Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Pack Master

Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted sink their teeth into a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Pack Master character build. The inspiration for this character comes by way of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. More specifically a passage from the book that reads, “For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” This 5E D&D character is all about establishing a powerful connection with wolves whether through communication, summoning or straight up becoming a wolf themselves! Let’s get into it.

Behind the CBG — Pack Master

Every CBG we create considers the journey as much as the final outcome. We aim to present a guide suitable for any level of 5E D&D play whether you’re pursuing an epic campaign from start to finish, starting beyond 1st level or choosing a character for a one shot. Then we take those concepts and develop an NPC or creature version of the character build for DMs to incorporate into their games. All of this gets packaged up and laid out in a PDF you can find over at Dungeon Master’s Guild. We’ve got dozens of pay what you want products at DMG, many of them best sellers so if you want to check those out start with the Pack Master here.

All about the character story

Each CBG starts with a character concept sticking to a particular schtick, from the Mind Breaker’s psyche crushing smites to the Pack Master’s powerful connection to wolves. Sometimes puns and pop culture references instigate the creation of a CBG too. At every step of the way we considered options for discovering and befriending wolves or becoming one through various means, which started from the very first step with a race choice harboring a bestial spirit within.

For us it’s important to consider who these characters are as individuals and why they follow these particular paths. One special thing to note with this CBG is while we always aim to make the journey to 20th level as practical as possible — none of these characters “come online” after an awkward slog through many levels — the Pack Master’s strong connection to wolves reaches a strong benchmark by 8th level when they’ll bring the power of the wolf pack to the party through several means.

This character is the undisputed pack master capable of finding wolves, befriending wolves, summoning wolves and becoming a wolf themselves. This found family wolf pack shares a deep connection not only among each other but also whatever region they choose to protect. And woe be to the aggressor who threatens the pack master’s cubs…er…adventuring party companions. The fury of the wild remains alert to pounce on such dangers. Because of the Pack Master concept’s straightforward focus this CBG is notable because of how quickly the flavor emerges, which is basically right away. This one is more about deepening the already deeply ingrained concept with each step of the journey.

Pack Master NPC for 5E D&D

Full disclosure — the NPCs and creatures we make in CBGs are some of my favorite bits of 5E D&D content to create. We step back and look at the character build to find the standout features that feel like signature abilities. The juice! From there we consider what sort of person or people would possess or gain these abilities and build a stat block around them. More often than not the section of a CBG For Dungeon Masters presents a generic creature.

Creating the NPC version of the Pack Master presented a bit of a creative challenge because we wanted to differentiate this from creatures with very similar themes like werewolves, druids or the Shifter stat block from Eberron: Rising from the Last War. For example our Pack Master is a shifter but when they shift rather than simply becoming more feral this NPC shifts into a wolf form. This isn’t just any old CR 1/4 wolf though and instead we modified the Beast of the Land optional class feature for rangers to create the Pack Mate stat block, which is also included. In order to ensure a wolf pack is never too far away we incorporated some spellcasting as well — something we usually go out of our way to avoid. In this case we took a cue from the yuan-ti and restricted their spells with a “wolves only” qualifier.

Legend Has It… They say the Pack Master wanders the wilds, chasing away those who would despoil the land. They say the mysterious figure holds sway over all wolves, who do as they command. One time my cousin says he saw the Pack Master and a whole pack of wolves — must have been two dozen at least — sitting down for a picnic lunch together. He swears one of the wolves waved a paw at him! But everyone knows the Pack Master would set the pack on anyone they come across.

“Shift Shape. As a bonus action the pack master magically polymorphs into a pack mate or back into its humanoid form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying is absorbed by the pack mate form. It reverts to its humanoid form when it dies. The pack master’s game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the pack mate, but it retains its alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores. In addition the pack master gains 7 temporary hit points and a Bite attack. While shifted, it has advantage on Wisdom checks, and no creature within 30 feet of it can make an attack roll with advantage against the it, unless the pack master is incapacitated.”

If your next 5E D&D game needs a character who finds, befriends, summons and becomes wolves — whether you’re the DM or a player — check out the Pack Master Character Build Guide here.

*Featured image — The Werewolf Pack Leader from Magic: The Gathering’s Dungeons & Dragons Adventures in the Forgotten Realms expansion set may be a lycanthrope but come on — this amazing illustration looks perfect for the Pack Master! True to form the Werewolf Pack Leader has Pack Tactics and transforms into a more dangerous version to bring the fury to opponents! [Art by Miranda Meeks]

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