Shadowrun Pub
Shadowrun RPG => SR3 (Shadowrun 3rd Edition) General Discussion => Topic started by: BornKrazi on March 04, 2007, 09:37:18 PM
-
Now I read in one of the sourcebooks about you being able to own a drone that resembles a common house cat or dog if you prefer. So naturally I'd assume you could own the real one pending GM approval. My question is just what Critters are you allowed to own, or is it all pending a GM approval and a great background story on to how you'd own one? Obviously you wouldn't have a dragon chillin in your house as a pet, but what if you wanted a Blackberry Cat (which I've read in a SR novel that some people did own them), or perhaps a Cerberus Hound for protection. I personally thought it would be cool to have a Domovoi (Critters p.26), but I would use him purely for roleplaying purposes. Although I'd imagine at a high enough force level he'd make for a pretty good "security system".
-
In researching my character, Ark, I learned that Domovoi is russian for "Man of the house." which you could relate to a hearth spirit. They are generally benevolent and useful, like brownies or pixies of western mythology. But there are some bad Domovoi too. Learning is fun!
-
You know, I had a three paragraph response to this topic on why that is a REALLY bad idea. But somehow the board ate the fraggin' thing. So I'l l just say that owning and housing what amounts to an exotic wild animal is a BAD IDEA.
Gabriel
-
My blackberry cat likes where he lives. He says I should go get him some more cat food...
-kv
-
Obviously I see the cons, but you know there is always a backstory to how they owned them. Perhaps if they found them as a youngin after slayin the mother, they probably wouldn't be as "aggressive" towards them. I dunno it was just an idea...
-
The problem I see with critter pets are that the ones who have the coolest powers are the ones who definitely don't want to be owned.
-kv
-
Notice to guests! Don't pet the cockatrice, or feed the Barghest!
-
Well, let's look at this in a real world kind of way. How many people do you know who actually own a bengal tiger. Or how about owning a Rocky Mountain timber wolf? Or a full gorwn grizzly bear? No one. And you knwo why? Because they are wild animals and that makes them very dangerous. And even if you could get one, which is difficult but certainly not impossible, you would have to provide a natural habitat of some kind. You can't have a wolf living in the house, or a bengal tiger curling up on you in the middle of the night.
It works the same with paracritters. ALL paracritters. Blackburry Cats and Tallis Cats might be able to slip through the cracks simply because they are so mundane in appearance most of the time. I could even see a Gabriel Hound (maybe) being kept as a pet if it was taken early enough. But you always run the risk of having one of these critters freaking out and going for your throat. Any company/government who uses these things does it with handlers, not owners.
Just keep it in mind that if you let any of your PC's get something like this that they don't live close to anyone else. Trying to get a hellhound into an appartment is nothing compared to trying to get out once the building is in flames.
Gabriel
PS - Blackburry Cats tend to pick who they want to live with, not the other way around.
-
acturly knew a guy that has a mountian lion as pet that lives in his house
-
How did I know someone would throw some comment like that in. How many others can say they know someone who owns a wild animal?
Gabriel
-
Depends on what you consider a wild animal? Like the stray cat Tigger who lives outside that one day will make it into my house. Or the llamas these people have in the town next to mine and milk them?
-
Hmmm, that's just like the lady that lives like my grandma. She has Sugar Glider's (flying squirrels). They are cool as drek, they are so little and they climb in your hair and they hide so well you wouldnt even notice them. Ask Krazi, he saw them. They named them Peaches and georgia.. ;D
-
Yes, but they don't blow fire or hypnotise your or mimic other animales or eat your face off.
Gabriel
-
okay, so they dont have too.
-
I think the point he was trying to make is that tree squirrels, while sometimes annoying, aren't going to roast you with a fireball, or possess your mind and have you jump off a cliff or anything.
I know people who have cats, but not a one of those cats can kill someone.
-kv
-
yea, this is true... It would be cool if they could blow fire though.... :D
-
You know Nike, Tuck probably would've killed someone given the chance...and I know my cat before that Sammy was constantly trying to kill people (a scientific experiment gone horribly wrong that cat was)...yet I get your point...
-
yea Tuck probally would have...
-
That cat was the most vicious son of a slitch I've ever known, yet could be as gentle as a kitten when he wanted.
R.I.P. Tuck
-
I don't know about cats, man. I've seen old ladies channel cat hordes like a veteran cowboys wrangling cattle. I'm pretty sure they're battle trained for swarm tactics.
Like fuzzy Zerglings. . .
-
Cats are dangerous man I'm telling you. I agree with you totally. Like that movie Jeepers Creepers, that lady had an army of cats ready to go. Something mystical about them, they say they are the link between our plane and the next...
-
Has anyone saw the movie "Stray Cats" I thought it was pretty cool....There were cats galore.Lemme tell ya they tore some people up..
-
Getting back to the point, I probably wouldn't allow a paracritter as a pet - mainly because few paracritters are domesticated.
If the character had a decent backstory (or somehow managed to do it in-game) and had a high enough Animal Husbandry skill (5+ or so, at least), then I might consider it. Mostly it would be a roleplaying thing, though, as few runners regularly have people over to their house.
As a roleplaying thing, there would be lots of aspects to consider: what does it eat? How often does it need to be walked? What does it do when the runner is not around? What arrangements does the runner have in place if they need to go to hospital for an extended period?
If both you and your player are willing to put the effort in, then by all means do. I suspect the player may find it more trouble than it's worth, but that's the wonderful thing about roleplaying.
-
you know Krazi, I am starting to miss Tuck. He finally got use to me :'(
-
... but that's the wonderful thing about roleplaying.
Exactly ;D
-
I was always waiting for one of my players to buy a hellhound puppy so I could show them the error of their way.
Gabriel
-
Turn them into toast?
-
Not to mention that they would attraction too much attention from the neighbors, would be crazy expensive.
Although that begs the question of how the corps own them?
Are there paracritter zoos? Petshops? Kennels?
Any 2060 era Croc hunters? RIP Steve. . .
-
Um... yeah. The Fort Lewis Zoo in the canon books has a huge paranormal animal exibit. In fact, they have a run set up IN the Fort Lewis Zoo that I've run before. And yes, there are profesional parabiological aquesition corporations. In fact, I've dealt with one in-game on the same run as the zoo. There is a fairly large market for parabiologicals in the security field. But again, these are not pets, these are controlled wild animals. Talk to a zoo-keeper about this and they will tell you that they can be cuddly with certain animals at certain times, but they are always on their guard since the animals are not, by any means, domesticated.
Gabriel
-
Not to mention that they would attraction too much attention from the neighbors, would be crazy expensive.
Although that begs the question of how the corps own them?
Many corps have extraterritority[sp] status, so can do whatever they like on their own premises. This includes keeping paracritters for whatever purpose they like.
For other corps, they may hire security services from another corp that is licensed to handle paracritters and use them for security purposes for their clients. Some corps would take the trouble to register their use of paracritters for security purposes with the relevant authority, and spend the appropriate nuyen to house, feed and train those critters.
One thing to keep in mind is that paracritters used for security are (usually) trained to some degree, unlike those found in the zoo. After all, while it's fine to munch on intruding shadowrunners, the critters need to know not to eat the CEO or his staff, or the animal (and the handler) would probably not live to COB.
-
Very true. I guess in the end it all boils down to who the GM and how good of a story you have. Plus for me, as a GM, would require at least a 2 point dependency flaw...would that seem fair enough?
-
I would say more being as the critter requires more care than even a child and not like you can ask the nabior to watch it
-
Actually, I wouldn't give a PC a flaw for this, roleplaying should be all the balance on this you need. Some in-game pressure is enought o have the PC get the point and be able to run with it.
Gabriel
-
Right and under normal conditions with normal runners I'd agree with you, but we are talking about MY runners, who are abnormal, who think roleplaying is merely telling me who they are going to shoot at...
-
Then let them get a critter. Then have them make an animal handling roll everytime they actually interact with it. If they fail, the critter attacks them. If they get all 1's, then they get attacked by surprise and can't dodge or use combat pool for an entire round.
Gabriel
-
LOL I don't forsee them attempting that anytime soon. But I'll keep it in mind.
-
Hey, when they (or you) try it, just remember who gave you the killling idea.
Gabriel
-
Oh most definately...I'll even name them Gabe so that I won't forget ;)
-
Damn straight!
Gabriel, Harbenger of Doom
-
Perhaps I'll pick a newt or something that would be more suitable for the title of 'Gabe'
-
Nope. It's got to be something like a Hellhound or Tallis Cat. I'm a cat person, personally, so I'd prefer the cat.
Gabriel
-
Well perhaps I'll name him Gabe Snowball or something... ;D
-
Snoball??? YUCK!!!! :crazy:
Gabriel
-
Well he needs a pretty name...I mean it's a cat. Would you prefer Gabe the Great?
-
I think you hurt Gabe's visual imaging systems when you mentioned a "snowball."
If you don't know what it is, watch the original "Clerks" movie.
-kv
-
Oh that's why I picked snowball ;)
-
Then... that's just gross.
-kv
-
...I don't believe I've seen that movie..?
-
I havent seen that movie either, what is it about?
-
Well from what I know about a "snowball" is basically a dude swallowing his own cum. And I figured Gabe was down with that after reading all the gay tendencies... ;)
-
*shudder*
Yeah, but it's grosser than that. The guy lets the partner do the business on them, and then has them spit it into HIS mouth, so that he can swallow it.
It actually led to 'The Question' in the movies when a girl casually explains this to her boyfriend, after calling a guy 'Snowball,' and suddenly he's rather upset, and wants to know how many guys she's been with.
Anyway, grossness. I'm glad Krazi explained it, so I didn't have to. Sort of.
-kv
-
I wish I would never asked, lol :)
-
You and me both.
-kv
-
lol
-
C'mon now...be comfortable with your manhood to be able to talk about it. It's not like you are participating in it...are you?
-
If he was, he wouldn't admit to it. And besides, naming an animal for an act like that insinuates taht you pratice the said act on that animal. And that's just uncalled for.
Gabriel
-
Yeah that's true. So maybe I'll keep it short and sweet with just Gabe. But it's not my fault if I gotta put him down when/if he turns on me!
-
lol
-
There you go, easier to chisle on the tombstone like that.
Gabriel
-
'Gabe'
'2064-2064'
'Here lies the most ferious beast a man could shoot'
Something like that?
-
Hehehehe, yeah, that sounds about right.
Gabriel, Cat-Loving Elf
-
And see you still have a sweet side...must be all the troll loving you receive!
-
No, you're thinking of Kid_Vid and his "Girlfriend" Chuck.
Gabriel
-
;D
-
Please Gabe, I know some people here want to, but could we keep the yaoi to a minimum here?
-
Yeah Gabe why you always gotta go off topic. Sheesh I should smite you for that!
-
Hypocricy = Smiting
So, what did you decide about allowing critters to be bought in your game, then?
Gabriel
-
Did Krazi get smited again?
-
At least the runners aren't keeping fellow meta-humans as pets. . . ;)
-
You mean like gimps??
Gabriel
-
Well when/if I come across a runner who wants one, I'd probably allow it depending on their background story. Then just make their life hell depending on what they picked...