To raise a monster...

[wyvern]

So, last game session, my players hunted down and destroyed a fairly nasty supernatural predator.  And then they found its nest.  With eggs.  Being the crazy people they are, they've decided to see if they can raise the babies.  Whether they're trying to get model citizens (think Thomas, maybe?) or well trained attack dogs isn't clear yet - it'll likely depend on the actual intellect of the creature type - which they don't know.

So, the question is: what can go wrong with this idea?  (Or, alternatively, how should they go about this to have a chance at succeeding?)  I don't want to make it flat out impossible for them to achieve any measure of success, but I darned well don't want to make it easy, either.  Are there any other games out there where someone's decided to raise a truly exotic pet or child, and how did it go?

While I'd love specific suggestions for my particular beasties, I also know that my players will read this thread - so I'll put below the details they "know", and ask that people PM me if they want more information, or have some particularly evil suggestion that won't work if the players know about it.

* * * *

The specific creature is (my interpretation of) an Uktena - a form of evil horned serpent that's the traditional enemy of the native american Thunderbird.

The particular one they fought was actually quadrupedal, albeit with a very serpentine build (there are implications that uktena were designed based on dinosaur fossils, so they weren't all pure snake), and was primarily a physical combatant - very durable, weapon: 6 claw attacks, chameleon skin (yes, it was a dirty cheater as far as the normal uktena vulnerability; one of the PCs used the Sight and found its weak spot anyway, though.)

It also had a gem set in its forehead that granted it access to a form of magic - it made a few attempts to use psychomancy to inflict crippling pain, though it's fairly certain that it has some degree of broader powers, probably including poison.  Nobody yet knows if that gem is a biological part of the creature, or something grafted on via ritual - if the former, then the PCs will eventually (or immediately?) have to deal with their new pets picking up a particularly vicious form of sponsored magic...

In the meantime, their research has indicated that these creatures feed on (or at least can feed on) pain and fear and despair; though it's not unreasonable to assume that a sufficient amount of mundane food could also provide sustenance.

[devonapple]

There are two directions to consider:
1) The kind of game you want to run
2) The kind of game they want to play

Raising the orphaned young of a defeated monster is a classic D&D trope, but it is usually for either profit or for other combat advantage, both of which is a little hard to model easily (though not impossible) in DFRPG/FATE.

More by PM.

[sinker]

My thought is that unless they are actually sentient then they're likely predators by nature, and even if they're well trained it'll be like keeping a tiger for a pet. One wrong move and suddenly you have a highly efficient killing machine eating you.

For that matter if they feed psychically how is one going to stop them? Won't they feed by the most expedient process regardless of how they're raised? They might even get sneakier about feeding that way if the players figure out how to discourage them from doing it.

[MijRai]

Well, maybe have the gem be organic, but develop as they age. So no real magic, but maybe Glamours at first. I'd make the animal unruly, but child-like. Make it teachable, but hard to teach. Extended contests on who is the boss, on eating the toys, etc. Once they are grown, I'd say make them cat-like in personality.

[Katarn]

First question: are they born evil or neutral?  For evil, the "reformed" aspect fits better.  For neutral, they could become theoretically good.  Play up the predatory part to the max as well.

Second thought: Fear/Despair feeding could be what's powering the gem, and normal sustenance as always.  Or first kill leads to the feeding dependency.  Keep your options open.

[Richard_Chilton]

If they aren't sentient then they aren't evil but predators that do things that we view as evil.

If they are sentient and they feed on negative emotions, then they could be modeled after the White Court.  Since there's no external forced (the White Court demon) driving them then I doubt they would see what they do as wrong as they are only doing what comes naturally to them.

How could the players make the best of it? By finding an existing source of "pain and fear and despair".  Say maybe a hospice that's barely limping by, so the creatures could just suck up the emotions of the people dying in squalid conditions.  Train them to feed only on the naturally occurring emotions so the creatures aren't a threat to anyone.

How can the characters be screwed? Imagine finding your cute little pet standing over a body or surrounded injured people, and not understanding why you are upset - because all it did was what came naturally.  I'm thinking a dog who doesn't understand that it's not supposed to kill pet rabbits or a cat that got into the hamster cage - something that operated on instincts and doesn't understand why it's being yelled at.

Or maybe the creature is a scion, of a line of scions that go back to the real beast and great-great-great-great etc grand daddy doesn't like its offspring being "perverted into doing good".

Or maybe there's a cult that follows the beast and wants the creatures to worship/serve as guards/whatever - and now that cult has to be dealt with.

Hope this helps.

Richard

[wyvern]

Well, they did find the critter with some vaguely humanoid minions (handlers?) that they haven't put any effort into looking into yet, so the cult thing is eminently plausible...

I'm not going to specify if the critters are born neutral or evil, sentient or just plain hungry - see "My players will be reading this thread".  Inconvenient, I know, but I've gotten some good ideas from people anyway.  As well as some thoughts on further research; my next visit to the library will include looking up whatever I can find on training wild animals.

One thing I know I'll be doing, is suggesting that one or more of the PCs involved in this effort should probably change an aspect to something directly related - that way, when things go wrong, at least they'll be earning fate points (and potentially have some opportunity to buy off compels or otherwise exercise narrative control over the process...)

Though I must admit I'm kinda surprised that all the comments so far have been aimed at my specific case; I'd meant to open the thread up to general discussion as well - is this just something that hasn't come up for anybody else's game?

[devonapple]

I would imagine, in general, training wild animals would be a Survival challenge, modified by Scholarship perhaps.
For supernatural critters, an extended challenge with both Survival, Scholarship *and* Lore. You may even want to run it like a Thaumaturgy Ritual, with Declarations happening in cutscenes to make a training montage.

It would be up to each situation/GM whether the animals as a whole are treated as a "crop" for this extended training challenge, or if each individual animal gets its own training montage.

If a trained creature is going to be a constant companion, though, this is all window dressing: the player should take an Aspect related to that relationship. The extended challenge dynamic may be a good RP mechanism to determine the nature of their relationship, but for plot purposes, its best to simply decide how that is going to work out and simply work out how to get there.

[Oriande]

Are there any other games out there where someone's decided to raise a truly exotic pet or child, and how did it go?

Our game has an interesting, and as yet unresolved situation regarding a child who is a potential pawn (or more) for several supernatural factions. Originally, a nameless foundling, she has been an on-going focus for unusual occurances ranging from the homeless man on the street who shouted "abomination" and "spawn of Satan" to her inate preception of powers around her.  
The PC's have recently learned more about her origins, but many questions remain. Currently, most of the tension is on two fronts.  One centers around the doctor (Pure mortal / player character) who is now her foster mother and wants to adopt her.  The other around the True Believer who must now deicide  whether or not to destroy her, before she is claimed by the Forces of Evil.  
I'm interested to see how it evolves, although the second player is not happy with me for presenting him with this particular moral dilemma.

[Drachasor]

If they don't find a way to purify these creatures so they don't feed on pain and suffering...seems like it should bite them in the face.  Inherently evil stuff exists in the Dresdenverse and this sounds like an example of it.  I mean, these creatures have a huge red flag on them, and one shouldn't just ignore that.

[newtinmpls]

Well in the interests of opening things up:

In a recent dungeon, my PC's encountered a red-eyed powerful semi-pittbull looking animal, and one of them, with the aspect "feeds stray animals" did a declaration that she would have something edible to offer it. She did, she made friends (can't recall the social role that I used, or maybe it was animalcraft as a trapping of survival), long story short it was the mom of a mated pair of quite intelligent (think Mouse level of intelligence) scions of the wild hunt. They had a litter that was being held hostage (at one point the bad guy tells the 'parents' to attack, and adds "you know what I did to your other pups"); so it's not so much "raising" the pups, as they are quite intelligent, as having them as non-human neighbors. So far one PC who owns a haunted bookstore has offered them a place to stay.

Dian

[jybil178]

Well, lots of people have already said lots of great stuff..  Already touched on a lot of my ideas, hehe...  One other thing, i'm not sure was mentioned though, is what could have possibly occurred to the eggs before the players got there?  Was the creature a natural supernatural baddy, or just a predator by nature?  And either way, why was he in direct conflict with the players?  I heard mention of a cult.  Did the cult, and perhaps the leader place some form of spell upon the creature?  If they did, have they already placed some form of preparation spell upon the children themselves, making them more malleable to the will of the master of the cult, or to make them natural monsters?  Was this gem something natural, or something "attached" to the creature, and could this "trait" be bread through the eggs naturally?

Sorry if i touched on a lot of things that have already been hammered down... I did a glance over, a pretty good one too, but I'm tired as hell at the moment >.<

And for your second question, my gaming group has had a decent number of critter kinda pets going on...  One of the ones that stick out most in my mind, is another I'd consider to be the most infamous...

It was a rather random occurance really...  The GM had just a random encounter kinda idea... Honestly, he just threw something totally out of the blue at us, a Hippogryph of all things.  It was night, in the middle of a raided village, on an open plain, before a tall, dark and very evil mountain, complete with castle/fortress to boot.  The creature was completely out of place, and obviously meant to just be a quick fight.  Instead, the Ranger tried to go out and make friends with it.  That I'm fine with.  But then, one of our less...  Competent players drops her prepared attacks, as she realizes she can do something OTHER than fight it, and goes forward, ahead of the Ranger, attempting to calm it..  That would be fine, if the character would have had any business or any skills that would help in the manner.  Instead, she was a very dumb, very narrow minded Paladin.  And the GM, also being involved with said player, spent the next 5 to 10 minutes going through her character sheet, trying to come up with a roll that he could rationalize to himself, so she could "attempt" a roll of some sort.  It ended up being something very silly, and he pretty much let her woo the animal far better then the poor Ranger, who was quickly pushed aside and ignored at this point.  Several games later, no Feats or Skills taken to help her in her ways, she starts riding the intended encounter into battle, and through the air and all that fun stuff.

Basically, I'm perfectly fine with critters, and player doing things to surprise their GMs.  The only time I start to get bothered with it, is when a player goes through the proper steps, the proper Feats, and the proper Skills, takes time and effort from his character to add something special, like a Cohort, or a special mount of some sort, gets completely and utterly overshadowed by a player who just randomly goes out and grabs a random, powerful/useful creature, and never bothers to work anything into their character sheet, other then under the Equipment section...

[newtinmpls]

"I start to get bothered with it, is when a player goes through the proper steps, the proper Feats, and the proper Skills, takes time and effort from his character to add something special, like a Cohort, or a special mount of some sort, gets completely and utterly overshadowed by a player who just randomly goes out and grabs a random, powerful/useful creature, and never bothers to work anything into their character sheet, other then under the Equipment section..."

In all honesty I'd call that a failure in DMing, not in playing. But yes, a failure.

Dian

[Drachasor]

"I start to get bothered with it, is when a player goes through the proper steps, the proper Feats, and the proper Skills, takes time and effort from his character to add something special, like a Cohort, or a special mount of some sort, gets completely and utterly overshadowed by a player who just randomly goes out and grabs a random, powerful/useful creature, and never bothers to work anything into their character sheet, other then under the Equipment section..."

In all honesty I'd call that a failure in DMing, not in playing. But yes, a failure.

Dian

The Paladin comes across as a self-centered gloryhound or went and stole the spotlight from the Ranger in order to try to grab a cool mount.  So a failure on both counts.

[bibliophile20]

"I start to get bothered with it, is when a player goes through the proper steps, the proper Feats, and the proper Skills, takes time and effort from his character to add something special, like a Cohort, or a special mount of some sort, gets completely and utterly overshadowed by a player who just randomly goes out and grabs a random, powerful/useful creature, and never bothers to work anything into their character sheet, other then under the Equipment section..."

In all honesty I'd call that a failure in DMing, not in playing. But yes, a failure.

Dian

Been there, done that, lost a friendship.  That game in particular was the origin of my rabid dislike of GMPCs.