adds another +2d6 necrotic damage if they have advantage, say from being invisible. The Scout would make an interesting Expert to be a master of many skills. They have Nature +4, Perception +5, Stealth +6, Survival +5, which when looking at their stats means those are basically Expertise as well. They get Multiattack for two melee or ranged attacks which makes Warrior less attractive for them. Stats aren't anything to write home about, but they do have advantage on Sight and Hearing based Perception checks like the Giant Owl. By 15th level they can have 8 skills with "expertise" if going Expert.
My Ghostwise Halfling Wildfire Druid has a unique sidekick, her own Shadow. Having a creature which can reduce the STR of the enemy 1d4 each round, and also has a crapload of resistances, is epic.
The Sidekick rules state: "If the creature already has the Spellcasting trait, this fea- ture replaces that trait." So some of those spells you discussed in their stat blocks will go if you choose Spellcaster. So no Polymorph for a level 1 Pixie Sidekick.
I think it might still have it as it doesn't have the Spellcasting trait. It has the Innate Spellcasting trait. Something like the Barovian Witch would have the Spellcasting trait along with other npc casters
Innate Spellcasting like the Pixie's is not the same as the Spellcasting trait. The Spellcasting trait will list the spellcasting level and give spell slots. Pixie's do not lose their Innate Spellcasting.
Fun campaign ideas: You’re a monster trainer (a commoner/scout with good animal handling), and you’ve become an adventurer with the help of your pets/summons. You’re the summons to a summoner (works as your group patron), and your job is to keep them safe, in exchange you get gifts and other stuff.
As I looked at one list, there's like 356 creatures with a cr of 1/2 or lower - excluding UA, Planeshift, and other non-book supplemental items (379 with), as well as Adventure NPCs (137 of those) - after which, one might go "Um, so which ones are simply reskinned/altered versions of pre-existing creatures/NPCs?" (there's like 90 of those, but some are pretty cool - those animated weapons for one, Awakened Animals for another) and that leaves us with 266. Still, that's a lot of choices. After that, its a question of which class of sidekick fits best the creature/npc, depending on the need of the party/opposition, as some can fit multiple classes, or subclasses. Lots of fun making those choices. My only thing is, if you make an Awakened Animal Spellcaster, you're going to need to bend the rules to allow spells from all lists, as it's hard to find a decent selection that's "hands-free" that uses just the list rules given. Still, even that can be fun. No one expects the mule to cast Vicious Mockery - imagine the insults. "You shovel my mess!"
Polymorph uses the target’s level/CR, not the caster level. Great video overall and some great ideas. I’m going to be looking at adding a sidekick or two to my groups now.
Me trying to figure out how to convince my DM to let me turn my familiar owl into a sidekick giant owl. I'm playing a wizard who's had his God Saint Cuthburt start taking an interest in him. As a result my Wizards spells are becoming more divine in appearance. My familiar Little Hoot is basically a dove now and I was able to get the idea that Little Hoot was always a divine gift. My party doesn't have a dedicated healer as it is (we're an Abjurer, bard, 3 rogues and a druid.) This video has me pumped for the idea my familiar enters the fray as a giant divine owl (or you know, angel) capable of healing those who enforce the will of the Saint. Aces.
For my evil wizard seeking lichdom I’m considering a shadow. Getting multiple attacks with its strength draining powers makes it even more deadly. Then it’s resistances make the extra health it gets while leveling up longer lasting.
The interesting thing about the Anvilwrought Raptor, at least by the DMG monster creation rules, is that this bird is actually a CR 1, not a 1/2. I have a video coming out in March for this bird that shows the offensive rating for it that is a lot higher than expected with an offensive CR of 2 while it's defenses are a dismal defensive CR of 1/8. Combine and average those two ratings out and you get a CR 1 birb.
Look at the Giant Stone Statue from Storm King's Thunder with a Cr of 0 - 195hp, 17 AC, 20 Con, immunity to non-magical attacks that ain't made with Adamantine weapons, advantage on saving throws against magic. I mean, all it has are its fists which do 7 damage (1+6strength), and have a +8 (2 pb and 6str) to hit, but they count as magical. Given all this, its at least a cr10 creature.
@@lockwoan01 Yeah, that's really silly and if we add in the 7 dmg and +8 to Hit then it's a CR 11 Huge Construct. Since I'm not seeing any actual attack, unless it changes stats if provoked somehow, then it's a CR 10, minimum.
@@DDCRExposed Well, the one site I checked basically states that its offensive capabilities are 1/2 cr, with its defensive ones being 20, and the math it uses gives something with similar stats a cr of 10 .... but still. It ain't a CR 1/2 at any rate.
@@DDCRExposed Yeah, even without the various resistances and immunities, it's still a cr 5. You would need to drop the hp to 3d12 to make the defense 1/2 (effective hp looks something like 2d12+10, possibly up to 3d12+15 at most, initially), and with the offensive stuff from punching (figured out my math issue there - forgot to calculate the strength modifier in the to hit thing), you'd need to reduce the strength to 18, just to make the offensive cr 1/2. He's still a big dude with quite the punch and a decent amount of hp mind you. (Heck, for him to keep the resistances and such, he'd have to go down to 1d12, and only have 3 hp to have an "effective" hp of 6 (1d12+5), but that's not going to happen, on average rolls).
Personally, I like the idea of giving horses Warrior levels. I mean, imagine if a party of murderhobos, or that thief, decides to rob some poor shopkeeper, and said party is at level 10. Normally, a guard with a draft horse mount stands no chance. But, what if the guard took 10 levels in Warrior training with the Attacker Fighting Style, and lets say he rode in on a draft horse who also had 10 levels of Warrior training with the Defender Fighting Style, and let's imagine 5 more guard/draft horse pairs show up, and lets say that our guards are using magic weapons, shields, and armor, with the horses wearing magic armor and, very importantly, magic horseshoes that do the effect of some magic weapon. I'd say it's time for the party to redefine cr 1/8 and 1/4, and 1/2, and possibly 0 even.
@@lockwoan01 Interesting (and fun) that you decided to use the sidekick levels on enemies instead of as party members. Give the warrior levels to a group of bugbears, along with said magical equipment, making them into a terrifying force of elite raiders wreaking havoc on the small settlements nearby. Seeing the look on your party's faces when they learn that a black dragon scale mailed, magical halberd wielding bugbear has polearm mastery and sentinel.
@@MrDavidKord Sadly, rules as written, bugbears have a CR of 1 - too high to use sidekick levels on. But, take a group of generic NPCs with CRs 1/2 and lower - like Bandits and Scouts - and add the Player Bugbear traits, and then add the Warrior stuff to it. (Similar situation exists for Minotaurs, Centaurs, Yuan-Ti Purebloods, and a few others - generic ones are too high to add sidekick levels to, so the player version traits would need to be added to generic NPCs).
@@lockwoan01 Good point, RAW you'd have to do a little more work in the way you described. I was more talking from the DM side using this as a way to add more than hit dice to a monster. Even giving Warrior levels to a Tarrasque would up the challenge a lot and give some cool story ideas behind it without just saying "it has 10 more hit dice and I gave it a feat."
Been having too much fun putting together possible sidekicks. Turns out a CR 1/4 Tabaxi Minstrel can make a pretty good spellcaster with its base 16 Charisma and multiattack. Also rather fond of the idea of Dolgrim and Rubblebelt Stalker sidekicks; 3 attacks with multiattack and some interesting sidequest possibilities.
The Frontline Medic from Ravnica is a good Warrior option. Reason is not only do they show up wearing plate armor and shield for 20ac (which they might lose if an Expert or Spellcaster), they also have access to some cleric spells (4 first level slots, 2 second level slots), including Cure Wounds (which they'd lose if they went Spellcaster unless they went the Healer route or took it from the bard list), meaning it's like having someone akin to a Life Domain cleric with them, who can not only heal, but can also do decent at tanking duty.
Something worth pointing out, since you mentioned a Pixie Rogue - high DEX means high sleight of hand... which also means invisible lockpicking and pickpocketing machine with a Stealth of "eff you, I'm not here".
@@NerdImmersion Who needs stronger self polymorph or weapon proficiencies when your pixie knows eldritch blast and vicious mockery while near permanently invisible? Doesn't "concentrate as if on a spell" not mean it competes for concentration with spells in 5E? Pixie is already the number one best sidekick, so it'd just be transforming into a not number one best sidekick (until higher levels, of course).
Magewrights seem like great Experts or Warriors since they get some unique spellcasting and additional proficiencies. Also you can add any humanoid race to it for additional stats. So a Dwarf Lamplighter or Dragonborn Mediator.
Sprite(was mentioned in passing at the end) is not a bad option either as you could go pact of the chain warlock and then ask your DM if they are willing to make it a sidekick, so a guaranteed sidekick at LVL 3
About a year ago I ran a one shot where my players chose CR 0 to CR 1/2 creatures for a "pet show", they wound up playing DND homeward bound. It was an absolute blast and by far the Cow carried the team in combat. That cow (and his handler) are a recurring NPC in my current campaign (set in the same world). It would be a pretty nasty warrior.
Funny enough, as I look at the Skills that a number of CR 1/2 (or lower) creatures have, one thing that comes to mind is this - is it just me, or do a bunch of them have Expertise in one of their skills? I mean, it looks like the Giant Owl has Expertise in Perception.
so when the sidekick rules say you get their "stat block" that also includes the skills and proficiencies, as well as the actions. Then you give them more stuff based on their sidekick class, right? Magic user sidekicks are tough to find. The only magic using NPC I could find with a challenge 1/2 is the Acolyte.... besides the pixie... I want regular humanoids if possible.
If they have "Spellcasting" and you choose to make them a spellcaster sidekick, their original spellcasting is replaced. If they have innate Spellcasting (like a pixie) that stays regardless
Warhorses and Skeleton Warhorses can make unusually durable Warriors due to starting with several d10 hit dice, and adding more as they level up. You could mount them too, though then you're subject to slightly awkward mounting rules
Hadn't really thought about it but pixie expert would make an incredible rogue-like character for out of combat, and during combat the "Hide while invisible" option seems good that said I'm really surprised modrons(rogue or otherwise) didn't make the list, 120ft truesight and 3 javelin attacks(for tridrone) at level one seems pretty good
@nerd immersion For the pixie going invisible snd staying until it loses concentration. It says it stays invisible “as if concentrating on a spell”. Wouldn’t you play that just like the rules when concentrating on a spell, like if it takes damage it rolls a check and if it does anything else that requires concentration? I would imagine if it took damage or something broke it’s concentration, it has to make a save no?
correct, I thought I explained that in the video. Yeah if you cast another concentration spell it would end or if you take enough damage to knock them out of concentration. It is NOT however, limited duration like the Invisibility spell
Non-humanoid sidekicks can indeed wear armor, they just don't get the weapons, unless weapons are mentioned in the statblock. Besides, look at Barding in the PHB, page 157 - clearly there's armor for animals.
In a game I'm playing as a battle smith artificer I gave my steel defender a head band of intellect and the dm allowed it to become a sidekick. It was his way of creating life.
@@ameliafeyparsons4816 I imagine it's difficult because of how situational the choice is, Small vs Medium PC size and how to acquire them. Would either be a really long comprehensive video or it could feed a few top 10s I think.
If you put thorn whip on the giant owl, if it is flying above the target, it also would take bludgeoning damage from the fall back down, so that could be a really cool combo
Hey Ted, great video, ive been loving your content lately keep it up. Im currently running 2 low level campaigns and i think itd be really cool if you joined as a guest at some point with your giant owl sidekick
So I’m my campaign my DM let the B team get ambush drakes as mounts. My character is a Kobold Cavalier fighter. So this is amazing. But how would that work? A mount that is also a side kick??
a mount and sidekick sounds pretty reasonable to me. Paladins used to have warhorses i think. Though i haven't played earlier versions of D&D for a long long time.
For creatures that have the spellcasting feature already, the sidekick spellcasting feature Replaces it. I mean I guess it is optional to ignore that rule but the pixie sidekick does not get polymlrph out the gate
I would want a chwinga (especially from Rime of the Frost Maiden) as my sidekick. Their charms would extremely helpful. I wouldn't fight with them, however.
I have a player who I gave a sprite to. The sprite was an NPC named Rot who was under the influence of the magic of an oni. The players went and healed the powerful magics cursing Rot and I gave the pixie cleric levels to help the party out on top of the base stat block.
The problems with having a pixie as a warrior are all fixed in the stat block of their immediate cousins, the sprite. I would have introduced the two of them as the same spot in your list. Edit: But I have a question: do familiars count as sidekicks?
Giant Owls are like the Hsiao of the old Mystara setting. They are actually a playable race under the "Tall Tales of the Wee Folk" Creature Crucible rules. They have their own language, and cast clerical magic. Their are something I would like to see added to 5e, along with Phanatons and some other Mystara races.
I had a giant owl companion (via Ranger Beastmaster). It got the nickname "Murder vimto mach five death owl" after just wrecking shop, but specifically killing someone by divebombing behind them, pulling up at the last second, and bursting through their torso. That was a fun game.
I'm in a campaign, which is going very slowly now because of COVID-19, I'm in the process of acquiring a mastiff. After training the mastiff as a guard dog, I'm planning to have our druid cast Awaken (he has the Staff of the Woodlands) upon it to raise it's Intelligence to 10 and give it the ability to speak. And now after reading the Sidekick section in TCoE, I'm hoping my DM will allow him to become a sidekick. Fingers crossed.
Wait..... What if a Beast, or a Plant, had the Awakened Spell placed on them, would that qualify them for Expert or Spellcaster? That would be a funny one. Granted, a beast spellcaster probably couldn't do any spell that required gestures, but there's a number of other spells that don't require such things. Granted, the options aren't that great, but it is doable (although one might need to borrow from the other spell-lists to get a full list, but that could be homebrewed, or the somatic part could be homebrewed out). Next thing you know, Snakes are casting Suggestion, Mules are casting Vicious Mockery, and cats are casting Healing Word.
@@Dennis-vh8tz The sword is doable, as per the flying sword being cr 1/4, but the armor would need a modification - reduce the hp to at most 17, or less, and it might qualify as cr 1/2, as per the DMG rules on CR calculation.
@@Dennis-vh8tz Based upon checking a regular Tortle from Mordonkien's Tome of Foes, which has a natural ac of 17, and 22 health, lowering the Animated Armor's hit dice to 4d8s, and giving it around 20 hp should help lower the challenge rating to just enough.
I know I'm forever late to this video but I'd like to point out that Healer spellcasters gain access to both the Cleric AND Druid lists, they don't have to pick just one. The same is true with the Prodigy and the Bard and Warlock lists.
Hobgoblin could make a fun Wizard Sidekick that focuses on hitting with Booming Blade and takes mostly buffing or supporting spells. 18 with plate, a longsword, and Martial Advantage can really go far.
hear me out....... shadow warrior, at level 15 make the enemy lose 3d4 strength a round, plus if you need a way to say you got it you can play a necromancer and say you rose it, but it will likely be a big no from any DM
@@NerdImmersion Oh yeah, that makes sense. I wasn't really paying too much attention, so I thought you meant one of the Guard Drakes, not just changing the colour (And Resistances) of the Ambush Drake
Curious, would you allow the Sentient Gray Ooze? It's stat block says; "Languages: can understand basic communication in Common" - It doesn't say "but cannot speak" like many creatures do...
Succeeding the saving throw against heat metal means that you dont drop the item being heated. This means that the target has disadvantage on attacks and ability checks as long as it is touching the item. This is also a necessity for the caster to continue to inflict damage on the following rounds.
One issue with the pixie and polymorph. While the pixie is concentrating on polymorph, it can't be invisible. At low enough levels where no one else can cast polymorph, it just becomes a target. With it's low con and starting single HP, it's gonna die real quick. If it polymorphs itself, it's got a terrible chance of making its check to maintain concentration, so it'll only last maybe a round or two.
