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Building a Good Animal Handler
Viewer helper — plan the colonist who tames and trains, not the shop smith. Xenotypes from Biotech; traits from vanilla Core only.
Animals skill drives taming chance, training, and how badly a failed thrumbofur attempt goes. Handling is also a combat-adjacent job: manhunters, bonded pets, and hauling packs.
Trait budgets: 4 default · 6 RICS luxury.
| Slot | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Xenotype | Yttakin | Remarkable Animals + Animal warcall |
| 1 | Fast learner | Animals is a long grind |
| 2 | Industrious | Training and handling are work-speed jobs |
| 3 | Tough | Bites, kicks, and revenge still happen |
| 4 | Kind | Fewer social fights; agreeable around the barn (no tame-chance number in Core — this is colony peace) |
Passions: Burning Animals. Minor Melee if they kite or club a manhunter.
Luxury 6: Great memory, Quick sleeper, Iron-willed (fewer breaks when a herd dies), Body modder.
Cold-world animal specialists.
| Gene | Effect |
|---|---|
| Remarkable animals | Large Animals aptitude |
| Animal warcall | Combat ability — call wildlife in a fight |
| Robust | Tougher than a Genie |
| Furskin / cold kit | Fine in the freezer barn |
| Sleepy | Need more rest — Quick sleeper helps |
| Slow wound healing | Pair with Tough; do not skip medicine |
| Hyper / aggressive | More social friction — Kind or keep them busy |
| Terrible mining | They are not your Dirtmole |
Do not pick Hussar (awful Animals) or Genie (poor Animals) as the handler.
Baseliner handler: same traits + you must win Animals skill with burning passion.
Take: Fast learner, Industrious / Hard worker, Tough, Kind, Iron-willed / Steadfast, Great memory, Quick sleeper.
Avoid: Lazy / Slothful, Slow learner, Psychopath if you care about colony mood around animal deaths (they simply do not care — sometimes useful, often ugly in chat), Body purist if you want bionics after a bear mauling.
Kind does not add a tame-chance stat in Core TraitDefs. It still belongs on a barn pawn because they insult less and stay employable.
Animals skill = tame / train / nuzzle / zone work. Shooting or Melee is backup when a thrumbo says no.
!passion list
!passion animals 200
Passion Command. Do not waste wagers on Mining on a Yttakin.
!mypawn work Handling 1. Hunting optional. Turn off Mining.
- Building a Good Cook — they cook what you ranch
- Building a Good Combat Pawn — not a substitute for Handling 1
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Passion Command · Trait Commands · Social Commands (
!nuzzle,!animalchat)