As mentioned last week, The Adventurer’s Toolkit is starting to ship out . In addition to a variety of new actions, talents, and party sheets, the Adventurer’s Toolkit also introduces ten new careers to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay , including the iconic Rat Catcher and his Small But Vicious Dog.

This designer diary provides some insights and information about the Small But Vicious Dog and some of the tricks he brings to the table.

Simply brilliant.

This is a really cool idea... also HILARIOUS.

Imagine that little mutt nipping at the heels of some orcs.

A great source of comedy, and tragedy (once one of those orcs angrily kicks the dog over a bridge).

Oddly, I used to have a group of players where the death of a party mascot (such as the Small But Vicious Dog) historically led to some impressive rallies and even turned the tide of some battles in various RPGs (WFRPG amongst them). This coincidence happened often enough that they began to consider at least one party mascot to be an absolute requirement.

I hope the Knight is also missing only because you have something special for him and his mount...

F A N T A S T I C

And that gave me an idea

hmm there should have been a disclaimer following the small and vicious dog. it should read something like this:

Disclaimer: no animal was hurt or abused in the procces of making the game mechanics for SBVD, but several legs got biten and some had to be stitched.

Nifty!

I was greatly disappointed that the Ratcatcher wasn't in the core box... looks like it'll be worth the wait, though! Very much looking forward to the Adventurer's Toolkit. Is it here yet? Is it here yet? How about now?

It also gives me an idea... goblin + squig.

I wonder if this is why there are no mount rules in the core rules...

Could be that they are planning to handle mounts in this fashion. I would support this. I would like to see other pets as well. Guard dogs, birds, ferrets or rats, and other pets that could be purchased or trained. A pet pack would be most welcome at my table. PETS ASSEMBLE... ATTACK!

NezziR said:

My dwarven soldier wants a pet rock

moose biter said:

That comes with a Ranged Attack option doesn't it?

The Small But Vicious Dog getting its own card idea is simply awesome, but there was also something else in that designer's diary, something I didn't like that much.

The Swordmasters are getting theit Swords of Hoeth, and the Ironbreakers have gromril armor. While I don't know all that much about Swordmasters (or High Elves in general, for that matter), giving a starting character a suit of gromril mail flat out beats even the most uber trappings of 2ed careers. Yes, I know, it's an ancient clan heirloom, a dwarf could never sell it and losing it would result in him taking the Slayer oath - but it still feels wrong, over the top and wholly unnecessary.

Well, we don't really know how does the Gromril armour ability work, and I'm still not sure about the Ironbreaker being a basic career...

moose biter said:

Kicking the SBVD into the crowd could be an awesome ranged weapon.

Ferozstein said:

Are you sure they GET them, or could it be they have to acquire them as part of their change to the career?

Hum.. I assumed from the AT blurb that the Wardancer, Swordmaster and Ironbreaker are all Basic careers (and as such, they come with their phat lewt right from the start). But yes, in fact that was never explicitly stated. I hope they're not, then.

Ferozstein said:

I'm pretty sure the Iron Breaker and Sword Master are advanced careers. Not sure about the Wardancer, but I would assume the same for it. However, I haven't seen an example yet of any career 'coming' with a piece of equipment. It must be bought. The 'trappings' on the back of the card are suggestions for what they would normally have, not what they actually come with. You have to kick your starting money up and buy the items. At least that's the conclusion we've come to in a thread about this in the 'Rules Questions' forum (there has been no official ruling on this that I'm aware of).

I believe the wardancer is a basic career. One of the diaries mentions their playtest group of starting PCs had a wardancer in it.

I would imagine that if the Swordmaster and Ironbreaker are basic careers, their trappings are the same as everyone else. They'll need to allocate points to Wealth and buy their gear just the same. It is possible that their unique career card, though, has effects tht mimic equipment. For example, the Trollslayer gets 1 defense and 1 soak per Slayer career. The Ironbreaker could increase the soak of armor they wear, for example. A Swordmaster could gain a [W] of [Y] when wielding a great sword, or somesuch.

Or they can get a unique item, just like the way the Rat Catcher gets his unique pet via his career.

NezziR said:

Okay, that I've missed. I didn't get my Core Set yet (due to arrive tomorrow), so I assumed that the starting equipment comes with the career, like in both previous editions. Having to actually buy it for chaacter points is an awesome idea that fixes a LOT of imbalance between the careers

I stand corrected then, happily.

Thank you, Ynnen, this has brought a lump to my throat! The rat catcher and his trusty hound epitomise WFRP, and will be welcomed back with open arms.

This opens some very interesting options, not just for mounts , but also for other followers and hangers-on that don't warrant their own "character."

It doesn't mention a wounds threshold, so I wonder how attacks against the dog work. Gotta pick up the Toolkit soon.

I like the idea of an obedience tracker. This seems like a great mechanic to steal for other minor henchmen and hirelings that players are attempting to absorb arrows with, er ... I mean lead into battle.