There’s nothing unusual about mixing the life as an adventurer and as a pet owner. D&D rangers have animal companions, after all.
Furthermore, there’s been successes like the Kickstarter smash hit Dungeons and Doggies as well as the RPG Pugmire. In both, you take on the role of an adventuring dog.
In October 2020, Geek Native had a copy of Twogether Studios’ Action Pups! to give away. It’s a storytelling game about the life of a dog and to enter the competition readers had to answer this question;
If you had to live life like a D&D adventurer, on the road, exploring ruins of castles or lost dungeons, which pet/animal companion would you have?
Answers came from a list of six animals and one other choice. It was a fairly conservative list, and people couldn’t pick creative answers like wolf, gorilla or lion. Here’s the choice they had;
- I wouldn’t have a pet.
- A dog.
- A cat.
- A lizard.
- A rat.
- A parrot.
- A spider.
How do you think the votes went? There was 137 cast in the end.
It’s terrible news for spiders. Nobody wanted a spider as a D&D hero pet. Here’s the breakdown.
| If you had to live life like a D&D adventurer which pet/animal companion would you have? | Responses |
|---|---|
| A dog | 66.4% |
| A cat | 16.8% |
| A parrot | 8.8% |
| A rat | 2.9% |
| I wouldn’t have a pet | 2.9% |
| A lizard | 2.2% |
Are you surprised by the results? I can see why dogs come top but are canines really that much of a better choice if you have a lot of climbing to do?
Which pet would you have?
What about you? The competition is over, and so is the restrictive list of six animals above. You’ve the whole encyclopedia of animals to pick from. If you where a dungeon-crawling adventurer would you have a pet and, if so, what would your pet be?
Creative Commons credit: Dungeons and Dragons group commission Art by feintbellt.
Which animal would you have as a pet if you were a D&D character?
