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. |