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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9628459" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/SdVoKa9.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 500px" /><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/417227/the-canine-2-0-bpx-cmz01" target="_blank">Drive-Thru RPG Store Page.</a><a href="https://breaker-press-games.itch.io/the-canine" target="_blank">Itchio Store Page.</a>Okay, a dog isn't technically a monster, but the concept is offbeat enough that it's a worthy inclusion for this review thread. For those not in the know, Dungeon Crawl Classics is one of the most popular OSR games on the market. It has generous third party support which is further encouraged by the parent company Goodman Games. Zines are a particularly enduring form of product, and Breaker Press' Rabid Dogs was one such line. Designed to support the homebrew Stennard setting, one of their biggest  hits was the Canine class. The idea sprung from a scenario when a PC died, but their animal companion survived. This is something that can easily happen in Dungeon Crawl Classics, on account that more than a few of its 0-level occupations give a PC a domesticated animal as their starting "equipment."Breaker Press eventually made an updated version of the Canine class as its own standalone product, which we'll be reviewing here. I will also note what has changed between the two versions near the end of this review.The Canine easily represents virtually any breed of dog. When it comes to supernatural powers and uncanny intelligence, the class is closest to Lassie in theme: the Canine can be far smarter than they seem, but in terms of story is still an "ordinary" animal. The class has a modest 1d6 hit points per level, cannot wield typical equipment but fights with bite and claw attacks which deal 1d4 damage, and gain access to Mighty Deeds of Arms and a Deed Die much like the Dwarf and Warrior. Most Canines are smaller than adult humans, so they can fit into areas most bipedal humanoids cannot access. While Canines can be equipped with armored coats, their baseline unarmored Armor Class is 12, and their movement speed is a nimble 40 feet (human average is 30 feet). While Canines can understand simple words and their meanings in most languages, they cannot speak save via barks and growls, which attentive people can get the gist of it.Without conventional weapons or magic to fall back on, Canines that become PCs must be lucky in order to survive, so they get better uses for spending Luck. Instead of gaining a flat +1 bonus for each point of Luck spent, a Canine adds a Luck Die for each point of Luck instead. The Luck Die is the same as their Deed Die, meaning it starts at a d3 at 1st level and climbs up by 1 (d4, d5, d6, etc) every level until 8th onwards, where it increases by 2, to a maximum of d16 at 10th level. They also recover lost Luck every night in the same manner as a Thief. Canines also use the Monster Critical Hit Table when they crit, and their saving throw progression is rather average all-around.On the roguish side of things, Canines can Sneak Silently and Hide In Shadows like a Thief, but they also get a unique skill, Detect and Follow Tracks, which works much the same as a Thief Skill but is for tracking the scent of other creatures and learning details about said creatures; such as when they were last in an area, and how many are in the group. The bonus a Canine receives on these skills is determined by a relevant ability score modifier, level, and alignment. Lawful Canines have the best progression when it comes detecting/following tracks but the worst at hiding; neutrals are the best at sneaking silently but worst at following/detecting tracks; and chaotic ones are the best at hiding but worst at sneaking.When it comes to Mighty Deeds of Arms, a Canine has access to any Deeds that would make sense. The book calls out several from the core book such as Disarming Attacks, Trips, and Throws. The class has two unique sample Deeds: Pounce, where they make a rushing attack at a target to knock them off-balance, and Tenacious Grab where they tightly bite the target as a grapple. The Pounce Deed's greater effects can leave the target on the ground for longer and cause them to lose the use of their action die as potential results, while Tenacious Grab can impose automatic bite damage while the grapple's maintained and even trigger a critical hit on higher results!Finally, the book wraps up with Canine Occupations & Other Tables. We get a d10 occupation table for determining the role they were raised for and thus their starting Trade Good. For example, a Herding Dog begins play with a rag doll, while a Tracking Dog has a favorite stick. We also get dog-centric equipment such as different types of armored coats (range from 0 to +3 AC), bells, brushes, collars, and the like. The +0 AC armor is a Warm Coat that makes the dog more comfortably subsist in cold environments.For differences between the more current class and the old one from Issue 1 of the Rabid Dogs Zine, the formatting in this one is more streamlined, such as combining the smaller size and fast speed into one paragraph rather than as two distinct class features. Pounce and Tenacious Grab originally functioned like Thief Skills rather than Mighty Deeds. They still had a Deed Die, but Pouncing and Grabbing were their own rules. In being reduced from 5 Thief Skills to 3, this allowed for a more balanced progression: for example, chaotic Canines originally had good progression in Pounce and Grab, but average in the stealth and tracking skills.Furthermore, the dog-specific equipment didn't exist back then, either, and the wording for Canine language was eased up on. For the latter example, the original text implied that the player would have to pantomime or flat out not be able to get across all but the most simple concepts. Canine 2.0 has it so that they cannot speak in the conventional sense as their major limit.Overall Thoughts: In terms of party role, the Canine is a sort of Warrior-Thief hybrid. Its d6 and Deed Die make it sturdier than the latter class in a straight-up fight, but it lacks the staying power of a Dwarf or Warrior who get much access to much better gear and have larger Hit Dice. And while a Canine can do a decent job at remaining undetected, its lack of other iconic Thief Skills such as Find Traps and Climb Sheer Surfaces means that they can't wholly replace that class either. The Canine's ability to Detect and Follow Tracks is perhaps its most unique niche, and can be quite useful in determining the presence of nearby and fleeing enemies. Their ability to spend and recover Luck faster and with better bonuses to rolls can pair nicely with their Mighty Deeds in making the most of an otherwise middling attack roll result.If there are any major weaknesses or shortcomings, it's that the Canine lacks any significant form of ranged attack. Additionally, their lack of opposable thumbs means that a lot of unique gear and magic weapons that PCs recover in adventures may be unusable by the party dog. Relatedly, their only major ability to deal damage coming from their natural attacks means that enemies that are dangerous just to touch or grab will be extra-deadly to Canines. And while it can be assumed that non-Canine PCs will understand their four-legged companion, GMs who enforce the limited speech can make social interactions in general a lot more difficult for them to contribute. For these reasons, while the Canine does look to be a fun and unconventional idea without any significant balance issues in and of itself, I'm not sure of how well they can last in a longer campaign.</blockquote>

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