@sunkaeus's post on Artfol
I’ve been thinking about service animals and how I’d like to see them more in fantasy stories which leads me to the question:
what fantastical creatures, or more specifically, what characteristics does a fantasy creature need to be a good service animal? And what services do you think would be available as a fantasy creature acting as a service animal that otherwise wouldn’t be possible?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently and I thought it was rlly interesting and I wanted to hear from some other ppl tyyApr 29, 2024
what fantastical creatures, or more specifically, what characteristics does a fantasy creature need to be a good service animal? And what services do you think would be available as a fantasy creature acting as a service animal that otherwise wouldn’t be possible?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently and I thought it was rlly interesting and I wanted to hear from some other ppl tyyApr 29, 2024
#question
Comments
The first thing that popped up in my head is some kind of fantasy parrot species that have a telepathic connection to their owner, so a person that is mute or nonverbal can let their parrot speak for them. Kinda like a fantasy version of text-to-speech??
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My d&d OC Abel is blind, he’s a cleric/wizard that has the “find familiar” spell, which looks like a white pigeon but in reality let’s Abel see through it only when summoned.
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DnD has this creature called pseudodragon and I like the idea of it being an interpretor or a medium of emotions, or the conscience, of someone who has a difficult time relating to or understanding other people's emotions, who couldn't feel them otherwise. "Limited Telepathy. The pseudodragon can magically communicate simple ideas, emotions, and images telepathically with any creature within 100 feet of it that can understand a language."
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I’ve always fancied the idea a little creature that fits snugly into an ear and either amplifies or repeats sound to the user, working as a hearing aid :D
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•Maybe the fantasy equivalent of a service animal which can detect allergens is one that can detect magic or curses?
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This made me think of familiars. What is there more like a fantasy service animal than one that helps you gather materials and tools and perform spells.
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It very much depends on what services they’re providing!
Something with good navigation skills + sight could be good as a guide/seeing eye service creature!
Something with a very good nose would be good as a gluten/deadly allergen-detecting (usually for food) service creature!
Something that’s very good at detecting subtle changes in a humanoid’s behavior or a good sense of smell (again) could be good as an alerting service creature; stuff like seizure alert (alert when they notice a seizure incoming), diabetic alert (alert when they notice blood sugar dropping), etc!
There’s A LOT of different kinds of services animals can be trained to provide, so you’d have to see if any pre-existing fantasy creatures have abilities that could benefit someone; if there aren’t, totally make up your own creatures!
Something with good navigation skills + sight could be good as a guide/seeing eye service creature!
Something with a very good nose would be good as a gluten/deadly allergen-detecting (usually for food) service creature!
Something that’s very good at detecting subtle changes in a humanoid’s behavior or a good sense of smell (again) could be good as an alerting service creature; stuff like seizure alert (alert when they notice a seizure incoming), diabetic alert (alert when they notice blood sugar dropping), etc!
There’s A LOT of different kinds of services animals can be trained to provide, so you’d have to see if any pre-existing fantasy creatures have abilities that could benefit someone; if there aren’t, totally make up your own creatures!
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