Although I doubt it had anything to do with my post about dogs in the dungeon, Goblinoid Games recently released Dogs in the Dungeon, a four-page supplement to Labyrinth Lord that can easily be adapted to any of the OSR flavors of D&D. It is available at RPGNOW for a buck fitty or you can get an art-less free download. I recommend the art-free version, unless like me you want to toss a buck to Goblinoid.
Update: There is no free version of the Dogs in the Dungeon supplement. I misread Don’s post. It’s the Labyrinth Lord and Advanced Edition Companion rulesbooks that have art-free versions at no cost. Rolled a 1 on my reading check.
The four pages include breeds of:
- Guard or Fighting Dog
- Scenthounds
- Sighthouds
- Waterhounds
- Exotic Hounds
To my uneducated eye, it seems Dan has researched historical breeds as much as would satisfy me as a DM. After the breeds are described, there are some rules for dogs such as:
Dominance
Dogs are pack animals, and as such they require a dominance structure to achieve harmony in a group. It is assumed that all of the dogs presented here are very well trained. They do not challenge the dominance of their masters. In any group where two or more dogs are present there will be struggles for dominance between the dogs. This will not occur during an encounter, due to the quality of their training, but the referee must roll 1d6 every four turns in the dungeon, or once per day in the wilderness. A roll of 1-2 on 1d6 indicates a dominance struggle, and the dogs get into a physical scuffle.
I’d be interested in hearing of anyone using these rules. I would have liked a few more exotic hounds (there are two), but I think the variety of mundane hounds is more than sufficient to add something to the game without breaking it.
Can you give a URL for the free version? I couldn’t find it.
I can’t either. I’ll drop him a line and ask.
I think you meant “a buck fifty” not “a buck fitty”, though deer having fits would make sense if there’s a pack of dogs running through the woods.
No, I meant “a buck fitty.” Sort of an in-joke I have with some people who I just now realize have no idea this blog exists and wouldn’t particularly care.
Well, that would certainly explain why I didn’t realize that. 🙂
See update above. I didn’t read carefully. On the plus side, Dan Proctor came over to look at the site…