Pet Rules

Pets are fragile. You don't want me to kill your pets. I don't want to kill your pets. These are some simple rules to mitigate that chance.

• Each player has a “Pet Attunement Slot” which can be filled by any creature with CR ½ or lower. To attune to a pet, the character must spend a total of 8 hours training their pet (using appropriate DC Animal Handling checks based on the animal, and skills being taught). Once attunement is complete, a character is considered a pet’s “Master.”
• Being attuned to a master grants a pet several advantages. During combat, an attuned pet is assumed to have either run away or hid safely. Therefore, an attuned pet is immune to the damage that comes from an enemy spell, attack, or trap not specifically aimed at the pet. This does not include fall damage, though if you are falling with your pet, you can choose to take their fall damage for them.
• When a pet reaches zero hit points they fall unconscious and begin to make death saving throws at the start of their master's turn. They make throws in the same manner a player would.
• When entering an environment where a pet cannot follow (e.g., a dungeon, underwater, etc.), the master can designate a nearby safe area as the pet's "Safe Haven." This could be a stable, a friendly NPC's home, a magically protected spot, or any area that is reasonably well hidden and safe.
• While in the Safe Haven, the pet is considered out of play and is immune to environmental dangers, theft, or wandering off. It cannot be summoned but awaits the master's return or until a predetermined time or condition is met (e.g., 24 hours, a signal from the master). If the master does not return within a reasonable time, the pet may try to find its way back to a previously known location or the master, at the DM's discretion.