Pet idea - Alpine Hound

[Mooshie]

We have all seen pictures of a St. Bernard with a cask around it's neck, and heard stories about how they were used to rescue folks in the Swiss mountains. The Snowpine Lodge gives me the sort of vibe that this is exactly the kind of thing they would do: rescue folks who have gotten into trouble in the wilds. Hence on the collecting herb missions for medicine, to help injured travelers.

How would this work? Maybe we get a whistle, or an ability to summon said dog. It does not have to be much beyond a flavor thing, as Snowpine is a minor guild anyway. Mechanically it could just be like a Blotling, not doing much beyond sitting there and panting. But, it's great for RP, and who would not want a cool rescue dog?

So, give us a rescue dog. Think of all the lives that can be saved. Think of all the small spaces they can crawl into and save lives. Think of the children.

[Rias]

I like the ideas of "vanity pets" in general, as long as they aren't super common. I think the main issues with them that would need to be figured out are:

- How do we make them not be combat-impacting? Even if they don't go on the offensive, having another target in the room to distract foes from you is a huge advantage.
- How do we make them not have a depressingly high death rate? I really do dislike how horses don't actually die when they ... die (my own fault, I made them that way - it was originally meant to be temporary while I tested the mounts system). I wouldn't want pets to just spontaneously reincarnate when they die (like horses, mutter mutter), but I wouldn't want them to be so lame that you can't take them anywhere because they'd likely die. Maybe cheat a bit and give them a huge bonus to avoiding combat altogether? Doesn't help with ranged attacks, though. But what about when that big invasions catches everyone off guard and they get overwhelmed? Tragic moment, I guess. It builds character, right? Maybe give them a dismissal where they disappear, but it's assumed they're still following, just at a safe distance or something. And you can call them back to you.
- How do we make it so not everyone and their dog (no pun intended) has one? It'd be kind of goofy if every single PC was walking around with pets all the time. Maybe only certain guilds would get pets that are actually suited to leaving homes/towns. Other people could get housepets, but they'd need a house. Otherwise they'd be liable to just run away.

Note that this decision isn't mine to make, nor can I code anything to make these happen. Just my own musings on the subject.

[Sneaky]

You can have two types of deaths.
1. Instantanious death.
This kind of death happens when a pet is hit with a particularly nasty hit, a one shot kill if you will. This kind of deatha pet cannot recover from. it's gone, and a new one would have to be aquired.
2. Near death experience. The animal takes a nasty hit, but not lethal, the pet runs away and licks its wounds until the owner calls it back out.
As far as making it skilled or unskilled, I'd say just give it 250 dodge, place it in tactics dodge, and allow it to gain skill as it is attacked and what not.