Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Dogs are definitely better than cats, at least in this case.
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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
What Animals Do They Keep?
- Thread starter I'm A Banana
- Start date
Raven Crowking
First Post
For them's what might be interested. Nearly all text OGC (except author quotes), so feel free to 3.5 it.
I seem to remember something about Gnomes. Raising...Giant Hamsters. (Good times.)
I could see kobolds raising dire badgers...'cause regular badgers aren't nasty enough.
Or trogs & skunks, a match made in olfactory hell!
I could see kobolds raising dire badgers...'cause regular badgers aren't nasty enough.
Or trogs & skunks, a match made in olfactory hell!
Dwarves + Bats. They live in similar environments, bats make a convenient and plentiful substitute for canaries (for detecting poison gasses), don't require light, eat bugs, and their guano could be a source of chemicals used in the tanning of leather...or making gunpowder.
Wik
First Post
OKay. A few ideas not related to any campaign of mine:
1) Running African Warriors, built around the Zulu infantry - they carry long spears, long shields, and run massive distances. They have trained extra large baboons to follow them. Each baboon is tied to a specific warrior, and carries much of the warrior's gear. The baboons avoid actual fighting, but are territorial guards when the armies camp at night.
2) I think halflings should be able to befriend talking birds. Halflings with singing parrots are just plain awesome. They should also use the parrots as food in harsh times - but only eating the parrots that don't have a wide vocabulary. Any parrot that can say "hey, don't eat me!" is spared.
3) Aquatic elves use jellyfish. They can't really "train" them, but they have learned ways to influence the movements of friendly strains of jellyfish, using them as doors and walls in their aquatic homes. Also, the aquatic elves keep cuttlefish as pets, and the more artistic elves use the cuttlefish's chameleon ability in their performances. Elven generals use the cuttlefish as a signaling ability in springing ambushes, and use the ink to effect hasty escapes.
4) I had an arctic campaign idea where the entire world was covered in ice. "The mammoth people" were halflings who had domesticated woolly mammoths, and used these mammoths basically as cranes and bulldozers. And of course, each mammoth could carry a lot of stuff. Each halfling family was tied to one mammoth, and before new families could get married, they had to have their own mammoth, usually a gift from the bride or groom's parents.
5) I think the idea of Grippli domesticating Carrion Crawlers is one of the coolest things in the world. Imagine the little frog people riding giant centipedes into war, and then hopping up into the trees and using poisonous darts against the archers while the crawlers paralyzed the front ranks of the enemy. Am I the only person who thinks that is worth basing a campaign around?
1) Running African Warriors, built around the Zulu infantry - they carry long spears, long shields, and run massive distances. They have trained extra large baboons to follow them. Each baboon is tied to a specific warrior, and carries much of the warrior's gear. The baboons avoid actual fighting, but are territorial guards when the armies camp at night.
2) I think halflings should be able to befriend talking birds. Halflings with singing parrots are just plain awesome. They should also use the parrots as food in harsh times - but only eating the parrots that don't have a wide vocabulary. Any parrot that can say "hey, don't eat me!" is spared.
3) Aquatic elves use jellyfish. They can't really "train" them, but they have learned ways to influence the movements of friendly strains of jellyfish, using them as doors and walls in their aquatic homes. Also, the aquatic elves keep cuttlefish as pets, and the more artistic elves use the cuttlefish's chameleon ability in their performances. Elven generals use the cuttlefish as a signaling ability in springing ambushes, and use the ink to effect hasty escapes.
4) I had an arctic campaign idea where the entire world was covered in ice. "The mammoth people" were halflings who had domesticated woolly mammoths, and used these mammoths basically as cranes and bulldozers. And of course, each mammoth could carry a lot of stuff. Each halfling family was tied to one mammoth, and before new families could get married, they had to have their own mammoth, usually a gift from the bride or groom's parents.
5) I think the idea of Grippli domesticating Carrion Crawlers is one of the coolest things in the world. Imagine the little frog people riding giant centipedes into war, and then hopping up into the trees and using poisonous darts against the archers while the crawlers paralyzed the front ranks of the enemy. Am I the only person who thinks that is worth basing a campaign around?
In such a culture, a "White Elephant" would be a blessing, not a curse: trained for war, such creatures would be incredibly stealthy against the frozen landscape...a key to halfling shock troop successes.
Theo R Cwithin
I cast "Baconstorm!"
Most ogres keep goats for food. One mountain enclave has figured out how to train their goats to hunt out rare herbs (ie, narcotics). The ogres eat such plants to remove the pains of hunger and/or improve their battle prowess.
Wild plains gnomes wielding lances charge into battle upon cheetahs, and can communicate with their great cats in a simple battle-language of growls and shrieks.
Forest gnomes keep great praying mantises around the perimeter of their hidden villages to keep unwanted guests away. There is also a school of forest gnome oracles who insist the multi-faceted eyes of the enormous insects aid their magicks when hollowed out and worn helmet-like upon the head.
A tribe of "ghouls" (it's unknown if they are actual undead, or degenerate humanoid cannibals) trains stirges to bring blood back to them for food; to lead them to prey; and to 'soften up' enemies before a battle/raid.
Lizardfolk keep great pens of toads, "milking" them for poison to enhance their weapons; as well as consuming (and occasionally trading) their eggs. Though admittedly an aquired taste, this "toad caviar" is well-known among gourmands the world over.
Certain semi-civilized grimlocks have bred a powerful variant of phantom fungus. The tender young are often eaten, while the mature ones are generally used as beasts of burden. At a few points in their history, the grimlocks attempted to train the phantom fungi for use in battle, but those experiments have been largely abandoned because the great fungi are so slow.
Wild plains gnomes wielding lances charge into battle upon cheetahs, and can communicate with their great cats in a simple battle-language of growls and shrieks.
Forest gnomes keep great praying mantises around the perimeter of their hidden villages to keep unwanted guests away. There is also a school of forest gnome oracles who insist the multi-faceted eyes of the enormous insects aid their magicks when hollowed out and worn helmet-like upon the head.
A tribe of "ghouls" (it's unknown if they are actual undead, or degenerate humanoid cannibals) trains stirges to bring blood back to them for food; to lead them to prey; and to 'soften up' enemies before a battle/raid.
Lizardfolk keep great pens of toads, "milking" them for poison to enhance their weapons; as well as consuming (and occasionally trading) their eggs. Though admittedly an aquired taste, this "toad caviar" is well-known among gourmands the world over.
Certain semi-civilized grimlocks have bred a powerful variant of phantom fungus. The tender young are often eaten, while the mature ones are generally used as beasts of burden. At a few points in their history, the grimlocks attempted to train the phantom fungi for use in battle, but those experiments have been largely abandoned because the great fungi are so slow.
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I like the stirges idea...especially paired with Nehwon Ghouls.
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