Taming animals

[theebie]

Hi,

how about changing the code of how to tame an animal.

my idea would be, that it'll work in several steps, like:
first (successful) try: "the inix sniffs at your hand, seeming curious"
second try: "the inix licks over your face as it recognizes you"
third try: "the inix bellows contentedly and hops on your lap, wanting to cuddle"
fouth try: "the inix allows you to climb on its back" (beeing rideable now)

there could be a minimum time between each stage, meaning that you need at least x game hours/days until you tamed a mount.

the whole thing would result in taming beeing more of a process over time, instead of just "you jump on it, done".

[Barsook]

Another taming thread? 

Anyways, I like this idea but I think the staff will say "no" to a skill like this.

[Nyr]

Regardless of whether the code is altered to make taming a more drawn-out process that has an inix crushing your pelvis with its superior size...

...if you do have the ability to tame mounts, I would suggest putting more effort into it in a roleplay sense than "mount inix".  This is one of those "it'd be nice, but..." sort of ideas.  It'd be nice to have expansive code backing everything that requires roleplay, but the first rule of the game is that this is a roleplay-enforced game.  There will always be a gap between what the code allows one to do ("taming is a short process") and what the spirit of the game calls for.  That gap should be bridged by roleplay until such a time (if any) that code assists it.

[Saellyn]

I almost feel like this is a slight joke only because he... he wants a two-ton lizard to hop into his lap.

[Scarecrow]

Fred Flintstone had that purple dinosaur jump in his lap and he didn't die, so why can't we?

On a more serious note...

I know very little about animal taming but the times I -have- seen it done, the person involved did emote things like the suggested above. It was pretty cool.

[FantasyWriter]

I wish there were a partial fail in there... something other than success or biteyurface.
Something like: "So and so backs away from you."
Biteyurface should still happen as often, but take some of the pass numbers and make them partial fails.

-my2cents

[slvrmoontiger]

I have to agree taming mounts should be completely RP'd out. Also, suggesting hours or days in the original post is confusing. Are you going to sit out there and wait two days to try and mount something or are you saying you rp the confidence of the mount for two days and then you try mounting it? If that's the case you can still emote the mount nuzzling up to you or what have you. If you are just going to turn around and leave there are a lot of problems with this: 1) How do you know its the same animal that you already tried? Wild mounts move, they forage and move around, they get attacked by other PCs/NPCs. I just think RPing it out would work better than doing a recode of the whole ride skill.

[Asche]

I would like animals to be tamed that might not be ridden. Maybe it means that the raptor stops trying to chew your face off. Maybe it means that you've got a new pet. My breeds especially would like this development, because a deep connection with a war beetle frankly feels silly. Is it affectionately eating food out of my hand with its terrifying mandibles? Really, the only mildly appropriate mount for emoting a 'connection' with seems a sunlon or maybe an inix, if you don't mind its roleplay being limited to a lazy rumble now and again. Now, if I could have a hawk sitting in the tavern on my shoulder, thats more interesting. It might not give me any coded benefit, but it would be awesome. Maybe I tame animals to be brought back for sale in the city. This was actually my first concept in the game. I wanted to play a half-elf ranger who tamed animals and brought them for sale. The code was hardly conductive. Now, am I saying my pet rat should be able to gnaw me free of my confines? No. I -am- saying that a breed Rinthi HAVING a pet rat would be both thematic and cool.

[manonfire]

I would like animals to be tamed that might not be ridden. Maybe it means that the raptor stops trying to chew your face off. Maybe it means that you've got a new pet. My breeds especially would like this development, because a deep connection with a war beetle frankly feels silly. Is it affectionately eating food out of my hand with its terrifying mandibles? Really, the only mildly appropriate mount for emoting a 'connection' with seems a sunlon or maybe an inix, if you don't mind its roleplay being limited to a lazy rumble now and again. Now, if I could have a hawk sitting in the tavern on my shoulder, thats more interesting. It might not give me any coded benefit, but it would be awesome. Maybe I tame animals to be brought back for sale in the city. This was actually my first concept in the game. I wanted to play a half-elf ranger who tamed animals and brought them for sale. The code was hardly conductive. Now, am I saying my pet rat should be able to gnaw me free of my confines? No. I -am- saying that a breed Rinthi HAVING a pet rat would be both thematic and cool.

This comment reminded me of a scene from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

After a while an animal - a deer perhaps - would appear from out of the trees and watch him cautiously. Ford would continue to smile at it, his eyes would soften and shine, and he would seem to radiate a deep and universal love, a love which reached out to embrace all of creation. A wonderful quietness would descend on the surrounding countryside, peaceful and serene, emanating from this transfigured man. Slowly the deer would approach, step by step, until it was almost nuzzling him, whereupon Ford Prefect would reach out to it and break its neck.

"Pheromone control," he said it was. "You just have to know how to generate the right smell."