Mundane Beasts

The beasts of Mythic Europe are not quite the same as normal animals in the real world. The ferocity of wild animals, in particular, is exaggerated for dramatic purposes. In Mythic Europe, it is not uncommon for beasts such as wolves to attack humans.

Beasts' Characteristics may take any value, even exceeding -5 or +5. Beasts do not need a Virtue or Flaw to have Characteristics outside the normal human range of -3 to +3. Their starting Characteristics depend on their ecological niche (predator, herbivore, etc.) and are different from the average human Characteristics of all zeroes.

As stated in ArM5, p. 191, mundane beasts have a Characteristic called Cunning in place of an Intelligence score. Use Cunning for rolls that would otherwise call for Intelligence, such as finding a way out of a closed barn. Beasts have a limited capacity for problemsolving but they lack imagination, reason, and intelligence as such. Because they lack intelligence, beasts cannot learn new Abilities unless they are trained by an intelligent being. They can improve Abilities their species already has.

For beasts, the Quickness Characteristic has mainly to do with reflexes and agility, and little to do with movement rate. Many animals can run faster than a human, but that does not necessarily mean they should have better Initiative and Defense scores. Animals that run fast, but do not have especially good reflexes, have a note giving them a bonus to running-related rolls.

All mundane beasts have no Might and contain no vis.

Modifying Beast Sizes

Some beasts cover a range of Size categories, and any beast might have its Size magically altered. To increase the Size of a beast, add 2 points of Strength and subtract one point of Quickness for each point of Size added. To decrease size, subtract 2 points of Strength and add one point of Quickness for each point of Size subtracted. Update combat statistics according to the new Characteristics. Larger animals are more powerful, but relatively ungainly.

Each species of beast has certain Virtues and Flaws that are common to all members of that species. Species Virtue and Flaws are not given for game balance reasons, but rather to provide rules for the unique strengths and qualities of beasts. When designing your own species, simply assign the Virtues and Flaws that describe the species the way you imagine it. It is recommended that a species have at least one point of Flaws for every three points of Virtues. All beasts get their species' Virtues and Flaws for free.

Exceptional beasts may also take individual Virtues or Flaws that set them apart from others of their kind. Any individual Virtues a beast takes must be balanced with individual Flaws, just as for human characters.

Qualities are features of the animal that affect its capabilities. See Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults (pages 40-43) for a list of Qualities and their effects.