Animal Training

A PC who has the Lore (Animals) skill may use their knowledge to train an animal. Training an animal allows it to perform one of the tricks listed below.

A wild animal must first be broken or domesticated to receive training. [Dogs] and horses purchased from town do not need to be broken or domesticated.

A horse or dog may learn up to three tricks at a time, each one taking at least a week to attempt to instill the trick in them. The training rolls themselves should be made using Riding, Tactics, Persuasion, or Survival depending on the animal and the desired training. To successfully get a trick to stick, a character must make an animal training roll.

An animal trainer must have their animals living on the same property as them in order to keep the training fresh. They must pay to build a kennel or stable for their animals. If the kennel or stable is located elsewhere that the character doesn't have regular access to these animals, there is a risk of them losing these tricks rolled once a week.

These animals must be cared for as well. The The costs involved in feeding the animals depends on their diet and their size.

• Come and Heel: This issue is more than just having an animal return when you call it. This command will cause the animal to act against its own desires. The animal will come to you, even if you are standing in a dangerous place. The animal will sit and stay still, even if it really wants to go kill that goblin.

• Attack: This command will cause the creature to mercilessly attack who- or whatever you are directing it toward. Teaching the animal this trick also allows them to add your proficiency bonus to their attacks. It is unlikely to relent until the target is ruined, or a come and heel command is given.

• Fetch: This command will send the animal to strive to obtain whatever you are directing it toward. If the animal cannot do it, (like say you told a rat to fetch a greatsword) it will attempt to open up any barriers which prevent you from getting it yourself.

• Ride: If the animal is at least one size larger than you, (or some other person in your company) and of appropriate anatomy, it can be trained to be a mount. Prior to this training, the animal just acts of its own accord, tolerating your presence on its back. Just because it is trained does not necessarily mean that you know how to ride it though.

• Perform: This is one amusing trick your animal does. A back flip on command, playing dead, speaking on command, etc. When used for practical purposes, this is the same as the animal having the perform skill.

• Find: The animal can use its unique senses to search for things and track/hunt a mark. In practice, this functions as a guaranteed group check between yourself and the animal for the same task- this is almost like advantage, but the two die can have different modifiers- even penalties- and your proficiency only applies to your die.

• Enlighten: You spend a great deal of time getting the animal to understand the subtleties of your expression, such that it has a higher understanding of people and what they are talking about. This training also improves the general fitness of the animal. As an example, an unenlightened animal will feel good if you talk to it in a happy tone, even if your words are harsh, but an enlightened animal will get the hint that you're being facetious. This is represented by a one-time +1 intelligence bonus adjustment for the animal, as well as a +4 bonus to hit points.

• Work: The animal can be trained to carry, haul, and tow loads. While you could theoretically strap bags to the side of most any animal, this also applies to things like pulling carts, drawing a line to lift a load by a pulley, or tilling with a plow, which actually do normally require some training to be done well.

• Help: Your animal has been trained to remember directions and the locations of important things- like people. If you are ever injured or lost, you could send your animal to seek help- it will always return to you. Animals trained in this trick will also find their way to you if you are separated.

• Talent.: This teaches the animal a skill or tool proficiency. It is up to the DM if the proficiency is something the animal can learn. For example, using a harp may seem doable for a large rat, but using a kettle drum would not. Likewise, training a horse to use its senses better for a perception proficiency makes more sense than teaching it knowledge: arcana. The animal uses your proficiency bonus.

• Deliver: You have taught the animal how to navigate its way back to known settlements, and return to you, as well as how to carry and deliver messages and small parcels.

• Hunt: Predatory animals, such as hawks or dogs, can be taught to hunt on their own and bring the kill back to you, rather than eating it for themselves. This is the same as the animal foraging independently of you.

• Track: You can train dogs and similar animals to track something or someone based on a scent given to them along with a command. At that point, you may rely on the animal's Survival skill for tracking your quarry or gain Advantage on your own Survival skill for the purposes of tracking.