Animals

[Raven Bloodmoon]

Great thread.  I must say that despite statting out more animals than I care to admit (from groundhog to swallow to giraffe), the vermin/animal thing did not dawn on me.  My first impression from the thread is to combine the vermin and animal types and redefine the magical beast type as any creature that would otherwise be an animal if it did not have at least one supernature or spell-like ability, the ability to cast spells, or the ability to speak.

As to any worries about animals having nigh-human level intelligence, I think I've seen plenty of people that would get outwitted by a chiwawa, let alone a pack of lions or a gorilla.  I could see raising the Intelligence cap or even removing it.  Considering some recent developments in apes, the line between an animal and a race is getting very blurred.  Think of the apes that have begun using walking sticks without outside influence.  How long before we get a 2001: A Space Odyssey moment and have to decide if they are "Animals" or "Humanoids"?  But for game purposes, I think we can avoid those questions for the most part.

Oh, and to actually answer your question, yes, I like the idea of non-terrestrial animals and plan on actually doing that with a campaign I am currently working on.