Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition skill
Animal Ken
Animal Ken is a skill in Vampire V5: Handling, calming, and reading animals that instinctively want nothing to do with you.
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Key facts
- Category
- social
Overview
Animal Ken is the ability to work with animals: calming a frightened dog, reading a horse's mood, training a bird to come back, judging whether the thing in the alley is going to run or bite. For mortals it is a gentle skill. For Kindred it is an uphill one. Animals know what you are. They panic, bolt, or turn aggressive around vampires without being told why, which means every interaction starts against you. A high Animal Ken rating is what lets a Kindred keep a guard dog that does not scream at them, feed from livestock without a stampede, or approach the crows a Gangrel wants to use as eyes.
How it works
Common Rolls:
- Charisma + Animal Ken: Calming, befriending animals
- Manipulation + Animal Ken: Training animals
- Composure + Animal Ken: Maintaining calm around frightened beasts Kindred Penalty: Animals instinctively fear vampires, so the Storyteller will usually apply a penalty or raise the difficulty. Animal Ken is what closes that gap. Specialties: Dogs, Cats, Horses, Birds, Training, Wild Animals
Tips and playstyle
Character Concepts: Veterinarian, trainer, farmer, zookeeper, a Gangrel who prefers animal company to Kindred company. Synergies: Animalism does with the Blood what this skill does with patience, and the two together make a character who can genuinely command a city's animals. Survival covers tracking the animals you have not met yet.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Animal Ken to use Animalism?
No, the Discipline works on its own. The skill covers everything Animalism does not: keeping a pet, training a retainer animal, and calming a beast without spending a Rouse Check.
Why do animals hate vampires?
They read you as a predator and a dead thing at once. Expect dogs to bark, horses to bolt, and cats to leave the room, all before anyone has done anything.
Is it worth dots outside a Gangrel concept?
Usually one dot at most, unless your haven has guard dogs or your feeding involves livestock. It is a strong flavor skill and a narrow mechanical one.