One of the key items all of my younger players ask for after playing SimpleDnD for a while is, “Can I have a pet?”
So I asked around, and the internet had very little in the way of pets in any RPG. I asked on a few boards and still not a direct line to pet rules. I read some reference, scratched my head, and here’s what I’ve come up with.
Pets!
Pets are small relatively common animals that are bound to a player character. Once a pet and a character are joined, the share a symbiotic relationship – the pet getting food and shelter and the player gaining a small advantage from their pet’s abilities.
In addition, character can communicate with their pets about 25% of the time. For example: A dog count point, an owl could flap it’s wings and hoot or a cat could purr. Communication should be limited to yes or no questions, and again only be correctly communicated about 25% of the time.
All pets have 1d6 Hit Points
Replacing a pet is not a simple task and should be difficult such as requiring questing to a specific location or a large sum of money.
Pets and Abilities
Dog – Bloodhound. Bonus for tracking +3 to search rolls. May also growl (60%) when enemies are nearby
Cat – Lucky overall. +1 to all rolls, may wander off (30% chance)
Owl – Excellent Listeners. Bonus for hearing +3 Listen rolls, may fly off (30%)
Falcon – Attack. +3 to hit, 1d4 damage, expensive 500 gp+
Potbelly Pig – Adorable. Bonus for Charisma checks +3, scares easily (and makes tons of noise!)
Guinea Pig – Alert. Bonus +3 vs Surprise, other animals see it as food
Gecko – Climber. Can climb any surface with a small 1/2 lbs cache. may wander off (50%)
Ferret – Pick Pocket. Turns up with random items (possibly from other players)
