Buddies and Pets in Alliance Atlanta
In Alliance Atlanta, pets are companions that carry more significance than simple buddies. They are touched by the remnants of power left behind by the slumbering beings of power, and because of this, they become more than just animals at your side. Pets exist in three forms: shiny pets, basic pets, and uplifted pets.
A shiny pet is a gift of generosity, earned through a donation drive. These creatures always arrive with a standard card that outlines their abilities and uses. Their physrep is often a fantastical or a cryptid stuffy, something beyond the ordinary woodland animal, and they sometimes carry a measure of flexibility within the story as Plot deems fit.
A basic pet is simpler, found within the game itself rather than through donation. These pets represent common woodland creatures, animals tied closely to the natural world. A basic pet comes with a card, though often the pet must be trained in order to reach its full potential. Their use is straightforward, and they rarely offer much in the way of plot involvement, but they serve as dependable companions nonetheless.
An uplifted pet is something altogether different. Uplifted pets begin their lives as ordinary buddies—companions you may have acquired through play or the Goblin Stamp list. When you obtain an uplifted token and bring it before Tendril, the remnants of the Beings of Power are infused into your creature, transforming it into something greater. These pets already have a physrep you own and may or may not require a card or training, but what sets them apart is the story they carry. An uplifted pet has a history, a bond with you that predates its empowerment, and that bond deepens as it becomes something touched by magic and legend.
Pets, unlike buddies, are woven into the living fabric of Chalameria. While buddies remain simple mounts, guards, or spies, pets stand as lasting companions—creatures with story, presence, and meaning beyond the practical.
To answer some of the basics: pets function much like boons. They grant you access to special abilities, which can be refreshed by feeding your pet. There are limits to keep things balanced—you can typically only have one pet active at a time, and you may only gain the benefits of up to two pets per event. In addition, each pet may only be fed twice during a logistics period. One last thing; Buddies and Pets are living beings and cannot be targeted by rituals. The remnants of power within them—bestowed by the Beings of Power—prevent formal ritual magic from affecting them.
Buddies in Alliance Atlanta
A Buddy is a companion you found in the wilds, bartered from a traveling merchant, or purchased through the Goblin Stamp list. Unlike pets, they carry no remnants of the Beings of Power—no slumbering magic hums in their bones. They’re simply well-trained animals who serve a practical need for your character. Buddies are not pets.
When you register a buddy, note its calling—mount, guard, or spy—in your cabin or table notes so others know what travels at your side. Most buddies are born to a single purpose, though once in a while you’ll meet a clever creature that can shoulder more than one role. Whenever you call on a buddy, its stuffy must be physically present as your token and tether; unlike pets, buddies do not need feeding to do their work.
Buddies have three different roles:
Mounts — Sure-footed, steady, and loyal, a mount shortens long roads and opens new paths—be it trail, tide, or cloudbank. It doesn’t fight your battles; it carries you to them, then waits with patient breath and bright eyes. Terrain and weather still matter, but with the right beast, the world feels smaller. Examples: a trail-wise horse for overland journeys; a placid giant turtle ferrying you across lakes and slow rivers; a gryphon-like glider that rides thermals between distant peaks.
Guards — Posted at your table, cabin, or claimed space, a guard buddy is all watchful presence and warning growl. It cannot duel intruders, cause harm, or spring traps, but it makes unwelcome guests think twice and alerts allies when something’s amiss. Its loud, living presence gives you an extra set of eyes and ears—calling out troublemakers, warding off snoops, and warning you while you sleep or step away. When you’re gone, it keeps the place feeling occupied—and watched. Examples: a mastiff who rumbles at suspicious footsteps; a horned ram stamping at the threshold; a raven that croaks three times when someone lifts a latch. (OOG: Guards add an extra step for would-be thieves—they must first bypass your guard before attempting to rogue your area.)
Spies — Quiet paws, keener senses, patient waiting. Spies work only during IBGAs, slipping through markets, rafters, and hedgerows to bring back small but telling details. They won’t topple conspiracies alone, but they fetch rumors, patterns, names, and places worth a closer look. Examples: a ferret that maps vents and gaps; a nightjar that “counts” lanterns along a patrol; a clever mink returning with a ribbon that matches a suspect’s livery.
Pets — Alliance Atlanta & Alliance Virginia (beta; subject to change)
In Alliance Atlanta—recognized likewise in Alliance Virginia—pets are welcome companions, but their magic follows simple rhythms. You may travel with as many as you like, yet only one may hold your bond at a time; that bonded companion is your active pet, and only its Gifts apply. Across a single event you may draw on no more than two different pets in total, choosing which one bears the bond at any given moment. Changing that bond takes a steady hand and a 60-second Focus; try it mid-combat and disaster ensues. When the switch succeeds, the previous pet’s remaining charges are lost—unused strength fades as the bond passes.
A pet’s Gifts are discrete ability uses—charges—and your companion arrives to game bright-eyed but hungry, with none of those charges available. To wake its power you must feed it. Feeding is quick but deliberate: you offer a Pet Food token—fresh food or traveling tack—and count aloud, “feeding pet one, feeding pet two, feeding pet three.” On “feeding pet three,” the token is consumed and the pet’s Gifts refresh, ready for you to access. For balance and care, each individual pet may be fed no more than twice per Logistics period, so choose your moments wisely—before a delve, after a brutal fight, or by the campfire between adventures.
Food itself comes in different forms, and not all of it keeps. Permanent Food Tokens, more commonly known as “traveling tack”, are clearly marked and never spoil; they remain with you from game to game. By contrast, fresh food—such as those granted through donation drives, or GS purchases—expires at the end of the very event in which it was awarded and cannot be stockpiled for later. Food created by stables is likewise fresh only for the duration of that event and expires when the event ends.
In short: bring the pets you love, bond to one at a time, and keep them fed to renew their tricks—just remember that most food spoils with the turning of the event, and even the hungriest friend can only be fed twice per LP.
Classifications of the different types of pets:
Pets come in several types. Each type carries residual power from the slumbering Beings of Power, granting unique abilities. Unless noted otherwise, activations are Times-Ever (X/ever) and may be recharged with Pet Food tokens. Limits: no more than two pets of any one kind per character, and no pet can be fed more than twice per Logistics period.
Bastion — A living bulwark that plants itself between you and harm, its hide echoing with the heartbeat of stone. When it huffs, foes falter.
Gifts: 45 bonus Armor; Fast Refit; Weakness or Shun strike; Mettle.
Carrion — A scavenger that dines on corruption and breathes out dawn. It pecks rot from the world and snaps at the shambling dead.
Gifts: Life; Earth Blade; Resist Necromancy; Destroy Undead.
Colourful — Prism-touched and star-eyed, it flares with sky-fire and sweeps away hexes like dust. Mended armor gleams in its wake.
Gifts: High Magic (Celestial) +3; Mend Armor Storm; Resist Spell; Dispel.
Earth — Moss-muzzled and patient, it carries the hush of deep roots and the warmth of hearth-light. Its touch draws poison out like a thorn.
Gifts: High Magic (Earth) +3; Earth Channeling (50); Resist Curse; Purify.
Elemental — A crackling wanderer of storm and stone. Its presence sharpens steel and opens rifts—or seals them shut.
Gifts: Celestial Channeling (50); Enhanced Blade; Resist Element; Banish or Solidify or Subjugate.
Nurturing — A den-guardian with soft eyes and quick feet, forever stepping between danger and its charge.
Gifts: Weapon Shield; Spell Shield; Repel; Dodge.
Pack / Loyal — Heel-true and battle-brave, it reads your stance and moves as one—breaking lines, guarding flanks, finishing the fight.
Gifts: Critical Attack; Weapon Strike: Break or Disarm; Parry; Slay.
Sneaky — A shadowy foxlike spirit with a smile that bites deeply like a knife. It slips past notice, steals breath with silence, and vanishes before the echo. A true hugger-mugger to friend and foe alike.
Gifts: Assassinate; Silence or Stun Blow; Doom Blow; Evade.
Status Note: We’re still making arrangements with the little fellows who call themselves Builders. They’ve unionized and are now FOIP-only (Found Only In Play)—not available via donation or as an uplifted pet.
Builder — Clever-pawed and methodical, it braids reeds, mixes pastes, and sketches humming sigils in the dirt. Your workshop never feels empty when it’s around. Gifts: FOIP
Housing Your Buddies and Pets
You don’t need an in-game stable to care for your companions. By default, any buddy or pet you own stays at your side, tended and sheltered wherever you—the player—are housed. They share your living accommodations and are considered safe, fed, and present for play.
If you want extra creature comforts (with a touch of utility and story), you can invest in specialized housing. These can be acquired as add-on bonuses during our donation drive or by spending Goblin Stamps (ATL GS) during normal play.
A Pet Stable provides a proper stall and routine care. Each event it produces two fresh food tokens—you can trade them, sell them, or feed them to your pet to refresh abilities. Stable food is perishable: any tokens generated by a Pet Stable expire at the end of that same event. For a larger menagerie, an Improved Pet Stable does the same at greater scale, producing four fresh food tokens per event, with the same end-of-event expiration.
If you run short on feed, you may purchase fresh food tokens at 50 ATL GS each, up to two per event. Purchased food is still “fresh” (perishable) and expires when the event ends, whether used or unused.
Finally, asset cards cannot travel the Mists and only function in the lands where they were established. A stable built in Chalameria does not follow you to Tel’Vania, and a stable founded in Tel’Vania cannot provide food in Chalameria. Assets are place-bound; their benefits remain with the world that birthed them.
In short, your companions are always welcome at your side without special infrastructure. Stables add flavor—and a reliable trickle of fresh food—while honoring common-sense limits on stockpiling and the Mists’ hard borders between lands.
Using Your Stuffy as a Buddy or Pet
We know you love your stuffies and want them to become part of your adventures as buddies or pets. That said, there are a few important rules to keep everything balanced and consistent.
Our bird-flavored magic items are not eligible. These items are remnants of the ancient Orienthal Empire, preserved as mummified or taxidermied remains. Because of their nature, they cannot be turned into buddies or pets. The same rule applies to any stuffed animal that is already a magic item—with one notable exception.
Reptoids are different. These unique creatures function as transfer gems. Once their magical power has been transferred through a Circle of Power into a valid vessel, they are no longer considered magic items. At that point, your reptoid stuffy may be used as a physrep for a buddy or pet. To complete the process, however, you will still need both an uplift token and a little FOIP to bring your dinosaur reptoid stuffy fully to life as one of our pets. So, while not every beloved stuffed animal can walk the path into Chalameria, some certainly can. Choose wisely, and as always—good hunting!