D is for Duck

Ducks and other farmyard animals

Duck pond, hen house, rabbit hutch, pig den, cow barn or other dedicated place to raise animals are common addition to Old World buildings. Inhabitants produce themselves most of the food they eat. Even when production isn't required, few animals are to eat the left-overs or produce some fresh product like eggs and milk. This entry isn't about architecture but about how these animals add some color, sound and smell to the daily life in the Empire. Game master are encouraged to use these animals in their description of place visited by characters. 

Use them to hint about meal quality, in any direction you need. For instance, let’s visit a coaching inn in the middle of nowhere having a hen house and chicken running in the inner yard. How would you players react if the innkeeper offer some fresh rabbit that his wife fatten for weeks?

Players are used to dealing with humanoid, dogs, traps and even magic but will often forget about everything else. Characters want to infiltrate a walled farm to rescue the hostage of a group of bandits. Players will try to sneak on guards but will they wake the full hen house? How will the rogue react to an upset goose quacking and honking in their direction?

Peasants and farmers most valuable resource are their livestock and tools. Characters need to evacuate and escort isolated farms. Dealing and fetching all livestock or finding the lost chicken or duck could be a fun tribute to quest system. Of course the GM must stress on how much the missing pig is his best animal, how it save him from a fire and behave like his lost son when he play in the yard.

-JMT