‘Adventure Time’: This Jake the Dog Explainer Will Show You How It’s Done
Whether you’re ruling tiny people like an angry god or just bustin’ a sweet dance move in the land of Ooo, Jake the Dog is man’s best best friend.
All dogs are good dogs; that’s just a fact. But one of the bestest good bois around has to be, without a doubt, Jake the Dog. Jake and his Adventure Time bestie Finn the Human have served as our guides through the magical land of Ooo since Pendleton Ward first started the show in 2010. But for those who may want to bring this shape-shifting alien doggo to an RPG table, who is Jake the Dog? And what kind of cool tricks can he do?
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Just a Lil Pup: Jake the Dog’s Early Life
Before he was making some of the tastiest bacon pancakes known to man, Jake was just a puppy. While his parents, Joshua and Margret, were in the woods one day searching for a shapeshifting monster creature, said creature bit Joshua on the head. A big ol’ boil formed on his head, and inside that boil was Jake the Dog.
The couple chose to raise Jake as their own son. He already had a brother named Jermaine, and the family would later adopt a ‘lil human baby named Finn. Finn and Jake aren’t just adopted brothers; they’re best friends. The two were babies at the same time, despite differences in their later aging processes.
When Joshua and Margret died, Jake and Finn moved away into the famous treehouse that would see them through most of their adventures. Jermaine stayed in the family home.
In the show, there are allusions to Jake the Dog having a rough past. Apparently, there was a period after the friends moved into the treehouse that saw Jake doing some thieving and other no-goodness to make ends meet. As the two friends grow older, Jake starts turning his skills more toward adventuring, and he and Finn become a well-known team in Ooo.
Jake the Dog’s Other Relationships
Much like Finn, Jake’s relationship with his parents, Joshua and Margret, is a pretty solid one. As an adult, Jake the Dog finds out that Margret is actually his adopted mother—basically Joshua was his father but the shapeshifting monster-guy was actually his biological mother.
The shifter, who we learn is named Warren Ampersand, later returns, and it seems like he and Jake will be able to form their own special relationship. But Warren revealed that he had only brought Jake to his alien homeworld in order to steal his powers.
Jake also had a strained relationship with his half-brother, Jermaine. He chose to stay in the house where Joshua and Margret raised the boys while Finn and Jake went off adventuring. While there was some animosity between brothers over who was Joshua’s favorite, the two eventually make up and Jermaine later helps Jake figure out how to shapeshift back into his dog form.
When it comes to romance, Jake is often heard giving Finn advice on how and who to date. But in his own romantic life, Jake the Dog falls in love with Lady Rainicorn. The two are seen dating for most of the series, and eventually, they have puppies together.
Charlie, T.V., Viola, Kim Kil Whan, and Jake Jr. are incredibly important to Jake. When he becomes a dad, Jake the Dog becomes a little more thoughtful and responsible. But due to Lady Rainicorn’s half of their DNA, the pups grew up really quickly. Unlike Jake, whose genetic makeup made his aging process slower, the pups quickly grew to adulthood, and Jake, after exhausting himself taking intense care of them, moved back in with Finn because the pups could take care of themselves.
Powers and Abilities
Most of Jake’s unique powers come from his father, Warren, the shapeshifting creature. His ability to bend and stretch and, presumably, his altered aging process all come from his Dad.
His regular shape is the same shape as Joshua and Margret—the breed of an average-sized yellow bulldog. It’s not until he’s well into adulthood that Jake learns about his true form. Accepting his complicated parentage was a tough road for Jake. However, once he defeated Warren and learned to change back into his yellow dog form, Jake the Dog had a much stronger relationship with his own shapeshifting abilities.
Those abilities allow him to do all kinds of cool things. He can change his size, becoming extremely small or big. He can take on just about any shape. Jake uses his arms or body as weapons, tools, safety equipment, or just a funny and cool shape. Jake often uses his shapeshifting powers when he’s dancing or being silly, so it’s not just a skill he uses for battles.
In fact, compared to his brother Finn, Jake is the less aggressive of the two. He often shows up to help Finn when needed, but leaves a lot of the punchy-fighty stuff to the Human.
When the show begins, it’s understood that Jake the Dog is 28 years old. He and Finn are babies at the same time. But one of the nuances of his powerset is that his aging slowed down at some point to be more comparable to human years (rather than dog years.)
This dog has a handful of other great skills. For one, Jake the Dog is a very skilled dancer and musician. He’s often known to sing a jaunty tune or shake his buns to a beat. He also plays a variety of string instruments, mostly the viola. He’s also been seen playing a ukulele. He’s so good at playing music, in fact, that when he plays certain classical tunes on viola, he can mesmerize various critters into doing his will.
Where to Find Jake the Dog in D&D
Jake is a great character to bring to the D&D table for personality and powers alike. And you wouldn’t be the first person to have the idea—in fact, there’s a whole Adventure Time RPG! It’s even D&D 5E compatible! The game applies the rules of D&D to the Land of Ooo and all its incredible inhabitants.
