[Multiple Choice] Which Would be Appropriate for an RPG Canid Book?

Choose as many or as few as you want.

In addition, how detailed should the write-ups be? Should the section on domestic dogs go into specific breeds, or stick to different breed types? Should the part on wolves cover the various sub-species (such as Indian or Ethiopian wolves)? What about foxes and jackals?

Should it include fantasy canids? Wolves with supernatural powers? Canid deities? Cape hunting dogs with Dimension Door… (hasn't that been done already?)

Would you use it if it was tied to a specific world? Would you buy a PDF if the material was also available on a website? Would you druther get it in print?

Replies welcome, just keep them on topic. (Even tenuously on topic would be a great help.)

Alright, Who Dissed the Dhole?

How could you diss the dhole? The only Cthulhoid monster you can find in the zoo. I mean, what other canid can make a Big Mac of your soul (filking in joke)?

BTW, why is a halfling who rides one viewed with such disdain?

'Cause he's on the dhole.

Re: Alright, Who Dissed the Dhole?

mythusmage said:

How could you diss the dhole? The only Cthulhoid monster you can find in the zoo. I mean, what other canid can make a Big Mac of your soul (filking in joke)?

BTW, why is a halfling who rides one viewed with such disdain?

'Cause he's on the dhole.

Click to expand...

Ouch.
I enjoys puns, but I think my body just rejected that one.
Violently.

I'd say we need rules for an anthropomorphic canine race, however, that should probably be kept for a book devoted to those kinds of races. I have a bipedal, intelligent, canine race in my campaign, but I haven't tried to stat them out yet.

Is Fox a canid - I had always thought they were Mustelids - oh well

I think you also need to add Werewolf anf Gnoll to the list as well as the more mythical versions - Cerebus, Blink Dogs, Hell hounds, Twoheaded dogs, Black Shuck (the giant spectral hound), Lassie and Gaspode the Wonder Dog.

A chapter on Dog PCs, Dogs as Familiars, Pets or Companions and also on Working Dogs - Farm, War, Guard, Hunting etc.

Don't do writeups for every breed of dog but just group them by size and/or type (eg Terriers) but cover the differences in the Working Dog section (eg Mastiffs as Fighting Dogs use the Big Dog stats)

I voted for all but the hybrids

The first part of the books could be Canis, containing Wolves (grey and red -- 'arctic' wolves are just white Grey Wolves; don't think about that too hard -- however the Arctic Fox is a distinct species), Jackals, Coyotes, and Canis Familiaris; the domestic dog. There are four distinct species of jackal, but I don't know the quantitative differences between them.

Foxes are canids, yes. There is a lot of fox lore out there, especially if you want to include Eastern sources. Depending on how big the book is going to be, you might want to give them their own section. They might get a couple feats unique to them, like the gray fox's ability to climb trees (it might be the only canid that does this naturally).

Walker's Mammals of the World says:

[Urocyon is sometimes called a tree fox, because it frequently climbs trees, a rather unusual habit for a canid. It lacks the endurance of the red fox, and when pursued, it often will seek refuge in a tree. It also climbs without provocation, shinnying up the trunk and then leaping from branch to branch... They can climb vertical tree trunks (at) 1 month ...]

Mustelidae contains weasels, badgers, skunks, amrtins, polecats, and otters

Most recently the domestic dog has been recognized as a subspecies of wolf, Canis lupis familiaris. Genetically speaking, you can't tell the two apart.

The same applies to dingoes and similar feral canine populations around the world. Those feral dogs you find wandering the streets of many an Indian city are, strictly speaking, wolves.

Foxes and jackals are canids, but not members of the genus Canis. The various species of foxes and jackals are spread between something like 3 genera.

Hyenas on the other hand are most closely related to the civet. A cat like animal.

I have not heard any change in the status of the coyote, which can interbreed with wolves, including those of the domestic dog subspecies.

In ancient times you had such creatures as bear-dogs, ancestral to both bears and dogs, and dog like bears of all things. Britain has her spectral dogs, and Celtic lore has the hounds of the Wild Hunt. But for the largest dog-like animal that ever lived you can't beat the andrewsarchus, a one ton predator with huge jaws most closely related to the cow. But not, as it turns out, ancestral to the whale (that honor goes to another predatory ungulate.)

Depending on how research goes, the PDF could get sizable.

BTW, if you know where I can find information on condylartha, I'd be most appreciative.

A book on canids should be worried more about form and function and style than upon the technical classification, imho.

Mind you, imho, there's rather little difference, stat-block wise, between most canids. There's big dogs, and little dogs. In the real world, we can talk aboutlots and lots of minor differences, but the game stats among them would be similar enough that you'd be better served with less detail. Again, imho.

Now, fantastic variants - weres, blink dogs, and such - would be appropriate meat for the book.

A Revenant Thread Shambles Forth…

And to insure this isn't a mere bump, but a bump with some meat to it…

Condylarthra

The Condylarthra were one of the first Eutherian groups to arise, first appearing in the middle to late Creteacous. By the time of the K/T boundary they had divided into two groups, one would lead to the Artiodactyls, the other to the Perrisodactyls.

Condylarths were small animals, about the size and shape of a modern day guinea pig. Likely a favorite food of the smaller dromaesaurids, especially microrapters (most often crow sized critters). They were browsers for the most part, though some may have included insects and small lizards and amphibians in their diet.

That's what I know about Condies, which means I have some research to do before I post a full essay on them on my site. Wish me luck.

Wolves are in the lead, with dogs coming on strong and coyotes and foxes close behind!