Critter/Paracritter Handler

With everything one can do in the game I’m a bit peeved that there is no (build wise) way of making an animal handler.

Skills needed:
Animal handling (Paracritters)
Command (Animals)

Now we have the greater problem – adding a way of purchasing animals just as a rigger purchases drones.

Critter Cost Base Rules
Critter cost is based on the following multipliers
Attributes: Pile all attributes together to get a points cost, multiply by 10 to get base cost.
Initiative Passes: Multiply base cost by IP’s
Awakened Powers: Multiply base cost by amount of awakened powers.
Weaknessess: Weaknesses is also added like IP’s to the cost to represent the problem in taking care of the animals special need.

Example: A Barghest is at 58 points, have 2 IP’s and 4 powers. Final cost for getting a domesticated version of this creature is (58 X 10) X (2+4)= 3480Y

A devil rat is at 50 points, have 1 IP and 3 powers and 1 weakness landing them at 2500Y

Critter Expanded Skills
The base skills for critters are inherent to them but this can be trained by an instructor or if the character have the relevant skills. Some corporations breed great apes and have them roam the compound during the night to discourage break ins and they have been taught to utilize batons and tazers (which they tend to use against each other at times…)

Skills are added as points costing 2 points per skill level and 1 point’s for a specialization and is added to the base cost of a critter.

Commanding animals
Commanding animals or a group of animals is often done by verbal commands and/or physical actions the animal can see. In 2070 it is often done by a simple thing like a collar with a micro transceiver and earbuds.

Like a rigger an animal handler must give orders to his animals and must do so whenever he wants them to switch to a new action or get them to stop what they are doing.

Multiple commands can be given equal to the characters INT in one IP.

Domesticating wild animals
Domesticating a wild animal is not only time consuming but also potentially dangerous when talking about awakened animals. They are usually classified in five categories.

5: Feral – Completely wild animal that will take time to get domesticated
4: Mostly feral but have had contact with humans
3: Will not freak out with humans around but will not go and be cuddly
2: Domesticated but independent
1: Fully domesticated and tame animal

Base Timeframe For Domestication
The classification level is the minimum net hits you need in order to jump down 1 level. So at level 4 you need 4 hits to cut down the time from 6 months to 3 months. For every level of success they can cut down the time even more (8 successes cuts down a lvl 4 to lvl 2).

The character will also have to dedicate at least a few hours each day for the animal to get to know him by voice, mannerism, smell and in the end touch.

Logic Dictates…
The greater the logic of the animal the harder they are to domesticate, this can be due to their independent nature or that they simply see through the two-leg’s stupid attempt at bribing them and that they just play along until they can get out.

5: 1 Year
4: 6 Months
3: 3 Months
2: 1,5 Months
1: 3 Weeks

Dicepool Modification
Animal Treats: +1D6
Safe Enviroment: +1D6
Animal Logic Above 1: -Logic Above 1
Awakened Animal: -1D6
Mistreated Animal: -1D6
Raised From Birth: +1D6 (If taken in the wilds these are simpler to domesticate)
Animal Trainer is Awakened: +1D6 (Astral Perception helps with understanding the animals state of mind)
Awakened Knowledge: +1D6 (Animal trainer have knowledge of awakened animals)

Lifestyle Modifications
Due to the requirements of having space for the animals a characters lifestyle cost is upped by 10% for each owned animal.

Animal Modified Gear
Gear adapted for animals cost 110% of base price. Mostly they require small modification like adding a collar or suchlike.

Animals can be taught many things and with AR they can be trained to almost anything combined with the right tools.

A lot of gear has been adapted by animal trainers and amongst them are the following:

Animal Contact lenses [Image Link for HUD commands and Icon recognition training]
Animal Earbuds
Animal Micro Transceiver
Safe Target System linked to animal HUD display to keep teammates safe

Wow, now I want a Hellhound pet for my Bolt Hole!

Right, immediately including this in my games. I'll tell you how it works if a player picks it up.

There are plenty of animal handling rules: +2 DV, +5 AP.

In seriousness, you don't think 3500¥ for a Barghest is a tad low?

Well, to a point but no clear rules on how you explain how a character gaine d small menagerie - I'll probably have to doublecheck the rules for animal handling and modify a lot of things but this is just something I pulled out of my ass in a quick brainstorm.

There are for example no table for buying animals.

Hehe, no, I was making a joke that all you need to handle animals is a shotgun. Nevermind.

Though I think Running Wild had a large list of prices and whatnot.

I knew there was a book i needed to buy. =P

I'll need to check that and see if i can delete this page then.

Honestly, it's one of those books that I've only looked through to get an idea of some of the pets or for a number of random critters and powers. I do like the idea of a skill associated with it, but perhaps it is in that book. I do know they have prices for Hellhounds and Barghests.

Running Wild included a new skill group for Animal Handling, the rules for training pets, the cost of said pets and a large list of interesting critters. Of particular interest to me was the section on dracoforms.

Mm, I'll have to look it up. I'll put a thorough reading of that book on my list after I'm done with some of the other backlog ones.

The gear ideas for crittters are very clever, though. I love the notion of contacts or a specific muzzle combined with a SafeTarget system that would allow you to have a crazed guard dog who can't tell you're there (for safety).