Hippo_Campus
2016-10-17, 02:56 PM
One of my players has managed to befriend a wolf (through a series of lucky rolls) and has been desperate to bring it around as a pet and use it in combat. Since he is a Bard, the only way I could see it working is for him go multiclass into Ranger, which he doesn't want to do. Instead, ive come up with a system that I think will allow him to have his fun without granting him something unfair or unbalanced. It may be a little complex, but I'm hoping that the complexity will make animal companionship fun and rewarding to RP.
I do realize that this system makes the Ranger much less special, but none of my players have any intention of making a Ranger so I'm not too worried about it.
Definitions:
-Domesticated animal: any animal purchased from a pet or exotic pet shop.* Any animal target to the "Animal Friendship", "Find Familiar" or a rangers "Animal Companion" also qualifies as domesticated.
-Companionship Point Score (CPS): an index of how close a domesticated animal is with an individual
-Positive Interaction:* when an animal receives individual attention in addition to food
-Trained Skill Point (TSP): an index of how well the animal has learned a trained command.
Bonding with an Animal
When a domesticated animal is friendly, you can begin increasing its Companionship Point Score (CPS)* through positive interaction.* At the end of each day of positive interaction, the CPS increases by 1 (to a maximum of 300).
An animal can only have a CPS with one person, and a person can only increase the CPS of one animal per day.*
After 1 week of not receiving positive interaction, the animals CPS score is reduced by 1d4 per additional week.* If an animal witnesses or acknowledges the death of its owner, its CPS returns to 0.*
CPS Ranks:
0-9 Domesticated: animal is friendly to you and will follow if fed.* Will avoid combat if possible.
10-24 Friend: you have befriended the animal, such that it will listen to you.* Basic commands of "stay" or "follow" will be obeyed.* You will also be able to begin training the animal to obey more complex commands.
25-49 Trusted Friend: you have earned a mutual trust.* The animal will attempt to scavange food for the both of you when possible, and will not flee from combat unless commanded.
50-99 Companion:* Over time you have learned each others behavior enough to communicate.* You do not need the "speak with animals" spell to communicate, and you do longer need to roll for animal handling when training commands.
100- 299 Symbiotic relationship:* you begin sharing personality traits.* When you're angry, the animal mirrors your behavior.* Likewise, you have an uncanny sense of your animals mood, regardless of distance.* Additionally, upon your death the CPS will not become zero, but rather decrease by 1d4 per week.
300+ Eternal Bond:* you have spiritually bonded with the animal, and not even death can change that.* CPS is locked at 300.* Both of you always know where to find the soul of the other.*
Training:
Most animals have the ability to learn 4 complex commands from their master.
Once per day, you can attempt to train a befriended animal 1 command.* If you are able to spend at least an hour interrupted, roll 1d20 +animal handling to determine the result of the training.* Successful training results in a Trained Skill Point (TSP) up to a maximum of 10.
1: training fails terribly.* -1 TSP
2-9: training is unsuccessful. No change in TSP
10-14: successful training.* +1 TSP
15-19: very successful training. +2 TSP
20+:* you bond over the training. +3 TSP, +1 CPS
As an action, you can command the animal to perform a trained command by rolling animal handling. Difficulty depends on the commands TSP.
1-4: roll at a disadvantage
5-9: roll normally
10: no roll required
I do realize that this system makes the Ranger much less special, but none of my players have any intention of making a Ranger so I'm not too worried about it.
Definitions:
-Domesticated animal: any animal purchased from a pet or exotic pet shop.* Any animal target to the "Animal Friendship", "Find Familiar" or a rangers "Animal Companion" also qualifies as domesticated.
-Companionship Point Score (CPS): an index of how close a domesticated animal is with an individual
-Positive Interaction:* when an animal receives individual attention in addition to food
-Trained Skill Point (TSP): an index of how well the animal has learned a trained command.
Bonding with an Animal
When a domesticated animal is friendly, you can begin increasing its Companionship Point Score (CPS)* through positive interaction.* At the end of each day of positive interaction, the CPS increases by 1 (to a maximum of 300).
An animal can only have a CPS with one person, and a person can only increase the CPS of one animal per day.*
After 1 week of not receiving positive interaction, the animals CPS score is reduced by 1d4 per additional week.* If an animal witnesses or acknowledges the death of its owner, its CPS returns to 0.*
CPS Ranks:
0-9 Domesticated: animal is friendly to you and will follow if fed.* Will avoid combat if possible.
10-24 Friend: you have befriended the animal, such that it will listen to you.* Basic commands of "stay" or "follow" will be obeyed.* You will also be able to begin training the animal to obey more complex commands.
25-49 Trusted Friend: you have earned a mutual trust.* The animal will attempt to scavange food for the both of you when possible, and will not flee from combat unless commanded.
50-99 Companion:* Over time you have learned each others behavior enough to communicate.* You do not need the "speak with animals" spell to communicate, and you do longer need to roll for animal handling when training commands.
100- 299 Symbiotic relationship:* you begin sharing personality traits.* When you're angry, the animal mirrors your behavior.* Likewise, you have an uncanny sense of your animals mood, regardless of distance.* Additionally, upon your death the CPS will not become zero, but rather decrease by 1d4 per week.
300+ Eternal Bond:* you have spiritually bonded with the animal, and not even death can change that.* CPS is locked at 300.* Both of you always know where to find the soul of the other.*
Training:
Most animals have the ability to learn 4 complex commands from their master.
Once per day, you can attempt to train a befriended animal 1 command.* If you are able to spend at least an hour interrupted, roll 1d20 +animal handling to determine the result of the training.* Successful training results in a Trained Skill Point (TSP) up to a maximum of 10.
1: training fails terribly.* -1 TSP
2-9: training is unsuccessful. No change in TSP
10-14: successful training.* +1 TSP
15-19: very successful training. +2 TSP
20+:* you bond over the training. +3 TSP, +1 CPS
As an action, you can command the animal to perform a trained command by rolling animal handling. Difficulty depends on the commands TSP.
1-4: roll at a disadvantage
5-9: roll normally
10: no roll required