Pets for Villains and Vigilantes

Pets are defined as animals kept for the purpose of amusement or companionship. By necessity, we use a broader definition when considering pets in Villains and Vigilantes, covering pretty much any animal or other non-human kept by a character. They can be used as familiars, scouts, offensive or defensive fighters, and even pack animals. There being such a wide range of available forms, there is no simple straight-forward formula to encompass them all.

What I am trying to do here is establish a series of steps and guidelines that can be used by both players and Game Masters in generating new pets. To generate a pet randomly just read each section and roll on the appropriate tables. These guidelines can be used just as easily for the Rules Upgrade, simply use the same rules as those presented for rolling random characters.


Pet Species

Pets can be just about anything you can imagine. Animals, small and large, aliens, plants, robots, and multi-dimensional creatures have all been used in this station. Race/species should be rolled randomly or chosen first, as almost everything else about the pet will depend on this. Included below is a list of common types of pets. Once you have determined what type of pet it is, either generate your own stats or look up the common stats for that creature for a base to build from.

Base Type (roll 2d4-1):

  1. Tiny Animal (Choose from, or roll on table below)
  2. Small Animal (Choose from, or roll on table below)
  3. Large Animal (Choose from, or roll on table below)
  4. Supernatural Creature (Choose from, or roll on table below)
  5. Alien (be creative, or roll again to see what form the robot is built to look like)
  6. Robot (roll again to see what form the robot is built to look like)
  7. Prehistoric Animal (Choose from, or roll on table below)

Tiny Animals (roll 2d4-1):

  1. Small Bird (kestrel, merlin, finch)
  2. Rat/Mouse
  3. Ferret
  4. Herp/Amphibian (Lizard, Frog, Salamander, Snake)
  5. Bat
  6. Insect/Arachnid (Scorpion, Millipede, Tarantula)
  7. Other (? )

Small Animals (roll 2d4-1):

  1. Monkey (Capuchin, Howler, Chimpanzee)
  2. Cat
  3. Dog
  4. Bird (Raven, Hawk, Falcon, Owl, Parrot, Rooster)
  5. Rabbit
  6. Herp (Snake, Iguana, Monitor)
  7. Other (Koala, Otter, Pot-Bellied Pig, Possum)

Large Animals (roll 1d8):

  1. Horse
  2. Bear
  3. Gorilla
  4. Reptile (Komodo Dragon, Large Snake, Alligator, Crocodile)
  5. Cheetah/Leopard/Lion/Tiger
  6. Wolf
  7. Bird (Eagle, Condor, Buzzard)
  8. Other (Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Hyena, Kangaroo, etc.)

Supernatural Creatures (roll 2d4-1):

  1. Pegasus
  2. Small Dragon
  3. Large Dragon
  4. Griffin
  5. Homonculus
  6. Demon/Imp
  7. Other (3-Headed Dog, Skeletal Animal, etc.)

Prehistoric Animals (roll 1d6):

  1. Sabretooth Tiger
  2. Dire Wolf
  3. Tyrannosaurus Rex
  4. Triceratops
  5. Deinonychus/Velociraptor
  6. Other (Mastodon, Mammoth, Iguanodon)


Intelligence

Pets have varying levels of intelligence. A normal animal registers as 'nonsentient' on the Villains and Vigilantes Intelligence table. Supernatural creatures, and artificial creatures may be more so normally. It is generally up to the player, however, how smart his pet will be. If you are rolling a pet up randomly, such as for an NPC, you may want to use the table below.

Roll 1d4:

  1. Nonsentient (0 Int)
  2. Human-level Intelligence (10 Int average)
  3. Very Smart (12-18 Int)
  4. Advanced Intelligence (Heightened Int A or B)


Powers/Abilities

Not all pets have special powers and abilities. Either choose or roll a d6, 1-3 means the animal has powers and abilities 4-6 means it is a normal animal. Whether or not the animal has powers they share a special bond with the character that allows that character to communicate with them.

If the pet has special powers or abilities choose or roll from the table below to determine what type they are.

Roll 1d4:

  1. Same as, or similar to the character.
  2. Skills Only
  3. Independent Powers
  4. Artificial

Same as, or similar to character: Simply give the pet all or some of the same powers as the character the pet is for. All of Superman's pets had his Kryptonian powers.

Skills Only: The pet is better than normal, but not truly super-powered. Examples include Bat Dog, Falcon's bird,

Independent Powers: The pet has unique abilities of their own. Examples of this would be the Red Ghost's apes, Proty, and Lockheed the dragon.

Roll or choose 1d4 powers and abilities from the table of common ones below below.

  1. Flight
  2. Heightened Agility B
  3. Heightened Defense
  4. Heightened Endurance B
  5. Heightened Intelligence B
  6. Heightened Senses
  7. Heightened Strength B
  8. Invulnerability
  9. Power Blast
  10. Transformation: Shapeshifter
  11. Willpower
  12. Wings

If the pet ends up with less than 4 powers you may roll on any table in the rule book for more up to 4.

Artificial: The animal has had bionic/cybernetic enhancement, or is a robot, android, or other construct. While 'android' is not a proper term for use in describing a non-human creature, it should be taken in the context that an 'android' pet is made to resemble a living pet more so than a robotic one. Examples would include Battlestar Galactica's Daggit, Dr. Who's K-9 and Polyphase Avatron, and Cyberforce's 'CC.'

Roll or choose 1d4 powers and abilities from the table of common ones below below.

  1. Armor
  2. Bionics
  3. Flight
  4. Heightened Agility B
  5. Heightened Defense
  6. Heightened Endurance B
  7. Heightened Intelligence B
  8. Heightened Senses
  9. Heightened Strength B
  10. Invulnerability
  11. Power Blast
  12. Robootic or Android Body

If the pet ends up with less than 4 powers you may roll on any table in the rule book for more up to 4.


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