NPC Development

A class-level alternative for wild beasts, commoners,

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NPC Development
A town priest learning prayers that cure wounds and purify NPC Hit Dice
water, never dreaming of taking the field. A watchdog Hit Die Proficiency Bonus Features
purchased from a kennel growing large and muscular on a 1st +2 ─
regimen of battle and monster meat. A druid following
rumors of a famously tough old boar in the woods, hoping to 2nd +2 ─
study and adopt its shape. An ancient shadow, swollen with 3rd +2 ─
power from consuming its kind.
A great many creatures develop skills and abilities without 4th +2 Ability Score Improvement
the specialized training of an adventuring career. For the 5th +3 ─
development of less-than-heroic and less-than-villainous 6th +3 (Optional Bonus Feat)
creatures, these rules aim to provide a middle ground
between using a stat block as printed and adding class levels 7th +3 ─
as Chapter 9 of the Dungeon Masters Guide suggests, or 8th +3 Ability Score Improvement
Sidekick levels from the Essentials Kit Rulebook which offer
a medley of the same features. 9th +4 ─
These rules are entirely DM options, not player-facing 10th +4 ─
choices to be optimized. A pet's acquisition of Feats 11th +4 ─
especially. I would at most offer a player a choice of two or
three pre-approved paths for their beast or familiar to take. 12th +4 Ability Score Improvement
13th +5 ─
Gaining Hit Dice 14th +5 (Optional Bonus Feat)
A creature can gain Hit Dice as long as it can benefit from 15th +5 ─
experience. A scarred-up tomcat living in city alleys can get 16th +5 Ability Score Improvement
tougher and wilier than the average cat listed in the Monster
Manual. A frog in those circumstances probably cannot, and 17th +6 ─
mindless constructs and undead usually do not have the 18th +6 ─
capacity to grow on their own. 20th +6 ─
Treat the number of Hit Dice a creature starts with as their
level. When it reaches an XP total that would cause it to gain
a level, it gains an additional hit die of same type listed in its Conjured Spirit
statistics, along with the benefits listed on that row of the
NPC Hit Dice table. A creature gains no benefit retroactively Development & Death
for hit dice it already had. Creatures created by the find familiar or find steed spells are
uniquely magical compared to the beasts they resemble. As a
Hit Points and Proficiency Bonus wisp of planar energy poured into a beast-shaped mold, they
Whenever a creature gains a Hit Die, its hit point maximum are born with the limited capabilities of that mold. But
increases. To determine the amount of the increase, roll the ultimately, their nature as a fiend, fey, or celestial shows
Hit Die in the its stat block(or use the average) and add its through in their quick and mystical development.
Constitution modifier. It gains a minimum of 1 hit point per Over time, a familiar may manifest outward traits related to
hit die, which you may elect to use if you determine its their origin. A fish might grow translucent with a soft candle-
experience does not stand to make it more survivable. like luminance at its core, or its body might elongate and
A creature's proficiency bonus is determined by the metamorphose the stubby limbs and membranous wings of a
number of Hit Dice it has. When you modify its statistics for faerie dragon. A bird's feathers might become irridescent and
the first time, make sure the bonus is already factored feyly colored under certain types of light. A magical cat or
correctly into its bonuses and DCs . monkey, or a paladin's warhorse might grow the a pair of
feathered wings, or a rabbit the horn of an almiraj. A fiendish
Ability Score Increase rat familiar might develop impish human features in its paws
and face. The extent of a familiar's otherworldly appearance
When a creature reaches the noted Hit Die totals, increase is an indicator of the maturation of its covenant.
one of their ability scores by 2, or two ability scores by 1. It Once a familiar or steed has gained additional hit dice, it
can't normally increase an ability score beyond the natural gains a solidity and permanence on this Plane. It can no
limits of its species, as determined by the DM. longer be temporarily dismissed. If it drops to 0 hit points, it
is at risk of death rather than vanishing. It may be returned to
Faster Development life by spells such as revivify or other magical means. If a
To advance a creature's abilities faster than its HP, when a familiar has its form altered by casting the find familiar spell
creature attains its 6th hit die, and again at its 14th hit die, it again, or if the creature is resummoned by the spell, it
can take a bonus feat, provided at least one feat is reappears without the Hit Dice it gained, as a blank slate.
appropriate for it.
 It gains blindsight or tremorsense to a range of 30 feet.
NPC Feats It grows a natural weapon of your choice, which it is
A Feat can go a long way toward distinguishing an NPC. A proficient with.
creature can forgo an Ability Score Improvement feature in Rite Hand Man
favor of of a Feat as long as they have the physiology to use it.
The Feats in Chapter 6 of the Player's Handbook are all Prerequisite: Improved Familiar feat or Chain Pact feature
worth consideration. Use common sense to determine
whether a creature can benefit from a feat. Your familiar can deepen its connection and become an
The following new feats represent development outside of extension of your will. You gain the following benefits while
the progession of adventurers. As such, even those without the familiar is within 5 feet of you:
explicit prerequisites are not intended for Player Characters When you cast a spell as a ritual, your familiar allows you
or adventurer NPCs. to forgo the extra 10 minute casting time. During this
time, the familiar can take no other action. Once you have
Gimmick benefitted from this feature, the familiar must finish a long
Prerequisite: Must be proficient in at least one skill or tool. rest before it provides it again.
When you make a spellcasting ability check, you can add a
The creature has honed a narrow skillset to a razor focus. d4 to the total.
Choose one of the its skill or tool proficiencies. Their
proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check that uses Thaumometer
that proficiency. Prerequisite: Improved Familiar feat or Chain Pact feature
Grown Up Your familiar has become both sensitive, and resilient to
Whether by aging through adolescence, exposure to magic, magical effects. It gains the following benefits:
or eating monster corpses, the creature got big and gains the It gains the Magic Resistance trait unless it had it already,
following benefits: and can share this trait with you while it is within 5 feet.
Increase their Strength or Constitution score by 1, to a Your familiar is discomfited by the presense of cursed
maximum of 20. items and foreign spells on you. It knows if there is a
The creature grows by one size category, if it can. If its Hit cursed item within 5 feet of it, and if you are targeted by a
Die is determined by its size, it changes to match its new spell you would not normally be aware of from the
size, and its hit point maximum increases by the number divination or enchantment schools, such as clairvoyance
of Hit Dice it has. Otherwise, it counts as one size larger or charm person, your familiar becomes aware of it if it is
when determining its carrying capacity and the weight it within 5 feet of you. When the familiar becomes aware of
can push, drag, or lift. such a spell, it learns its school, which it can communicate
The creature's speed increases by 10 ft. to you, but not the details or source of the spell.
A creature can benefit from this feat multiple times. Feats for Extraplanar Beings
As an embodiment of the Upper or Lower Planes, of the
Improved Familiar or Steed Feywild or another strange land, you may decide that a
Prerequisite: Conjured by the find familiar or find steed spell. creature's development is best typified by a Feat it wouldn't
normally meet the prerequisites for, or be able to benefit from
Your familiar or steed awakens as a watch animal and dutiful effectively.
bound spirit.
Its Intelligence score becomes 7 unless it was already For example, a satyr reaching its 8th Hit Die might gain Fey
higher. It gains the ability to understand one language spoken Teleportation or Wood Elf Magic even though it doesn't meet
by its master, and one dependent on its type(celestial, fiend, or the racial prerequisite, since its heritage is derived from similar
fey), but can speak only during the hour after midnight. powers.
Through sounds and gestures, it can communicate with A spirit drawn into the form of a beast by a spell might even
beasts and other creatures that take the form of beasts. learn to cast a handful of spells of its own. To do so via a Feat,
it must have the Improved Familiar or Steed Feat or Chain Pact
Eldritch Mutation feature already. The spell list selected for a familiar or steed
Prerequisite: 6 Hit Dice, magical origin or exposure to Planar depends on its type: cleric for a celestial, bard or druid for a
radiation. fey, sorcerer for a fiend. If a familiar cannot attack, it cannot
learn a cantrip or spell that deals damage. The spell's verbal
The creature develops a physical mutation. It gains up to two
of the following benefits: and somatic components are adapted to its physiology, and it
is always considered to have a spellcasting focus.
It gains the Amphibious trait(replacing Water Breathing). A spirit in the form of a beast does not have the physiology
It grows a second head, gaining the Two Heads trait. to make use of the Ritual Caster feat, but some warlocks are
It gains a fly speed equal to it's highest listed speed. It may
support its flight with wings, or hover. known to keep the company of a fiendish "book imp" that can.
Its hide toughens into a natural armor.
It luminesces, gaining the Variable Illumination trait.