Media Dogs

This year, 2018, is the Chinese Year of the Dog. In a few days, Chinese communities (and others) all over the world will celebrate the Chinese New Year which falls on 16 February 2018. The Year of the Dog, naturally, lends itself to various puns and phrases about dogs. For this post, I want to ask everyone about their favorite media dogs. What's a media dog?

A media dog is any dog that is a character in any media (books, films, cartoons, games, etc.). It can be a major or minor character. It does not need to talk and can be a dog of any breed, pure or otherwise. It can be a loner or part of a team. Each post should include the following.

1)  Name the dog and the media it appears in. Tell us if it's a lone dog or a member of a (wolf)pack.

2)  Tell us why you like the dog and, if you know it, its pedigree.

3)  Mention an incident in the media where this dog became the top dog.

4)  Provide a link to how others can find out more about the media dog.

In order to start the ball rolling, let me present one of my favorite dogs.

Name: Vargr, an alien race in the Traveller role-playing game (rpg) universe. The Vargr has been a part of the Traveller universe since the very beginning and they are even considered a major race in that universe (along with 5 others).

Why I like the Vargr: Even though the Vargr are an alien race descended from uplifted dogs (actually wolves), they have a fascinating society. Vargr society functions on the concept of charisma. Vargr A will only follow Vargr B if Vargr B has a higher charisma than him. If Vargr B ever does anything that damages his charisma in the eyes of his followers, he will lose those followers faster than you can bark. This ever changing dynamic makes Vargr society fluid and chaotic, at least in the eyes of the humans in the Traveller universe. The idea of charisma is not strictly defined in the rpg. A human with sufficient charisma can attract a pack of loyal Vagr and technology, such as TV or radio, can enhance and extend charisma's reach. Since Vargr are descendants of dogs, humans have a distinct advantage when dealing with them as humans can easily read the Vargr's body language. Here is an area where a Player Character (PC) who has the advantage of Dog Lover (or other similar advantage/perk) can shine.

Vargr spotlight: The Vargr has had several Traveller alien modules published throughout the years detailing their history and society. One of my favorite books about the Vargr is MegaTraveller Alien Volume 1 - Vilani and Vargr, published by Digest Group Publications (1990). It is sadly out of print and in copyright limbo. The second half of the book presents a detailed overview of the history of the Vargr and their achievements. 

Find out more: Google is your friend here. Search for the above mentioned title to learn more about it. Also check out the latest alien module about the Vargr.