Animal Trainer

**Profession [Animal Trainer]** is a skill that comes with its own mechanics regarding calming and taming animals.

### Calming an Animal

An animal trainer can through a combination of body language and a soothing voice **attempt to calm an animal** that has been startled , or at least keep it in check long enough to find an escape route from its territory.

As long as nothing is interrupting the Animal Trainer (such as a pesky warrior wailing away at the lion you're trying to keep at bay for long enough that you can escape) they may attempt an extended Profession (Animal Trainer) test with a Penalty equal to the animal 's Willpower. The total number of successes required is equal to the Beast's Wp.B..

During the test, the animal will be focused on the Animal Trainer and **wil only attack if feeling threatened** . If any roll fails during the test , the animal will immediately return to its startled state, and either attack the trainer, or flee as appropriate of its prior mental state.

If the trainer is successful, the animal will either have been calmed, or convinced that you are not worth attacking (for now) as long as you leave its territory immediately.

### Taming an Animal

The first step to create your own Animal Companion is to get a hold of a suitable animal. **Any creature with the Bestial Trait qualifies** (though stories of organizations successfully taming smarter things, like the Dawnguard who successfully tamed Trolls for combat, do exist).

Taming an animal is a long and ardous process, which can take weeks, months or even years depending on the animal. The process requires the trainer to roll an Extended Profession [Animal Trainer] Test, with each roll representing one week of focused training. The Degrees of Success required in total to gain the loyalty of the animal is equal to the animal 's Willpower score minus the Trainers Int.B.. Failed rolls during the training simply count as wasted time, except if failed by 3 Degrees or more, in which case there is a setback , removing the Degrees of Failure from the total. Upon reaching the required Degrees of Success, the animal gains the Trained and Loyalty (X,Y) Traits, successfully turned into an Animal Companion.

Finally, the trainer must choose from the following list of commands that the Animal Companion can understand.

Choose 1 command for every 5 Intelligence of the animal:

* **Fight (Creature)**
* **Fight (Humanoid)**
* **Guard** *[Ex. Keep watch, safeguard place/object etc]*
* **Hunt** *[Ex. Track prey, Fetch prey, Find own food etc]*
* **Perform Labour** *[Ex. Pul l cart /plough, Riding etc]*
* **Search** *[Ex. Find valuable commodity, Track by scent etc]*
* **Scout** *[Ex. Look for danger/traps, Notice ambush etc]*
* **Travel** *[Use as mount , deliver messages etc]*

Note down the new Traits and available commands on your Animal Companion's sheet, after which it is ready for use.

When ordered, the animal will perform one of its preset commands to the best of its abilities, but it may, at the GM's discretion, do other things fitting of said animal.

### Animal Companion and Combat

When a character with an Animal Companion enters battle, one of two things will immediately happen :

If the Companion has the relevant **Fight (X)** command, it will roll initiative and enter the fight alongside its master. Unless given specific instructions on who or how to attack by its master, it will fight in whichever manner befits the animal in question. If the companion does not have the relevant Fight (X) command, it will instead retreat to safety nearby, awaiting its masters summons once combat has ended .

However, should an encounter contain combatants of both types, and only one is trained, the creature will avoid the other at all costs, but fight as instructed otherwise.

Lastly, the trainer can always order the animal to retreat.