War Dogs...

[natehale1971]

Tonight Fox News Channel show 'War Stories' dealt alot with War Dogs... And it made me wonder, did anyone use War Dogs in their campaigns?

Our group actually had a female military police specialist PC with her working dog... Anyone else use War Dogs in their games?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...x-K-9_Andy.jpg

[Mohoender]

No but that should be interesting. Moreover, dogs could be useful not only for combat. I can easily imagine a character coming from some rescue service and still having his rescue dog with him. What could be interesting also is that some dogs can prove as dangerous for the target as for the owner (Doberman, pit fighting dogs...).

From what I know the german were using mostly Belgian shepperd Dog (Malinois) as guard dog.
Some years ago I owned two Beaucerons (French shorthaired sheeperd) and they were terrific as guard dogs but you had to go with some rules as they could become higly dangerous dogs. In wars, these dogs had been used as messengers, supply carriers, mine detection (I didn't know that one) and rescue.
Great Danes and Irish Wolfhounds are very impressive and were both used for war.

Actually, animals could be interesting in many ways (outside ending up as dish) and they are largely undercovered by T2K (IMO). After all, Rome was saved by its sacred geese.

[General Pain]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

No but that should be interesting. Moreover, dogs could be useful not only for combat. I can easily imagine a character coming from some rescue service and still having his rescue dog with him. What could be interesting also is that some dogs can prove as dangerous for the target as for the owner (Doberman, pit fighting dogs...).

From what I know the german were using mostly Belgian shepperd Dog (Malinois) as guard dog.
Some years ago I owned two Beaucerons (French shorthaired sheeperd) and they were terrific as guard dogs but you had to go with some rules as they could become higly dangerous dogs. In wars, these dogs had been used as messengers, supply carriers, mine detection (I didn't know that one) and rescue.
Great Danes and Irish Wolfhounds are very impressive and were both used for war.

Actually, animals could be interesting in many ways (outside ending up as dish) and they are largely undercovered by T2K (IMO). After all, Rome was saved by its sacred geese.

My character now has some scabby dogs in his throne room hehe...

apart from that I must say that allmost every dog can be dangerous, I have a Doberman myself and she is a very non-aggresive dog...(as long as you don't try to break in my apartment) ...the stigma some dog-races get is not allways right (usually not)...IMHO it's the owner that makes his dog dangerous...I've seen it loads of times...I actualle got attacked by a German Shepperd in my shop.
-the owner managed to utter the following words:

That's the first time that's happened in a shop...

---I was speechless.....

on a side note in Nigeria the Loansharks use Hyenas ....

[Targan]

General Pain, those are some incredible photos. I am amazed.

[General Pain]

Originally Posted by Targan

General Pain, those are some incredible photos. I am amazed.

Praise Google

[General Pain]

************************************************** *****
http://www.scamorama.com/hyena.html

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by General Pain

Praise Google

I have noticed over the past two months or so, you have achieved your black belt in Google-fu.

[Mohoender]

I agree with Targ General. Moroever, your pictures can give us some great ideas about unusual animals. I agree with what you say about dogs and masters (owners). Nevertheless, some dogs can be nuts while every dog is not well suited for every tasks.

Coming back on the French shorthair shepperds: They were great as guard (attacking in silence, refusing outside food) and for rescue (even untrained). Someone, fall from his motorbike in my place and the dogs came to his rescue, moving the bike away. I also used to go with both dogs (a 116lb oversize male and a much smaller 85lb female) for long night walks and that was a lot of fun as the female was helping me walking when it was becoming too dark. On the other hand, they killed a few dozen sheeps, decapitated another dog...

Another downside with these dogs is that you can't train them to wound people (when they move against someone, it's always for the kill). Moreover, when they attack, you can't stop them before they kill their target unless you want to end up as dead meat. In addition, you need to have a female and a male (two males or two females will kill eachother). Then, my dogs had a very intersting tactics when attacking (it happened once with gipsies who barely escaped by jumping of the wall): the male was attacking from the front while the female was attacking (simultaneously and silently) from the back.

This is, of course, an exemple but you'll find different things for every dog. In my opinion, when allowing dogs, a GM should do some reasearch (limited ones) in order to add some reality.

I don't know if that story is true as I just found it on wiki (I ask the californians??): "In southern California in 2009, three chihuahuas protected their master, a three year old girl, from a 100 pound mountain lion".

I can believe it as (before the beauceron) I had a dachshund (15 cm long body) that finished its life hunting wild boars.

[Rainbow Six]

In the UK Survivor's Guide I'm working on I have a marauder group based in Colchester, Essex, who are the former inmates of the British Military Prison that is located there. Their leader is a former paratrooper who had been convicted of some very unpleasant things and was pending transfer to a civilian prison when the nukes started flying.

He is accompanied everywhere by a pit bull terrier and the local population are almost as scared of the dog as they are of him.

[Targan]

Originally Posted by natehale1971

Tonight Fox News Channel show 'War Stories' dealt alot with War Dogs... And it made me wonder, did anyone use War Dogs in their campaigns?

Our group actually had a female military police specialist PC with her working dog... Anyone else use War Dogs in their games?

There is a female USAF dog handler NPC in the party in my current campaign and she has repeately lobbied the CO to be allowed to have a dog but Major Po had denied her permission. As a GM I'd be happy for the party to have a war dog because the system I use, Gunmaster, is based on Harnmaster which has excellent rules for various animals including dogs and horses. The hunting rules in particular are really good and the use of a trained dog in hunting makes the whole operation much easier. Good for tracking too (animals or people).

[kato13]

Originally Posted by Targan

There is a female USAF dog handler NPC in the party in my current campaign and she has repeately lobbied the CO to be allowed to have a dog but Major Po had denied her permission.

This has been the case for years I believe. Is Major Po (the character not the poster) just being spiteful towards the dog handler or does he have a reason? Given dogs should be easier to acquire and maintain than most pieces of equipment I don't see much logic in not having one.

[Targan]

Originally Posted by kato13

Is Major Po (the character not the poster) just being spiteful towards the dog handler or does he have a reason?

Actually I really don't know. Maybe MajorPo will log on some time and give us a reason.

[kato13]

Originally Posted by Targan

Actually I really don't know. Maybe MajorPo will log on some time and give us a reason.

I thought there might be some type of '"the blanket" does not like dogs' reason or something. Really seems like the waste of a person with a skill. He has not been on in a while so give him a nudge next time you talk with him. Always interesting getting an insight into Dr. Po's brain.

[Targan]

Okay well here is my theory.

I think I have described before the circmstances under which Tech Sgt Latoya Martinez, USAF came to join Major Po's merry band. When he and his unit reached Bremerhaven Po managed to convince the US military brass to hold an all-services martial arts tournament to provide entertainment to the tens of thousands of US personnel waiting in Bremerhaven with some entertainment.

Po is a highly skilled practitioner of Wing Chun (had been training since he was a child). He organised the tournament in a series of elimination bouts in three classes, lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight. The tournament was held in a soccer stadium and it was a more than full house. Of course as he and his men had access to "The Blanket" they were able to recover fully from their injuries after each bout so it ended up that Po fought in the grand final in the lightweight division, Gunny Lamont (the godlike USMC veteran based on Thomas Highway from "Heartbreak Ridge") in the middleweight and my brother's PC Cpl Urana Ratowi, USMC (a 6'5", 230lb American Samoan) in the heavyweight group.

Po's grand final opponent was Martinez who was a mighty fine brawler because she came from a big Mexican-American family from LA with six older brothers. Martinez's USAF buddies had been secretly giving her PCP before each bout (unbeknownst to her) and they gave her a big dose for the bout with Po (and bet huge sums on her winning). Martinez ended up going berserk in the ring and beat the crap out of Po. When he regained consciousness he ordered that she be brought into his group, and I now think that may have been to keep an eye on her.

Po treats Martinez pretty well but deep down I think he is still scared of her and denying her a military dog might be his way of punishing her on an ongoing basis for beating him.

As an aside the grand finals of the tournament ended with a huge riot. I've actually written a short story about the day of the tournament.