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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 7211045" data-attributes="member: 4937">Starting in 3e, D&D has done a much better job of giving animals appropriate abilities without leaving it up to what the DM considered realistic.  I'm not sure that much more granularity than what we have is necessarily needed.Things animals can do:1) Dogs and horses have advantage on checks related to endurance. 2) Dogs have exceptional ability to work together during attacks and when flanking an opponent.  5e actually calls this out explicitly, although in my opinion the advantage given is actually weaker than it could or should be.3) Most mammals have an effective intelligence greater than 2, up to a maximum of around 7.   The same is true of many birds, particularly parrots and jays, crows, and ravens.  In a fantasy world, these animals would have their own language, and maybe able to understand if not necessarily speak human languages.  In fact, real animals often can understand up to several 100 human words.   This has implications for training animals, as well as in a fantasy setting the existence of a animal cultures and societies (which are common tropes of fantasy, from Aesop and fairy tales, to Burroughs, Kipling and Tolkien.)4) Prairie dogs, ravens, and several other creatures do actually have their own complex 'language' and can vocally express to each other complex ideas.5) Most animals with a bite attack have advantage on attack rolls with the bite attack if the bite succeeded in the prior round.  Some, particularly those specialized at ripping and thrashing to tear their victim, should also have advantage on damage.   This is in addition to the option most animals have of delivering a grappling attack with their bite.   The same advantages also occur with the talon attacks of birds of prey.6) Many animals such as boar and deer should be able to apply an AC bonus against one foe a round, because their heads (and in the case of boars, shoulders) are armored against attacks directed from in front of them.7) All animals are exceptionally skilled at survival in their natural habitat, but this skill is generally not reflected mechanically.8) Most small animals are exceptionally strong for their size, and have therefore 'negative encumbrance' which gives them bonuses to many sorts of activities such as balance, climbing, jumping, and so forth.Although it was for 3rd edition, the best serious look at animals for D&D was Betabunny's 'Bestiary: The Predators'.</blockquote>

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