Cats and Dogs

[Reiloth]

Alright, let's get down to business. This has been bugging me for 12+ years.

1. Are there common dogs (even if wild, and not domesticated) in Allanak?

2. Are there common cats (even if wild, and not domesticated) in Allanak?

3. Can PCs own/pretend to own a (even slightly feral) dog or cat?

4. If the answers are no to the above, why?

[Jihelu]

From what I know
1: I do not think Dogs exist actually
2: I do not think your average house cat would exist. Panthers, like in that picture on the krathis pic, do exist.
3: Since they don't exist lol no. I would imagine having a gortok, if near the north, would be fine though. Do remember you'll be play fighting/serious fighting it for dominance. I wouldnt recommend making friends with lions for pets though. Go tame a Quirri and pray it doesn't attack you tho.
4: Because desert life is hard.
Cat like:

http://armageddon.org/help/view/Kalich

http://armageddon.org/help/view/Rantarri

http://armageddon.org/images/biscuits_krathivengeance.jpg

http://armageddon.org/help/view/Quirri

Dog like animals:

http://armageddon.org/help/view/Gortok

http://armageddon.org/help/view/Bamuk (they have a canine like snout but arent really dog like I dont think)


I also wouldn't use the phrase 'cat like' or 'dog like' ic unless they do exist. Canine/Feline like works tho.

[Dunetrade55]

On the off chance there are cats, can I RP a catgirl?

[Jihelu]

On the off chance there are cats, can I RP a catgirl?

No one said you couldn't mutate cat ears like the otaku you are

[Pale Horse]

Alright, let's get down to business. This has been bugging me for 12+ years.

1. Are there common dogs (even if wild, and not domesticated) in Allanak?

2. Are there common cats (even if wild, and not domesticated) in Allanak?

3. Can PCs own/pretend to own a (even slightly feral) dog or cat?

4. If the answers are no to the above, why?

1. There are no common canine creatures in Allanak.
2. There are no common feline creatures in Allanak.
3. As there are no common canine/feline equivilants in Allanak, I would say that if you did, it would be either very jarring IG or you would need to be a PC in the position to own such a rare creature.
4. The felines and cannines of Zalanthas are of the tear-your-face-off variety.  There have been attempts at domestication, IG, and they have met with varying degrees of success.  None of the successful attempts have lead to the sort of creatures which would be able to live within the confines of a city without being hunted for the next meal or hunting the inhabitants for their next meal.

In the far distant past of Zalanthas, I think domesticated animals were far more common.  Animals like cats and dogs.  With the conditions of the world as they are, now, anything that didn't turn feral and adapt, fast, probably went extinct.

[Pale Horse]

On the off chance there are cats, can I RP a catgirl?

It's happened.

Forced storage happened.

Please don't.

[nauta]

I also wouldn't use the phrase 'cat like' or 'dog like' ic unless they do exist. Canine/Feline like works tho.

Beyond kalich, quirri and rantarri -- which are described as feline -- there is a 'statue of a cat' in the game, and also a <secrets> upon which are depicted what I take to be cat people -- although the term 'cat' doesn't appear.

As a newbie, I thought there were cats since there was this statue of a cat in our clan compound.

[Desertman]

Didn't read the rest of the replies.

Some people have quirri pets. They are exotic. They are sort of the closest things we would have to a pet cat.

Some people have had/probably still have pet gortoks of some sort. That is probably as close as you are getting to a dog.


I would be interested in seeing a multi-generation breeding program put in by some enterprising noble/merchant to specifically capture and breed in captivity multiple strains of each of these species while focusing on the traits that make them better pets.

Making them more docile/possibly smaller/less aggressive by breeding only those individuals who show those qualities over several generations.

Would be an interesting side-project for some noble/merchant.

In fact, feel free to steal this nobles/merchants/whoever. It can be something you work on/have people work on/hire people to help you work on in the background of your PC and their overall real goals. (Since it would be virtual in a lot of ways and not something you would really devote your main attention to, because that would get boring quickly probably.)

[nauta]

Some people have had/probably still have pet gortoks of some sort. That is probably as close as you are getting to a dog.

Winrothol (I believe) had a guard gortok in Tuluk last year or whenever, which I think acted pettishly.

[Reiloth]

I guess the confusing thing to me is the 'evolution' of dogs as scavengers, so becoming Man's Best Friend was born out of harsh climates and the inability to get food themselves, relying instead on the scraps of man. (This is a vague bullshit outline, don't quote me Stephen Hawking).

So in my mind, I don't feel like it's ever been officially addressed. Sure -- We come up with reasons why there wouldn't be dogs or cats in Zalanthas, and the reasons aren't bad ones. Harsh desert climate covers most of the bases (even though there are packs of wild dogs in many Middle Eastern cities, and even moreso in tropical/hot places like Mexico). They're even food in places like China.

It seems like a hole in the original game design that isn't a huge deal, so there isn't any official documentation on it.

It's also curious to me that a city can be full of rats without cats to control the population / balance the ecosystem.

[Raptor_Dan]

Rinthi's and elves control the rat population. That is why rat-tail soup is a delicacy.

[BadSkeelz]

I guess the confusing thing to me is the 'evolution' of dogs as scavengers, so becoming Man's Best Friend was born out of harsh climates and the inability to get food themselves, relying instead on the scraps of man. (This is a vague bullshit outline, don't quote me Stephen Hawking).

So in my mind, I don't feel like it's ever been officially addressed. Sure -- We come up with reasons why there wouldn't be dogs or cats in Zalanthas, and the reasons aren't bad ones. Harsh desert climate covers most of the bases (even though there are packs of wild dogs in many Middle Eastern cities, and even moreso in tropical/hot places like Mexico). They're even food in places like China.

It seems like a hole in the original game design that isn't a huge deal, so there isn't any official documentation on it.

It's also curious to me that a city can be full of rats without cats to control the population / balance the ecosystem.

Whenever I notice a hole like that I tend to chalk it up to Zalanthas being a post-cataclysmic world where the natural ecosystem or historical trending is out of whack. Maybe domesticated canines existed in the distant past, but they were all toy breeds unable to survive society collapse.

Gortoks are something a food animal in game, as anyone who's played in the North can attest. We're just not raising them in cages (or if we are, it's virtual and hidden even more than chalton ranching).

Roving packs of alley dogs would be a nice addition to the streets of Allanak, just to add a little more life and death.  Although I do think you'd have to address the problems with NPC soldiers first, especially their prevalence.

[Reiloth]

Rinthi's and elves control the rat population. That is why rat-tail soup is a delicacy.

I mean, in a city, there are a lot of rats. Traditionally, cats take care of most of them. A city without cats and only rats? Would be chalk full of rats, despite an elf/rinth's appetites.

It's one of things we have to either agree there are 'virtually cats' or there would literally be rats everywhere.

Even a Zalanthan equivalent would, I suppose, make me happy. It's just a weird 'plot hole' I see in the scheme of Zalanthas. Basic ecosystem. Which makes places like the Rinth or Allanak appear more 'cardboard' than they should be.

[nauta]

If we shift the discussion to: Should there be cats and dogs on Zalanthas?  My answer would probably be 'no', and here's why (basically the 'sandwich' argument):

I think the absence of cats/dogs as pets brings to light the the fact that we are in a very different world from earth.  We have a pet-seller in Allanak who sells all sorts of strange pets, which I think bring out how whacked out Zalanthas is.

We need to get rid of songbirds, tho' -- feed them tainted sandwiches or something.

[BadSkeelz]

Even a Zalanthan equivalent would, I suppose, make me happy. It's just a weird 'plot hole' I see in the scheme of Zalanthas. Basic ecosystem.

Roof snakes? They have to eat something.

[Jihelu]

I'd like there to be some actual 'semi sentient' pet like creature you can buy/have.
Like a rat but smart.

Think dog like intelligence but with Zalanthian characteristics.

[BadSkeelz]

I'd like there to be some actual 'semi sentient' pet like creature you can buy/have.
Like a rat but smart.

Think dog like intelligence but with Zalanthian characteristics.

They're called dwarves.

[Jihelu]

I'd like there to be some actual 'semi sentient' pet like creature you can buy/have.
Like a rat but smart.

Think dog like intelligence but with Zalanthian characteristics.

They're called dwarves.

I can't even disagree with this.

[Reiloth]

I guess in my mind, seeing a whole bunch of roof snakes would be way more jarring than some cats and dogs.

[BadSkeelz]

That's your reality-normative-chauvinism talking. The weirder Zalanthas is the better.

[Reiloth]

 

[BadSkeelz]

Kiddiiiiing.

Just trying to make the point that for here, "jarring" is good. It helps drive home the fact that this a different world than our owns. It'd be weird to see the first time, but I think we'd gradually grow immersed over time.

[Reiloth]

Kiddiiiiing.

Just trying to make the point that for here, "jarring" is good. It helps drive home the fact that this a different world than our owns. It'd be weird to see the first time, but I think we'd gradually grow immersed over time.

I think we could be a little more creative than 'roof snakes'.

[Jihelu]

Kiddiiiiing.

Just trying to make the point that for here, "jarring" is good. It helps drive home the fact that this a different world than our owns. It'd be weird to see the first time, but I think we'd gradually grow immersed over time.

I think we could be a little more creative than 'roof snakes'.

Someone has to keep the elves from getting up there, roof snakes is just the easiest way.

[BadSkeelz]

Kiddiiiiing.

Just trying to make the point that for here, "jarring" is good. It helps drive home the fact that this a different world than our owns. It'd be weird to see the first time, but I think we'd gradually grow immersed over time.

I think we could be a little more creative than 'roof snakes'.

They already exist, so it's reasonable to assume they're doing as real snakes do and eating at least some of the rats.

I've also seen echoes of tarantulas and other large spiders in Allanak - not "eight cords across" large, but closer to real life sizes. Something else to be preying on the rats.

Maybe kagors could establish themselves in the alleys or sewer systems.