Pets, Not your everyday Rover... Options

[DocMortand]

One of my players was asking about whether he could have a monkey for a pet...but I haven't found any mention of how to obtain a nonstandard pet in the first place. Is there any mention of how to deal with pets (like how much a pet would cost) written down anywheres?

Or do I just make it up as I go along?

And what's the strangest pet GMs have seen in their games?

[Fygg Nuuton]

you can usually get a monkey at an exotic pets gift store, and for prices look online for a RL price

[Zeel De Mort]

There probably are rules for pets in the corner of some olde book from days gone by, but none that I can think of.

The closest, off the top of my head, would be the Ares Felix the SynthCat in Sprawl Survival Guide.

.. just looked it up, costs 9,500Y. A real one may or may not cost less, as I know some animals are much less common in the 2060s and electronics and drones are comparatively cheap.

[DocMortand]

Yeah, but what about stats? And it's not just the monkey...how would someone go about having awakened pets? Like buying that cyber-rottweiler.

[Fygg Nuuton]

cyber rottweiler wouldnt be awakened homes, its still mundane. also cyber critters go nuts.

buy critters, it gives stats for all types of normal animals. you can go from there

[DocMortand]

*laugh* I guess a cyber-rottweiler isn't the best example of an awakened critter. Okay...so how would you get a Hell Hound for a pet? Nevermind the need to flame-retardant the entire doss...

[edit] And how much would one go for?

[Fygg Nuuton]

well, if you for some reason have a hell hound, not only would you need to buyu flame retardent items, but also chew proof, and ya know maul proof, they arent friendly.

what ever happened to just getting a ferret?

[DocMortand]

[Fygg Nuuton]

or just a regular ferret.

see this is the problem with pets in SR, everybody wants them to have eye lasers or breathe fire or fart acid. awakened critters are usually hostile, they dont want a scooby snack.

also im no animal rights activist, i actually hate most animals (and children) but is it really right to keep a wild animal? i would state no. 99.999% of awakened critters are just that, wild animals. not domesticated pets for you and your friends to look at, and should, in game, be treated as such. even sigfried and roy keep tigers and understand they arent puppies, and when he almost died because the tiger was protecting him, he stated it is a wild animal and should be treated as such, the animal did nothing wrong.

your hell hound will eat you, plain and simple. most runners do not live in wide open spaces. corporations who use them as guard animals dont keep them indoors, they keep them outdoors. im sure the animals sometimes attack security personel too, but im sure theres some kind of sytem in place.

a hellhound isn't as big as a tiger, but theyve only been around for a few years, and they breathe fire. most runners simply do not have the time or resources to keep and train them.

however this does give me an idea for an adept that can control animals and train them etc. ill make it after i make the mage who gets his magic from 80's supergroup foreigner.

anyway, thats my rant on paracritters

[Kanada Ten]

[DocMortand]

Okay, this is all well and good...but where would one go about getting one, and how much would it cost?

[Kanada Ten]

Where to buy awakened pets?
1. From the black market. Street index.
2. From legal distributers. Provide your security and animal handeling permits.
3. Steal it from wherever: deepest darkest jungles of Africa, the black market in Istanbul, or from Mitsuhama's Parasheild division (with locations in Peru and remote islands everywhere).

How much do they cost?
Well, Moonstone Spider had a good price list going, but his site is gone (Running Wild?). Try to encourage stealing and treat it as a dependant (1) flaw and require a Animal Facility or Shop depending on the size and powers of the critter.

[Jason Farlander]

[mfb]

B2 Q4x4 S2 C- I2/4 W2 E(6) R5 At2M2
Powers: Enh Phys Att (Q 1/dy (E)d6 turns) Enh Senses (Imp Hearing/Smell, Low-Light, Thermo), Mana Detection
Weakness: Allergy (Mana, Mild)

these bastards are 1-2m long. definitely not what you'd keep in a cage on the bookshelf.

[Edward]

The description of a luxury lifestyle mentions awakened guard animals, witch hellhounds might be suited for.

Just out of interest is anybody working on domesticating devil rats, you know they would sell.

Edward

[RangerJoe]

I think most folks have more than enough devil rats, thank you very much....

[Kanada Ten]

April 30, 2021
"Mommy! Mommy! My rat suddenly lost all its hair and doubled in size!"
"Oh, my! We should take it to the vet right away!"
"Then it asked me for the password to the p0rn channel."

When good rats go bad... Tonight on E! Animal Planet.

[Fortune]

Not that it helps right now, but I'm sure the (not-so) soon-to-be-released Running Wild will deal with this issue.

[John Campbell]

One of my PCs has a blackberry kitten living in his flat. We bumped into it (I respect its privacy) while scoping out an ambush site in the wilds of Minnesota. It determined pretty quickly that it could get more food out of me by purring and letting me scratch it behind the ears than by ineffectually bouncing mind-control tricks off my 7 Will, and ended up going home with me. I named it Kottr. It lives in my apartment, eats my food, and theoretically provides security when I'm out. At least, I figure that if anyone breaks into the place while I'm gone, I'll come home to find my stuff untouched and the intruder still there, mindlessly opening cans of tuna for the cat.

[DocMortand]

Actually one of my runners is close to getting an Accident Cat for a pet. Instead of mind-warping would-be burglars into feeding it, I would think it would be more Home Alone antics...slipping onpaint causing a hammer to fall on you from a high shelf...

[Fygg Nuuton]

whats an accident cat? blackberry cats have the accident power

[DocMortand]

eh, it's a Blackberry cat which ONLY has the accident power. Think the ultimate black cat...just goes around causing bad luck in people it doesn't like.

MeOW!