Often when I have an idea for a homebrew profile, I think, "How have I not already written about this?" This is especially true of this one. Pets are a huge part of people's lives, and players love to have and meet new cute creatures in their adventures, so it can be very helpful to have information about what pets are like. [Side note: If you're interested in everyone in the party getting to have their own familiars, I've created an expanded list of animal companions for everyone.] So read on for a guide to pets in my gameworld, and feel free to borrow any ideas you like!
Daltoners:
Common Pets: Primarily dogs and horses, secondarily falcons and pigs, tertiarily cats and rats.
Beliefs about Pets: Daltoners tend to believe that pets should be functional animals that serve the purposes of the pet keeper. They regard themselves as "owners" of the animals. Loyalty is also very important to Daltoner pet keepers--they choose dogs and horses oftenest due to the loyalty of those animals. Is is also worth noting that dogs and horses, when trained, can be used for combat purposes, and both Daltoner Warhorses and Old Dalton Blues (a breed of massive blue-grey hounds) are renowned for their ferocity and size. Falcons are kept for similar reasons. Pigs are somewhat common pets for Daltoners who want affectionate and intelligent animals and who don't mind losing their pet at slaughter time. A few Daltoners keep cats for pest control or rats for stealthy assistance with hard-to-get-to places.
Common Pet Names: Daltoners culturally tend to want their pets to project a sense of toughness. It is considered strange in Daltoner culture to give a humanoid name to an animal, so they tend towards names that suggest certain qualities they want. There are generally two types of Daltoner pet names: descriptive names and metaphorical names. The descriptive names tend to label the pet directly: Growler, Bruiser, Biter, Hunter. The metaphorical names evoke a tough or dangerous trait: Anvil, Axe, Vise, Trap. When Daltoners do adopt more affectionate names, they tend to do so with names that still suggest something cultural acceptable: Heart (as in brave to the public but sweet in private).
Pet Customs: When a pet dies, in Daltoner culture, it is expected that the pet keeper mourn for one week before replacing the pet. The belief is that this period makes the pet keeper more aware of how much they miss the former pet. For Daltoners who own multiple pets, this process is often less acutely felt, but is still observed seriously, even if the pet keeper themselves does not entirely believe in the custom. The mourning itself in practice is rarely more than inconvenience, and many outside observers tend to judge Daltoners as not being very connected to their pets.
Faninites:
Common Pets: Primarily dogs and falcons, secondarily cats and lizards, tertiarily pigs and sparrows.
Beliefs about Pets: Faninites tend to view their pets as essentially parts of the family. To Faninites, pets contribute to the emotional wellbeing of a family and can even help the help in material ways as well, and that makes them important parts of the home unit. As such, pets in Faninite households tend to be given occasional gifts in the forms of special meals or hand-made toys. They are also given a great wealth of nicknames, as described below. Faninites are responsible for the North Coast Shepherd, a herding dog with long black-and-brown patches, notably over the eyes. Falcons are common as hunting animals and companions; cats and lizards both prevent pests and offer affection; sparrows are fed but never caged, and pet pigs are never eaten but rather considered good animals for children to spend time with.
Common Pet Names: Faninite pet names tend to be affectionate and often silly. Ironic names are especially common amongst Faninites. A few examples might include an especially clumsy dog named Grace, a big-eyed cat named Peepers, or a rough-looking lizard named Handsome. Just as often, Faninites will provide their pets with highly affectionate nicknames that are more often used than the given name. Some such nicknames might include: Love Blanket, My Perfect Infant Child, or Sweet Loveberry Pie. Sometimes, a Faninite will decide to bestow their pet a more serious name because they feel it fits the pet's personality; on such occasions, those names are dignified and metaphorical: Cloud, Sea, Root, Seed.
Pet Customs: It is common among Faninites to celebrate the birthdays of their pets like a humanoid member of the family, and to give gifts to and "from" the pets (faking a present from the pet) on other holidays where gifts are given. The most frequently-given gifts to Faninite pets include full humanoid meals, woven toys, and clothing made to fit the pet. Faninites are seen by most as the culture most invested in its pet relationships. Especially for Daltoners, with their more spare pet relationships, the Faninite way is bizarre. Nevertheless, Faninites abide by their customs, proud to be so emotionally connected to their pets.
Dwarves:
Common Pets: Primarily horses and badgers, secondarily cats and gophers, tertiarily owls and platypus.
Beliefs about Pets: Dwarves have developed a relationship with their pets that is more like partnership than stewardship. Living in the dangerous world of caves and mining, dwarves have come to rely on animals that can help them in their natural underground terrain. Once a tunnel has been constructed, traveling great distances by horse is common; in less developed areas, badgers are trusty animals that can explore an area and help dig the beginnings of tunnels. Faninites are responsible for the Underhar Domestic Badger, an oversized badger with a sweet temperament which can leave tunnels large enough for slight dwarves. Horses are kept at great expense since their food does not grow underground, so keeping one is a sign of wealth. Cats are kept as friends and pest control; gophers are viewed as starter badgers for younger dwarves. Burrowing owls are kept by some more free-spirited dwarves, and the platypus is the pet of choice for dwarves in aquatic caves.
Common Pet Names: Dwarf pet names are always honorific in some way. This is generally done in one of two ways: either the dwarf names their pet with a title meant to honor them, or them give the name of a beloved relative or hero. Thus, dwarven pet names are very personal, and it is widely believed in dwarven culture that one learns a lot about a person from the name of their pets. Title names include: His Excellency, Lady Gopher of the Plains, All-Seeing Watcher (especially as a cat name). Given personal names might include: Desdemona, Duke Anvilsmith, Mother Dearest. The dwarven taste for these types of names puts them in conflict with Daltoners, who find such names upsetting, but dwarves are too protective about their pet names to concede to the Daltoner taste.
Pet Customs: Dwarves observe a cycle of pet life which is marked by celebrations. The first celebration is at the birth or adoption of the animal, marking the beginning of its life with the dwarven family. Further celebrations are marked as the pet enters adolescence, adulthood, and old age. These celebrations include special food (often a beef dish prepared with hearty gravy) and a great deal of affection from all members of the family. Accompanying these celebrations are changing expectations of the animal. It is sharply frowned upon in dwarven culture to ask the same of a young and old animal, and these expectations are usually explicitly carried out in dwarven households.
Orcs:
Common Pets: Primarily falcons and snakes, secondarily fish and ibis, tertiarily cats and turtles.
Beliefs about Pets: Orcs views on pets have been very much shaped by the animals they were surrounded by on their home island of Grob. As I've described in my profile of the nature of this world, Grob is a rocky island covered in little life; most of what lives there is treacherous. Nevertheless, orcs have tamed some of the wild creatures of their homeland. By most Evanines' standards, orcish pets are unconventional. Orcs are known for breeding the Dakor Falcon, a lightweight hunting bird with incredibly midair agility--they are known for returning prey to the falconer no matter what. They also keep and breed snakes, creating the non-venomous and almost entirely docile creepsnake, which is amphibious. Sometimes, orcs build ponds where they can and stock fish, either for eating or simply as pets. Some intrepid orcs have tamed a number of ibises, kept often as status symbols. Turtles have become common pets for orcs who are looking for more emotional connection than practical use. Meeting with the other cultures introduced cats to orcs, which was an instant match, though felines are still catching on in the orcish community.
Common Pet Names: Orcs tend to give fairly serious names to their pets which praise them, usually for what the pet keeper most often prizes the pet for. As a result, most pet names are either solemn celebrations of prowess or for being an especially steadfast pet. Some celebratory names include: He-Who-Brings-the-Meat, She-of-Silent-Movement, The-Sky-of-Many-Colors. Names aimed at the pet's steadfastness: She-Who-Never-Sleeps, He-of-Certain-Heart, The-Endless-Embrace. Because these names are somewhat cumbersome, orcs generally go with a nickname in front of other humanoids rather than the full name. These nicknames tend to choose one important word from the full name. So, for instance, "He-Who-Brings-the-Meat" would become "Brings," "She-of-Silent-Movement" becomes "Silent," and "He-of-Certain-Heart" becomes "Heart."
Pet Customs: It is a commonly-held orcish belief that pets are consciously aware of their ability to emotionally aid their keeper, and that they choose to help orcs when they are in need. As a result, orcs consider it common wisdom to spend time with a pet when they need solace. Further, orcs believe that returning the kindness of their pets is especially important. And so orcs who seek solace often bring a special treat or spend time being affectionate with the pet before they seek peace with their pet. This practice has been compared by other cultures to a kind of religious offering, but orcs maintain that it is simply an upholding of a mutual relationship.
Elves:
Common Pets: Primarily monkeys and aquatic birds, secondarily fish and chameleons, tertiarily mongooses and turtles.
Beliefs about Pets: Elves traditionally seek pets which are beautiful or somehow interesting--especially when the animal has some quality that is metaphorically resonant. To an elf, a pet is not quite a status symbol, nor are they a companion; they are more something delicate which the elf contributes to by caring for. Elves have bred the Lathien Rhesus, a dexterous monkey which is especially friendly to humanoids, and they have developed many variations of the aquatic birds of their homeland, notably the kingfisher and osprey, often with colorful results. Elves are known to construct artificial ponds and fill them with decorative fish, and there is a subculture that revolves around filling these ponds only with fish the pet keeper has personally caught. Chameleons are a popular pet for some elves, many of whom try to train their chameleons to blend into a diverse array of settings. Mongooses, native to the Lathien Islands, can be easily trained to perform nearly as many tricks as the monkey, and turtles are revered for their longevity and hardiness.
Common Pet Names: Elves are very fickle about names, and very few conventions are broadly true of most elven pet keepers. There are, however, three notable trends worth considering. First is the tendency to name a pet after something natural--the idea is to match the pet's beauty with something appropriate. Names like this include: Sky, Dewdrop, Waterfall, Lightning. The second subtype of name is to name the pet after another pet, either the pet keeper's own or a friend or family member's. These names obviously vary widely. This practice is meant to honor both the old pet (by remembering it) and the new pet (by blessing it with such an important name). The third type of elven pet name is after the pet keeper's favorite characters or works from literature and drama. Due to the intersection of this trend and the current tastes in literature, an incredibly popular name for pets now is Tesseldin, taken from the title of the most well-known elven novel. Other popular literary names are Hyasina (the heroine of the play A Table for One) and Eisar (the beloved antihero of novel Weather Problems).
Pet Customs: Elves believe that pets exist at least in part to bring joy to the pet keeper and those around them. To that end, elves specially mark any occasion where the pet garners praise from someone else or from the pet keeper themselves. When a pet earns special attention a set number of times (once every three times for most elves, though this varies), they are granted a special treat--an elven delicacy made from fermented root vegetables called hinti. This dish is considered delicious by elven standards, and bestowing it on an animal is part of the commitment of this process. Once the pet has consumed the hinti, the pet keeper repeats the praises to the pet and meditates on the process.
Half-Elves:
Common Pets: Primarily dogs and cats, secondarily pigs and falcons, tertiarily squirrels and chameleons.
Beliefs about Pets: Half-elves tend to regard their pets as almost offspring. Like their Faninite parents, half-elves love their pets dearly. Like their elven parents, half-elves have expectations of their pets. There is a fairly serious divide in the current world of pet rearing in the half-elven community. A large but shrinking group argues that pets should be well-behaved and relies on training to create the pets they want. The other faction, currently eclipsing the first, argues that pets are imperfect beings and should be allowed to exist as such, and with the freedom to act as they like. This debate is atypical of the half-elven community in that half-elves tend to adopt similar ideas from their parents, but this divide is bitter and severe. Primarily, half-elven pet owners adopt dogs and cats for affection's sake coupled with hunting value. Secondarily, half-elves adopt intelligent and sweet pigs and powerful trained falcons, largely divided by the factions described above. Finally, half-elves also adopt squirrels for the cuteness and ease of training, as well as chameleons, which are reminiscent of their elven parents and which represent the ease with which half-elves manuever through social situations.
Common Pet Names: Half-elves do not have meaningfully common naming conventions for pets. Many adopt the Faninite method of highly affectionate nicknames. Many adopt the elven methods of nature, old pets, and literature. Half-elves also adopt names that come from other cultures. In particular fashion currently is the orcish method of naming combined with the affection of Faninite names. Examples include: Makes-My-Heart-Happy, Tiny-Precious-Angel, One-Who-Smiles-Perfectly. If it can be said of any culture, it is true of half-elves--naming one's pet is almost a competitive social game to see who can be more clever and affectionate.
Pet Customs: Half-elves tend to be the most keen animal trainers since they tend to work with the animals rather than against them. As a result, half-elven animal trainers have been in high demand across Evanoch for quite some time. Though there are those who try to keep it a secret, the animals in the Daltoner and dwarven armies were trained by half-elves, as were many of the animals in traveling circuses. The increasingly divided opinion in the half-elven community about the ethics of training is complicated, especially since many involved in the debate are unfamiliar with half-elven training methods. All that is agreed upon by everyone is that half-elves seem to have an innate ability to work with animals.
Gnomes:
Common Pets: Primarily fish and ravens, secondarily cats and rats, tertiarily rabbits and foxes.
Beliefs about Pets: Gnomes have strong affection for their pets, but most gnomes do not express that affection through petting, cuddling, or other physical behaviors. Instead, they express their affection via elaborate housing and toys for the pet. For the ingenious and inventive gnomes, creating a custom living space for their pet amounts to almost social prestige. One common strategy is for gnomes to construct a smaller home for their pet which is connected to the main home; another is to build animal toys and perches throughout the house; a few even move homes to a space better suited to their pets. Fish are the most common gnomish pet, in part because impressive aquariums have been in style for over a century, and ravens are prized for both their intelligence and their ability to assist with tasks. Cats and rats are likewise if less so inclined to basic training and importantly are not very large compared to the tiny gnomes. Rabbits are kept as pets from babies by the most outwardly affectionate of gnomes, and foxes are cherished in gnomish culture because of several stories from Garl Glittergold lore that depict the Fox as a clever anti-hero.
Common Pet Names: Gnomes themselves collect names, especially strange ones, and their pet naming conventions are nothing if not elevated from that premise. Gnomish pets are sometimes named for bizarre sound effects, strange collections of syllables, or occasionally a series of claps, snaps, and grunts. Examples include: Puhderfeefee, [clap clap] Wizzo!, Ellellesell, Bip. For the many gnomes who keep fish for pets, it is popular to name all of the fish after a common theme. One such collection of fish owned by an art enthusiast might include names like Brush, Easel, Canvas, and Paint. The idea of silliness is not as present in this subset of naming, but it is the norm outside of this exception.
Pet Customs: It is a deeply held gnomish cultural belief that a gnome simply connects with a specific type of animal, but they won't know until they encounter one. It's considered not only desirable but socially or morally important to adopt a pet only once having a strong reaction to an animal. Oftentimes, gnomes will take that animal as their first pet if they are able to. Once someone knows the animal they connect with, they are socially accepted no matter how many of those animals they adopt as pets. However, it would be forbidden for a gnome to take another animal type in addition to their connected animal. A fish owner could not adopt a cat, and not just for fear of the cat preying on the fish--other gnomes would judge them for it.
Halflings:
Common Pets: Primarily hounds and sloths, secondarily spider monkeys and parrots, tertiarily boa constrictors and jaguars.
Beliefs about Pets: Halflings not only dearly love their animals, they pretty uniformly reject the labels "pet" and "pet owner" as demeaning to the animals. They are as radical about their pet beliefs as they are about the anarchist politics. No halfling pets wear collars or leashes under any condition, and they are free to come and go as they please. (Halflings take exceptional care of animals, and the animals invariably return about as often a housepet.) And halflings grow up in a rainforest filled with thousands of powerful compounds growing wild around them, so they are able to offer animals a diet that matches the animal's needs, including through the examination of the animal's stool to detect diet deficiencies. Halfling pets tend to be big animals, and many non-halflings observe that the halfling is often the smaller of the two. This is true especially of their hounds, docile but dangerous creatures which seem to be half-wolf and half-hyena--these beasts terrify most people, but halflings are well used to living amongst the creatures. Sloths, on the other hand, are animals sustained to protect them from loggers and the more dangerous rainforest animals. Spider monkeys and parrots are sustained for their intelligence and agility. In recent decades, advances in understanding about some of the rainforest's predators led to advances in halfling relations, namely with boa constrictors and jaguars. These two animals, either of which could easily kill a halfling with little effort, have been seen throughout the rainforest existing peacefully with the halflings.
Common Pet Names: Halflings consider it to be playfully affectionate to give ironic pet names. These are not names that tease the animal, but instead names that celebrate something about it by giving it a conflicting name. There are a great many halfling hounds who are named Tiny or Wimp or something along those lines; sloths named Speedy or Flash are common as well. Increasingly in the last two decades, halflings have begun to adopt the structure of the orcish titular names, but retaining the irony. Examples of names like this might be She-Who-Runs-So-Slow for a fast hound or Hands-to-Yourself for a boa constrictor still being tamed. Halfling custom dictates that the animal's name be changed should the namesake change.
Pet Customs: When an animal has frequented a halfling's home for two years, traditionally, the halfling will go into the rainforest and not return until they have a gift for the animal. This is meant to repay the animal for the gift of its regular presence. Gifts typically are an offering of food, though some halflings offer herbs or even colorful stones. It is said that an animal in the Heronal Forest has never denied a gift, and it is hotly debated in the world outside Curagon whether that is because of the halflings' skill with animals, the nature of the animals themselves, or that the story itself is a myth. What is known for certain by those who have made the trip to Curagon is that wild animals roam the streets, harming no one.
There you have it--a guide to the world of pets throughout my homebrew setting. If you enjoyed reading about what it's like there, check out the homepage under "My Homebrew Setting" about halfway down the page; I've posted thirty different guides to life in my homebrew setting. And a lot of that is because taking the time to think about these things and write them out helps me come up with things like all this to add to my description when we're playing. And it can help you too--just challenge yourself to define as much as you can in your world.
That's all for now. Coming soon: the 10 most important lessons I've learned as a GM, parenting by D&D culture in my homebrew setting, and a guide to my homebrew Underdark. Until next time, happy gaming!
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