Beast Handler
- They understand me better than most people do.
Beast handlers understand that every creature operates on instincts and principles that most humans ignore. They speak the language of body posture, scent, and subtle behavioral cues that animals use constantly. By patience and consistency, they forge partnerships.
They're good with unfamiliar animals — soothing panicked horses, reading a guard dog's resolve, convincing a protective mother bear to stand down. More significantly, Beast Handlers can train companion animals as partners, creating lasting bonds that provide ongoing tactical and practical advantages.
Understanding Animals
Beast Handlers can evaluate an animal's personality and potential by identifying its Hooks. Like people, animals have driving motivations and behavioral patterns. A war-trained destrier might have Fearless in Battle and Contemptuous of Weak Riders, while a mistreated stray might have Loves Complete Once Trust is Earned but Territorial of Loud Noises. These ranks up (or down) just as PC Hooks do; the Beast Handler can make rolls to influence them, but they're living things, not machines — someone threw those rolls too. The GM decides the opposition depending on the specifics.
Successful Beast Handlers work with an animal's natural disposition (as usually expressed in Hooks) rather than against it. You can teach a loyal and brave dog to be brave and defend its beloved handler, but a naturally timid animal will never become a fearless guardian of strangers. We are what we are — and it applies to beasts as well. The GM will always control the actual behavior of the animal, no matter how well-trained it is, though they can and often will just have it do what the player wants. Just remember they can always call for a roll, and they set the difficulty/opposition.
Companion Training
Training a companion animal requires downtime between sessions and accumulating success rolls against the difficulty of the desired behavior. Simple tricks like "sit" or "stay" are trivial, and can often just be assumed; complex behaviors like "track this scent through a crowded marketplace" are much harder. No bonuses are available until the difficulty has been overcome; the animal has to figure out what you want and agree to try.
Successfully trained beasts allow the Beast Handler to create standing persistent bonuses that apply whenever relevant. Unlike temporary Boosts, these partnerships provide ongoing advantages — but only when the companion is healthy and present. A war hound trained in Pack Fighting 2 makes it easier to achieve a successful Focus roll that creates a persistent Boost to its handler's combat rolls when they coordinate attacks. Luck Tokens DO NOT APPLY to these down-time rolls! Those are only available during sessions, and companion bonuses are taught and rolled during the down-time between sessions. If you want to spend real, actual Karma, that's up to you, but the GM can always rule the duration of a Boost over because of events in-game, forcing you to roll it again. When/if the critter is Injured, the Boost must always be rerolled after that session!
Companions are extensions of the handler's character.
- You can spend Karma to develop the animal's Maneuvers within the limits of what that species can reasonably learn; a dog's Role is
Dogand its Maneuvers must be relevant to that. - You can Level and rank the companion, and might have to — they are subject to the same restrictions as players, and can't have Roles higher than Level, or Maneuvers higher than the associated Role. You can't teach ranks higher than your Beast Handler Role, or Maneuvers higher than your skill in what you are using to teach.
- A companion can't have a higher Level than the PC, though one might be able to create a positive relationship with a more powerful creature.
- Over time you can roll to modify the companion's Hooks through patient training — a formerly aggressive dog might eventually overcome
Suspicious of Strangersthrough careful socialization. The GM still gets final say.
The Price of Partnership
Karma spent on companion Maneuvers is tied to that specific animal. If your trained war hound is Down and recovering, you lose access to all the abilities you've invested in that specific dog until it heals a bit; no boost from a companion animal can be greater than its current best roll. Beast Handler skills are vulnerable — they can be removed — by targeting their companion, much as a Warrior can be deprived of his Maneuver ranks in Swords by disarming him, but he can recover his by picking up any sword. A companion beast must heal. Companions use the same lethality and recovery rules as player characters — they go Down when overwhelmed, but only die when dramatically appropriate (yes, OSR tables can kill player characters and pets by agreeing they are dead.) However, a Down companion means lost bonuses, reduced tactical options, and genuine emotional stakes.
Common Beast Handler Maneuvers
Animal Types
- Horses - Riding, draft work, war training
- Hounds - Scent work, guarding, pack coordination
- Birds of Prey - hunting partnerships, message delivery, aerial reconnaissance
- Exotic Beasts - Working with supernatural, dangerous, or unusual creatures
Specialized Applications
- Guard Training - Attack commands, territory protection, discipline
- Performance Training - Entertainment routines, competitive behavior
- Working Skills - Hunting, tracking, search and rescue, specialized labor
- Evaluation - appraisal and assessment for both market value and working potential
As always, these are just examples, not a comprehensive list.
Advanced Applications
As mentioned above, a Handler's companion beast is an extension of the character. Handlers can split their ELs and make proxy rolls through the companion. The companion still acts on the handler's turn, but both can attempt separate actions with the EL assigned. Experienced handlers can manage several trained animals simultaneously, but each is a separate roll requiring more splits.
Companions aren't the only value for the Role, though. A racing jockey needs to understand and cajole his mount, not just teach it to run.
→ See A Beast Handler In Action for a full example of the Beast Handler Role in play.