Handle Animal (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Publisher: Trailseeker Magazie.

Additional Uses

This skill has a number of additional uses.

Domesticate

It is always easiest to domesticate an creature while it is growing up, as covered in the "rear a wild animal" rule. But it is possible (if difficult) to domesticate almost any creature as an adult.

An attempt at domesticating a creature generally takes three months. The trainer must feed the creature, and must have some way to restrain and discipline it and defend from its attacks. This can be done by physical means (cages, leashes, whips) or by magic such as charm spells.

The difficulty depends on the creature's hit dice, it's normal group behaviour, and any ties your race has to the creature.

Racial affinities are cultural and physiological traits that make certain creatures easier to train. A matter of shared perceptions, modes of communication, social organization, and food preferences, these traits create a strong compatibility between certain humanoid races and species of creatures. Any animal listed under "organization" in a humanoid race's description is one that race has compatibility for. This includes giant and dire version of such animals. The table below gives some additional creature affinities, and lists affinities of some humanoid races.

Race	Creature affinities
Boggard	Toad
Cyclops	Cockatrice, pig, goat
Dark Creeper	Bat
Dwarf	Ram, bear, raven
Elf, Aquatic	Aquatic vermin
Elf, Drow	Spider, monitor lizard
Elf, High	Cooshee, eagle, horse
Elf, Other	Cooshee, deer
Giant, Cave	Lizard
Giant, Cloud	Griffon
Giant, Fire	Hell hound
Giant, Frost	Winter wolf
Giant, Hill	Dire wolf
Giant, Stone	Cave bear
Giant, Storm	Griffon, shark
Gillmen	Squid
Gnoll	Hyena, hyaenodon
Gnome	Badger, weasel
Goblin	Wolf
Grippli	Frog
Halfling	Dog, pony
Hobgoblin	Leopard
Human	Dog, house cat, horse
Kitsune	Fox
Locathah	Fish
Merfolk	Dolphin, porpoise
Orc	Boar
Ratfolk	Rat
Sahuagin	Shark
Tengu	Flightless bird
Vishanka	Snake
Lizardfolk	Dinosaurs

Animal	DC
Animals living in small groups (wolves, eagles, lions)	20 + hit dice
Herd animals (antelope, zebra)	25 + hit dice
Solitary animals (most cats, bears)	30 + hit dice
Non-animals who are LN, LE, or NE in alignment	20 + hit dice
Non-animals who are LG, N, or CE in alignment	25 + hit dice
Non-animals who are NG, CG, or CN in alignment	30 + hit dice
Raising the creature from childhood	-10
Trainer has a racial compatibility for the creature	-10

This table supersedes the difficulty for raising a wild animal into domestication given in the core rulebook.

If a domestication attempt fails by 4 or less, the time is simply wasted. If it fails by 5 or more, the creature attacks the trainer. It has to be free from restraint during the later parts of training, and attacks at such a time. Even if the creature survives and remains in captivity, it can never be domesticated by that trainer.

Effects of Domestication

A creature need not be domesticated to be trained, but an undomesticated creature is dangerous to all except its master. Both domesticated and non-domesticated creatures can be taught tricks, but the DC of controlling or pushing a non-domesticated creature is increased by 10.

A domesticated creature can function among humanoids and generally will not attack or harm them unless its training so dictates or its master orders it. A domesticated creature can still react badly if approached carelessly or denied food, and is generally not safe around children or to leave unsupervised around persons unskilled in Handle Animal. They are usually kept in pens. A domesticated creature will never attack a type of creature that has a racial compatibility for it, even if provoked, is safe to have around children of such races, and is often kept as pets in the home.

Handling Different Creatures

The Handle Animal skill handles animals, but can also be used to handle and train other types of creatures, and can even be used to enslave intelligent creatures, conditioning them as slaves. In general, there are two things to consider, intelligence and creature type.

Intelligence and Slavery

Creatures of any Intelligence score can be domesticated, but respond very differently. A domesticated creature that feels itself mistreated can rebel against its trainer or handler with a successful opposed Charisma check. If given active support by others who are not domesticated, this check is automatically successful. If this check fails, the creature will still act in accordance with its domestication and training.

Only creatures of Intelligence 1-4 can and need be taught tricks. Vermin and some other creatures have an Intelligence of zero, and are thus not trainable (they cannot be taught tricks), but they can be domesticated and ordered to perform tasks by pushing them. With an appropriate exotic saddle, unintelligent creatures can be controlled normally with the Ride skill. Humanoid races with an compatibility for vermin have generally bred such vermin to an Intelligence of 1. These are identical to normal vermin except that they are not unintelligent and thus not immune to mind-affecting effects.

Animals and some other creatures have an Intelligence score of 1 or 2. It has been clarified that you can increase an animal's intelligence to 3 or more, and it remains and animal and trainable. This is the default situation for the Handle Animal skill.

Creatures with an Intelligence of 3 or more are capable of speech and limited sentience. A creature with an Intelligence of 3 or 4 is capable of understanding simple speech and express itself in a few words, but not generally able to handle itself in society and still needs to be taught tricks to complete complex orders and not act on its instincts. In most cases, a creature of Intelligence 4 or less will not protest being domesticated as long as it is fed.

A creature of Intelligence 5 or 6 is able to fend for itself and act as a member of a small community, such as a single household or business. It no longer requires training to perform tricks. It is generally considered slavery and an evil act to domesticate a creature of Intelligence 5 or more; a good-aligned trainer should insist that such creatures be treated as a person. Still, a creature with 6 or less Intelligence will generally not protest unless it is mistreated.

A creature of intelligence 7 or more might be slow, but can make its own decisions and engage with society at large. No matter how good its material conditions are, a creature of Intelligence 7 or more will resent slavery. Domesticating a creature of Intelligence 7 or more is definitely an evil act. Such training is more properly termed conditioning and needs constant threat of punishment to be enforced.

Creature Type

• Aberration: Can be domesticated and trained, but all Handle Animal checks in relation to them suffer a -5 penalty. There might be dangerous side effects from long-time exposure to aberrations. Intelligent aberrations often train their less intelligent kin, and suffer no penalty doing so.
• Animal: The most common creatures to be trained with Handle Animal. All the base rules apply to animals.
• Construct: Constructs cannot be domesticated or trained.
• Dragon: Dragons can be trained and domesticated. Most dragons are intelligent enough to resent this, and await an opportunity to strike back. Dragons are very patient, and can fake loyalty.
• Fey: Can be domesticated and trained by other fey. Non-fey suffer a -5 penalty ti Handle Animal checks in relation to them, and fey have a way of changing domestication into a mutual symbiosis where the master is just as bound as the creature.
• Humanoid: Humanoids can be domesticated, but are intelligent enough to resent this as slavery.
• Magical beast: Can be domesticated and trained, but all Handle Animal checks in relation to them suffer a -5 penalty.
• Monstrous humanoid: Can be domesticated and trained, but all Handle Animal checks in relation to them suffer a -5 penalty. Most are intelligent enough to resent slavery.
• Ooze: Can be domesticated but not trained.
• Outsider: Can be domesticated and trained, but all Handle Animal checks in relation to them suffer a -5 penalty. Outsiders cannot be conditioned to act against their alignment or elemental nature.
• Plant: Non-intelligent plant can be domesticated but all except aberrations, fey, and other plants suffer a -10 Handle Animal penalty against plants.
• Undead: Cannot be trained or domesticated. Undead have to be controlled by supernatural means.
• Vermin: Can be domesticated, and vermin with an Intelligence rating can be trained.

Animal Compatibility Trait

Animal Compatibility: Select one species of animal, with the GM's permission. You are considered to have a racial affinity with this species of animal, which gives benefits to Handle Animal. This is a regional trait for races with an affinity to the particular animal; it is of no use to the locals, who already have racial affinity, but available to outsiders accepted in the culture.

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