From:	Mike & Linda Frankl mlfrankl@***.com
Subject:	New campaign - with a dog?
Date:	Fri, 9 Jun 2000 13:15:58 -0400

Carsten suggested:
> 1) Should I let him decide for himself, the dogs actions, since
> it's trained
> or should I as GM run it?
> 2) Are there any special rules regarding cyberware in animals? (I read one
> Shadowrun novel once, that described some guard dogs with implants)
> 3) Does anyone have some stats for a big bad ugly Rottweiler? :-)
> I figured
> that the "dog" described in BBB 2nd ed. is just that; a standard dog.
> 4) Should I dismiss the idea completely, and if so: why?
> 5) Does any of you have similar experiences and can warn me about what to
> expect?

This is a pretty cool idea if done right (ala beast master). Imagine getting
the beasties wired for sim transmission that could be transferred to the
master. That would make for a hell of a combination for recon and
surveillance and could even rival Rigging. I personally wouldn't allow it to
go as far as the rigger drone concept, but the initial part sounds cool.
Especially if the animals were trained to work from the masters commands via
cybernetic communication.

It reminds me of a scifi novel where they had a special military corps where
the dogs were ultrasmart and partnered up with masters. They said the bond
was so close (no perv comments) that if the master was killed they had no
choice but to kill the animal as it would mentally collapse. The same worked
in reverse, but since putting the soldier down was not feasible they would
have to reassign them and keep them on psyche drugs the rest of their lives
to prevent suicide. Talk about dumpshock.

;)

Smilin' Jack
Franklin Isshinryu School of Karate
http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/RallyRd/mlfrankl/fiskhome.htm