Ever find yourself wishing that you could have a Deathclaw or Radstag as your loyal companion? Disappointed by the creature "taming" mechanic introduced by Wasteland Workshop?

Beast Master is exactly what you've been hoping for.

Beast Master provides a stream-lined, immersive method for taming, commanding, and interacting with the creatures of the Wasteland. But more than that, Beast Master introduces a brand-new creature companion framework, built from the ground up to give you the type of satisfying companionship you thought you could only get from a vanilla companion.

Interested? Read on.








Beast Master allows you to tame the creatures caught through Wasteland Workshop through use of a new item called the Control Chip. Creatures implanted with a Control Chip will gain enhanced intelligence and be able to understand human speech, allowing you to talk to them, give them commands, even recruit them as a companion.

Both the Control Chip and the Advanced Control Chip can be crafted at the chemistry workbench under "Utility". Simply approach the creature you wish to tame with a Control Chip in hand and choose the option "Inject Control Chip" to get things started.

• Control Chip > Used to tame captured animals. (Req: Science 1)
• Advanced Control Chip > Used to tame captured creatures. (Req: Science 3)
  

NEW! Animals and creatures can now be tamed with the power of your voice alone, if you have the following perks:

• Animal Friend > Tame captured animals by speaking to them.
• Wasteland Whisperer > Tame captured creatures by speaking to them.
  

*Animals include: Dogs, brahmin, radstags, etc.
*Creatures include: Deathclaws, mirelurks, radscorpions, etc.

I want to tame ALL the creatures!
Not so fast! You can ONLY tame creatures caught with Wasteland Workshop cages, or on Brahmin or Junkyard dogs brought to your settlement. Cats and Raiders/Gunners cannot be tamed. **NOTICE! For version 1.1+, you will need to catch NEW creatures in order for all the features to work!!**

Can I have more than 1 creature companion at a time?
As of version 1.3.5, the answer is YES! With 1.3.5, you can have up to 2 creature companions at the same time. To recruit a second creature companion, at least ONE of the following conditions must be met:

• Second creature is an animal, and you have Animal Friend 3
• Second creature is a creature, and you have Wasteland Whisperer 3
• You have a Control Signal Ampifier in your inventory (crafted with Science 4)
  
  

Take them with you on your adventures!

•     Beast Master uses a brand-new companion system that won't conflict with any other companion mods. Best of all, this means that you can have a human companion (or Dogmeat) AND a creature companion!
  

Give them a new name!

•     There are 4 name categories each with 10 different names, for a whopping total of 40 unique names to choose from.
  

Get them to love you by increasing their Happiness!

•     Like the Affinity system for human companions, your creature companions will react to how you treat them. Keep them happy by treating them well, and reap the benefits.
  

Feed them treats!

•     Cook up special animal treats at any cooking pot for your pets. Animal treats confer small benefits to your creatures, and make them happy.
  

Equip them with saddlebags!

•     Certain types of creatures can use saddlebags to increase their carrying capacity. Saddlebags can even by dyed to match your favorite faction.
  

Dress them up with accessories!

•     Certain types of creatures can be equipped with bandanas or collars. Your pets will be happier when dressed to the nines.
  

Paint them with body paint!

•     Creatures with scales or shells can be given a makeover with different painted designs. Like accessories, body paint also increases Happiness.
  

Check their stats!

•     Check in with your pet to see their level, health, carry weight, and happiness.
  

Get them to scavenge for items!

•     Occasionally, your creature companion will find items as they travel with you, and will give them to you when you check in. Happier creatures are more likely to scavenge for you. The type of items they find depend upon their race; Mirelurks in particular are attracted to shiny trinkets...
  

Mark them on your map!

•     Enable or disable the Control Chip's built-in tracking device so that you'll always know where to find your creature companion.
  

Teach them tricks!

•     Pets can be asked to perform a special trick, although they may ignore you if they are unhappy with you.
  

Change their combat style!

•     Set how your pet will react in combat - how eager they are to attack, and how cautious they will be during a fight.
  

Inject them with Mutating Serums!

•     New types of Syringer ammo called Mutating Serums can be used on your pets to confer powerful abilities for a short time. But the side-effects will make your pets unhappy....
  

So...that's a lot of stuff. Confused about how to do all that? Worried that it will be complex or hard? Worry not! It's actually very easy.
Click on the spoiler to see a visual walk-through of some of the dialogue options!



Your new pets will come to love you (or hate you) based on how you treat them. All newly-tamed pets will be tolerant of you, but no more. But as you spend them with them, feed them treats, and spruce up their appearance, their Happiness will increase. The happier your pet is, the stronger and faster it will be in combat. Pets that love you dearly will even sometimes bring you "gifts" that they find as the two of you wander the Wasteland. But beware! Those who mistreat their pets will find that they become less effective in combat. Pets that despise you even have a chance to turn on you and attack!

Benefits of Happiness:

•     Increased defenses and resistance to energy weapons, poison, and radiation
•     Increased speed
•     Increased damage in combat
•     Higher chance to find items
  

Ways to increase Happiness:

•     Spend time with your pet as your companion
•     Feed your pet special animal treats
•     Dress up your pet with accessories
•     Give your pet a makeover with custom body paint
  

Ways to decrease Happiness:

•     Shoot your pet outside of combat (you monster!)
•     Use a Mutating Serum on your pet
  

Once a creature has been tamed with a Control Chip, you can give it a brand new name by talking to it and choosing "Give new name." If you aren't happy with your decision, you can change your pet's name at any time.

The following names can be given to your pets:

•     "Cool" > Scamp, Trouble, Max, Ace, Echo, Lucky, Zigzag, Hero, Blitz, 007
•     "Tough" > Brutus, Killer, Tank, Spike, Remington, Atlas, Rambo, Warlord, Demon, Bullet
•     "Cute" > Fluffy, Cupcake, Lulu, Sweetpea, Cuddles, Boo, Diva, Sunshine, Mocha, Bonkers
•     "Wacky" > Corvenga, Nuka Cola, Sugar Bomb, Freeway, Jangles, Lexington, Concord, Atom Cat, Trash, Megaton
  

Need a way to distinguish YOUR deathclaw from that other deathclaw that wants to evicerate you? Or just want to play dress-up with your new wasteland pet? If so, Beast Master adds several different ways for you to give your pet some serious bling.

Due to the wide variety of shapes and sizes that wasteland creatures come in, not every type of pet can use every type of bling. So! To help you figure out what your pet can (or can't) use, check out this handy Creature Bling chart:




Accessories
Various articles of clothing that you find around the Commonwealth can now be used by more than just Dogmeat. Many of the most common creature types can be equipped with them. Like body paint, these items will provide a boost to your pet's Happiness.

Currently, your pets can be equipped with the following items. More are likely to be added in future updates.

•     All bandanas
•     Chain collars
  

(See the Creature Bling chart for a breakdown of what types of creatures can be given gear.)


Saddlebags
Need an extra hand lugging around all that junk? Equip your pet with a saddlebag to increase their carrying capacity! Saddlebags can be crafted at the chemistry station under "Utility". Once crafted, saddlebags can be dyed at the armor workbench to match the color of your favorite faction: Brotherhood of Steel, Institute, Railroad, or Minutemen. (A Children Of Atom dye-job is available with the Exotic Creatures patch).

(See the Creature Bling chart for a breakdown of what types of creatures can be equipped with saddlebags.)


Body Paint
Red, yellow, green, or blue paint can be used on pets with shells or scales to give them a brand new look and increase their happiness. If you get tired of your pet's body paint, you can scrub it off with Turpentine.

To paint your pet, you first need to find Yellow Paint, Blue Paint, Green Paint, or a Blood Can. Then, talk to them and choose "Check In". Now in the check-in menu, you will see the option "Apply Paint". "Remove Paint" will appear instead if the creature is already painted and you have some turpentine in your inventory.

NEW! If you have the Exotic Creatures patch, you can paint your pet with a new Child of Atom design! Requires Glowing Paint, which can be crafted at the chemistry station if you are allied with the Children of Atom.

(See the Creature Bling chart for a breakdown of what types of creatures can be painted.)




Treats
Animal treats can be created at the cooking pot and given to your pets by talking with them, choosing "Check in", and then selecting "Feed Treat". Each treat will give your pet a small temporary boost and slightly increase their happiness. You can't just stuff your pet with treats to make them love you, however - your pet will get full after 3 treats, and you will need to wait a while before they get hungry again.

Animal Treats:

•     Crispy Bits Treat > +30% HP regen for 5 min. Slightly increases happiness.
•     Meat Cake Treat > +25 HP for 5 min. Slightly increases happiness.
•     Spazz Out Treat > +15% speed for 5 min. Slightly increases happiness.
  

Mutating Serum
Harness the power of radiation by crafting Mutating Serum syringer ammo at the chemistry station. Creatures shot with a Mutating Serum round will become juggernauts in combat for a short time, but at the cost of decreasing their happiness.

Mutating Serums:

•     Mutating Serum: Super Strength > The target deals 2x damage for 5 minutes. Decreases happiness.
•     Mutating Serum: Venom Claws > The target's attacks do poison damage for 5 minutes. Decreases happiness.
•     Mutating Serum: Atom's Glow > The target becomes highly radioactive for 5 minutes. Decreases happiness.
  

Tranquilizer Darts
Having trouble getting close enough to that raging Deathclaw to use an Advanced Control Chip? Pacify it with a Tranquilizer round from your Syringer! Tranquilizer rounds can be crafted at the chemistry station with other types of Syringer ammo, and will calm any bug or animal for 60 seconds.

• Wasteland Workshop DLC
• A brain
  

If you have NOT used the old version of this mod, Beast Whisperer....

• Download
• Install with NMM
• Place Beast Master LAST in your load order (nothing should overwrite it)
• Play
  

If you ARE using Beast Whisperer and want to upgrade to Beast Master, you do NOT need to capture or tame new creatures! Your current companions will continue to work with this mod, as long as you follow these steps:

• Dismiss your current creature companion
• Save
• Install Beast Master with NMM (Let Beast Master overwrite all the old Beast Whisperer files)
• Place Beast Master LAST in your load order (nothing should overwrite it)
• Load the game
• In any settlement where you have tamed creatures, open and close the workshop. This will reset the background scripts.
• Re-hire your creature companion
• Play
  

Q: When I try to talk to one of my pets, it doesn't respond! Help!
A:1) Look away from the creature, then look back and talk to them again. Sometimes the dialogue won't trigger the first time. 2) Some creatures, Deathclaws particularly, are finicky about where your cursor needs to be to make the dialogue wheel appear. There is nothing I can do about this - just get up in their face and keep trying.

Q: I don't have the option to use a control chip...the prompt never appears.
A: First: Did you catch the creature in a cage? Only cage-caught creatures (and junkyard dogs and brahmin) can be tamed.

Second: Are you using the right type of control chip? Regular control chips will only work on animals; advanced control chips will only work on creatures.

Third: Did you catch the creature before installing Beast Master version 1.1 or later? If so, you will need to catch a new creature.

Fourth: Check your load order. NOTHING should be overriding Beast Master, except the Exotic Creatures patch.

Q: Help! I don't have the option to paint my creatures...
A: First, check to make sure that your creature CAN be painted. Refer to the handy-dandy Creature Bling chart I so helpfully made for you.
Next, you need to have "Yellow Paint", "Blue Paint", or "Blood Can" in your inventory. If you still don't see the option to "Apply Paint" after selecting "Check in", then you need to do 2 things: Update to the latest version of Beast Master, and check your load order.

And finally, if you are using Beast Master v1.1 or newer, you will need to catch NEW creatures! The old creatures will not be able to painted.

SERIOUSLY PEOPLE. MAKE SURE NOTHING IS OVERRIDING BEAST MASTER EXCEPT THE PATCH. CHECK YOUR LOAD ORDER.

Q: Are my creatures immortal? I don't want them to die...
A: Yes. While a creature is traveling with you as your companion, it's set as 'essential', so it can't be killed. At any other time, tamed creatures are set as 'protected', which means that only YOU can kill them.

Q: Will my creatures level with me?
A: Yes! New in version 1.2, your faithful creature companions will now level with you. NOTE: If your creature was caught before version 1.1, you will need to catch a new creature. Old creatures just don't have all the benefits introduced in the newer versions. No, there's no way to 'fix' that.

Q: Does the "Inspirational" perk work on my creature companions?
A: Yes! With version 1.2, your creatures will now get the full benefits of the "Inspirational" perk. NOTE: If you caught your creature in an earlier version, you need to dismiss and re-recruit them!

Q: Is this compatible with x companion mod?
A: Update: Beast Master is compatible with UCF, but ONLY if you use "Quick Recruit"! That depends. If x adds a new companion, then yes. HOWEVER, changes to the vanilla follower system won't carry over to your creature companions, because Beast Master uses a custom follower framework. (That's a good thing - it means that you won't have other mods interfering with your pets, and you can have both a normal companion and a creature companion at the same time.)

Q: Can I use Beast Master to tame the creatures from Far Harbor? I really want a wolf companion.
A: I'm glad you asked that question! It just so happens that I created a complimentary mod, Exotic Creatures - Far Harbor Cages that allows you to craft cages to capture Far Harbor creatures. There is also a patch available to bridge the gap, allowing you to have the wolf buddy you always wanted. Get both the mod and the patch under "Files".

Q: Will you port this to console?
A: Already done! ***DO NOT UPLOAD THIS MOD TO BETHESDA.NET! IT'S ALREADY THERE.***
You can download the X-Box One (XB1) version of Beast Master from this page on Bethesda.net:

https://mods.bethesda.net/#en/workshop/fallout4/mod-detail/1783568