"Man's best friend"

[Jacek]

The new S&P is out now and it's got two Conan pieces inside. Apart from a adventure there's an article about canine companions, which got me thinking. I've never travelled through the Hyborian world with a feather-covered or a four-legged or any other similar creature. Maybe I'll give it a try now.

After all, a pet could enrich the story especially when kept alive for several adventures during a single campaign. It could be used for espionage, hunting or protection depending on its size and intelligence. It'd be an additional team member to feed, tend to when wounded and getting over a raging river for example. It could strengthen the ties connecting its human companions and ease the tension while hiding in an enemy territory.

What do you think? Perhaps some of you already did their time with such a pet. If so, what's your experience in that matter?

 

[rabindranath72]

I am GMing a group in which one of the players (an Hyrkanian Nomad) has a hunting dog as a companion. It has been a very useful part in the games, prompting many interesting RPing exchanges and also quite useful in combat. If the players are not going to abuse it (e.g. making the dog super-intelligent and acting essentially as another PC) it can be very fun. I let the player instruct the dog and give it commands, and only took control when the dog was subject to fear or other instinctive behaviour.

 

[Violetsaber]

Wow, thanks for pointing that out - I just checked it out, and that is a cool set of rules!

I really like how the new rules are general enough to be applied to almost any four-legged companion. Unfortunitely they didn't provide rules for a true wolf, so I suppose that means I'll have to do some GM tweaking if anyone wants a Phantom-esque Devil by thier side.

The only thing that causes me to raise my eyebrows is the fact that so many benefits for your man-dog partnership come from feats. Feats are precious, rare things, and I can't see most players wanting to spend thiers on making their pooch stronger. Of course, for a character playing as a the Beastmaster prestige class (from the Beastiary book) these rules are a boon, but for everyone else... it's just impractical.

I'm almost tempted to make them more like "combat maenuvers", allowing players that meet the prerequisites to simple have them for free. After all, many of those feats have a Handle Animal requirement, which means players will have to put points into a skill not very often used ANYWAY. Even better, why not treat it like Knowledge (Zingarin/Aquillonian Fencing)? Every so many levels, the player gets to choose another special ability to use? To me, that seems like a far more reasonable way of adding strength to thier animal sidekick.

On a side note, did anyone else automatically think "DOGMEAT!" when they saw this article for the first time?

 

[Clovenhoof]

I haven't looked at the S&P issue yet (I'm not at my own box atm), but I agree that requiring a feat for every little character improvement is bad style. You really need your feat slots for other stuff.

Instead, let the _dog_ advance in levels and gain additional feats. That would be much cooler.

The character should be able to cover everything with the Handle Animal skill. Pumping that skill will eat up quite enough of your precious skill points to justify the benefit.

And yeah, Dogmeat was pretty cool. ^^

 

[Jacek]

On a side note, did anyone else automatically think "DOGMEAT!" when they saw this article for the first time?

I thought of Slasher before even reading the introductory fragment of REH

You may be right about the feats. I had similar feelings while reading the article.

It has been a very useful part in the games, prompting many interesting RPing exchanges and also quite useful in combat. If the players are not going to abuse it (e.g. making the dog super-intelligent and acting essentially as another PC) it can be very fun.

What "exchanges" do you have in mind? And I agree, the pet must remain an animal, that's mandatory.

 

[Hervé]

Our Aesir Völva has a Nordheimr Wolfhound pet. I bet she's gonna like this...

 

[Krushnak]

One of the soldiers in my group was thinking of taking leadership as his next feat and if he did i am gonna make his first cohort a war dog. im just gonna treat it like any other npc that would be a cohort but it just has animal intelligence instead of human.

 

[Spade]

Leadership for an Animal Cohort works well, whether you advance the animal or give it levels. Allowing an Animal to advance as a "PC Hero" can raise questions, because that's a magically powerful creature after a few levels.

Such a thing makes no sense without Handle Animal ranks to communicate with or train the cohort, I'd call at least 4 ranks a requirement. Possibly even 1 rank per "level" of the animal, so the bestially-inclined character classes have the best.

I don't like pouring feats into empowering some object or ally the GM can and will take away more frequently than your inherent combat abilities.

- Spade

 

[Jacek]

Possibly even 1 rank per "level" of the animal, so the bestially-inclined character classes have the best.

But it could still lead to super-creatures, which would spoil the effect. An upper limit for the number of such a companion's levels should be kept to prevent that.

 

[WeakAsAKhitan]

Our group has had a dog-handling borderer since it started, inspired largely by the war dogs at the begining the Conan the Barbarian movie, and perhaps more recently by Fable II and Fallout 3. The skill ranks spent on Handle Animal seem to be well worth any forgone cost to the PC, as the combat and extra senses are extremely beneficial. Not for the dogs though as they don't seem last long, even in dog years.

 

[Ichabod]

At first level, our original crew had war dogs. They contributed a bit to combat, but what I'll always remember them for is my PC rolling 20's on Handle Animal so that they would allow him to handle them in addition to the owners. Beastmaster would have been an avenue to explore if it existed years earlier due to an amusing inclination to roll 20 on every Handle Animal check in our low level days.

18-24 months ago, my main had an animal companion that was only relevant for fluff but might have been much more important if mechanics similar but not quite so weak as these existed.

My second PC has an Animal Ally which contributes some, more so on a story level than it ever would by the mechanics of the game. Of course, Animal Allies can be studly in ways I don't believe animals can be (though I don't actually know the precise rules for creature advancement).

As to these rules, if I'm reading them right, as Violetsaber brings up, no PC is going to waste feat slots on having a highly likely to get splattered companion be somewhat more useful. All of the feat stuff should be freebies like maneuvers for wasting ranks on Handle Animal and picking up crap feats like Animal Affinity.

Still, the problem that PCs become way, way more powerful than animals very quickly exists. Soft target NPCs are a logistical problem when fighting breaks out.

 

[Spade]

Rule #3a: Don't become dependent or emotionally attached to an accessory.
Rule #3b: If it ain't a comrade of at least equal might, it's an accessory.

This is Conan, there is no Guenwhyvar.

My short list of character's to try includes an older Borderer with an "Animal Cohort" flock of crows. No single bird should become amazingly awesome, the search radius and message-carrying ability just grows.

- Spade

 

[Clovenhoof]

This is Conan, there is no Guenwhyvar.

I love this kind of "This is Conan, not..." style of sentences. ^^

flock of crows

Actually that's called a murder of crows. Which makes it cooler. ^^

 

[rabindranath72]

Rule #3a: Don't become dependent or emotionally attached to an accessory.
Rule #3b: If it ain't a comrade of at least equal might, it's an accessory.

This is Conan, there is no Guenwhyvar.

My short list of character's to try includes an older Borderer with an "Animal Cohort" flock of crows. No single bird should become amazingly awesome, the search radius and message-carrying ability just grows.

- Spade

A dog companion (not an accessory) is very Howardian:

"He was a man," said Conan. "I drink to his shade, and to the shade of the dog, who knew no fear." He quaffed part of the wine, then emptied the rest upon the floor, with a curious heathen gesture, and smashed the goblet. "The heads of ten Picts shall pay for his, and seven heads for the dog, who was a better warrior than many a man."

If Conan could toast to the shade of a dog, it can surely be a deign companion.

 

[Clovenhoof]

Yes, very good point. I loved that toast to the dog.

Also, for any character with Leadership, an animal cohort is infinitely better than a human one as permanent companion. After all, who wants to permanently lug around a full-fledged NPC, but several levels lower than yourself?
Human cohorts in Conan are fine as Lieutenants to command your army of Followers in the Hero's absence, to be used only in mass battles.

But an animal companion, like a war dog or even a wild animal - that's classy.

 

[Spectator]

...

My short list of character's to try includes an older Borderer with an "Animal Cohort" flock of crows. No single bird should become amazingly awesome, the search radius and message-carrying ability just grows.

- Spade

Based on the other thread I started "Pirates" I was thinking how cool it would be to have a Flock of Seagulls!

Then I thought otherwise, as I ran so far away.

 

[Teriudin]

I am very excited about this supplement.

I've been wanting to try out "Animal Ally" for a long time, but the really useful animals to pick overshadow dogs by a long shot. Now with war dog and barding, it will actually be useful.

The key additions are the new animal feats to take when they get the HD boost from Animal Ally spell, the new handling options, and the leather barding.

Now I've just got to raise the animal from puppy-hood for the +2 bonus and suddenly we're in business!

 

[Jacek]

Yes, very good point. I loved that toast to the dog.

It sure did build up the atmoshpere.

Also, for any character with Leadership, an animal cohort is infinitely better than a human one as permanent companion. (...)
But an animal companion, like a war dog or even a wild animal - that's classy.

It would become an essential after several adventures, wouldn't it? Just don't let it die too soon.