Talent: Animal Training

Animal Training vs Handle Animal
Animal Training allows a number of tricks to be imparted on an animal that the animal then obeys according to its nature and training in a single simple action. Pointing out an opponent and ordering the animal to attack is a simple action, as is shouting attack while engaged in combat and having your dog run to your side.

While under the effects of Animal Bond, animals become loyal and behave in such a way. Thus if something is aggressive or dangerous in the environment and the animal companion percieves it, they treat the character they are loyal to as if it was a mate or child. Note that small birds do not protect their mates or children from snakes and predators, but dogs and cats do. Loyal reptiles can be expected not to usually bite their handlers, but not much more than that. Loyal birds will return to their handlers or their homes, depending on their training. More exotic animal companions probably fall in one of these three categories. Animal Companions will not approach horrors and unnatural monsters. They may even bite (attacking to stun) their handlers and attempt to drag them away if they are loyal and protective. See the Advanced Training trick for more details.

If you want an animal companion to use a trick it doesn't know or otherwise behave in such a fashion more complex than simply obeying a trick thrown off in a single word and hoping its training covers that situation, you may want to use the Handle Animal skill. Note that this is not a talent, and not covered by the half-magic of beast-master or cavalryman disciplines. Using Handle Animal is a Standard action, NOT a simple action. Actually managing a trick it doesn't know requires an additional success, plus one for every rank of Willful the animal possesses.

Trick: Basic Training
Basic Training allows an animal to be ridden. Basic Training is a single trick that allows an animal to receive commands up to 1 wound in combat against creatures it is not afraid of, such as normal animals and namegivers; without basic training the animal companion flees and hides nearby the first time it takes a wound or is subject to a fear effect. With this trick, as long as the animal companion has only one wound or less it continues to obey commands given to it through the Animal Training talent/skill.

Trick: Combat Training
Combat Training requires 3 ranks of Animal Training and replaces the trick for Basic Training. Combat trained animals behave as listed under combat training in the player guide, and also allows them to continue fighting regardless of their wounds or penalties. This means the animal companion will not balk when ridden into fire, or commanded to jump or charge, removing the need for the Trick Riding talent to be used in almost any basic movement.

Trick: Advanced Training
Advanced trained animal companions will not flee from even terrible monsters such as horrors and horror constructs, unless their commands tell them to do so or they are under the effects of a power or ability that forces a character to flee anyway. Advanced trained animals are trained to heed the commands of only their recognized handler to whom they are loyal, and will not obey other commands unless their will is usurped by magical means. Thus even if the animal is charmed or sweet-talked by some creature or charismatic namegiver, they only 'come' and 'sit' when told by their handler.

Sit and Down
The animal immediately stops what it is doing. If told to sit, the animal immediately stops what it is doing and moves to a sitting position. If given the command again, the animal will go prone. Making animals otherwise stop what they are doing without this trick requires an interaction test. Willful animals may be harder to convince to spit out the T'skrang.

Come and Heel
The animal immediately comes to you. The animal follows you within three or four steps if given the heel command. Some animals may require a lead/leash to use other abilities, but this is instead of come/heel. Without this trick the animal behaves as animals do, sticking their noses in bushes, running ahead and then lagging behind, and investigating sights and sounds in whatever new place you've led them to since. A collar and leash will serve as a means to keep an animal beside you without this trick, and loyal animals consent to being collared with minimal fuss. This trick prevents you from having to chase your animal companions to get them back with the party.

Serve
The animal obeys the commands of another handler to whom it is at least friendly. This trick also allows the animal to modify some of its other tricks to specifically affect and aid another namegiver.

Escape
The animal is taught to escape from bindings by picking, clawing, or chewing at ropes or wood. Combined with the Serve command this can result in weasels that untie you at your command.

Attack or Kill
The animal attacks THAT target. Loyal animals will often act to defend you if they note hostility, but this allows an animal to be commanded to attack a specific target without other provocation.

Guard (Person or Place)
Requires heel and attack. The animal does its best to be aware of the area around it and the target it is set to guard. For a short time it uses active perception continuously, before relaxing into a basic wary posture. If something is coming into dangerous proximity the animal first warns with a noise, or attacks. If the percieved threat is adjacent to the animal's guarded target it immediately attacks.

Stay
Basic training allows an animal to stay in one place with the basic stay command, but if the handler leaves the area the animal will go about its business. This command will park an animal in one place for a number of hours equal to the number of tricks it knows, though if conditions become inclement it will seek shelter. If the animal also has advanced training it will wait through rain and thunderstorms in the place it is told to stay until hunger forces it to fend for itself. An animal left for more than two days under the stay command will lose one level of attitude with its handler. Also the handler should feel bad about themselves.

Track
The animal uses the best of its sensory abilities to follow a scent or trail pointed out to it by its handler. The most important part of this trick is that if the animal loses the trail it will communicate this with its handler, usually by looking upset. This follows the standard rules for the tracking skill/talent, except that each time the animal fails the difficulty increases by +2. Once it has this trick, a trainer may improve the animal's Tracking skill.

Seek and Bring (Fetch)
This trick always takes a standard action unless the animal has the hunt or serve commands, in which case you may set the animal to bring/fetch your prey automatically as part of those other commands. This command allows you to specify a target within visual range and have the animal bring it to you, or search for something something specified in one or two words and either point it out (seek) or bring it to you (fetch). Animals can't understand color, but possible targets for this are 'food', 'water', 'bad guys', or 'the girl'. Specifying a target with an article of clothing lets the animal search the area for traces of that specific target, but only the specific area. With both Seek and Track an animal might recognize a place where a target hid, and then left to go elsewhere from without leaving tracks visible to Namegivers. Getting the animal to understand what you want that it can't see you pointing at requires a Handle Animal or Animal Training test against 9.

Scout
This trick requires come and heel, guard and seek. Trained to recognize different stimuli, this trick allows the animal to be given a specific thing to scout for, and then it begins to run ahead to look for it. Birds fly above, dogs range to the fore, cats stalk the underbrush, all while using their best senses to try and find the specified stimulus. At the handlers training, the companion either calls out from where it can detect the stimulus, or returns and 'points'. One stimulus is targeted for free with this ability (Listed as Scout: Target), but the trick may be altered for just about anything in the same way as Seek and Bring with a TN 9 check. Possible targets might include prey, namegivers, cops, or predators. The companion makes a Perception/Awareness test against the lowest dexterity step of the target, or TN of a coordinated ambush or trap. If this is used to seek prey it acts like the Hunt trick, but only to aid the hunter, and using the Awareness skill instead of the Wilderness Survival skill.

Hunt
Predatory companions either make their own wilderness survival rolls to find food, or aid the hunter. Hunting on its own gives it its own roll, and the animal returns with game to share. Hunting in a pack with the hunter allows the animal to make a Perception/Wilderness Survival roll against the TN of the area. If sucessful the animal adds its Wilderness Survival step to the handler's.