Taming (skill)

Taming

Taming is the skill used to train wild animals to help modern man. From the ferocious guard dog to the powerful warhorse, all animals can benefit mortal kind through diligent training.

Capturing a pet

Animals must first be captured by use of the lasso. If one has learned the basics of Taming, a rope may be used to capture most wild animals. To do so, obtain a rope, WIELD ROPE, and then LASSO <animal>. Those who have learned the skill of bonding will also be able to BEFRIEND animals.

Most wild animals tend to disagree with being roped and will fight the process until they can hold out no longer. One tactic is to beat the animal, before attempting to rope it, in an effort to wear it out first. Once they submit, you will be able to begin the training.

Ordering your pet

All pets will start with the skill obey, which they will already do to a certain level. Of course not all pets will obey well at first, and some pets will never obey well, despite how much training you give them in this skill. With the skill obey, you are able to use the following commands.

ORDER <animal> MOVE <dir>
- Use this to direct the animal where to go.

ORDER <animal> FOLLOW ME
- Trained animals will follow you, but not other players, unless they
  have been trained to do so.

ORDER <animal> PASSIVE
- This command will have the pet stop whatever it has been ordered to
  do.

ORDER <animal> DROP <item>
- Your pet will drop whatever it is carrying.

ORDER <animal> CALM
- If your pet decided to flip out and run around like mad, try to calm
  him.

Training your pet

From this point you can teach your pet many different skills, based on your skill level in the art of taming. You can read about the varied commands in the AB files. Not all pets can learn all skills. For example, a squirrel is never going to learn how to fly, or to swoop, just as a raven will not learn how to dig, or yank people into the trees. If you have purchased or acquired a pet via other means, you will have to ask a trainer how to command your companion.

In addition, a pet can only learn a certain number of skills, usually 4 or 5, although some rare animals can learn up to 10 skills. This does not mean they do not have more then 10 skills they can learn, but they can only handle knowing so many skills at once. If you would like your pet to forget a skill and begin a new one, then you must TRAIN <pet> TO FORGET <skill> and this will open a skill slot for your pet.

Looking after your pet

A good trainer will keep their companions fed. Use FEED <animal> PELLET to do so. You can get pellets in most kennels and stables.

If you should leave Imperian, you must make sure to place your animal in either the kennel, or in the stable. Mounts must go in the stables, everything else may be placed in the kennels. The commands are STABLE <animal> or KENNEL <animal> and STABLE RELEASE <animal> or KENNEL RELEASE <animal>. Stables will charge 8 gold per Imperian day to house your mounts, and kennels will charge 4 gold per day.

If you have trained a pet and wish to give or sell it to another player, you will use the GRANT <animal> TO <player> command. If you are not transcendent when transferring a pet, the pet will lose some of its hard earned skills. If you wish to release a pet into the wilds, you may use the RELEASE <pet> command.

If you have an unwanted pet in a kennel or a stable, you may release it directly from there using KENNEL/STABLE RELEASE <animal> FREE, without having to pay the usual fees.

Players that are Transcendent in Taming will gain a 10% bonus when ordering their pets that are not fully trained to do something, and will also be able to train their own pets to learn one more skill than can usually be learned by that animal. All pets can only learn a maximum of 10 skills.

Skill Table

Name	Rank	Percent	Description
PetList	Inept	0	Where are your pets?
Saddle	Inept	0	Make riding more comfortable.
Capture	Inept	33	Capture trainable animals in the wild.
Train	Inept	33	Train your animal different skills.
Obey	Inept	33	You must first teach the beast to obey.
Retrieve	Novice	0	Fetch fido! Fetch!
Vermin	Novice	50	Train your animal to catch those filthy beasts.
Swim	Novice	75	This animal can swim across the deepest waters.
Hunt	Apprenctice	0	This animal can find its own food.
Attack	Apprentice	25	Have a pet learn to attack a player.
FollowOther	Apprentice	50	Teach your pet to follow someone.
Protect	Apprentice	75	A loyal pet will defend you from harm.
PetSkills	Apprentice	87	Determine what skills a pet has.
Fly	Capable	0	Teach your pet to fly high into the skies.
Climb	Capable	25	Swing into the trees like a monkey.
Burrow	Capable	50	Your pet can dig underground.
Fish	Capable	67	Train your pet to fish!
Strength	Adept	0	Increase the strength of your pet.
PetAssess	Adept	20	What is the status of an animal.
Conserve	Adept	37	Train an animal to survive on less food.
Glance	Adept	57	A pet will tell you what he sees.
Stamina	Adept	80	Increase the overall health of your pet.
Hide	Skilled	0	Camouflage to hide from predators.
Seek	Skilled	25	Track to your enemies.
Deliver	Skilled	50	Deliver items to other players.
Speed	Skilled	75	Faster pets are better pets.
Mount	Gifted	0	Train an animal to handle riders.
PetConsider	Gifted	25	What skills can this type of pet learn?
Swoop	Gifted	50	Death from the skies.
Pull	Gifted	76	Death from the trees.
Razor	Expert	0	Death from below.
Bury	Expert	25	Have your pet bury items.
Flee	Expert	50	Your pet will flee from its attackers.
Oysters	Expert	62	Teach your pet to harvest pearls from oysters for you. (Note: You require the Crystalism skill to use this ability.)
Courage	Expert	75	Your pet will fight to the bitter end.
Loot	Expert	87	The dead do not need their belongings.
Charge	Virtuoso	0	Train your pet to charge into battle.
SkyGuard	Virtuoso	25	Intercept attackers from the skies.
Gallop	Virtuoso	50	Train your steed to move quickly.
TreeToss	Virtuoso	75	Toss any enemies from the trees.
Gather	Virtuoso	88	Keep the land free of clutter.
DirtTrap	Fabled	0	Trap your foes in an underground pit.
Joust	Fabled	20	Train a horse to know the sport.
Listen	Fabled	40	Train your pet to spy on others.
Circle	Fabled	60	Have your flying companion circle high in the sky.
Befriend	Fabled	80	Befriend trainable animals in the wild.
Dash	Mythical	0	Your pet shall be the fastest in the land.
Track	Mythical	20	Find and follow a foe.
Intimidate	Mythical	40	This pet can attempt to scare off weaker animals.
Observe	Mythical	60	Have your trained pet report on its surroundings.
Standguard	Mythical	80	The most dutiful of guards.
Transfer	Transcendent	0	Transfer a trained pet to another player.