Types of Animals

Of the different types of animals — birds, fish, hoofed beasts, clawed beast, insects — each type has several kinds or groups. Lions, tigers, wolves, bears, and dogs are a few of the kinds of clawed beasts. Many kinds are again divided into breeds, lineages distinguished by particular physical qualities. The Norman destrier, the Irish hobby, and the Spanish jennet are all breeds of horses, and the greyhound, alaunt, and mastiff are all breeds of dogs. Lions have two breeds, according to bestiaries: short lions with curly manes, and tall lions with straight manes. The number of breeds of any kind of creature is entirely up to you, and in Mythic Europe there can be a variety of breeds of griffins, unicorns, or hedgehogs.

vermes, and include such creatures as mice, frogs, eels, spiders, centipedes, and beetles. Most insects are worms, as are small to medium-sized fish and some smaller rodents. If the beast is a pest, to humans, beasts, or agriculture, it is likely a worm. Magical species of worms can exist, as do versions of such beasts from the other realms. A maga could encounter an Infernal spider, a Faerie ant, or a Magic fly.

Breeding in the Menagerie

The inclination to reproduce in captivity depends mostly on the nature of the beast. Onagers (wild asses) are notoriously over-sexed, while lions only breed in captivity once every seven years. Randy males merely have to be introduced to ready females, but reluctant reproducers need more encouragement. Diet, habitat, and proximity to fellow creatures all play a part, as does temperature, human involvement, and privacy. Healthy, happy animals reproduce more readily than anxious, angry animals in ill health.

Males are separated from the females in both summer and winter, and are only combined when mating is desired, typically in the spring. A ratio of one male to ten females is standard in hoofed and clawed animals, with the ratio for the other types of animals standing at one-to-one. Once a hoofed or clawed male has covered a female, he is again separated from her. The female continues to stay with the other females until her time of birthing draws near, at which point she is isolated. Reptiles have been known to devour their own young, so the fertilized eggs are removed from the breeding pool and put in another pool to spawn. Birds remain paired, for both male and female will take turns incubating the eggs, but they are isolated from other birds. The procedure for legendary beasts is left up to the troupe's imagination. A hippogriff, for example, might have the mating strategy of a hoofed beast and the incubation strategy of an eagle. Do not feel bound by any mundane measure of animal reproduction.

In Mythic Europe, the male's hereditary traits dominate the females, and nine times out of ten the young will inherit the male's Virtues and Flaws over the female's (Realms of Power: Magic, page 55). Magic Might is usually inherited, although there are cases where the offspring's Might is not as great as its sire. Powers are generally inherited and Characteristics are influenced by the father, but are not usually exactly the same.

External factors also influence breeding: the wind, the direction the female is facing, and the proximity of nearby objects. The most famous story is that of Jacob's sheep in Genesis 30: 31–43, in which Jacob produces speckled and spotted goats and sheep by having them face peeled rods of poplar, hazel, and chestnut rods. The hidden virtues, qualities, contagions, affinities, and sympathies of things affect animals just as they affect humans, although not always in the same way, and if a breeder knows that a certain plant, stone, mineral, or astrological conjunction will enhance reproduction he will use it. Unfortunately, most of this lore has been lost, and is only recently being rediscovered by academics, who use this knowledge on humans rather than animals. That doesn't stop a menagerie owner from making her own investigations. Treat such activities as ligatures, as explained in Art & Academe, page 68. Mechanically, ligatures allow a bonus for a single die roll. Using ligatures to breed animals will only be relevant if you use the optional breeding rules found at the end of this chapter.

Breeding Strategies

There are two types of specialty breeding used for animals that count as preferred stock. Selective breeding, or "breeding for the best," is the mating of closely related animals in the same breed to enhance and strengthen particular traits. Most animals are measured by various categories. A horse, for example, has

four categories: shape, color, merit, and beauty. These qualities are specific to region; Normans like their horses large, so breeders use the larger specimens of the herd instead of the smaller specimens during the breeding season. Animals that matter, those that have a social value beyond the simple value of their meat, milk, or wool, are bred for the best. The best specimen male is bred with the best specimen female. If long-necked camels are deemed more valuable than short-necked camels, the breeders pair the male with the longest neck with the female with the longest neck. When breeding magical animals, the breeder uses the best examples of the beasts that she has on hand. The goal is to reinforce specific desired physical traits. There is a slim chance that the magical offspring will develop a better Virtue (Minor into a Major or a new Minor), higher Might, and as a result, another power (since Might determines the number of Qualities a creature may have). There is also a chance that none of this happens, and since magic by its very nature is quixotic, there is a chance that the offspring gains a new Flaw.

Crossbreeding, or "breeding for the beast," is the process of mating two creatures from different breeds to produce a new type of breed or to induce physical traits from one breed into the other line. In a menagerie, a magus might want to cross a timid, short-maned magical lion with the