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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    Simons Mith's Avatar

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    Default GMing for Animals (system agnostic, compatible with pretty much everything)

    Many years ago, I invented a character called Zimbar the Tashtoran raccoon. He was a
    cute, fuzzy, highly-intelligent six-legged cat-sized avatar of chaos with an almost
    prehensile tail. He had very high dexterity, and his skills were Climbing, Dodge, Get
    Into Trouble
    and Get Out of Trouble. (No prizes for guessing his speciality.)
    Unfortunately, back then I did not have a good handle on how to GM for such an animal,
    and I didn't make nearly as much use of him as I would have liked. But nowadays I DO
    have a handle on how make animals into entertaining characters, so I'm going to share
    it.

    This is a rule-agnostic system than can be readily adopted to any RPG that uses
    character skills. It's not a formal system - it's a rule-lite abstraction that tries
    to model the kinds of foolish things animals - especially pets - get up to without
    taking up too much game time.

    Here's how it works:

    1. Whatever game statistics and rules animals already have in the game continue to
    be used unaltered. These rules don't change anything, they just add some new options.

    2. Wild animals' lives are mainly focused around food, mating, survival and guarding
    their territories. While they may have the occasional frivolous skill such as Spooky
    Eyes in the Dark, Steal Bedroll
    or Unearthly Shriek, their skills are usually things
    like Build Dam, Build Bower, Seduce Mate, Make Honey, Hunt, Stalk, Ambush, Hide and
    so on. But as a counterexample, these fozzy bois and gals from Canada have clearly
    put a few points into Boogie: https://invidious.slipfox.xyz/watch?v=8CnFo7qinng
    (invido.us link to BBC Planet Earth II video - Bears Dancing To 'Jungle Boogie' - click 'Select
    another instance' if that link doesn't work for you).

    3. Trained animals have skills such as Guard, Push, Pull, Track, Make Honey, Smell
    Contraband, Lay Eggs
    and so on, depending on what they're used for.

    4. Pet animals may have skills such as Steal Sock, Go Kerflump in the Night,
    Assassinate Plant, Hunger Strike, Get the Zoomies, Shed Hair, Lose Toy, Forget Own
    Name, Suspicious Silence, Brand New Smell
    and so on.

    5. A typical animal has 1D6 skills. 2-5 seems to be a good number. Intelligent
    animals have more skills at higher levels, stupid animals have fewer skills at lower
    levels.

    6. Skill levels and target difficulties are chosen by GM fiat.

    7. When an animal successfully uses a skill, its skill may go up by a small amount.
    If an animal fails at a skill, especially if it keeps failing, its skill may go down,
    or it may stop using that skill and start using another.

    How to use the rules:

    8. GMs should treat the party animals as an ensemble cast, and make 1-2 skill rolls
    between them to see what they do during an adventure. Between adventures, the GM
    should make another 1-2 skill rolls to see what the critters get up to during the
    downtime. PCs may then roleplay in response to the animals as they see fit.

    For wild animals, the GM may roll shortly after the characters have encountered the
    critter and the initial fight-or-flight response has had time to die down. Wild
    animals will usually ignore or avoid sentient creatures, but there are exceptions.
    Supernatural animals are likely to have a wider range of responses.

    Why bother?

    The basic problem these rules try to address is how to get animals, especially mundane
    animals to behave more like animals, and actually add a bit of atmosphere to an adventure
    when they show up. If an animal only has combat statistics, by the far the most obvious
    way to interact with it is to fight it, so that's what most roleplaying groups will tend
    to do. But if an animal has a skill such as Howl, or Steal Bedroll, suddenly there's a
    broader selection of obviously available behaviours. They key issue is that the new
    interactions are readily apparent, because they've got a skill code associated with them,
    that the GM can roll and announce. It's totally true that GMs don't NEED to give an animal
    skill codes to have it interact with a party in ways other than combat, but it's so much
    easier to get a handle on them if they do have some additional means of interaction. I
    always felt that animals rarely stand much chance in the face of a typical adventuring
    party anyway. That's why mega-monsters like the Tarrasque show up in the first place. But
    if there's other ways to interact with them than just combat, good players will relish
    those chances, and suddenly even the non-Druids and Rangers have ways to deal with our
    furry friends beyond treating them as little fuzzy bundles of XP.

    Sample skills:

    This skill table was generated as a D36 table (1d6*6 + 1d6-6) for the Star Wars RPG,
    but there's easily enough here to make a percentile table instead. The skill names in
    the table below should be self-descriptive enough that no further explanation is required.
    Vaguely related skills are listed several to a line. This list is nowhere near
    comprehensive; GMs are encouraged to invent and add their own new skills. Anyone who has
    had a family pet should have a good idea of the kind of things animals are likely to get
    up to. The list below was mainly based on the behavior of cats and dogs. Animals such as
    birds, horses, insects, lizards, rabbits and rodents will have different behaviors that
    aren’t as well-covered. Broader categories such as circus animals, farm animals and feral
    critters might also be useful. Perhaps also familiars? Supernatural critters? Paladin's
    mounts? Might be fun to have a bit of intra-party rivalry between the wizard's familiar
    and the paladin's loyal steed, for example. Look at how Rich writes for Blackwing and Mr
    Scruffy already. If Blackwing doesn't have a Covet Shiny Bauble skill or equivalent then
    I'm a small off-duty Czechoslovakian taffic warden.

    (The Zimbar Table is named in honour of Zimbar, the Tashtoran racoon, who would have
    playtested almost all of these, given half a chance.)

    The Zimbar Table

    1 Adore Item, Fear Item, Hate Item, Romance Item
    2 Ambush, Escape, Hide
    3 Assassinate Ornament, Destroy Item, Kill Plant, Persecute Droid
    4 Be Awesome, Display Butt
    5 Beg, Look Pathetic, Excess Melodrama
    6 Blackmail Owner, Disapprove of Owner, Distract Owner, Embarrass Owner
    7 Block Passageway, Block Vent
    8 Burrow, Climb, Dig Hole, Get Muddy
    9 Caterwaul, Go Kerflump in the Night, Howl, Make Noise, Sing, Suspicious Silence
    10 Cause Noise, Mimic, Cause Smell
    11 Claim Ownership, Guard Location
    12 Demand Ear Skritches, Demand Food, Lick People, Occupy Lap
    13 Eat Inedible Object, Feign Starvation, Gnaw Object, Hunger Strike
    14 Escape, Open Door, Operate Mechanism, Trigger Alarm
    15 Excrete, Pee, Puke, Sonorous Fart
    16 Fight Inanimate Object, Fight Own Leg, Fight Reflection
    17 Find New Toy, Lose Toy
    18 Forget Name, Ignore Command, Refuse Jump
    19 Get Into Trouble, Get Out Of Trouble
    20 Get Stuck, Get the Zoomies
    21 Hide Badly, Make Nest
    22 Hoard Items, Hunt Object
    23 Health Scare, Imagine Supernatural, Irrational Fear
    24 Lay Egg, Incubate Egg, Reproduce
    25 Make a Mess, Make Sticky
    26 Midnight Toe Attack!, Steal Sock
    27 Release Prey, Sniff Things
    28 Sabotage, Throw Rider
    29 Shed Collar, Shed Hair, Shed Skin
    30 Sleep, Sleep Dangerously, Snore
    31 Stare Accusingly, Stare Blankly, Stare Incuriously, Stare Suspiciously
    32 Invent New Skill
    33 Old Skill Reawakens
    34 Roll Twice, Add Both
    35 GM Chooses
    36 Choose Two Skills and Combine

    Sample animals:

    (These have Star Wars D6 stats, but honestly, it really doesn't matter.
    Skill codes listed happen to be low-medium, generally less than an NPC
    professional who would have a value of 4D in their best skill and 2D
    in a typical attribute. I still say you could readily adapt this idea
    to almost any RPG.)

    Cave snapper

    Cave snappers are crab-like scavengers found in the caves, cracks and
    crevices of Atofor II in Ofita Sector. They are dog-sized critters with
    six legs and four vicious pincers which make highly effective weapons.
    They are omnivorous, and they’re not above a bit of cannibalism either,
    should the opportunity arise. While a couple of cave snappers are not
    too dangerous, they become more aggressive in groups, and a pack of a
    dozen snappers is a real menace.
    Attributes: Dexterity 2D+2, perception 2D, strength 2D+1.
    Traits: Orneriness 2D+2 (3D+2 in large numbers), speed 2D+2.
    Damage: Pincers 2D+2.
    Sample Skills: Call others, creepy echoes, scavenge, scuttle, stalk.

    These next three are all tame animals, and are unlikely to bite anybody
    unless greatly provoked.

    Lt. Commander Lizard – Lantillian pygmy monitor lizard

    Lieutenant Commander Lizard (who has recently been promoted) is a pretty
    good spacer’s pet. He mostly sits about doing nothing, which is what you
    want, really, on a cramped starship. He’s about 60cm long. His
    ‘orneriness’ is not because he’s bad-tempered; on the contrary, he’s
    extremely laid-back, and it’s a challenge to get him to do anything.
    Attributes: Dexterity 2D+1, perception 2D+1, strength 1D+1.
    Traits: Orneriness 3D+1, speed 2D.
    Skills:
    Sing War Song: 3D – This is his only skill, and he uses it whenever the
    ship is under attack. He plants himself firmly in the middle of the ship
    and sings to keep the gunners’ morale up. Perhaps he was a bagpiper in a
    past life. The lyrics of the War Song are basically the word ‘Eeeeeeeeee’
    stretched out for several seconds at a time, sung in a variable tempo at
    medium pitch, with added vibrato whenever the ship makes a sharp turn.

    Marnie the Mynock

    Mynocks make good pets when they’re small, because they grow very, very
    slowly, and it may take 20–30 years before they get big enough to become
    troublesome. Marnie has just celebrated her 13th birthday and is about
    chicken-sized.
    Attributes: Dexterity 3D, perception 2D, strength 1D.
    Traits: Orneriness 2D, speed 3D.
    Skills:
    Gnaw Cable: 3D – Oops, bad Marnie!
    Health Scare: 1D+1 – Obviously she’s picked the wrong thing to gnaw more
    than once now.
    Irrational Fear, Green Things: 3D+2.
    Lay Egg: 2D – Technically they’re cysts, if you’re a mynock.

    Sample skills for wild mynocks include:
    Bask, cause strange ship noises, gnaw cable, lay eggs, lurk. There were
    some mynocks in the sample adventure later in the rulebook, and I gave them
    skills in Ambush (3D) and Flap Blindly (2D).

    Othar – Twi’lek tunnel dog

    Tunnel dogs are big animals, resembling a pony-sized cross between a pug
    and a Chinese dragon. They have very thick shaggy gray fur and a mostly
    friendly demeanor. However, they are highly territorial, and make the most
    astounding amount of noise if an unknown interloper intrudes into their
    space. Twi’leks have used them as guard dogs for many thousands of years,
    and recently some dwarf breeds have appeared that can more practicably be
    treated like pet dogs.
    Attributes: Dexterity 2D+1, perception 3D+1, strength 3D+2.
    Traits: Orneriness 2D+1, speed 3D+1.
    Damage: Bite 3D.
    Skills:
    Block Passageway: 5D – He’s the size of a pony, but he thinks he’s only
    the size of a Saint Bernard. He regularly gets stuck trying to turn round
    after a snooze.
    Hoard Squeaky Toys: 3D – Squeaky toys last about a week before disappearing.
    He must have dozens stashed somewhere.
    Trigger Alarm: 3D+2 – His constant shedding regularly triggers the low
    air flow warning on the ship’s filters.
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  2. - Top - End - #2
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    Simons Mith's Avatar

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    Default Re: GMing for Animals (system agnostic, compatible with pretty much everything)

    OK, so there's been a bit of interest - a couple of hundred views.
    Let's try actually applying these guidelines to some D&D monsters
    to see what you might get. The objectives of the rules are as follows:

    1. to add a bit of flavour to a combat encounter
    2. to help foreshadow an encounter
    3. to provide fitting ways to evade a monster, or deal with it while avoiding combat
    4. to add general atmosphere/roleplaying opportunities

    So, I dunno, let's pick a few random monsters for consideration. Oh, a giant eagle,
    a slime/cube/jelly, a piercer, a deadly threat such as a tarrasque, a flavour animal
    such as, say, some bats or rats. How might you use the cirtter skills to give them a
    bit of personality? Let's see.

    Slimes
    Now, slimes are not exactly numbered among the monster intelligentsia. They're often
    a threat because they're so mindless. (TBH I think they're kinda silly, but whatever,
    they're an official monster with a long history.) What skills might a cube have?
    How about <i>Knowledge: Corners</i>? You know the saying, a new broom sweeps clean,
    but an old broom knows the corners? Well, it's opposite for cubes and slimes.
    The older ones aren't as flexible (in my head canon) and can't get into the
    corners so easily any more. And dungeon corners are where the yummiest spiders
    and thickest cobwebs are. So if you find a really clean-looking dungeon, it
    may well have a young, energetic cube in it. If the tighter corners are dirty,
    but the larger spaces are still clean, that suggests there's probably an older
    larger cube around that isn't as flexible as it used to be. What about a slime?
    Well I'd not mind giving it a 'Gloop' skill. Maybe more musically-inclined slimes
    can make other noises, such as whistles or gurgles. A harmless way to add a bit of
    atmosphere to a slime encounter. Also, do slimes have any practical uses? Do most
    castles keep a slime in the sewers to help dispose of waste, for example?

    Giant eagle
    This is something you might write in to an adventure plot - give an eagle a Crack
    Bones skill, or Regurgitate Gem. Or Intimidating Glare, or Piercing Shriek. Or
    maybe there's one eagle that has developed a Peel Armour skill, and that's the one
    that stole the Maguffin the PCs have to retrieve. And it can be told apart by its
    slightly worn beak. Give each of the other eagles their own unique custom skill
    and that gives them a bit of personality when the PCs interact with them.

    Piercer
    They're ambush specialists, and don't do a lot. But might a piercer have an Attract
    Bats skill? What about Trigger Rockfall? In a different dungeon, maybe there's a
    trained piercer with a Sound Alarm skill. What noises do they make, when they're
    not waiting in ambush? In dry caves, might they have a Find Water skill that PCs could
    exploit?

    Tarrasque
    If you used a tarrasque as an overwhelmingly powerful encounter when the characters
    can't hope to defeat it, that's feasible if the critter has some other interests beyond
    destruction. It's an animal. It eats and it sleeps. Does it also poop? Drink? Bask in
    the sun? Shed its skin? Get itchy? Looking at the game stats and the Forgotten Realms
    lore it looks decidedly wimpy for a world-destroying monster IMO. It only weighs 130
    tons. So if even it eats 50 times (or even 5000 times) its own bodyweight every day
    while it's awake, it's got a lot of eating to do to destroy the world. At present it's
    just going to show up by GM fiat, then destroy stuff until the PCs eventually manage
    to handle it. So, ok, it eats everything. What's its favorite food? What does it like
    least? Can it be distracted? Lured? While it can survive anywhere, what terrains does
    it prefer? Nice soft deserts, or mountains with lots of hard outcrops to scritch those
    difficult-to-reach places? Cooling swamps or hot relaxing volcanos?

    /Is/ it the only one of its kind? If it saw an illusion of another tarrasque, or just
    a reflection, would it attack? Flee? Try to mate? GMs who assigned a tarrasque a few
    animal-like behaviours and a few corresponding skills could use it in more ways than
    just destruction. And then a high-level ranger or driud might be able to understand its
    behaviour and mitigate the damage it does until it finally can be killed off. And of
    course you could have a scenario with an NPC who thinks they can control it trying to
    use it to mine out an area or eat a forest or something, and then come to a sticky end
    when the PCs show up and foil their plans. I'm sure someone somewhere has done a
    scenario like this - it's an old fantasy trope. Also lets you get more value for money
    out of a critter that otherwise only gets used for combat encounters or in theoretical
    'how to kill the tarrasque' puzzles.


    Bats and rats
    They can have skills like Spread Plague, Find Hole, Contaminate Grain, Chitter and
    Squeak, Gnaw Rope, Blinding Cloud, Living Carpet and so on. These can add a bit of
    atmosphere, adventure plot elements, and perhaps some temporary ways to distract an
    opponent, or for a fleeing opponent to cover their escape.
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