History Main / TheBeastmaster

A [[AnAdventurerIsYou type of character]] who uses the assistance of [[AttackAnimal an animal]], force of nature, or just some sort of not-highly-sentient creature [[MindControl (with free will)]] to help them fight.

* ''LightNovel/BeastTamerAndTheCatGirl'': Rain Shroud can create "Provisional Contracts" with various animals to help him, and when he was with the hero party used this to great effect for support and scouting. When forming a more permanent contract with one of the Strongest Race, like CatGirl Kanade or dragon girl Tania, his own abilities are increased to match who he's contracted with, giving him Kanade's physical strength, Tania's magical power, and Fairy twins Sora's and Luna's magical control. This is far above and beyond what a normal Beast Tamer is known to do, as they are limited to only a single animal at a time, period.

* In ''Literature/{{Ferals}}'', the ferals can each communicate with and control a specific type of animal. This ability is hereditary and passed down to their offspring.

* As with ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', most ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' protagonists qualify.

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[-[[caption-width-right:350:[[BabyTalk Are you mommy's little hellbeast? Yes you are!]] ''[[BabyTalk Yes you are!]]'']]-]
[-[[caption-width-right:350:[[http://img15.investxp.ru/e/2/e/b/2/33629fab7cc9ed2b88c51ea9992.jpg Image]] by [[http://nnm.ru/blogs/horror1017/art_by_sandara_singapore/ Sandra Singapore]]]]-]

* Used in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Brawl'', where the [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pokémon Trainer]] is the only character to stand in the background while his {{Mons}} are the ones who do the fighting. He has Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard, but [[MookChivalry can only use one at a time]]. The Trainer character is [[FridgeLogic a little bizarre]] since Pikachu and Jigglypuff are also playable characters, and have been since the first installment, but they don't have a Trainer controlling them; he seems to have been added to get a few more Pokémon in without [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters taking up too many character slots]].

** Varamyr Sixskins, a wildling, is so named for having five bonded animals -- three wolves, a panther, and a huge white bear -- which along with his human body give him six "skins" to inhabit.

* Gaea from the ''Literature/{{Noob}}'' novels as part of her SummonMagic.
* ''Literature/RealmOfTheElderlings'': Fitz from the ''Farseer'' and ''Tawny Man'' trilogies.

* In Thomas Disch's "The Roaches" the main character discovered that she possessed the ability to telepathically communicate with and command cockroaches. Let's just say that it turned out to be not so good of a thing in the end...
* In ''Literature/ShadowOps'', "Whispering" is an application of [[DishingOutDirt terramancy]] that allows the user to control animals. It is also ''very'' illegal, right up there with gate magic, entropy magic, necromancy, and creating sentient elementals, due to its sheer destructive potential. One doesn't realize how dangerous Whispering is until the person using it calls for literally every animal in range (including millions of nearby insects) to literally swarm the target.
* Several characters in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' qualify. The Stark children all possess direwolf cubs. Hints are dropped that all of them can actually project themselves into the creature's mind, though only Bran actively develops the ability, while it remains a passive one with Jon and Arya. Also, Varamyr Sixskins, a wildling.

** In ''TabletopGame/{{Necromunda}}'', some [[HumansArePsychicInTheFuture Wyrds]] have the ability to dominate and control the various mutant creatures that inhabit the underhive. Known as [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Beastmasters]], these wyrds hire out their services to those with few scruples, personally leading their vicious pets into battle as they have to remain close to their charges to maintain their control.
* Inverted with an optional class rule in ''TabletopGame/GoblinQuest'' with the "Reverse Beastmaster" - a goblin who is unable to resist what it perceives to be the commands of wild beasts.

* The Matriarch from ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'' becomes one thanks to a cursed mask, allowing her to control hordes of [[CreepyCrows ravens]] to ZergRush the heroes.
* All mages in ''VideoGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' can summon spirits to aid them, which either grants them a temporary servant for a single scene or can be semi-permanently bound to the summoner until their terms of service are done. Although Spirits can't affect the normal world without manifesting, once they do manifest they can be very nasty combatants and many mages in ''Shadowrun'' are ProperlyParanoid enough that they keep a few powerful ones on retainer as bound spirits. This is another reason that ShootTheMageFirst is a vital in-universe tip for shadowrunners and security personel, as a dead mage means spirits depart the mortal plane immediately afterwards.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Talislanta}}'' features Jaka Beastmasters and Kang Trackers.
* The power of the Animalism discipline in both ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' and ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem''.

* In ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'', Chong Heihu's magic consist in a massive gourd tied to his back: when he uncorks the gourd, a thick black smoke comes out of it and allows Heihu to control countless heavenly eagles to attack his opponents and peck them to death.

* ''Film/{{Avatar}}''. All the Na'vi are beastmasters to an extent, thanks to the [[FanNickname Bio-USB]].

* {{Mons}}

** Bitch has the power to transform dogs into huge, incredibly strong Lovecraftian monsters, but she can't control them mentally. Instead, she has to train the dogs to respond to ordinary words and whistled commands, otherwise they wreak havoc when she transforms them. Fortunately for her, her power also gives her the [[RequiredSecondaryPowers secondary effect of having an innate understanding of canine psychology]], so she's probably the best dog trainer on the planet [[note: unfortunately, she lost most of the ability to understand human psychology.]]

* The Ranger specialization in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' allows characters to summon wolves, bears or enormous spiders to help out in combat.