Would a squirrel reference make you more likely to buy a new product?

[Driddle]

Petty naysayers aside ((you know who you are)), it's not a totally unreasonable question to ask. Certainly many of you know someone -- are are that someone yourself -- who actively seeks out or goes ga-ga when stumbling across a favored animal. Sure, most of the time it's stuff like calendars or refrigerator magnets, and the more popular (aka "cliche") critters attract the most attention -- wolves, specific dog breeds, cats, raptors, cute li'l piggies for the kitchen, black-and-white cows ... you know the type.

So there's no reason we shouldn't explore the influence of squirrels on D&D purchases.

I kid you not: Before I buy a game supplement focused on animals, I check to see if the author included a squirrel entry. If not, I'm at least 25 percent more likely to put down the product and move on.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

The only advantage to the 3.0 animal companion rules is that you could have a swarm of squirrels.

 

[The Shaman]

I kid you not: Before I buy a game supplement focused on animals, I check to see if the author included a squirrel entry. If not, I'm at least 25 percent more likely to put down the product and move on.

Darn straight.

What campaign setting is complete without an awakened dire flying squirrel rogue and his awakened moose sorcerer pal?

 

[the Jester]

I'm amazed to find myself saying this, but yes.

Like philreed, I hate cutesy crap- but for some reason squirrels tickle my funnybone. The Scarlet Squirrel prestige class, carnivorous flying squirrels, dire squirrels, megalosquirrels, squirrel swarms... bring 'em on.

I actually used a pair of dire squirrels in an encounter a while back. It was a funny-yet-tense encounter that started like this:

A few hours later, on the outskirts of the camp, Ed and Sandy are walking together. She’s caught up in thoughts of Zenvo, and he’s caught up in thoughts of Gregory Yellowflower, so they aren’t talking too much. They’re actually, oddly, good company for each other because of this. But both are knocked clean out of their reveries when they hear a high-pitched scream. The two of them rush towards it and find a female halfling crying in fear. “My baby, my baby!” she shrieks.

Following her gaze, Ed and Sandy spot the child in question. He’s young, probably no older than four. Somehow, he’s gotten up a tree- high up a tree.

“What are you doing up there?” cries Ed. Thinking of climbing makes her think of her dead twin, Coco, and she bursts into tears, as usual.

“Kitty!” the child calls down, and claps his hands.

“Come down, kid!” Sandy shouts.

The child looks down. His eyes grow to the size of saucers. “Nuh-uh! I’m scared!” He sits down, then looks around sniffling. “Kitty?”

Sandy groans. “We’re going to have to climb after the kid,” he tells Ed. And while his face is turned from the tree, something hits him in the head. “Ow!” he cries angrily, turning to look.

“Kitty!” the boy cries gleefully, pointing.

Sitting on the branch, having emerged from a hollow in the tree, are a pair of squirrels.

Four-foot long squirrels, that is.

As Sandy and Ed gape at them, the dire squirrels spit rocks from their cheeks into their hands and start throwing.

“Kitty?” asks the child.

The encounter continues here, if you're interested.

 

[sjmiller]

I said no simply because I don't see a real reason to include them. If I really needed something for a squirrel I can make it up on the spot. A couple of hit points, moderately hard to hit, frighten easily, good eats, what else do you need to know?

Oh, and I agree with whoever said we do not need any more cutesy anthropomorphic animal races. If I want that I would play the Kevin & Kell RPG.

 

[JimAde]

I actually played a squirrel PC in a champions campaign and had a blast. (Squirrel in powered assault armor!) But he wasn't really all that cute. He was a tax accountant, actually.

 

[Ferret]

I wouldn't buy it just for that, but I may tip the balance. Much more likely to get, say a back order of Dragon for it.

 

[RangerWickett]

Well, just in case, I'm including the following in the upcoming Elements of Magic - Mythic Earth:

Squirrelomancy [Tradition]
You believe you have unlocked the secret to the powers of the singular squirrel – renowned for its immortality and ability to be multiple places at once.
Benefit: You gain the magical skills Charm, Cure, Illusion, and Transform as class skills. You gain a +1 bonus to spellcasting checks for spells targeting you or with an area centered on you.
Special: The Society of the Singular Squirrel is one of the countless elder cults that has a strong presence on college campuses. Its membership is predicated on the understanding that every squirrel is merely a reflection of the one true singular squirrel, a malevolent entity hiding under a façade of cuteness and rodent mania. Unable to defeat the singular squirrel’s awesome power, members of the society have pledged themselves to the service of their elder lord.

My mom loves giraffes. I've got a friend who collects rocks. If some dude has a thing for squirrels, more power to him. I'm not going to make a book that's completely silly, but I might put a squirrel reference into an otherwise serious book to cheer the guy up.

Edit: Of course, I'd be thrilled to see stats for ewoks . . . I mean wallabies.

 

[Templetroll]

If it was something about druids or the wilderness and it let you do something with all kinds of forest animals as companions or awakened, that would be cool. It would not be useful if it ended up with a forest full of animals like in "Snow White". That would make me gag.

You want to catch my attention come up with something about trolls. Trolls are cool and can rip parties to shreds. RuneQuest had a great Troll society with variant races. You could alter kobold stats for trollkin, then add templates for some of the other troll types. Hmm, well, I have a new project for this weekend!

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

You want to catch my attention come up with something about trolls. Trolls are cool and can rip parties to shreds.

Of course it would have stats for half-troll squirrels.

Though now I feel sorry for the squirrel.