Animal Encounters

[mpipes]

There is an even worse scenario that dawned on me.

The group encounters a sick bat, and one of the characters manages to get bitten. That triggers an emergency, high priority quest to track down a viable rabies treatment protocol in their current predicament.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by 3catcircus

After the last 12 months of raising a labradoodle from the age of 12 weeks, and seeing how she isn't mean, she's just crazy (she's a people person who, if you let her, literally greets you at the door by standing on two legs, slapping her paws on your shoulders, and demanding chin scratches), I could easily see an animal encounter gone wrong - accidentally shooting the pet of the NPC you are trying to find.

I had a Black Lab/Great Dane about 30 years ago who sounds just like her! Except -- 125 pounds...

[.45cultist]

My pet Vietnamese Pot-Bellied pig, Princess bangs on the door making horrible noises wanting her dinner. It sounds horrible and a city slicker wouldn't know what is behind the door!

[3catcircus]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

I had a Black Lab/Great Dane about 30 years ago who sounds just like her! Except -- 125 pounds...

I think I'll stick with Cammie at 65 lbs. She's strong enough that my wife and daughter can't really walk her when her nose is on something. The nose follows the scent, the dog follows the nose, and if you begin walking, she assumes you'll keep up... No problem when you stop as she'll just sit and wait, but when she's walking, it's at a fast pace.

And with the pandemic, meeting new people has been tough, resulting in her assuming that *everyone* she sees when we're on a walk absolutely wants her to run over and say hello.

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by 3catcircus

I think I'll stick with Cammie at 65 lbs. She's strong enough that my wife and daughter can't really walk her when her nose is on something. The nose follows the scent, the dog follows the nose, and if you begin walking, she assumes you'll keep up... No problem when you stop as she'll just sit and wait, but when she's walking, it's at a fast pace.

And with the pandemic, meeting new people has been tough, resulting in her assuming that *everyone* she sees when we're on a walk absolutely wants her to run over and say hello.

Pigs are like dog sized bulldozers and require one to child proof their home, but I love them. When I get a dog again, I plan on one raised to not harm the pigs and poultry.

[pmulcahy11b]

Another critter among the same vein as killer bees (more properly called Africanized Honeybees) is fire ants. Here in South Texas, they are responsible for the deaths of many pets and even some little kids. Some adults also get heavily stung or killed, often by mowing the grass. CPS workers are very careful when servicing electrical equipment; fire ants love to make nests in those places (a note to Scroungers in a T2K setting).

[3catcircus]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

Another critter among the same vein as killer bees (more properly called Africanized Honeybees) is fire ants. Here in South Texas, they are responsible for the deaths of many pets and even some little kids. Some adults also get heavily stung or killed, often by mowing the grass. CPS workers are very careful when servicing electrical equipment; fire ants love to make nests in those places (a note to Scroungers in a T2K setting).

Encountered them when I lived in Florida. They wait until they've covered your unsuspecting foot then sting altogether at the same time. Luckily jumping in the pool made quick work of them, as did boiling water poured down their nest.

[Raellus]

Rats have long been viewed as dangerous to humans, and not without reason, but rats can also help them. Here's a positive animal encounter idea:

https://www.apopo.org/en/what-we-do/...RoCf-0QAvD_BwE

The locales where this appears to be going on are somewhat exotic, by T2k standards, but perhaps some enterprising Pole (or other nationality) could start their own rat-assisted mine-detection enterprise.

Credit to my teenage daughter for bringing this to my attention.

-

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by 3catcircus

Encountered them when I lived in Florida. They wait until they've covered your unsuspecting foot then sting altogether at the same time. Luckily jumping in the pool made quick work of them, as did boiling water poured down their nest.

All ants seem to like the 60HZ cycle of electronic stuff.

[Brit]

"Barcelona tackles roaming wild boar problem".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-59352740

[Matt Wiser]

Call me a reluctant cat guy. Oh, I love dogs, and do want a Golden Lab in time, but my last two pets have been cats. Unfortunately, I live in a rural area, and outdoor cats and coyotes do not mix....Yet the last cat lived for twelve years in an area with a lot of coyotes. He just didn't see 13.

Here's a very rare animal encounter you could use... Whether one's party is in the Pacific NW, the Sierras or SoCal Mountains, Florida/Georgia, East Texas/Louisiana, Ohio, the Appalachians, Rockies, or anyplace swampy/wooded/mountainous. Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Grassman, Skunk Ape, the Fouke Monster, or whatever you want to call him/it. The Skunk Ape was in Urban Guerilla (but no stats provided), if you'll recall. With human numbers reduced, their numbers might increase slightly, so the chances of encountering one would be increased, especially if one's party or the community they are located does a lot of deer or other hunting. Or you're camped in an area where a BF considers it to be his territory, and he sure doesn't want you there!

What do you fellows think?

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by Matt Wiser

Call me a reluctant cat guy. Oh, I love dogs, and do want a Golden Lab in time, but my last two pets have been cats. Unfortunately, I live in a rural area, and outdoor cats and coyotes do not mix....Yet the last cat lived for twelve years in an area with a lot of coyotes. He just didn't see 13.

Here's a very rare animal encounter you could use... Whether one's party is in the Pacific NW, the Sierras or SoCal Mountains, Florida/Georgia, East Texas/Louisiana, Ohio, the Appalachians, Rockies, or anyplace swampy/wooded/mountainous. Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Grassman, Skunk Ape, the Fouke Monster, or whatever you want to call him/it. The Skunk Ape was in Urban Guerilla (but no stats provided), if you'll recall. With human numbers reduced, their numbers might increase slightly, so the chances of encountering one would be increased, especially if one's party or the community they are located does a lot of deer or other hunting. Or you're camped in an area where a BF considers it to be his territory, and he sure doesn't want you there!

What do you fellows think?

Yes, for most homestead animals, coyotes are horrible pests.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Matt Wiser

What do you fellows think?

In the draft stage, I suggested to Tegyrius that he add a Sasquatch encounter option to his amazing Pacific Northwest Sourcebook, but I think he thought it would be too hokey or seem out of place. AFAIK, it didn't make into the final draft.

I think it would be interesting/funny for a campaign "bigfoot" to end up actually being a recluse wearing an ape suit (probably trying to keep strangers out of his territory).

-

[Tegyrius]

I considered it, but the book was already so big that I didn't want to shoehorn any more in there.

To do the Pacific Northwest's supernatural landscape true justice, I would've also needed to cover its UFO history, the profound weirdness of Crater Lake, the PNW's high number of unexplained wilderness disappearances, several distinct water monsters, and the Pacific Northwest tree octopus.

- C.

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by Tegyrius

I considered it, but the book was already so big that I didn't want to shoehorn any more in there.

To do the Pacific Northwest's supernatural landscape true justice, I would've also needed to cover its UFO history, the profound weirdness of Crater Lake, the PNW's high number of unexplained wilderness disappearances, several distinct water monsters, and the Pacific Northwest tree octopus.

- C.

So enough for another "Twilight Nightmares" book.

[Brit]

Originally Posted by Tegyrius

the Pacific Northwest tree octopus. - C.

What!

It's on The Internet! It must be true!

https://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

[Tegyrius]

Originally Posted by .45cultist

So enough for another "Twilight Nightmares" book.

Perhaps. A quarter-century of World of Darkness work makes me think I could do a decent job of it. I'm not sure it would sell enough to justify a commercial release, though, and I have several other things in the hopper that I think would sell better and be received better.

(Sales in this market and to this audience being, of course, relative. As of right now, Pacific Northwest has moved 363 copies, the majority of those sales occurring within the first month of its release. By comparison, the best-selling print project on which I was the solo or primary author was the revised edition of Clanbook: Assamite. That sold out two print runs of 10,000 copies each over its lifetime. But the market at the turn of the millennium was entirely different, and I was an entirely different writer then.)

(The original Twilight Nightmares ranked in the bottom 40% of GDW's customer opinion survey. The print run was 7,113 copies. On DriveThru, it's a gold seller - between 501 and 1,000 copies.)

(Edits: Grammar, clarity, and more parentheses.)

- C.

[rcaf_777]

what about snake bites?

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Raellus

In the draft stage, I suggested to Tegyrius that he add a Sasquatch encounter option to his amazing Pacific Northwest Sourcebook,

-

My personal opinion is that, while 90% of Sasquatch (or what it's called in different parts of the country) sighting or photos are bogus/something the person thought they were but wasn't, but I think that the Sasquatch is a real creature, which is adept at hiding from and avoiding us humans. Though I think there are few legitimate sightings, Sasquatch is a real creature that is out there.

I don't think Sasquatch is related to humans, however. A more likely ancestor is Gigantopithicus, greatly evolved.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by rcaf_777

what about snake bites?

That's a good one. I don't think the BYB or even my site handles this very well.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Matt Wiser

Call me a reluctant cat guy. Oh, I love dogs, and do want a Golden Lab in time,

If your idea of a Golden Lab is the same as mine (a Golden Retriever/Lab mix), I had one until about three years ago, when he died at the age of 13 of liver cancer. If indeed you and I are talking about the same thing, the
AKC has recognized this as a distinct breed (though the official name is a Goldador -- a ridiculous name in my opinion -- Golden Lab would have a much better official name. They take a lot of upkeep because thay have a shorter version of the Golden's coat, and monthly trips to the groomer are a must.

I've had a lot of dogs, but Sam is one of those that I miss the most.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by 3catcircus

Encountered them when I lived in Florida. They wait until they've covered your unsuspecting foot then sting altogether at the same time. Luckily jumping in the pool made quick work of them, as did boiling water poured down their nest.

The CPS and Cable company workers in San Antonio and Bexar County generally carry multiple cans of really, really strong inset killing spray.

Note that I didn't say insect repellent. Their spray is designed to kill fire ants and some other insects on contact.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Rats have long been viewed as dangerous to humans, and not without reason, but rats can also help them. Here's a positive animal encounter idea:

https://www.apopo.org/en/what-we-do/...RoCf-0QAvD_BwE

The locales where this appears to be going on are somewhat exotic, by T2k standards, but perhaps some enterprising Pole (or other nationality) could start their own rat-assisted mine-detection enterprise.

Credit to my teenage daughter for bringing this to my attention.

-

African Pouched Rats are excellent for mine detection. They are bigger than most rats and have more endurance, and their brain-to-weight is better than your standard rat and their convolutions in their brain are deeper. As a result, they are also much smarter and more easily trainable than your average rat. And though they are a rather large rat, they are still light enough that they can sit on antipersonnel mines and not trigger them and brush up against of cross tripwires without triggering them either.

[.45cultist]

During my research, I've found there are several pig adoption farms around the country. A good scenario for civilians might be the relocation and evacuation of these to prevent their destruction and consumption. I was going to mention such an operation in my material as background filler. a convoy of biodiesel or alcohol trucks. The pigs might be abandoned minis, Pot-Bellies or full sized
heritage breeds or a mix of sizes. given their easily spooked natures and meat starved men, a small adventure to just get them to safety can be had.

[unipus]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

The CPS and Cable company workers in San Antonio and Bexar County generally carry multiple cans of really, really strong inset killing spray.

Note that I didn't say insect repellent. Their spray is designed to kill fire ants and some other insects on contact.

I was volunteering on a clean-up crew in Texas after Hurricane Harvey. We got to this widow's house. Her husband had apparently been a hell of a mechanic/engineer -- place had a gigantic car garage with lifts and all. It also had a workshop in a totally separate structure, which had seen the worst of the flooding. We opened it up and there was just buzzing. The whole place had become a hornets nest.

A certain ex-Navy SEAL I was working with who has somehow gone on to be a notable politician said "NOPE" and wouldn't go in there until he had pieced together a spray-can flamethrower followed quickly behind by some serious high-power spray insecticide. It was a long afternoon.

[Heffe]

Originally Posted by rcaf_777

what about snake bites?

This depends so heavily on what part of the country you're in and what kind of snake bites you. I used to research this a bit when I was into back-country backpacking when I was younger.

In the southwest US where I live, the most common and dangerous type of snake is one of a few species of rattlesnake (Mojave and Western Diamondback in the far southwest afaik). A bite from those can have some pretty serious, and even fatal effects. From my understanding (at least what I was always told growing up), the babies are far more dangerous than the adults, as they don't have the same capacity to regulate the amount of venom they inject, and just give a full dose on every bite.

A bite from an adult rattlesnake usually has one of four effects, all about equal in chance (maybe do a 1D4 roll for in-game purposes). The snake either injects no venom, a little venom, a medium amount of venom, or a lot of venom. A bite with no venom isn't an issue at all outside of a couple of small punctures at the site of the bite. A little venom is going to suck for the person bit, as they'll experience some combination of lightheadedness, sweating, some weakness, a little nausea, swelling at the site of the bite, and just general discomfort. If the bitee gets a significant dose, things escalate with shortness of breath and difficulty breathing (often due to swelling), likely more vomiting, blurred vision, etc. If the rattler injects a full dose, the victim's life will be in jeopardy, with worse versions of all of the above symptoms, along with possible long term organ damage (parts of the victim's intestines dying, eventually going septic, etc) and even death.

I'd say that if you get bit with one of the first 3 types, chances are you'll live with varying amounts of discomfort over the following days/weeks (or even months if it was a strong bite) without any treatment. With the strongest bites, the victim will almost certainly live so long as they receive treatment at a hospital and possible antivenin dose - without treatment, I'm not sure what the chance of death is, but it's probably at least somewhat significant.

Interesting fact that I just learned, for most rattlesnake bites in the US, the recommended course of action for hospitals is to give the victim some Antihistamines (Benedryl) and monitor them for 24 hours. Often that and pain relievers are enough to stave off some of the worst immediate effects. If it isn't, then they'll proceed with the course of antivenin.

Finally, an obscure adage from fellow hikers in the southwest - "When hiking in single file, try to never be the third person in line. Because if you come across a sleeping rattlesnake, the first person in line is going to wake it up. The second will piss it off. And it'll bite whoever's in third."

edit: As an added bonus, Rattlesnakes can grow to be fairly long - I've seen a couple of larger ones that were 6ft or longer. Throw some spices on em and toss em on a bbq, they also make for a pretty decent meal - If memory serves, they taste somewhat like chicken (doesn't everything) but with some small fish-like bones.

[ChalkLine]

Snakes are fascinating things.

When I was in Tasmania (southernmost Australia) the wildlife guy came around and explained the snake we'd inadvertently antagonised to the point it was almost sending us nasty e-mails.

Because it was so cold it had tried a 'dry bite' at us. This is where the snake doesn't load up its fangs with venom, and it does this because loading those fangs is very energy-intensive for Mr Snake. This is a sort of 'bugger off' bite that still uses a lot of energy but not as much as a toxic bite.

Because my idiot mate was so tired he then actually stepped on the snake while I was warning him about it so the snake then loaded up a full venom-load and bit him on his work boot. Now he's got the problem where he's got one of the most poisonous creatures on the planet biting him and can't take his foot off it in case it goes even more ballistic. Luckily our local snake wrangler, mandated by government policy, was right there.

So he grabs the snake, tosses it in the snake bag and then shows us the snake is literally dying in front of our eyes it had so little energy left. At this point I found out that biologists are absolute lunatics because he went over to his truck, put the heater on and let the snake out in the cab. When I in horror asked him where the hell he'd expect the snake to be after that he replied "usually under the seat or wrapped around the steering column", strongly implying the nutter has done this more than once. After ten minutes he nabbed it with his snake-grabbers and took it down to the creek and let it go.

I have hundreds of snake stories of which this is just one.

[Raellus]

I'm not even going to try to top that story, Chalk!

Rattlesnake encounters are so common here in S. Arizona that the fire department will no longer handle snake removals, unless the snake is inside the home. We citizens are left our own devices when a snake is encountered in a garage or yard.

I used to live on an acre in the sticks. I had two small kids back then. If a rattler got into our yard, and wouldn't leave, I killed it (usually with a shovel). Birdshot literally disintegrates snakes. Don't ask me how I know that. I almost always felt guilty, afterwards, though. Those snakes were just living their rattler lives, and our homestead was built on their turf. I've not deliberately killed a rattler since we moved back into town.

I currently live in a relatively new subdivision on the current northwest edge of the city. We thought moving closer to the city would be the end of our rattlesnake encounters. Not so. Investing in some snake fencing for the back yard helped, but one still got in somehow. We've had so many rattlers on our property over the past six years that I invested in a snake stick ($25 on Amazon a couple of years ago). I've removed at least half-dozen of the little blighters, the most recent reptilian intruder being just a few weeks ago (from my front driveway, right by a garage door). I should be used to it by now, but it's still extremely nerve wracking. That rattle triggers an atavistic fear response (in me, at least). My wife even stepped on one in my backyard, but it didn't strike (or even rattle). I thanked the merciful snake by removing it as gently as possible.

-

[Matt Wiser]

Had that happen to me-INSIDE THE BLOODY HOUSE. It was a rattler, and a baby one at that. How it got in, I have no idea. Wound up calling 911, and they said to call a snake recovery outfit that's 45 miles away! Said OK, but then called someone a LOT closer; the chief of our local Volunteer FD. He was here in five minutes. He got the snake, threw it into a black trash bag, and turned it into a good snake: he put the bag with snake inside behind one of the tires on his truck and ran over it. Twice. Threw what was left over the fence for the coyotes or raccoons.

[Targan]

Originally Posted by ChalkLine

Snakes are fascinating things.I have hundreds of snake stories of which this is just one.

As we both know, highly venomous snakes are just part of life across most of Australia. Including in suburbia. When I was a kid most second-or-more generation Australian parents would teach their kids common sense precautions.