Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!: A Dresdenverse Bestiary

[John Galt]

For every scientific or psychological study you can cite that claims Dolphins are as intelligent as you are claiming, I can find a scientific or psychological study claiming they aren't.  It's a highly disputed topic.  Many psychologists have even tried to claim Dolphins are smarter than humans.  They're usually the tree hugging ones that think Dolphins would do a better job ruling the world than us hyper destructive, evil humans.

My point being that you've given them above average human intelligence.  That's what the average skill means.  We can put aside the "so long and thanks for all the fish" argument and at least agree that they aren't more intelligent than humans.  At least I hope we can agree that.  And if you don't think they're more intelligent than the average human than it doesn't make sense to give your "average dolphin" a scholarship at average.

[Deadmanwalking]

Like I said in the actual writeup, the Scholarship is probably undeserved, it's just to reflect them being brighter than most of the other critters listed.

If it makes you feel better, re-read or remember how dolphins show up in Small Favor and assume that dolphins are smarter in the Dresdenverse. 

[John Galt]

Like I said in the actual writeup, the Scholarship is probably undeserved, it's just to reflect them being brighter than most of the other critters listed.

If it makes you feel better, re-read or remember how dolphins show up in Small Favor and assume that dolphins are smarter in the Dresdenverse. 

I kind of got the feeling those dolphins were scions or something.

But in any event, I was just offering my critique which you seemed to keep asking for and no one had anything but compliments

And that's really the only criticism I have.  I'll probably end up GMing in the Fall and I'll be saving these for future reference.  Plus I'll suggest running into some Mountain Lions in my current Houston game.

[Deadmanwalking]

Cool. I actually appreciate the critique, I don't get nearly enough constructive criticism. I just happen not to agree with this particular one. 

And I'm very glad you'll be getting some use out of the list.

[Tush Hog]

So, how did the horses work out?


And does anyone have any other creatures they wish to see created?

The session is this Saturday. I'll let you know how it goes.

Since our game is set in east tennessee, and involves the appalachians and Cherokee Indians, we'll be making extensive use of the animal list. I'll let you know when things get used.

[Deadmanwalking]

So, it being Sunday, how'd it go? I'm desperately curious. 

[Tush Hog]

Well, there was a bit of a surprise. I actually got to play instead of GM - that's pretty rare. One of my players who is really stoked about Dresden asked if he could run a short session so I jumped at the chance to play. Riding horses played a pretty important role.

We were riding on some the back trails investigating some disappearances on the Appalachian Trail. The horses' keen senses alerted us to some nearby danger as they got a bit spooked while we were making camp. Also had a horse chase - well my horse was chased - by a nasty wereboar   had I been on foot it would have been ugly. Alamo (my horse) for the win, though

Went very well and everyone felt the horse stats were right on. I'll be GMing next time and more animals will be used. I did realize there is another I would like to request - Wild Boar  

[Deadmanwalking]

Ah! I Knew I was forgetting something important.  Wild Boar will be up shortly.

And I'm very glad you got some use out of the stats and that they worked well. It's always nice to know things work in practice as well as theory.

[Big Simon]

This is pretty cool.  I'd be interested in seeing a Raven or a Crow.

[Deadmanwalking]

High Concept: Raven
Other:
Battlefield Scavenger
Smarter Than You’d Think

Skills:

Great: Athletics, Survival,
Good: Alertness, Fists,
Fair: Burglary, Discipline, Intimidation,
Average: Conviction, Endurance, Presence, Rapport, Stealth,

Powers:

Claws [-1]
Diminutive Size [-1]
Echoes of the Beast [-1]
Wings [-1]

Total Refresh: -4

Stress:

Mental: OOO
Physical: OO
Social: OOO
Armor: 0.

Note: Ravens, somewhat like Dolphins, don’t really deserve Scholarship. However, they are quite a bit brighter than most critters you’re likely to meet, and can learn English much like a parrot, so it seemed appropriate.

EDIT: Upon further consideration, I took it away. A trained raven might have Scholarship, but not a randomly selected wild one.



High Concept: Wild Boar
Other:
I'll Eat Anything
Scarier Than I Look
Crazy Vicious

Skills:

Superb: Endurance,
Great: Athletics, Fists,
Good: Conviction, Survival,
Fair: Alertness, Discipline, Intimidation
Average: Empathy, Might, Presence, Rapport, Stealth,

Powers:

Claws [-1]
Echoes of the Beast [-1]
Inhuman Strength [-2]
Inhuman Toughness [-2]

Total Refresh: -6

Stress:
Mental: OOOO
Physical: OOOO(OO)(+1 Mild Consequence)
Social: OOO
Armor: 1.

Note: Wild Boars vary greatly in size, this is a mid-size one (around 200 lbs), larger ones may gain No Pain, No Gain and higher Might to reflect their bulk, while smaller ones may lack Inhuman Strength (though at 150 lbs or so, they might, too, have higher Might).

[Jeckel]

Wow, with the forum move and all it seems I've fallen behind, I didn't even notice the two new animals. That wild boar was exactly what I was looking for. I have a small one-player session this weekend to introduce his character to the upcoming campaign setting and I'm going to be using the horses and, now that you posted it, some boars. It things work out I might through a bear or mountain lion into the mix. I'll post next week and let ya know how they worked out.

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I'm now starting to compile the animals into a list so I can archive them on my dfrpg resources site. I'm not officially opening the site for another month or so, but I want animals on there when I do. Seeing as your up to 28 post animal sheets now, I think it is worthwhile at this point. Below is the lists of animals so far.

Forum Post
   

• Silverback Gorilla
• King (Or Queen) of Beasts
• Savage Jungle Cat
• Grizzly Bear
• Black Bear
• Mountain Lion
• Goddamn Coyote

Forum Post
   

• Big Bad Wolf
• Full-Grown African Elephant
• Rhinoceros
• Great White Shark
• Big Doggie
• 'Domestic' Cat
• Lynx

Forum Post
   

• Hyena
• Python
• Alligator

Forum Post
   

• Dolphin
• Camel
• Capybara

Forum Post
   

• Riding Horse
• Trained War Horse
• Killer Whale
• American Bison
• Bald Eagle
• Wolverine

Forum Post
   

• Raven
• Wild Boar

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Looking through the list, a few suggestions popped to mind. How about Cow, Pig, Goat, and Chicken? A few more common domestic animals couldn't hurt.

[Deadmanwalking]

Chicken is going to be awfully sparse...but sure, I should be able to do those.

[Jeckel]

Thanks man and feel free to ignore the chicken, just kinda fell into the list when I was thinking of farm animals.

[Deadmanwalking]

High Concept: Milk Cow
Other:
Placid Creature

Skills:

Good: Endurance,
Fair: Empathy, Fists, Rapport, Might,
Average: Alertness, Athletics, Presence, Survival,

Powers:

Claws [-1]
Inhuman Strength [-2]
Hulking Size [-2]
Herd Instincts [-1]

Total Refresh: -6

Stress:

Mental: OO
Physical: OOOOOO
Social: OOO
Armor: 0.



High Concept: Large Bull
Other:
Territorial
Vicious Horns

Skills:

Great: Might,
Good: Endurance, Fists,
Fair: Intimidation, Rapport,
Average: Alertness, Athletics, Conviction, Empathy, Presence, Survival,

Powers:

Claws [-1]
Inhuman Strength [-2]
Hulking Size [-2]
Herd Instincts [-1]

Total Refresh: -6

Stress:

Mental: OOO
Physical: OOOOOO
Social: OOO
Armor: 0.



High Concept: Goat
Other:
I'll Eat Anything
Stubborn And Ornery

Skills:

Great: Survival,
Good: Athletics, Endurance,
Fair: Alertness, Discipline, Fists,
Average: Conviction, Intimidation, Presence, Stealth,

Powers:

Claws [-1]
Echoes of the Beast [-1]
Inhuman Toughness [-2]

Total Refresh: -4

Stress:

Mental: OOO
Physical: OOOO(OO)
Social: OOO
Armor: 1.




High Concept: Domestic Pig
Other:
I'll Eat Anything
Smarter Than I Look

Skills:

Great: Endurance,
Good: Athletics, Survival,
Fair: Alertness, Fists,
Average: Conviction, Discipline, Empathy, Might, Presence, Rapport,

Powers:

Claws [-1]
Echoes of the Beast [-1]

Total Refresh: -2

Stress:
Mental: OOO
Physical: OOOO
Social: OOO
Armor: 0.

Note: Like their Wild Boar cousins, pigs vary in size...but the average is lower. Larger pigs might (at least in theory) have any or all of the additional powers of their wild cousins...though their skill list will remain unchanged.

[Jeckel]

Awesome, that fills my farm out nicely. I hadn't considered a Bull, but now I can't imagine one of my players not having to stay on a bull for 8 seconds at some point. You rock.