Cleon
Legend
I believe so, unless you can come up with any corrections or additions.
Might as well update the Working Draft with those Organizations.
Converting "Real World" Animals and Vermin
- Thread starter Shade
- Start date
I believe so, unless you can come up with any corrections or additions.
Might as well update the Working Draft with those Organizations.
Cleon
Legend
Shade
Monster Junkie
Thanks! I've updated that one in Homebrews as well.
Someone requested variant dogs...
Canids, wild
Canids are very successful predators and are common in their native haunts. The number encountered can be highly variable, except in the case of solitary species such as the fox. In some cases two ranges are shown for number appearing, one for times and places in which prey is small or scarce (the lower number) and one for those in which prey is large and abundant (the larger number). Wolves, for instance, are found in greater numbers during the winter, when they hunt deer and moose, than in the summer, when they hunt mice and rabbits. As indicated in the Monster Manual, these ranges are to be used as guidelines, not rules. For instance, several otherwise separate groups of canids might gather and mingle where food is superabundant: wolves scavenging at the site of a battle, hunting dogs where large herds of animals are on the move, or foxes in a mouse-rich meadow. It is suggested that 5% of encounters with canids should be in the vicinity of a large carcass. In such a case, there is a 25% chance that 1-2 other groups of canids (chosen at random from the appropriate types) will also be present, and a 25% chance (checked separately) that another carnivore or group of carnivores is in attendance. The largest, most numerous, and hungriest animals will have taken possession of the kill, and the others will dispute this or wait for an opportunity to steal or scavenge.
Canids are all at least as speedy as humans, though none of them are quite so fast as a horse or deer. It is noteworthy that canids are not slowed as much by undergrowth or rough ground as humans are, so that even the stubby-legged bushdog can be a good deal faster than a man under certain conditions. The smaller canids (those weighing less than 40 pounds) swim at 6”, while the larger ones swim at 9”. Most are handicapped by the fact that they must keep their heads above water, since unlike humans they cannot submerge themselves without getting water in their nostrils. An exception to this is the bushdog, which can immerse itself without difficulty and can swim at 9.) despite its small size. Only dholes and bushdogs will willingly enter the water. With the exception of foxes, no canids can climb.
The smallest canids are given two damage ranges for the bite, the larger amount being applicable to creatures less than three times their weight and the larger amount being applicable to creatures of more than three times their weight. This reflects the fact that these animals are deadly to their usual prey, but less so when larger animals are concerned. Note that some canids of approximately the same size are given different amounts of bite damage. This is a reflection of differences in anatomy and behavior.
The sizes given for the various canids are approximate averages to the nearest 5 pounds. Exceptional individuals may weigh as little as half or as much as twice the amount given. Males are typically larger than females.
Canids encountered in the lair during the season of greatest abundance (spring, or the beginning of the rains) will always include one male and one female, even in solitary species, and 2-8 pups. All of the adults help care for and guard these pups, which are usually kept in a cave or burrow. Among social canids, the pups will typically be the offspring of the dominant female (the one with the largest hit-point total) and her chosen mate (usually the dominant male). Pups have no effective attack. There is a 30% chance that they will be young enough to be tameable.
Though canids of a suitable age can be tamed, they cannot be made over into domestic dogs. They will certainly be affectionate if they are well treated, but taming and training are two very Solitary canids are effectively untrainable; a fox will never be more than a companion. Semi-social canids (coyotes, dingoes, and jackals) are only a little easier to handle. Like solitary canids, semi-social ones do not understand dominance and submission, and may retaliate if they are disciplined. As adults they may wander away from their handlers, just as in the wild they eventually leave their parents. The social canids (bushdogs, dholes, feral dogs, hunting dogs, wolves, and dire wolves) can be trained as well as tamed. With the exception of feral dogs, though, they will seem aloof and indifferent by comparison with domestic dogs, and since they are less dependent on approval they are more difficult to teach. At least, though, they can be persuaded to accept their handlers and perhaps a few others as pack members, preferably senior pack members. In any case, a tamed canid will always be suspicious of new people and new things, and will not adapt well to civilized life. It may seem unpredictable because it does not always understand human signals and because wild canids are often difficult to “read”. These misunderstandings may have tragic results.
Some of the abovementioned difficulties can be mitigated if a spell such as animal friendship is used, or if the handler makes frequent use of speak with animals, but charm spells will be ineffective since the problem lies not with how well the animal loves its handler but how well it expresses that emotion. Feral dogs do not present the above problems, since they retain something of their domestic ancestors’ instincts, although they too may seem unruly by comparison with true domestic dogs.
Coyotes, dingoes, wolves, and jackals are all fertile with domestic or feral dogs and with each other, though they do not normally interbreed. The offspring, themselves fertile, are intermediate in most characteristics, though from a human point of view crosses of domestic with wild canids look and act “wild” and present the training problems described above, being difficult to train and seemingly unpredictable. A dog-wolf cross, for instance, inherits the wolf’s aloofness and hostility toward strangers, and this, along with its large size and powerful jaws, might suggest that it would be a good guard dog. However, it shows a wolf’s reluctance to bark, and it may show wolflike caution and simply avoid an intruder rather than risk an attack.
Canids of all sorts have keen senses of smell and hearing. In good light, a canid’s sense of sight is less exceptional, since canids do not perceive colors and haven.t the sharpness of vision that humans have. However, a canid can see about as well by moonlight as by daylight, and can see as well on a moonless night as a human would under a full bright moon. A canid.s hearing allows it a 20% bonus to its chances of detecting hidden or invisible creatures, where applicable. This bonus may be halved or doubled according to circumstances. A similar 20% bonus is granted because of the canid’s keen sense of smell, as appropriate. This bonus too may be halved or doubled as circumstances warrant. An alert wolf, for instance, can detect a human for quite some distance downwind, and canids can even distinguish different individuals of the same species. A canid’s nose also allows it to track as an onyx dog (DMG, page 144).
Canids are opportunists, and will eat practically anything: fresh meat, carrion, fruit, insects, and even some roots and grasses, including what humans would regard as garbage. Dholes, hunting dogs, and bushdogs are more exclusively predacious than the others, while foxes are best described as omnivores with a preference for meat. The others fall somewhere in between, with the larger and more social sorts showing a greater preference for hunting. Even the largest canid is cautious, and will seldom attack an animal of its own size or larger that fights back. A wound can be fatal, even for an individual that is supported by the rest of the pack; the animal may well starve before it recovers, even living on “charity”. This doesn’t mean that hunting canids will leave humans and their domestic animals in peace, however. They may test them to see if they are able to run away or defend themselves, and if they uncover weakness they will exploit it. However, humans (and, in an AD&D game world, human-like creatures) are not on any canid’s “preferred” list. They are too likely to have nasty surprises on hand, such as swords and spears, and after centuries of association canids know this instinctively. Unless they are starving and desperate, they will avoid humans entirely.
Each canid has a distinct odor, which may be detectable to the human nose (foxes can be quite rank). Whether or not humans detect and approve of these odors, other canids can detect them, and they almost universally disapprove. Treat this as “hate” on any interspecies reaction roll. Domestic and feral dogs and dingoes are mutally acceptable, however, as any canid which has been raised with the smell in question won’t be bothered by it.
BUSHDOG
FREQUENCY: Common
NO. APPEARING: 2-12
ARMOR CLASS: 7
MOVE: 12”
HIT DICE: 1/4
% IN LAIR: 5%
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1/1-2
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: S (15 lbs.)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: I/5 + 1/hp
Bushdog: A bushdog is a small brownish canid of robust build, covered with coarse, sparse hair. It has a short, broad skull, powerful jaws, short legs, small ears, and a short tail, and looks somewhat like a heavily built dachshund, or a cross between an otter and a small dog. With their low-slung bodies and webbed feet, bushdogs are well suited to the heavy undergrowth and abundant water of their native haunts. They live in small packs and communicate using various whistles, clicks, chirps, and squeals. When excited, they give voice to highpitched, metallic barks. Bushdogs regard nearly anything of suitable size as prey, and will pursue large water rodents, small deer, and birds up to the size of a rhea as well as lesser game. Young bushdogs are not difficult to tame and train. Their expressive faces make their moods as easy to read as those of dogs and wolves, making the task an easy one. Tame bushdogs are affectionate and gentle as they are homely. Bushdogs are tropical, living in the forest or near water and away from settled areas.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #102 (1985).
Cleon
Legend
I don't mind some kind of SQ for that, but we'd better reduce their land speed as well, since they're slow for canids.
There's also this:
"the bushdog, which can immerse itself without difficulty and can swim at 9”) despite its small size. Only dholes and bushdogs will willingly enter the water"
Racial bonus to Swim? Swim Speed? Use Dex instead of Str for Swim?
Bushdogs also seem to be a lot rarer than this Dragon article suggests. They're on the Red List as a "Vulnerable" species.
Maybe they're more abundant in AD&D-Earth than ours?
Cleon
Legend
Statwise they're littler than the 20-50 pound Small Dog.
A typical Bushdog is about the size of a large housecat, 10-15 pounds or so.
So, I'd definitely lower the Strength and possibly some of their other physical stats. Maybe even nudge them down to Tiny.
If the SRD did it to poor kitty these little puppies might suffer a bit of shrinkage too.
A typical Bushdog is about the size of a large housecat, 10-15 pounds or so.
So, I'd definitely lower the Strength and possibly some of their other physical stats. Maybe even nudge them down to Tiny.
If the SRD did it to poor kitty these little puppies might suffer a bit of shrinkage too.
Cleon
Legend
I'd rather make them Small, since they're well above the normal 8 pound upper limit of Tiny and it means they've got some Reach.
As for the Swim question, I prefer racial bonus plus Dex substitution.
Shade
Monster Junkie
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