5.5.7 General Skill - Taming

Taming is the skill used to train wild animals to help modern man. From the ferocious guard dog to the powerful warhorse, all animals can benefit mortal kind through diligent training.
   
Animals must first be captured by use of the lasso. If one has learned the basics of Taming, a rope may be used to capture most wild animals. To do so, obtain a rope, WIELD ROPE, and then LASSO <animal>. Those who have learned the skill of Trailblazing and Pioneering will also be able to BEFRIEND animals.
   
Most wild animals tend to disagree with being roped and will fight the process until they can hold out no longer. One tactic is to beat the animal, before attempting to rope it, in an effort to wear it out first. Once they submit, you will be able to begin the training.

All pets will start with the skill obey, which they will already do to a certain level. Of course, not all pets will obey well at first, and some pets will never obey well, despite how much training you give them in this skill. With the skill obey, you are able to use the following commands.

ORDER <animal> MOVE <dir>
- Use this to direct the animal where to go.

ORDER <animal> FOLLOW ME
- Trained animals will follow you, but not other players, unless they
  have been trained to do so.

ORDER <animal> PASSIVE
- This command will have the pet stop whatever it has been ordered to
  do.

ORDER <animal> DROP <item|ALL>
- Your pet will drop whatever it is carrying.

ORDER <animal> CALM
- If your pet decided to flip out and run around like mad, try to calm
  him.

ORDER <animal> RETURN
- Call back your pet.
                               
From this point, you can teach your pet many different skills, based on your skill level in the art of taming. You can read about the varied commands in the AB files. Not all pets can learn all skills. For example, a squirrel is never going to learn how to fly, or to swoop, just as a raven will not learn how to dig or yank people into the trees. If you have purchased or acquired a pet via other means, you will have to ask a trainer how to command your companion.
                               
In addition, a pet can only learn a certain number of skills, usually 4 or 5, although some rare animals can learn up to 10 skills. This does not mean they do not have more than 10 skills they can learn, but they can only handle knowing so many skills at once. If you would like your pet to forget a skill and begin a new one, then you must TRAIN <pet> TO FORGET <skill> and this will open a skill slot for your pet.

A good trainer will keep their companions fed. Use FEED <animal> PELLET to do so. You can get pellets in most kennels and stables.
             
If you should leave Imperian, you must make sure to place your animal in either the kennel or in the stable. Mounts must go in the stables, everything else may be placed in the kennels. The commands are STABLE <animal> or KENNEL <animal> and STABLE RELEASE <animal> or KENNEL RELEASE <animal>. Stables will charge 8 gold per Imperian day to house your mounts, and kennels will charge 4 gold per day.

If you have trained a pet and wish to give or sell it to another player, you will use the GRANT <animal> TO <player> command. If you are not transcendent when transferring a pet, the pet will lose some of its hard-earned skills. If you wish to release a pet into the wilds, you may use the RELEASE <pet> command.

If you have an unwanted pet in a kennel or a stable, you may release it directly from there using KENNEL/STABLE RELEASE <animal> FREE, without having to pay the usual fees.

If your pet is in a kennel or stable you don't have access to, and you'd like to transfer it to a kennel or stable you do, you can use KENNEL/STABLE TRANSFER <pet> to move it to the stable in which you stand. The cost is based on the length of time that pet has been under care, and is higher than the fee associated with releasing it.

Players that are Transcendent in Taming will gain a 10% bonus when ordering their pets that are not fully trained to do something, and will also be able to train their own pets to learn one more skill that can usually be learned by that animal. All pets can only learn a maximum of 10 skills.

If you wish to free your pet, you may RELEASE <pet> to set it free - this is permanent and not reversible.