Animals

Characters might meet any number of ferocious or tasty animals while hunting or on an adventure. These are natural creatures, named by the First Man, and hence within the dominion of all men. The Statistics for some of the most common ones, whether domesticated or wild, are given here. Note that some special abilities (Maul, Ferocity, etc.) are unique to certain wild animals.

Beasts of the Manor

Knights and ladies first learn about these domesticated animals as part of their basic life education. These animals are familiar to everyone and exist within the safe boundary of the fields and copses of childhood.

Dogs

Everyone has dogs. They are vassals to all humans, above the common farm animals. Some are pure breeds; most, scrappy curs of indeterminate ancestry. All are useful for hunting, protection, herding, companionship, and eating garbage. Some are bred for specific functions. A hunting pack typically has each of the types listed here.

Type	SIZ/KD	DEX	STR	CON/MW	Move.	HP/Unc.	Avoid.	Armor
Mutt	3	15	6	15	8	18/5	10	1
Scent Hound	5	15	12	20	10	25/6	10	1
Gaze Hound	4	20	8	12	23	16/4	10	0
Irish Wolfhound	11	15	16	20	15	31/8	8	2

Combat Skills

Mutt: Bite 15 (2D6)
Scent Hound: Bite 15 (3D6)
Gaze Hound: Bite (walking) 15, (running) 10, (sprinting) 5 (2D6)
Irish Wolfhound: Bite 20 (4D6)

Valorous Modifier
Irish Wolfhound: –1

Glory Won
Irish Wolfhound: 15

Mutt

Most kinds of dogs are of this type. Every household has some variety of mutt, neither bloodhound nor gaze hound, which barks at strangers and feeds on scraps.

Gaze Hound

The ancestor of modern greyhounds and whippets, a hunting dog that follows its prey by sight. It is very fast but relatively poor at following a scent. It runs along with the scent hounds until the prey is in sight, then sprints after it.

Scent Hound

Scent hounds (also called bloodhounds or beagles, depending on specific breed) can follow the slightest trace of scent to its target. They cannot run fast, comparatively, but they have endurance that will outlast any gaze hound. They are very loud and excitable, barking and baying as they go. A female scent hound valued for her breeding ability is called a brachet.

Irish Wolfhound

A large hunting dog valued for its size and courage, able to bring down a deer and not afraid to harass a boar or bear. It is less common than others and thus valuable. A common breed in Ireland, it is trained to guard the household as well as to go on hunts.Farm

Hawk

SIZ	DEX	STR	CON
1	20	5	10

Attacks

Attack	Value	Damage
Claws	12	1D6
Dive	19	2D6

Health

Statistic	Value
Hit Points	11
Knockdown	1
Major Wound	10
Unconscious	3

Other

Statistic	Value
Movement	80 (flying)
Armor Points	0
Glory Award	0
Valourous Mod.	0

Skills: Avoidance 20 (+20) when flying
Claws: The claws of the hawk are razor-sharp and capable of opening nasty wounds on unarmored flesh.
Dive: When in full flight, the hawk may execute a swooping dive upon a target from a great height with enough force to kill small animals and seriously discomfit humans.

Beasts of the Wood

Beyond the rolling fields and woodland copses of childhood lies a vast wilderness of forested hills and mountains, broken by deep, rock-strewn valleys, swift rivers, and treacherous bogs. This is the natural world, and it is both beautiful and deadly. Only by going on hunts as a child, or by listening to the boasts of the knights and the lore of the learned at court, would a character know about the wild animals who live here. All such animals are hunted for their meat or for sport, and some are dangerous hunters themselves.

Bear

This smallish variety of brown bear is the only bruin native to Britain. It normally tries to avoid humans but can be deadly if trapped or cornered. A popular entertainment at tournaments and festivals is to pit a bull versus a captured bear in a fight to the death. When combating a mounted foe, a bear usually attacks the rider first.

SIZ	DEX	STR	CON
40	12	40	15

Attacks

Attack	Value	Damage
Claws	13	4D6/4D6
Maul	18	8D6

Health

Statistic	Value
Hit Points	55
Knockdown	40
Major Wound	15*
Unconscious	14*

Other

Statistic	Value
Movement	15
Armor Points	6
Glory Award	50
Valourous Mod.	0

Skills: Avoidance 5
Claws: A bear may attack one target per round using both claws at the same time. If the bear wins the round, it makes two separate 4D6 damage rolls instead of a single damage roll of 8D6. Damage inflicted by these two damage totals is treated as two separate wounds. However, the two damage values are totaled for the purposes of determining Knockdown.
Maul: If the bear scores a Knockdown result on its opponent, on the following Combat Round it follows up by crushing its prey beneath its bulk and attempting a “killing bite” with its powerful jaws. Any attempt to defend against this attack short of Brawling suffers a –5 penalty to Weapon Skill.
*Ferocity: Unless facing an opponent armed with a boar spear, a bear may attack normally for one full round after a normal creature would be incapacitated (i.e., even after its current Hit Points reach or drop below its Unconscious threshold, or after it receives a Major Wound, for example).
Treasure: The hide of a bear is prized for its thick, lustrous pelt, which makes an excellent robe or blanket in the winter or may be used as a flounce for the knight’s warhorse; some hunters keep bear claws on a leather thong as a prize, while others stuff and mount the head or even the entire bear for display in their hall.

Boar

The wild boar is a cunning and savage creature, widely respected for its deadliness when cornered. As a species, boars are quite pugnacious, and old solitary boars are particularly dangerous.

SIZ	DEX	STR	CON
16	15	30	15

Attacks

Attack	Value	Damage
Tusks	15	5D6

Health

Statistic	Value
Hit Points	31
Knockdown	16
Major Wound	15*
Unconscious	8*

Other

Statistic	Value
Movement	8
Armor Points	5
Glory Award	25
Valourous Mod.	0

Skills: Avoidance 5
Tusks: The long, sharp tusks of the boar pierce armor, flesh, and bone with ease. When combating a mounted foe, a boar always attacks the horse first since he cannot reach higher. Boars charge their foes and try to make a tusk slash as they pass, disemboweling the poor steed.
*Ferocity: Unless facing an opponent armed with a boar spear, a boar may attack normally for one full round after a normal creature would be incapacitated (i.e., even after its current Hit Points reach or drop below its Unconscious threshold, or after it receives a Major Wound, for example).
Treasure: Some hunters embellish their armor or make display pieces from the tusks of slain boars.

Deer

Britain has several types of deer, and venison is the staple of courtly tables. Male deer are called harts, bulls, bucks, and, if particularly large, stags. Females are called hinds, cows, and does. Baby deer are called fawns.

Deer Table

Type	SIZ/KD	DEX	STR	CON/MW	Move.	HP/Unc.	Avoid.	Armor
Elk	45	15	45	12	23	57/14	14	5
Fallow	12	20	15	12	15	24/6	18	3
Red	30	20	30	12	30	42/11	15	4
Roe	5	25	5	12	20	17/4	18	0

Combat Skills

Elk: Charge 12 (9D6), Gore 12 (7D6)
Fallow: Charge 10 (3D6), Gore 10 (2D6)
Red: Charge 12 (6D6), Gore 12 (4D6)
Roe: Kick 10 (1D6)

Glory Won

Elk: 25
Fallow: 1
Red: 10
Roe: 0

Charge: A deer may charge doing its full damage. The rules for Pass-by apply to this attack

Elk

The British Elk is an extremely large deer and is found only in Caledonia, beyond the Wall. They stand about five to six feet tall at the shoulders and sport antlers that span up to six feet. They are solitary unless a cow has a calf. A castrated male grows a set of twisted antlers that do not shed and are called devil’s antlers.

Fallow Deer

The fallow deer normally has a reddish-brown coat with white spots. It has antlers, and stands about three feet high, though the largest may be twice that size. Herds usually segregate by sex except in rutting season. They can easily make vertical leaps of six or seven feet. They were introduced into Britain by the Romans.

Red Deer

The red deer is a large woodland deer and a favorite of the hunt. It is about four feet tall. Its branched antlers may span up to three feet. Except in rutting season, males and females congregate in separate herds. They are various shades of reddish brown in summer, grayish in winter, with a telltale white rump.

Roe Deer

This is a tiny deer, unworthy of being hunted by a knight. It is included only because the roebuck is important in several myths and fairytales, and thus might appear in adventures. It is so small that it hardly needs Statistics—a single blow will kill one, and it has no attacks that might hurt an armored knight.

Fox

These wily predators are about the size of small dogs, have bushy tails, and plague the chicken coops of every farm. As such, they are considered vermin. They usually have reddish coats of fine fur, which change to pure white during winter.

SIZ	DEX	STR	CON
2	30	4	12

Attacks

Attack	Value	Damage
Bite	10	1D6

Health

Statistic	Value
Hit Points	14
Knockdown	2
Major Wound	12
Unconscious	4

Other

Statistic	Value
Movement	16
Armor Points	0
Glory Award	10 (hunt)
Valourous Mod.	0

Skills: Avoidance 20 (+1)
Bite: Although they much prefer to flee confrontation, foxes can be vicious little curs when cornered, clamping down with a bite from their needle-like teeth.
Treasure: White fox fur is particularly valuable, used in the lining of fancy garments.

Great Cats

Slinking through the dense undergrowth of British forests, the great cats stalk their prey with exquisite skill and patience. Great cats are extremely dangerous beasts, and some can take down a fully armored, mounted knight!

Type	SIZ/KD	DEX	STR	CON/MW	Move.	HP/Unc.	Avoid.	Armor
Lion	40	20	40	15	35	55/14	10	5
Lynx	5	25	15	20	25	25/6	20	2
Panther	12	25	25	15	20	27/8	15	3

Combat Skills

Lion: Claws 20 (4D6/4D6), Maul 20 (8D6)
Lynx: Claws 20 (1D6/1D6), Maul 20 (+5) (3D6)
Panther: Claws 20 (2D6/2D6), Maul 20 (+5) (4D6)

Glory Won

Lion: 250
Lynx: 10
Panther: 100

Valorous Modifiers

Lion: –5
Panther: –5

Claws: Great cats may attack one target per round using both claws at the same time. If the cat wins the round, it makes two separate damage rolls as shown. Damage inflicted by these two damage totals is treated as two separate wounds. However, the two damage values are totaled for the purposes of determining Knockdown.

Maul: If the cat scores a Knockdown result on its opponent, on the following Combat Round it follows up by leaping upon its prey and attempting a “killing bite” with its powerful jaws. Any attempt to defend against this attack short of Brawling suffers a –5 penalty to Weapon Skill.

Lion

The majestic and terrible lion of Arthurian legend turns up repeatedly in knightly adventures. For instance, Sir Percivale aids one on the Grail Quest, two of them live in the Tomb of Lions in Ganis, and four of them escort the magical White Stag through the forest. This lion is much larger than the “natural” African lion, more akin in size to the saber-toothed tiger. The lion is the king of beasts, and sometimes can be seen holding court with other animals.

Treasure: The pelts of lions may be turned into elaborate horse flounces or decorative rugs.

Lynx

The British lynx is a medium-sized predator. They have brownish, spotted coats in summer, which turn silver-grey in winter. Their ears are tufted, and they have big paws and stubby tails. They are very secretive and excellent at hiding. Lynxes are not a threat to humans, though occasionally are to farm animals.
Treasure: The winter pelt of a lynx is much valued in the making of warm clothing.

Panther

The panther is said to be a native British cat, variegated of coat and kind in its ways. It is a sworn foe of dragons, and reputedly has an incredible belch that makes it proof against those great monsters, though only if resulting from a particular and rarified diet.

The panther is smaller than a lion and prefers to lie in ambush to attack solitary foes in the deep woods. When surprised on a hunt, it is considered to be wonderful sport.
Treasure: The pelts of panthers may be turned into elaborate horse flounces or decorative rugs.