I'm pretty new so apologies if this has been suggested before.
I think it'd be rad if we could have pets!
- Some pets appropriate to Torn could be dogs, cats, rats, ferrets, spiders, snakes, even a cockroach in a jar.
- Then there could be exotic, hard to acquire pets such as macaws, bengals, iguanas etc.
- They would be mostly cosmetic and "opt-in", like clothes and accessories, or could have mild mechanical effects.
- I would recommend players are limited to one pet at a time.
- Pets should be appropriate to Torn living. You can carry a monkey on your shoulder, but you're not going to walk around Torn on the back of your pet elephant. Or you might, if you're a crazy billionaire...
Some reasons why this would be a great addition:
Economy
- Feeding and housing pets would require upkeep, like properties.
- Smaller, common critters would be more affordable, while exotic pets might require food flown in from overseas, adding a new element to travel destinations.
- Property upgrades like an aviary or exotic enclosure to allow certain pets to be kept.
- The rarer the pet, the rarer it comes into stock, appropriate to destination. For example, iguanas would only stock in Mexico and the Caymans.
- Some pets would only drop from an appropriate NPC. You cannot convince me Leslie doesn't have a gerbil hidden in in his sweatpants.
Social
- If you don't login and/or feed your pet enough they could run away or die, encouraging people to login regularly.
- Acquiring, naming and displaying a pet would be an excellent feature that gives more personality and individuality to our Torn personas!
- Pets would become status symbols or mascots for various factions or roles.
- When you visit someone's profile, you could feed the pet a treat from your inventory. More on this and possible new mechanic ideas below.
Integration with pre-existing mechanics
- Pets could give perks. A rat might increase your awareness. A capuchin monkey could increase your mug percentage. A doberman could decrease amount lost during a mug. A rabbit decreases opponent's stealth. Endless options!
- You would have to bond with a pet for a given amount of time before receiving perks, just like you would for a faction or company.
- A new company type based around pets, like a veterinary clinic.
- Some pets could drop while hunting.
- Territories could spawn pets for the faction that holds them, appropriate to location.
Possible new mechanics
- Some pets could have a feature that keep track of who visits your profile page. If a bunch of people all visit your profile at once, maybe you'd get an event of your guard dog barking.
- If someone feeds treats to your pet regularly, they get some kind of bonus for positive and negative interactions. Example: bribing a guard dog with meat in order to increase mug bonus.
- Pet mechanics may be exclusive to a pet based company to decrease server demand and possible abuse.
Other questions
- Should Torn pets have "lifespans" or is it sufficient just to have the neglect/run away mechanic?
- Would pets bond only once and locked to that owner, or could they be traded or gifted after bonding?
- Would mistreatment of these pets be allowable by the game, or would it be better to avoid any negative interactions with pets? Eg. feeding a poisoned treat when visiting a someone's profile.
- How many players want this feature? Please comment if you'd like to have a pet in Torn or have pet-related ideas! :)
I think it'd be rad if we could have pets!
- Some pets appropriate to Torn could be dogs, cats, rats, ferrets, spiders, snakes, even a cockroach in a jar.
- Then there could be exotic, hard to acquire pets such as macaws, bengals, iguanas etc.
- They would be mostly cosmetic and "opt-in", like clothes and accessories, or could have mild mechanical effects.
- I would recommend players are limited to one pet at a time.
- Pets should be appropriate to Torn living. You can carry a monkey on your shoulder, but you're not going to walk around Torn on the back of your pet elephant. Or you might, if you're a crazy billionaire...
Some reasons why this would be a great addition:
Economy
- Feeding and housing pets would require upkeep, like properties.
- Smaller, common critters would be more affordable, while exotic pets might require food flown in from overseas, adding a new element to travel destinations.
- Property upgrades like an aviary or exotic enclosure to allow certain pets to be kept.
- The rarer the pet, the rarer it comes into stock, appropriate to destination. For example, iguanas would only stock in Mexico and the Caymans.
- Some pets would only drop from an appropriate NPC. You cannot convince me Leslie doesn't have a gerbil hidden in in his sweatpants.
Social
- If you don't login and/or feed your pet enough they could run away or die, encouraging people to login regularly.
- Acquiring, naming and displaying a pet would be an excellent feature that gives more personality and individuality to our Torn personas!
- Pets would become status symbols or mascots for various factions or roles.
- When you visit someone's profile, you could feed the pet a treat from your inventory. More on this and possible new mechanic ideas below.
Integration with pre-existing mechanics
- Pets could give perks. A rat might increase your awareness. A capuchin monkey could increase your mug percentage. A doberman could decrease amount lost during a mug. A rabbit decreases opponent's stealth. Endless options!
- You would have to bond with a pet for a given amount of time before receiving perks, just like you would for a faction or company.
- A new company type based around pets, like a veterinary clinic.
- Some pets could drop while hunting.
- Territories could spawn pets for the faction that holds them, appropriate to location.
Possible new mechanics
- Some pets could have a feature that keep track of who visits your profile page. If a bunch of people all visit your profile at once, maybe you'd get an event of your guard dog barking.
- If someone feeds treats to your pet regularly, they get some kind of bonus for positive and negative interactions. Example: bribing a guard dog with meat in order to increase mug bonus.
- Pet mechanics may be exclusive to a pet based company to decrease server demand and possible abuse.
Other questions
- Should Torn pets have "lifespans" or is it sufficient just to have the neglect/run away mechanic?
- Would pets bond only once and locked to that owner, or could they be traded or gifted after bonding?
- Would mistreatment of these pets be allowable by the game, or would it be better to avoid any negative interactions with pets? Eg. feeding a poisoned treat when visiting a someone's profile.
- How many players want this feature? Please comment if you'd like to have a pet in Torn or have pet-related ideas! :)
![[image: i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/D7Q8rM4.jpg){kind=link}