Animal Training

Step

 * Rank + CHA

Action

 * Sustained

Strain

 * 0

Skill Use

 * Yes (Novice)

Description

 * The adept trains an animal to obey simple commands such as “scout ahead,” “smell that,” and “go home,” as well as the more usual “stop,” “heel,” “fetch,” and “kill.” An animal can be taught a maximum number of commands equal to the adept’s Animal Training rank.
 * Each command requires a separate successful use of Animal Training and the animal must hold a Friendly attitude towards the trainer. The adept spends a day with the animal, focusing on teaching it the new command, and reviewing any commands it already knows, then makes an Animal Training test against the creature’s Social Defense. If successful, the animal understands and obeys the command. Trained animals only respond to commands given by characters they are Friendly with, including their trainer.
 * The animal remembers all of the commands it has learned for a number of months equal to the adept’s Animal Training rank. If an adept tries to maintain too large a collection of trained animals, he will find their training slipping unless he constantly works with them. If the adept neglects an animal’s training, it will forget all of its training when the talent’s duration ends. The adept may renew the duration while the talent is in effect by spending a day with the animal and making a new Animal Training test.
 * In addition to teaching the animal commands, the adept can grant the animal a +1 bonus to a skill or talent the animal knows, including their natural Attack Step. At the gamemaster’s discretion, the adept can use this ability to teach the animal companion skills the animal doesn’t know, but would conceivably be able to perform. These enhancements count towards the talent limit and must be maintainted like commands.
 * Skill Use: The non-magical version of this skill only allows the character to teach commands, it does not allow the trainer to increase the animal’s natural skills or talents.