Guinea Pigs in D&D

Our home has recently become home to a Guinea Pig. He (at least we think it is a "he" - I respect his privacy too much to confirm this) is named Gimli (and Fred before that but my father-in-law and I both refer to it as "the Rat"). I walked past the Rat this morning as it was chewing on some hay and started thinking about ways to include the varmint in a game.

This is the result...

AD&D 2nd ed

Climate/Terrain: Any Temperate to Subtropical

Organization: as above

Activity Cycle: Day (Crespucular)

Diet: Herbivore

Intelligence: Animal (1)

Treasure: Nil

No. Appearing: 1, 2, or 4-40

THAC0: 20

No. of Attacks: 1

Dmg/Att: 1

SA: Nil

SD: Nil

MR: Nil

Size: T (8" long)

Morale: Unreliable (2-4)

Xp Value: 7

Guinea Pig (3.5e)

CR: 1/8     Tiny Animal     HD: 1/4d8     Hp: 2

Init: +2     Spd: 15'

AC: 14 (+2 size, +2 Dex); t: 14, ff: 12

Attacks: (BAB +0; Grap -12); +4 Bite: 1d3-4

SA: - -

SQ: Low-Light Vision, Scent

Align: N     Saves: Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +1

Str: 2, Dex: 14, Con: 10, Int: 2, Wis: 12, Cha: 2

Skills: Listen +5, Spot +5*

Feats: Alertness, Weapon Finesse (b)

* Guinea Pig eyesight is not particularly good (in terms of distance and color, but they have a wider field of vision than humans). In this case, the Spot skill reflects the animal's sense of smell.

Environment: Any Temperate to Subtropical

Organization: Solitary, Pair, Muddle (4d10)

As Familiars: Guinea Pigs are highly social animals Wizards and Sorcerers who have one as a familiar gain an additional +1 bonus (for a total of +3) when Aiding Another, as long as their familiar is within arm's reach.

A Guinea Pig could also be a protagonist in its own right as evidenced by Linny of the Wonder Pets.

Linny of the Wonder Pets

female Awakened Guinea Pig Expert 3

CR: 2     Tiny Magical Beast

HD: 2d8 (racial) plus 3d6     Hp: 21

Init: +2     Spd: 15'

AC: 14 (+2 size, +2 Dex); t: 14, ff: 12

Attacks: (BAB +0; Grap -12); +4 Bite: 1d3-4

SA: - -

SQ: Low-Light Vision, Scent, Skill Versatility

Align: N     Saves: Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +1

Str: 2, Dex: 14, Con: 10, Int: 11, Wis: 12, Cha: 5

Skills: Craft (Mechanical) +3, Drive +4, Knowledge (Geography) +5, Knowledge (Nature) +6, Pilot +8

Feats: Alertness, Vehicle Expert, Weapon Finesse (b)

Gear: Assorted Costumes, Flyboat

• The Awakened Animal template adds 2HD, increases Cha by 1d3, and Intelligence changes to 3d6.

• Skill Versatility (Ex): Experts can choose any 10 Skills to be their Class Skills. Linny's skills are: Climb, Craft, Jump, Knowledge (Geography), Knowledge (Nature), Listen, Pilot, Search, Spot, and Swim.

• The Flyboat: the Flyboat is the Wonder Pets' primary means of transportation. Most other modes of transportation are a variation of the Flyboat and primarily use the same components such as the Flysub, which is basically a modified Flyboat capable of traveling underwater.

Guinea Pigs, based on published settings from the '90s would be indigenous to the lands of Maztica since they were domesticated as a food source in South America over 7,000 years ago.

In my campaign, I see them as a more recent advent, most likely being originally bred by Halflings who would want a small and docile food animal. Sale of the rodents would have quickly spread to dwarves and gnomes as the animals' rapid reproduction rate and limited need for grazing area. They also proved to be suitable pets for people living in urban areas and their popularity is spreading amongst the upper and middle classes.