[Basic] Skill of the week: Animal Handling

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Kilmore

Here's a question... is Animal Handling (gamecocks) used solely for raising and dealing with fighting roosters, or is is used in getting them to fight as well? Or is there a more specific Cockfighting skill? The same with dogs (cats/basilisks/etc...).

Given how broad Animal Handling seems to be, I'd guess that it's the skill for getting them to fight too. Of course, skills like Gambling, Public Speaking and Propaganda will also be useful in making money out of animal fighting.

(SF side note: The story Sally's Edge in Peter F Hamilton's story collection A Second Chance at Eden is about a high-bio-tech version of animal fighting).

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Given how broad Animal Handling seems to be, I'd guess that it's the skill for getting them to fight too. Of course, skills like Gambling, Public Speaking and Propaganda will also be useful in making money out of animal fighting.

And Fast-Talk. I remember seeing a man on the trolley using rhymed fast-talk to invite a bunch of young marines to bet on the shell game. . . .

There is also Veterinary, for coming up with ways to enhance fighting performance that can get past drug testing.

Bill Stoddard

[kirbwarrior]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Have you done strange or interesting things with Animal Handling? I've seen a campaign that had "Peasant Handling" as a skill, but it was the kind of Ars Magica game where unworldly PCs don't understand why the pitchforks and torches come out occasionally...

Can this apply that easily to anything else? Wizard Handling sounds very useful for a teacher in a wizarding school, Angel Handling in a setting where angels are pig-headedly good, Pixie Handling when you need to deal with those troublemakers, etc. Namely, can it affect IQ6+ beings? If so, then I have a bunch of character concepts that can work in gurps now... (Mind, any of those might actually just be a specialized Psychology, but who knows?)

[Anders]

Originally Posted by kirbwarrior

Can this apply that easily to anything else? Wizard Handling sounds very useful for a teacher in a wizarding school, Angel Handling in a setting where angels are pig-headedly good, Pixie Handling when you need to deal with those troublemakers, etc. Namely, can it affect IQ6+ beings? If so, then I have a bunch of character concepts that can work in gurps now... (Mind, any of those might actually just be a specialized Psychology, but who knows?)

Use Influence skills and the appropriate Empathy advantages.

Should one be able to use Animal Handling as an Influence skill on animals?

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by kirbwarrior

Can this apply that easily to anything else?

I don't think so. In that campaign, it was mostly a joke.

[acrosome]

Originally Posted by Anders

Should one be able to use Animal Handling as an Influence skill on animals?

Animal Empathy lets you use other influence skills on animals. But, yes, barring that I think that by definition Animal Handling is "the influence skill for animals."

[Tiggurix]

Originally Posted by Anders

Should one be able to use Animal Handling as an Influence skill on animals?

The core rulebook mentions that one can use it to quiet a stressed animal, usually at a hefty penalty, if we're talking about a wild animal. If one were to use it to try and get a positive reaction, however, I'd require Animal Empathy as a prerequisite for that use, at the very least, I think.

By the way, how come Beast-Kin and Tree-Kin weren't carried over to 4th edition?

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Tiggurix

By the way, how come Beast-Kin and Tree-Kin weren't carried over to 4th edition?

Because they are composed of components that are available separately - a type of Empathy, a Talent (with included reaction bonus, personally I'd have separated that too...) and Pacifism with a limitation.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by malloyd

Because they are composed of components that are available separately - a type of Empathy, a Talent (with included reaction bonus, personally I'd have separated that too...) and Pacifism with a limitation.

The 3E to 4E Update even built them as meta-traits, with the price coming out to 6 points each.

Such a bargain :)

[Tiggurix]

Originally Posted by malloyd

Because they are composed of components that are available separately - a type of Empathy, a Talent (with included reaction bonus, personally I'd have separated that too...) and Pacifism with a limitation.

Well, they did come with a bonus that isn't available as a separate trait, according to what I know, and that was the ability learn Animal or Plant college spells, respectively, as if they were one difficulty level easier. Though I guess that may have been a little OP?