I have a level 4 Beast Master Ranger whose animal companion died. I was quite devastated that I couldn't summon a new one and instead I had to find a new one that isn't hostile towards me. My party has come across Brown Bears, a Lion, and even a Gorilla locked in a cage.
Now their CRs are greater than ¼, but the Player's Handbook (p. 92) doesn't say that when trying to obtain a new beast companion its CR has to be ¼ nor that it must be a beast with medium size or smaller, it just says unhelpfully that it could be the same type of beast or different.
So can I try and tame a new beast companion with a higher CR than my original one, or does it have to stay a ¼ or lower and has to be medium size or smaller?
Best Answer
The 3rd level ability allows a Beast Master Ranger to "Choose a beast that is no larger than medium and has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower" and "If the beast dies, you can obtain another one ..."
"Another one" means the same type of beast as the first i.e. no larger than Medium with CR 1/4 or less.
As an aside: the Beast Master Ranger is a relatively low-power class option; particularly if the ranger has no beast companion! Your DM should ensure that you can replace the beast as quickly and as easily as possible - right now you are about as much use as a Wizard without spellbooks, a blind fighter or an amputee rogue.