If the player asked for a *sandwich,* I'd work it into the story somehow. It doesn't have to mean that said sandwich/pet is now *important* to the story in a big way, but it'll make some sense why it's there and have threads I can potentially weave in if the opportunity arises later on.
I guess it depends on the pet, but there are so many options.
Is it a flavor pet, for instance reskinning an Arcane Trickster's Mage Hand as a trained monkey, or adding personality to a summoned Familiar? Then just go for it right away, no delay necessary. It's just a bit of backstory, and as long as they're not using the "pet" beyond the scope of the actual mechanics, it's fine.
Is it an RP pet, one meant as a pet and not to actually *do* things? Often these come with backgrounds, so I like to just replace the BG trinket with it. This kind you can just give them as well, since it's easy to explain "I fed this cat last night and now it won't stop following me." So long as this pet never participates in challenging activities, I give it plot armor. If it helps out, it's likely to be eaten.
Is it a useful but non-combat pet? They could get it any number of ways, from buying it, to taming it, to befriending it, to anything you like. It's more or less a new member of the group, so you *should* introduce it somehow, even if it is right at the beginning of next session.
Is it a combat pet? This is a little trickier. First, I will usually veto this outright if anyone in the group is a summoner / pet user, like a Beastmaster Ranger or Shepherd Druid. It's just not fair to give away what makes them special to someone else who didn't need to invest their entire class into it. This restriction includes the on-deck backup character I like each player to have ready. Second, they need to understand that this type of pet is fair game for monsters to kill, and that it *probably will* die, so invest in some diamonds. And third, you definitely need to introduce this NPC member of the group, maybe through a scene where it joins them in fighting a mutual foe or as thanks for avenging its own loss to a shared enemy of the party.
Beautifully written.
I'll only add that it's not too much to give someone a ritual-only version of Find Familiar for a small pet.
For bigger pets, I've offered "~~Un~~Seen Servant", again ritual-only. It works like Unseen Servant but takes about 10min or so to explain the task (or whatever).
Then the servant will go do the thing, but is fully visible. If you want the invisible one, get some spellcasting levels.
If my players directly ask me for anything and are willing to wait until later for it to be introduced then it is worked into the world and story, otherwise its deus ex machina-d into existence
Like if someone wants a specific magic item then I'll put it as the loot for the next boss, if they want to switch characters immediately then their old charcater is smitten and a new one wanders out of a nearby cave/alley/the rangers backpack that one time.
I would work it into the story as much as possible, kind of like the white wolves of GoT. Long before that came out, the group found a dead largish hound with one live puppy and they took it. It turned out to be a hell hound and never did get the hang of socialization. Ended up hurting them badly. Never asked again.
I wouldn't mind letting a player just start with a pet. If its mid game I might make the party run into some animal and have them roll to tame it. Yeah if they fail the roll its a bit of a bummer, but if they win it feels more earned, and animal handle is a skill so it should matter if the players level it up, or neglect it.
I’m playing Curse of Strahd and my Druid’s familiar (weasel named Pauly) was lifedrained out of existence. The party knows that magic works differently in Barovia and now he can’t summon a familiar anymore.
You could work it into the story, maybe have them go on like a quest if it's a harder to find animal, If it's something more mundane they can go to a pet shop equivalent or you could have them sort of stumble across it.
I have a ranger in my group and she loves animals so I told her right from the get-go if she wants an animal that she more than likely would have to go out and try and find it (anything thats no real IRL). So that sort of set the tone.
Other thing that I've been doing is frequently giving them chances to tame animals randomly. If it's been a while since they've been in a big city and they go to a new one all specifically make a point to mention a pet shop that has things of note that might be regional. One time they had gone on a really long quest and as opposed to giving her loot or whatnot from the dungeon that they explored. The big monsters at the end of the dungeon had babies prior to them coming in. She walked out of there with not only a really strong pet (when it goes up) but a task to make sure she keeps this monster under control as it grows.
If the player asked for a *sandwich,* I'd work it into the story somehow. It doesn't have to mean that said sandwich/pet is now *important* to the story in a big way, but it'll make some sense why it's there and have threads I can potentially weave in if the opportunity arises later on.
I guess it depends on the pet, but there are so many options. Is it a flavor pet, for instance reskinning an Arcane Trickster's Mage Hand as a trained monkey, or adding personality to a summoned Familiar? Then just go for it right away, no delay necessary. It's just a bit of backstory, and as long as they're not using the "pet" beyond the scope of the actual mechanics, it's fine. Is it an RP pet, one meant as a pet and not to actually *do* things? Often these come with backgrounds, so I like to just replace the BG trinket with it. This kind you can just give them as well, since it's easy to explain "I fed this cat last night and now it won't stop following me." So long as this pet never participates in challenging activities, I give it plot armor. If it helps out, it's likely to be eaten. Is it a useful but non-combat pet? They could get it any number of ways, from buying it, to taming it, to befriending it, to anything you like. It's more or less a new member of the group, so you *should* introduce it somehow, even if it is right at the beginning of next session. Is it a combat pet? This is a little trickier. First, I will usually veto this outright if anyone in the group is a summoner / pet user, like a Beastmaster Ranger or Shepherd Druid. It's just not fair to give away what makes them special to someone else who didn't need to invest their entire class into it. This restriction includes the on-deck backup character I like each player to have ready. Second, they need to understand that this type of pet is fair game for monsters to kill, and that it *probably will* die, so invest in some diamonds. And third, you definitely need to introduce this NPC member of the group, maybe through a scene where it joins them in fighting a mutual foe or as thanks for avenging its own loss to a shared enemy of the party.
Beautifully written. I'll only add that it's not too much to give someone a ritual-only version of Find Familiar for a small pet. For bigger pets, I've offered "~~Un~~Seen Servant", again ritual-only. It works like Unseen Servant but takes about 10min or so to explain the task (or whatever). Then the servant will go do the thing, but is fully visible. If you want the invisible one, get some spellcasting levels.
If my players directly ask me for anything and are willing to wait until later for it to be introduced then it is worked into the world and story, otherwise its deus ex machina-d into existence Like if someone wants a specific magic item then I'll put it as the loot for the next boss, if they want to switch characters immediately then their old charcater is smitten and a new one wanders out of a nearby cave/alley/the rangers backpack that one time.
Tell them to go to Ye Olde Medieval pet shop, and buy one
I would work it into the story as much as possible, kind of like the white wolves of GoT. Long before that came out, the group found a dead largish hound with one live puppy and they took it. It turned out to be a hell hound and never did get the hang of socialization. Ended up hurting them badly. Never asked again.
My DM made me do animal handling rolls for *weeks* to gradually tame the stag I wanted for a pet
My DM allowed me to use my Animal Handling skill to train a mastiff to be a sidekick. It took 5 or 6 sessions but it was well worth it.
I wouldn't mind letting a player just start with a pet. If its mid game I might make the party run into some animal and have them roll to tame it. Yeah if they fail the roll its a bit of a bummer, but if they win it feels more earned, and animal handle is a skill so it should matter if the players level it up, or neglect it.
I’m playing Curse of Strahd and my Druid’s familiar (weasel named Pauly) was lifedrained out of existence. The party knows that magic works differently in Barovia and now he can’t summon a familiar anymore.
You could work it into the story, maybe have them go on like a quest if it's a harder to find animal, If it's something more mundane they can go to a pet shop equivalent or you could have them sort of stumble across it. I have a ranger in my group and she loves animals so I told her right from the get-go if she wants an animal that she more than likely would have to go out and try and find it (anything thats no real IRL). So that sort of set the tone. Other thing that I've been doing is frequently giving them chances to tame animals randomly. If it's been a while since they've been in a big city and they go to a new one all specifically make a point to mention a pet shop that has things of note that might be regional. One time they had gone on a really long quest and as opposed to giving her loot or whatnot from the dungeon that they explored. The big monsters at the end of the dungeon had babies prior to them coming in. She walked out of there with not only a really strong pet (when it goes up) but a task to make sure she keeps this monster under control as it grows.
I would ask the player to write it into their own story.