Forums of the Megaverse®

Hi everyone. I just wanted to know your opinions on our canine companions and the role they may play in your BTS groups. Do any players out there actually PLAY dogs? Anyone ever think that some dogs might be PSYCHIC? I think that adding a dog to a party can really enhance the play, *especially* if the dog is played by a player and NOT simply an NPC. But, NPC dogs could still add some fun, too, but I do think that more depth is gained when a player plays the dog.

Your thoughts? Also, check out the LAST PAGE of the "Handy Dandy Random Spooky Adventure Generator" if you'd like to *randomly* generate dogs for your group. It's a pretty comprehensive list, divided into an initial d6 roll (six categories of canines, each with 100 random hits). And, of course, there are some BTS-unique surprises on each table, especially the last.

Imagine having a courageous and brave Dachshund (wiener dog / hotdog dog) who is PYROKINETIC or a PSYCHIC SENSITIVE German Sheppard Police K-9 dog. OR a NEGA-PSYCHIC chihuahua --yikes! Could be a lotta fun for a group to stir things up by adding man's best friend into the mix. So, chime in here and/or check out the latest addition to the random generator.

Gallahan

Hound master from Dead reign can make a good pcc.
Dog,s can sense Supernatural beings.

Good point! I happen to have a Dachshund (wiener dog), and he's courageous. He is protective and a great "guard" dog, in that he barks ferociuosly when he hears something out of place, suspicious. But, he's not prone to excessive barking. He doesn't stare at empty space, as a rule. The other night, I was watching the latest remake of Evil Dead, and he began staring at the corner of the room, a book shelves there. Very unusual for him. I petted him to reassure him everything was okay and he went back to relaxing as I watched the horror movie. Then, he began staring at the corner AGAIN. This time growling under his breath. I was the only person up after midnight and quickly decided to maybe watch Evil Dead another time. After I turned it off, he went back to normal and didn't stare at th corner. To date, I haven't finished watching Evil Dead. LOL

I've never played a dog but I have used them as both player and GM in BtS. Usually because of their sensative nature to the supernatural. I even created one dog that was bred for its resistance to the supernatural.

I also give player owned dogs saving throws against spell and abilities that would otherwise control them.

Cybermancer wrote:I've never played a dog but I have used them as both player and GM in BtS. Usually because of their sensative nature to the supernatural. I even created one dog that was bred for its resistance to the supernatural.

I also give player owned dogs saving throws against spell and abilities that would otherwise control them.

Awesome, Cybermancer! None of my players ever played a dog (technically a wolf-hound or wolf). It was in Palladium Fantasy, and it was a druid's animal companion. He would play the wolf in combat situations, but when it came to the wolf reacting to him, the party and the world in general, I'd take care of that for the most part. It was a lot of fun. We had a three year campaign, and people got attached to the wolf. We had one last gaming session to cap-off the entire campaign, and afterwards I wrote a short story as a farewell to all the players and the characters that we grew to love. Shai-lunj, the wolf-hound, passed away in this story because of old age. But, his master had already entered that realm, and they were finally reunited.

Anyway, I'd never thought of giving a central role to a dog/wolf in BTS until creating these tables. I bet it would be a lot of fun in BTS and just about any genre because we humans LOVE our furry friends. If someone I know doesn't like dogs, be wary around them! Just kidding.

You know, if you used the rules for creating familiars from "Through the Glass Darkly", you could actually make a playable character. You wouldn't even need a mage, just have it be a familiar that survived their master's death. Maybe give them 30-50 PPE to spend on abilities.

I'm probably not the best one to ask; canine companions tend to be dinner to one of the many monsters in my game. Which is why my players use them long enough to track them or get warning of their presence and then keep them back as they go in.

In my eyes, dogs have the sense supernatural vibe and are more likely to run and cower than go beast mode on a creature, its why they have this particular sense.

mrloucifer wrote:I'm probably not the best one to ask; canine companions tend to be dinner to one of the many monsters in my game. Which is why my players use them long enough to track them or get warning of their presence and then keep them back as they go in.

In my eyes, dogs have the sense supernatural vibe and are more likely to run and cower than go beast mode on a creature, its why they have this particular sense.

Mr. L, you fantastic madman, you just gave me an idea for something new for BTS: the Canine Character Class (C.C.C.). You made a good point: most dogs would cower, flee and/or get eaten! BUT... What if CCCs could be like OCCsand PCCs. What if they had good attributes and psychic powers like those classes? But suffered from a lack of human language and intelligence (smart, but capped off at 12). That way, a player could play a CCC with a hope of not only contributing to an adventure, but have "staying power" for an entire campaign while adding another dimension to the horror story not previously offered by the 2nd Ed BTS rule book.

Gallahan wrote:Mr. L, you fantastic madman

Hmm... I've been called a lot of things, and a lot worse than this.

mrloucifer wrote:

Gallahan wrote:Mr. L, you fantastic madman

Hmm... I've been called a lot of things, and a lot worse than this.

LOL... Sorry, I only meant it as a compliment!

Hey, have you ever read Dean Koontz's novel WATCHERS? One of the main characters is a genetically modified golden retriever who's a genius. That brings us close to TMNT genetically modified mutants, but without the cartoonish aspect. That's another realm of canine characters, being naturally/unnaturally mutated and/or genetically altered. And then there ate PSYCHIC dogs, ghost hunter dogs, etc.

Watchers? wasn't there a movie of that? The dog was linked to a critter that killed whoever the dog was near? The critter used the dog as a psychic homing beacon. If I remember right the dog would be let loose behind enemy lines top be picked up or befriended by the enemy troops and the critter would then attack them by night. Might make a great plot for a game.

Mechghost wrote:Watchers? wasn't there a movie of that? The dog was linked to a critter that killed whoever the dog was near? The critter used the dog as a psychic homing beacon. If I remember right the dog would be let loose behind enemy lines top be picked up or befriended by the enemy troops and the critter would then attack them by night. Might make a great plot for a game.

Yes, you got it! --the movie was based on the Koontz novel. While the movie was enjoyable, read the page-turning novel for a spectacular treat!

I'm also thinking of running a story/adventure in BTS of a pack of stray dogs come together through a local community tragedy. They band together to investigate "something" going around killing humans (and their masters). They discover this "thing/entity" and must defeat it somehow. This might also work in Dead Reign and/or Palladium Fantasy.

wait wait wait!!! A dog...in a horror themed game..doing investigative work..???

Jinkies, this could go bad in a hurry!

Would they do it for one Scooby Snack?

Like, Zoiks Mr. Loucifer. I don't know man. The whole idea sounds pretty spooky to me.

TMNT / ATB / HU all have rules for intelligent mutant animals if you wanted to play a dog, they don't necessarily need to be made humanoid, not doing so actually frees up Bio-E to spend on other stuff like psionics.

The Bounders from After the Bomb (the second version, a standalone game) would probably work well as PC dogs.

LOL Nate and Mr. L... !

I loved/love Scooby Doo!

Gallahan wrote:LOL Nate and Mr. L... !

I loved/love Scooby Doo!

I'm so glad to see you're still alive (and posting) that I don't even mind that you just replied to a comment that is over a year old.

Of course, rabies and certain forms of supernatural possession may be difficult to tell apart. Learn to tell the difference and have contingency plans for either if you want to keep your canine character around longer.
Monsters with a pestilence aspect may use or harbor fleas and ticks as convenient carriers. Invest heavily in vermin control/prevention. There is no such thing as 'overkill' when it comes to a good flea or tick collar, short of 'lays down curtains of FIRE around wearer'.
Microchip your buddy, too. Might be a good idea to microchip your human teammates too.

In Chaos Earth they can do MDC to any supernatural creatures. I wonder if in Beyond that would let them do stuff like bypass natural AR or bite intangible entities...

I'm thinking of adding a Dog as an NPC member of the group in a BTS game I'm planning.
Might designate one player as the 'owner' so they can give the Dog basic instruction, but it will be an NPC and not a player for sure.

Always-on see the invisible / sense evil / sense magic /sixth sense / empathy with range boosted from 120/140/120/90/100 to 600 makes cats/dogs/horses pretty amazing allies.