Lorekeeper’s Guide to FaLconry - by Jeremy meLLouL

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Once you have a raptor companion, how do you actually use it? This chapter deals with both how you mechanically command your raptor in game, as well as ways you can use it to add additional depth to your Dungeons & Dragons experience across the three pillars of play - Combat, Exploration, and Roleplaying.

Commanding Your RaptorYour raptor obeys your commands as best as it can. It takes its turn on your initiative, though it won’t take any actions unless you command it to. On your turn, you can verbally command the raptor to move (at no action cost). You can also use your action to verbally command it to engage in any of the Behavior’s you’ve trained it in (see Chapter 4). Unless specifically instructed, your raptor acts independently. For example, while moving your raptor will decide on its own path unless you spend an action to direct it to take a specific route.

Independent ActionIn general, while your raptor is away from you, your raptor acts independently and follows your last commands to the best of its ability. In other situations, it will more likely just try to return to you.

Skill ChecksWhen rolling skill checks for your raptor you add your own proficiency modifier to its ability modifiers for any skills it is proficient in. You can unlock other skill proficiencies - along with other abilities - through the Developments (see Chapter 5) you can acquire for your raptor as your own character levels up and progresses through a campaign.

Death Saving ThrowsWhen your raptor companion drops to 0 hit points, it does not die instantly. Instead, it falls unconscious and makes death saving throws as a special nonplayer character.

Losing a raptor is unfortunate in any circumstance, but it is part of the risk of raising a companion.

CombatWithin combat and other such encounters (like chase scenes) your raptor’s primary function is utility.

While your raptor companion can be commanded to attack your enemies, raptors tend to be weak attackers. You can counteract this by training and developing your raptor to be a stronger, more durable predator. That said, they will always be best used as a secondary force and their general viability in combat tends to diminish past the first two tiers of play (levels 1-11) though the utility they provide will always remain valuable.

For example, you can use your raptor to distract your enemies by commanding it to take the Help action, or to steal an important macguffin from the grasp of the enemy leader with the Retrieve action, once you have trained each of those behaviors. Or in a chase scene, you can use your raptor to interfere with your target’s escape in order to give you the time you need to catch up to them.

In general warfare, raptors serve other purposes beyond direct confrontation. Information is a critical component of all warfare and raptors are an exceptional way to gather intelligence. By sending your raptor ahead to scout, you can determine the layout of the land to plan a better ambush or devise a better way to siege the enemy stronghold.

If you order your raptor to fly above and follow an enemy patrol you can learn about your enemies’ patrol timing, making use of your bird’s inconspicuousness to get valuable tactical and strategic insights on your enemies’ plans and position.

ExplorationYour raptor’s ability to fly high into the skies and get the lay of the land allows them to shine during the exploration portion of your campaigns - especially in wilderness areas like the meadows, forests, mountain ranges, and oceans that cover your world.

While these portions of the game are often less mechanically-dependent, your raptor is a fantastic asset here. They can help you find food and water, identify landmarks so you don’t get lost, and generally get a wider view of your surroundings so you can make more informed decisions as you explore - rather than just relying on your characters or parties own instincts and perspectives.

If you do want to bring mechanics into play, your GM may give you advantage on Survival checks to navigate the land while using your raptor or allow you to use its Perception to pick out landmarks from a greater distance.

During travel, your raptor can also help you and your party better respond to sudden and surprises & setbacks. When you come to a metaphorical fork in the road and must decide whether to take the mountain path ahead or cross through the valley your raptor companion can be a valuable source of information - especially if you or a fellow party member can cast speak with animals on your raptor’s return.

Of course, the wilderness has its share of dangers. While scouting your raptor may encounter other birds of prey, or hunters who might see your bird as their next meal and shoot some arrows at it. Or it might spot an immediate danger - like a group of cultists dragging the blacksmith’s daughter away into their underground lair.

Chapter 3: Using Your RaptorChapter 3: Using Your Raptor

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Lorekeeper’s Guide to FaLconry - by Jeremy meLLouL

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RoleplayYour character’s relationship with their raptor - and background as a falconer - doesn’t have to be an integral part of who they are, but it can be a great way to give your character some depth & lead to some interesting roleplay encounters and opportunities.

PersonalityFirst, you have to consider your bird’s personality. How does it interact with you? Not only is there the possibility of Speak with Animal spells that could allow you to actually communicate with your bird, but there are plenty of opportunities for nonverbal communication between you and your bird that can add depth and flavor to your roleplaying.

You should also consider playing off the personality traits you rolled for your raptor back in Chapter 2.

Running a Falconry BusinessThough your character will likely spend a lot of time training their raptor companion during downtime, you may also want to start a Falconry business to make money training falcons that you can sell to other hunters or to rich nobles with little better to do than take up the sport.

A Falconry business requires:• An Establishment: A hunting lodge or farm can make a great

location to house & train falcons and are easily adapted to suit your purposes with the inclusion of a mew - see “Raptor Gear & Cost” in Chapter 1

• Hirelings: Skilled hirelings to serve as hunters/trappers to acquire raptors to train or train the raptors in your stead.

• Customers: Either nobles or local tribes (though many tribes will raise their own falcons or have their own preferred hunting styles). For these sales you can average the income earned using the “Running a Business” information available in the DM’s Guide (find it on page 129) or handle the business operations more narratively - making a series of narrative checks with potential customers to attract their interest and eventually close the sale, earning an income comparable to the prices listed in “Purchasing a Raptor” in Chapter 2 for trained raptors.

• Equipment: A Falconry Kit, a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 15 gp

Social IntrigueThe social opportunities that come with being a falconer are great to take advantage of during downtime. Beyond the business possibilities, your character’s expertise as a falconer can allow them to make connections with the local tribe or nobility in the area.

If falconry is commonplace in the town you’re in, a Falconer background can help a character pull off a noble disguise or earn the respect of a tribe that values the skill - assuming the character has the skill to back up their bluster. You can track this through the renown the character gains with local, powerful organizations or allow it to lead to new adventure hooks!Sam

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A Falconer’s primary responsibility to their raptor is to help the predator reach its full potential through exercise and training. As the falconer continues to train their raptor, they can teach it more complicated actions, making it a more capable hunter and a more useful companion.

TrainingIn order to help a raptor reach its full potential, a falconer must take time to train it and teach it to follow commands.

Your Game Master might allow to you to make progress in training your falcon over the same time you take a long rest, or may require you to dedicate specific time to it and treat it as a downtime activity.

Training as a Downtime ActivityFew things are more rewarding than seeing the fruits of your training represented in your raptor’s growth.

Resources. A character must spend at least one full day and 1 gp, for the food and gear necessary to train their raptor, in order to make progress in training their raptor.

Resolution. A character intending to train their falcon must first choose a specific behavior to teach their raptor. Every behavior has an associated time necessary to fully train the action. After the time has elapsed in game and the character has spent the gold required of the time spent, they may roll to determine whether they have successfully taught their raptor the selected behavior. If they have not yet spent the requisite time, they can split the training over multiple sessions of downtime before rolling to determine total success.

In order to determine the result, the character must make an animal handling check, with a DC determined by the type of raptor they own in order to determine whether they have successfully trained their raptor. If the check is successful, the raptor learns the selected behavior and may now use it as commanded

Training CompliCaTions

BehaviorsBelow are a list of behaviors that you can train your falcon to learn and use as actions. You may adjust the training day to better suit the pacing of your campaign.

*Indicates a behavior considered part of the “Basic Training” that all

purchased, trained raptors come with.

Attack25 Days of Training

Your raptor can make a melee weapon attack using its beak or talons as per its stat block (Appendix A).

Dash*10 Days of Training

Your raptor gains extra movement for the current turn. The increase equals your raptors speed, after applying any modifiers.

Disengage*15 Days of Training

Your raptor’s movement doesn’t provoke opportunity asks for the rest of the turn.

Dive Attack40 Days of Training

If your raptor is flying and takes its action to dash, it can make one attack as part of the action or shove a creature. If it dives at least 30 feet straight toward its target before taking its bonus action, your raptor can either gain +5 bonus to the attack’s damage roll (if you chose to make a melee attack and hit) or push the target up to 10 feet away from you (if you choose to shove and you succeed).

Dodge*15 Days of Training

Until the start of its next turn, any attacks made against your raptor has disadvantage if it can see the attacher, and it makes Dexterity saving throws with advantage

Follow & Lead30 Days of Training

Your raptor can follow a target you can currently see and return to lead you toward wherever the target stops or until 3 days have passed (whichever happens first).

Grapple25 Days of Training

Your raptor can use the Attack action to attempt to grapple an enemy creature. The target of its grapple must be no more than one size larger than it, and it must be within your raptor’s reach. Your raptor makes a grapple check Strength (Athletics) contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) - target chooses. If you succeed, the target is grappled. When your raptor moves it can drag or carry the grappled creature with it, but its speed is halved, unless the creature is two or more sizes smaller than it.

Chapter 4: Raptor TrainingChapter 4: Raptor Training

d8 Complication

1 A hunter, poacher, or rival falconer captures your raptor, intending to take it for themselves or sell it.

2Your raptor spots something worrisome (eg. smoke in the distance, tracks of a massive beast, a group of bandits lying in wait).

3 A hungry predator attempts to attack your raptor.

4 A local noble attempts to recruit you for a hunting com-petition against their rival.

5 Your training draws the attention of a proud noble or hunter who believes you are challenging their honor.

6A spoiled merchant sees your raptor flying and finds it breathtaking. They wish to purchase it, and will not take no for an answer.

7Your raptor uncovers a group of hooded figures who dis-appear into a secret lair you wouldn’t have noticed from the ground.

8 A rival falconer accuses you of stealing their raptor.Sample

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