Cats?

[RogueGunslinger]

I find cats to be very zalanthan, honestly.

[Wasteland Raider]

rabble rabble rabble get off my lawn

[Delirium]

cats = egypt = zalanthas

get off MY lawn you stupid kid

[hyzhenhok]

cats = egypt = zalanthas

get off MY lawn you stupid kid

Odd urge: dwarven sorcerer who unleashes ten plagues upon Allanak to try to win the freedom of the dwarven slave population

[Potaje]

cats = egypt = zalanthas

get off MY lawn you stupid kid

Odd urge: dwarven sorcerer who unleashes ten plagues upon Allanak to try to win the freedom of the dwarven slave population

+1

[Intrepid]

Life in the cities has always been markedly different from life in the wilderness.  Nothing can further truly delineate and exhibit that difference quite like domesticated animals.  And they certainly don't have to be nice and fluffy, but frankly... if there were noble lapdog type creatures, exotic and unusual animals that wouldn't survive an hour outside the gates, it would just serve to further the notion of how different cities are from the wilderness.

[hyzhenhok]

Life in the cities has always been markedly different from life in the wilderness.  Nothing can further truly delineate and exhibit that difference quite like domesticated animals.  And they certainly don't have to be nice and fluffy, but frankly... if there were noble lapdog type creatures, exotic and unusual animals that wouldn't survive an hour outside the gates, it would just serve to further the notion of how different cities are from the wilderness.

I can see how you could argue there should be cats or cat-like domesticates, as Zalanthan cities are crawling with vermin.

But as pets? That is largely a modern phenomenon. Domesticates that are kept for pleasure and serve no useful purpose are an anachronism.

[Potaje]

if there were domesticated animals in Nak, I ,as a rinthi, would hunt, steal and eat them.

[Intrepid]

I can see how you could argue there should be cats or cat-like domesticates, as Zalanthan cities are crawling with vermin.

But as pets? That is largely a modern phenomenon. Domesticates that are kept for pleasure and serve no useful purpose are an anachronism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basenji#History

Thousands of years, my friend.  And there's a wide belief among students of the Paleolithic Era that dogs were domesticated before humans.

Animals were bred for certain tasks.  They don't need to be limited to pets by any means, but I could see a few ending up in noble possession.  Some animals could serve as additional vermin, while others could be hunting aids or beasts of burden.  And for a city like Nak especially, where the nobles are exotic and far removed from the masses, I could see their pets being similar.  And that's nothing to say for gladiatorial beasts; they need not all be from the wilderness, after all.

[Cind]

one time, some teenage guy in tuluk had a vnpc wooden box with a caterpillar in it. it was the only thing he was nice to as far as i can tell. it was also my first encounter with a codedly nonexistent prop. thought it was Neat.

what about those lion-like creatures called kiyet lions? i keep the animals doc page open for when i'm playing rangers, and there's a couple of animals that seem like big cats. rantarris?

[hyzhenhok]

I can see how you could argue there should be cats or cat-like domesticates, as Zalanthan cities are crawling with vermin.

But as pets? That is largely a modern phenomenon. Domesticates that are kept for pleasure and serve no useful purpose are an anachronism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basenji#History

Thousands of years, my friend.  And there's a wide belief among students of the Paleolithic Era that dogs were domesticated before humans.

Animals were bred for certain tasks.  They don't need to be limited to pets by any means, but I could see a few ending up in noble possession.  Some animals could serve as additional vermin, while others could be hunting aids or beasts of burden.  And for a city like Nak especially, where the nobles are exotic and far removed from the masses, I could see their pets being similar.  And that's nothing to say for gladiatorial beasts; they need not all be from the wilderness, after all.

Dogs of this type were originally kept for hunting small game by coursing.

Looks like you're supporting me here.

[musashi]

I wouldn't mind if there were small cat-like pets ... of the object to wear on your shoulder/forearms/wrist variety.

Actual mobs that follow you around though? Meh. Get a mount.

[Qzzrbl]

I wish wearable animals could be coded to run away/get killed when their owners get attacked.

[musashi]

At the risk of a small derail, it's hilarious to see people walking around with a stained hawk on their shoulder because they tried to clean blood off it unsuccessfully.

[Intrepid]

Dogs of this type were originally kept for hunting small game by coursing.

Looks like you're supporting me here.

Actually, I'm more suggesting a broader world that would include any kind of breeding and training of animals for domestication--including pets.

[hyzhenhok]

Dogs of this type were originally kept for hunting small game by coursing.

Looks like you're supporting me here.

Actually, I'm more suggesting a broader world that would include any kind of breeding and training of animals for domestication--including pets.

But unless you have a thorough system allowing such domesticated animals to perform the jobs for which there were theoretically domesticated, they are just toys and ornaments. That is anachronistic for all but the wealthiest Zalanthans. The game isn't missing much for not having them.

And my impression is that actually domesticated animals (except for chalton, I guess?) don't really exist on Zalanthas. Tamed and domesticated are not the same.

My guess is that even those Zalanthan animals that can theoretically be tamed are generally too dangerous or unpredictable to have around on a leash in public or in your home. That's why Zalanthan pets are limited to birds and insects.

[Cutthroat]

At the risk of a small derail, it's hilarious to see people walking around with a stained hawk on their shoulder because they tried to clean blood off it unsuccessfully.

It's even worse seeing them dip the hawk in a vat of cleaning fluid...

Re. the topic at hand: there is/have been an interesting variety of domesticated animals in-game. All of the felnes in-game aren't really like the domesticated house cat we know and love RL today. Same with canine-type animals in-game, and domesticated dogs on Earth. That said, to me, having a pet gortok would be like having a pet coyote/wolf, or a pet quirri would be like a six-legged bobcat (we know this because the docs say pet quirri are potentially unpredictable animals).

All that said, there are organizations in-game that may specialize in animal husbandry/domestication. What animals do they work with best? Find out IG.

[Nao]

And my impression is that actually domesticated animals (except for chalton, I guess?) don't really exist on Zalanthas. Tamed and domesticated are not the same.

I'm pretty sure all the mount animals are domesticated. Erdlus are kept on farms for eggs. Breeding them and training them early on makes more sense than catching a wild animal whenever you need a new mount. And if beasts are consistently raised by humans, they'll become domesticated eventually.

I can also see cats or small insect eaters being kept to keep the vermin away. Although there wouldn't be any left in 'nak after the famine.

[musashi]

Yeah, that's why animals you buy at stables are branded. They're bred.

We have domesticated animals in Zalanthas. It's just that cats and dogs aren't among them.

[hyzhenhok]

As dubious as domesticating giant lizards and insects is, I'll bow to your superior knowledge here.

[Ouroboros]

I, too, take things out of an equation, to give it more fullness, and make it appear richer.

[Qzzrbl]

Zalanthans seem pretty ass backwards when it comes to taming animals.

Inix? Big f'cking lizard, take your head off. We ride these.

Beetle? Big f'cking bug, take your head off. We ride these.

Erdlu? Big f'cking bird, take your head off. We ride these too.

Mekillot? Big f'cking pile of fuck shit up. We make these pull wagons.

I forgot where I was going with this, but feel free to carry on with it.

[Kalai]

Except for the ox, not listed, they all enjoy heat more than any mammal. I daresay this is important.

[Talia]

Actually, I'm more suggesting a broader world that would include any kind of breeding and training of animals for domestication--including pets.

In the past 5 years, there have been at least two to three player-run projects to create/breed/train new animal types. Animals which resulted from these projects have been seen in game.

I would say that it's not unimaginable that a player-run project could produce something that might be deemed a "pet," but it's not going to be a puppy or a kitty or any other real-world equivalent; it's more likely to be barely tamed, and/or declawed and defanged, and/or akin to chained zoo animals (medieval style, not modern style), and/or extremely exotic in appearance. And it's also highly likely that such "pets" would be completely inappropriate for Amos the Commoner to own due to the expense of both purchasing and keeping them--sort of like slaves are, only more so.

[Jingo]

My character tried to keep a pet cilops larva for awhile.

It didn't work out.