[RPG] House rules for a new player’s Ranger character; are they balanced

balancednd-5ehouse-rulesranger

I've managed to convince my GF to try out a simple campaign. She is new to tabletop gaming. Knowing her, I decided to have her play a ranger with a pet (she loves her dog, a lot). I designed some house rules to make things like action economy simpler for her, also not wanting her dog to suddenly die to a random crit from a bear. I was wondering if some of the house rules will make the game unbalanced.

Rule 1:
She will be able to swap between her Bow and Sword at the start of every turn.

Rule 2:
Her pet dog will not die when at 0 hp, but rather be treated like a PC. It will have death saving throws and she will be able to stabilize it with an action.

Rule 3:
The dog will always go after her turn and will follow her latest command. If no command is given, it will stay by her side and ready an attack for anyone who tries to attack her.

Rule 4:
She can command the dog as a free action.

This will be a short 2 combat campaign where I'm just introducing what it's like to play RPGs. The only other player is her sister, who is playing as a spellcaster.

Best Answer

Your house rules are slightly weaker to the already published Unearthed Arcana: Revised Ranger Beast Master, except for rule 2, which isn't game breaking anyway.

This 'Rule 2' is already covered in the PHB page 198, Monsters and Death:

...and special [NPC's] are common exceptions, the DM might have them fall unconscious and follow the same rules as player characters.

Therefore, it has already been deemed balanced.

You can use the Unearthed Arcana version and it'd be satisfying and simple to play. If you are worried about the complexity of correctly assigning all the statistics and numbers for the animal companion, I suggest you do that for her ahead of time. With the Animal Companion statted up by you, all she has to do is take control of it while in combat, like having a second turn.