Animal Handling
(Calm Animal, Train Animal, Specific Animal Type)
This skill allows a character to interact with animals. This can be used to calm them down when they are aggressive, train them to do your bidding, or trick them to do something for you. The difficulty of the test will be determined by many factors: the attitude of the animal towards the character, the intelligence of the animal, the length of time the character has access to the animal, and the difficulty of the training or trick involved.
Calm Animal
This use of Animal Handling is used exactly like Diplomacy checks for changing the attitude of NPCs. This is discussed in the chapter on Adventuring.
| Animal Attitude | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Helpful | Extremely Easy (5+) |
| Friendly | Easy (9+) |
| Indifferent | Average (12+) |
| Unfriendly | Hard (15+) |
| Hostile | Very Hard (18+) |
There are also additional modifiers that are taken into consideration:
| Conditions | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Animal is in pain | (flip-1) |
| Animal is protecting territory or young | (shift-1) |
| Character has food or treats | (shift+1) |
| Animal is familiar with the character | (flip+1) |
If the check is successful, the animal’s attitude shifts one step toward Friendly. If it fails, the animal’s attitude may worsen, potentially becoming aggressive or attacking.
Train Animal
Train Animal is used when teaching an animal specific tricks, commands, or behaviors. Training usually requires time, respect from the animal, and consideration of the animal’s intelligence.
| Task Difficulty | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Basic Commands (Sit, Stay, Fetch) (1 day) | Easy (9+) |
| Intermediate Tricks (Jump, Play Dead, Follow Simple Gestures) (1 week) | Average (12+) |
| Advanced Tricks (Attack Specific Targets, Complex Sequences) (1 month) | Hard (15+) |
| Specialized Behaviors (Rescue, Scout, Complex Tool Use) (3+ months) | Very Hard (18+) |
There are also additional modifiers that are taken into consideration:
| Modifiers | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Animal has low intelligence | (shift-1) |
| Training time is less than required | (flip-1) |
| Animal has been previously trained | (shift+1) |
| Use of training aids (clickers, treats) | (flip+1) |
Success means the animal learns the trick or command and will perform it reliably when asked. Failure indicates the animal may be confused, inconsistent, or resistant to learning the behavior.
Specific Animal Type
This specialization allows a character to focus on a particular type of animal (e.g., dogs, birds of prey, cats, horses). When dealing with this type of animal, the character gains a bonus to Animal Handling check. This bonus applies to all subcategories of Animal Handling (Calm Animal, Train Animal) when dealing with the specified type of animal.