Whichever previous adventure you played, consider that two moons have passed since then. Determine what age that makes all the cat characters (including the cat belonging to the person who will take the first turn as Narrator) and use the information found in the “Improving Your Cat” section of Chapter Four in the game rules to make the necessary changes.
Unless you are the first Narrator in this adventure, stop reading here. The information beginning in the next paragraph is for the Narrator only.
Hello, Narrator! It’s time to begin playing “Uninvited Guests.” Make sure all the players have their character sheets, the correct number of chips, a piece of paper, and a pencil. Remember that the point of the game is to have fun. Don’t be afraid to go slow, and refer to the rules if you aren’t sure exactly what should happen next.
When you’re ready, begin with 1 below.
Special Note: “Uninvited Guests” begins with the cats already in the middle of the action, hunting for a fox, but the players will not immediately know how their cats got there or why they’re chasing the fox. The scene is set up so that you can have a flashback that gives the players that information. This can be a little tricky at first, and your players may be anxious about it, but by the time the scene is finished everything should be fine. If you are particularly nervous about this style of storytelling, simply use the material below to improvise an opening scene that begins in the Clan camp.
Read Aloud: “Your target is fast and clever, running through the woods at top speed, making sudden turns, and diving into deep brush. Following the trail is difficult, but that’s your mission. The question is: Are you up to the job?”
Narrator Tips: Have all the players make Smell Checks (the Track Knack will be useful here, if any of the cats have it). The players may want to know what’s happening, but tell them that everything will be explained after they make the Smell Check. If a cat’s result on the Check is 5 or lower, that cat smells nothing. If the Check is between 6 and 10, the cat can smell the distinct scent of a fox, but it seems to be coming from several different places at once. Any cats who have totals of 11 or higher on the Check can pick up a clear scent leading away from the Lake.
Now explain to the players that their cats are on an important mission to track down a fox that has been stalking the Clan territories for a couple of days. Once they find the fox, they are supposed to chase it out of the area permanently. The Clans are all working together on this mission and every able-bodied warrior who isn’t needed to protect the queens and kits is out doing the same thing the players’ cats are.
Let the players act out the scene where they received their orders from a Clan leader (their leader, if they are all from the same Clan, or whatever leader you, as the Narrator, prefer if the cats in the group come from different Clans). This is a flashback scene, but it is also a chance for the players to ask questions and gather background information.
There isn’t a lot that the leader can tell them. The fox’s scent was first discovered a couple of days ago, but it seemed to be staying on the edges of the Clans’ territories, avoiding the places that warriors and other Clan members went most frequently. Then, about a day or so ago the fox was scented and even seen near all the Clan camps—particularly close to each Clan’s nursery. The Clan leaders thought the fox might be trying to steal kits, so they called for this massive hunt.
When the players are finished asking questions, the flashback is over and it’s time to go back to the fox hunt. Tell the players that their cats started searching at dawn, finding nothing but stale scents of cats, mice, voles, and other creatures. But then they came across a reasonably fresh trail, and that’s what they’re following now. The scent is getting fresher, and the fox seems to be trying lots of tricks to throw off anyone that tries to follow her. That means there’s a good chance she knows the cats are after her—she might even be nearby.
What Happens Next: The next phase of the adventure depends on the Smell Checks the players made at the very beginning of the scene.
If none of the cats’ Check totals was higher than 5, continue with 17.
If the best of the cats’ Check totals was between 6 and 10, continue with 6.
If some, but not all, of the cats’ Check totals were 11 or higher, continue with 4.
If all of the cats’ Check totals were 11 or higher, continue with 5.
Read Aloud: “The scent grows stronger as you come to a small meadow—where the trail ends. This is the spot.”
Narrator Tips: Let the cats look around briefly, perhaps making See Checks to try to spot the fox. After a few moments it will become clear to them that there is nowhere in this meadow for a fox to hide. However, there are a few rabbits here, munching contentedly on the grass. As yet, they have not noticed the cats’ presence.
What’s happened is that the clever fox ran along a path used regularly by the rabbits, hoping that the appetizing smell of a potential meal would distract the cats from noticing that the fox scent is not particularly fresh. Unfortunately, the cats seem to have taken the bait and fallen off the fox’s current trail. Now they are in a meadow full of rabbits, and they’re starting to feel a little hungry.
Although the cats know that their duty is to rush back onto the fox’s trail, their stomachs are beginning to grumble. Would anyone notice if they took a very brief break to catch a quick meal?
As the Narrator, your job here is a little complicated. You should make the players aware that their cats are tempted to take a break and hunt the rabbits, but also that they all know the proper thing to do is to get back to the fox hunt. It is up to the players to decide what the cats actually do.
What Happens Next: If the cats want to stay here and try to catch a quick meal, continue with 7.
If the cats want to get back on the fox’s trail, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 3.
Read Aloud: “Suddenly, you realize why the trail has been so difficult to follow. Not only did the same fox run over these paths multiple times, there is also the scent of a second fox along the trail! Between the pair of fox scents and the scent you cats are leaving on the trail, it’s a big mess. But now you’ve got the scents straight!”
Narrator Tips: The insight the cats have made is going to make tracking down the fox much easier. However, things are about to get more complicated for the cats. After the players have finished processing this new information, tell them that their cats hear another warrior calling out their names.
A moment later, Ashfoot, the WindClan deputy, comes bounding up to the group. She has important news—two kits are missing.
A pair of WindClan kits—a brother and sister—have gone missing. They were last seen in the WindClan camp very early this morning. They’re a rambunctious pair who often find trouble in unlikely places. This time, though, it seems like trouble found them. When the queens went to the far corner of the WindClan camp, where the two usually go to hide, there was a hole in the camp’s thorny wall and the kits were gone. What’s worse, on the outside of the wall, they found fox scent everywhere. The Clans are now worried that there may be a pack of foxes moving into the territory.
Depending on how well the players’ cats did on the earlier Smell Checks, the cats may already have some information about this. They may know that the fox has three cubs, and they may know that there is a WindClan kit out there somewhere. Let them share their knowledge with Ashfoot and talk about the best way to proceed.
When the discussions have ended, Ashfoot will tell the players’ cats that they are doing well. She will go off to deliver her message to the groups of cats who are searching elsewhere. If the players’ cats have given her any information, she will bring it back to the Clan leaders.
The cats now have a clear choice, based on the scents they’ve identified: They can either follow the adult fox or follow the new fox. (If they know about the fox cubs, or previously identified the scent of the WindClan kit, that will also help inform their decision.)
What Happens Next: If the cats follow the scent of the original fox they’ve been stalking, continue with 12.
If the cats follow the new scent (of the fox cub), continue with 14.
Read Aloud: “This is definitely the right scent trail! You’re clearly getting closer to the fox. But wait… there’s more than one scent in this trail!”
Narrator Tips: It becomes clear to the cats that there’s more going on here than just a single fox running around in the Clan territories. The scent trail indicates that there are several foxes, but one scent is clearly dominant over the others. And there’s another scent mixed in there but the cats can’t immediately tell what it is.
Have each cat make either a Ponder or Smell Check (player’s choice). These Checks may be boosted by the Animal Lore or Track Knacks, if the players like. Rather than working alone, a cat may decide to help one of the other cats with his or her Skill Check. To do this, the helping cat makes a Focus Check. The cat being helped then gets a bonus to his or her Check equal to half the total of the Focus Check. In this way, the cats can work together to get the best possible result.
If the highest Check total (including help) is 10 or higher, the cats figure out that there are five scents mixed into the scent trail. If the total is 14 or higher, they realize that four of the scents are fox cubs and the strongest scent is the mother fox. If the total is 17 or higher, they realize that there really are only three fox cubs—the fourth scent is a kit from WindClan.
What Happens Next: If the best of the cats’ Check totals was 9 or lower, continue with 6.
If the best of the cats’ Check totals was 13 or lower, continue with 2.
If the best of the cats’ Check totals was 14 or higher, continue with 5.
Read Aloud: “The scent trail is absolutely plain now—the overlapping tracks are easy to sniff through to find the freshest, most recent path. It is clear that the fox came this way only a short while ago. You’ve nearly got her!”
Narrator Tips: Improvise a final dash through the underbrush or over an obstacle, something that gives the players a sense of completion for their chase. At the end of that action, they find themselves on one side of a glade while the fox sits at the other side. It feels almost as if she has been waiting for the cats to arrive—and that in itself is more than a little suspicious.
Allow the cats to make Ponder Checks (or other Skill Checks that may seem appropriate) to figure out what’s going on. Any cat that has the Animal Lore may use it without having to spend the Intelligence chip that is usually required to access a Knack. If the Check total is 8 or lower, the cat is sure that the fox is just toying with the group—making it seem as if she’s running away, then doubling back to a section of the woods they’ve already searched. If a cat’s Check total is 11 or lower, he or she notices that despite the fox’s apparent relaxed posture, she seems poised to flee—and she’s already leaning in the direction she will run. If the Check total is 12 or higher, the cat notices that while the fox is leaning and getting ready to run in one direction, she is glancing back in the opposite direction—almost as if she wants to go that way but is afraid to lead the cats there. If the Check total is 17 or higher, the cat realizes that the fox’s backward glance is just another attempt to confuse the cats—perhaps it’s a ploy to help her escape, or perhaps there really is something over there that she wants the cats to see. The fox is being so sly that it’s almost impossible to tell what her real intentions are.
The big question is: What will the cats do with all this information? Because no sooner do they get it than the fox dashes away in the direction she was leaning.
Of course, the cats may not want to even think about such things. If they just want to charge ahead and chase after the fox, by all means allow them to do so.
What Happens Next: If the cats think the fox is going to double back to a place they’ve already searched and want to beat her to the location, continue with 6.
If the cats want to follow the fox in the direction she is running or investigate the section of woods she was staring at, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 3. Tell the new Narrator to make note of which direction the cats were heading.
Read Aloud: “Over the rotten log, through a bush, around that tree, back through the bush, back over the log… wait a minute! You’ve lost the trail.”
Narrator Tips: The fox is very sly. She knows that there are many cats in the area, so wherever she went she carefully used as few paths through the woods as possible. The result is that her new scent trails are difficult to separate from her older ones, and that makes it hard to follow her. The cats have gotten caught in a loop, following the scent around in a circle that leads them back where they started, but at least they figured out the problem quickly. They still have time to get back on the right track.
Have each of the cats make another Smell Check, making sure they understand that they must find a way to do better than before—spending chips or using Knacks—otherwise they will not be able to find the fox.
What Happens Next: If none of the cats’ Check totals was higher than 5, continue with 17.
If the best of the cats’ Check totals was between 6 and 10, continue with 2.
If some, but not all, of the cats’ Check totals were 11 or higher, continue with 4.
If all of the cats’ Check totals were 11 or higher, continue with 5.
Read Aloud: “So far, the wind is in your favor, and none of the rabbits are aware of your presence. There are three or four small and lean rabbits near you, and a much meatier one on the far side of the meadow.”
Narrator Tips: The players need to decide which rabbit (or rabbits) they want to try to catch. They can easily leap onto one of the small ones nearby, but it won’t make much of a meal. The larger rabbit is farther away and would have to be stalked, which would be difficult. In either case, going after one rabbit will certainly scare away all the others.
If the cats want to catch one of the small rabbits, they have to Pounce on it. The rabbit’s Jump score is 5, and it can be taken down by just 1 chip’s worth of damage. There are three small rabbits nearby, but the cats must time their Pounces so they happen at the same time. Otherwise, when the first cat Pounces, the remaining rabbits will flee.
If the cats want to catch the larger rabbit, they must first stalk it. What’s more, they must do so without any of the rabbits in the field becoming aware of their presence. To do this, all the cats who are participating in the hunt must make Sneak Checks. The only result you, as Narrator, are concerned with, though, is the lowest total in the bunch—if one cat is clumsy, it will ruin the hunt for everyone.
If the lowest Sneak Check total is 7 or lower, the large rabbit senses the cats’ approach and flees before they can Pounce.
If the lowest total is between 8 and 12, the large rabbit is unaware of the cats, but the smaller rabbits catch wind of them and flee. This warns the larger rabbit, who starts to flee before most of the cats are in position, but the group may select one of the cats to try to Pounce on it before it escapes.
If the lowest total is 13 or higher, all the cats get in position around the larger rabbit, and they can Pounce on it together.
The large rabbit has a Jump score of 8. In order to take it down, the cats must do 3 chips worth of damage to it; otherwise, it will escape before the cats can Pounce again.
If the cats succeed in catching a rabbit, they get to have a quick meal before going back on the fox’s trail. If the cats caught the large rabbit, they can Refresh all of their spent chips. If they caught one or more of the smaller rabbits, each cat can Refresh one chip (and only one) from those that have been spent so far.
What Happens Next: If the cats decide that this was a bad idea after all and want to get back on the fox’s trail, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 3.
If they tried to catch a rabbit, whether or not they were successful, continue with 9.
Read Aloud: “The fox looks at you, her eyes cold and vicious. If you want to fight, she is more than ready to oblige.”
Narrator Tips: This scene focuses entirely on the fight between the players’ cats and the fox. It uses the rules for fighting found in Chapter Five of the game rules.
Once the cats make it clear that they are going to attack, the fox will stand up and leave its den, nudging the cubs so that they stay put and glaring at the kit so that she does, too. But now the kit is free to call out to the cats. She asks them not to fight but to listen to what she has to say.
If the fight begins, it follows all the usual rules for fighting. The fox has a Jump score of 10, a Pounce score of 7, a Swat score of 10, and a Bite score of 8. The fox has Ability chips just like the players’ cats do, and spends them in the same way. She has 5 Strength chips, 8 Intelligence chips, and 7 Spirit chips. For the purposes of this fight, the fox is treated just the same as a player’s cat except that the Narrator controls all its movements.
The fox will fight until she is knocked out because she is fighting to protect her cubs. However, if the cats want to stop the fight at any time, she will also stop. Fighting is not what she wants to do, but if forced to she will fight to the best of her ability.
What Happens Next: If the cats decide to delay the fight and listen to what the kit has to say, continue with 16.
If two or more of the cats are knocked out during the fight, continue with 13.
If the cats win the fight and they’ve already found and rescued the missing fox cub and WindClan kit, continue with 22.
If the cats win the fight but they haven’t yet found the missing fox cub and WindClan kit, continue with 16.
Read Aloud: “The fox’s scent is still around, but the trail is far from fresh. It has clearly been back and forth over this ground many times in the past few days, and finding the newest trail is even more difficult than before.”
Narrator Tips: Taking a break to hunt has made the cats’ work even harder. They are going to have to work together to find the right trail. Ask the players if they can think of anything the cats can do to improve their chances of finding the right scent. This is an opportunity for the players to get creative. If any of the ideas sound like they really would be helpful, give each player’s cat a +1 bonus on the Check below.
Have each of the cats make a Smell Check (allowing the use of any Knacks that seem appropriate). Then have them add their Skill Check totals together to get a group total.
What Happens Next: If the group total is 20 or lower, continue with 17.
If the group total is 21 or higher, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 3.
Read Aloud: “The scent is getting stronger. The missing cub and kit must be close, but their scents are not on the ground. They’re drifting through the air. That’s very strange, but surely it will all make sense once you find—wait… what’s that new scent?”
Narrator Tips: The scent trail leads up to a copse of trees. The players’ cats can smell the WindClan kit and fox cub’s scents on the wind but not on the ground. This is very unusual—it’s generally the way an owl’s scent or a sparrow’s scent comes through. The players may want to puzzle over that, but they have a more pressing issue—there’s a new scent, too. This one is on the ground and coming from very nearby.
Have each of the cats make a Ponder Check (the Animal Lore Knack will be helpful) to see if they recognize the scent. Anyone who gets a Skill Check total of 7 or higher realizes that the new scent is a raccoon.
If the cats follow either scent trail, they enter into the copse of trees and find a strange sight. The kit and fox cub are in one of the trees, clinging to a narrow, low-hanging branch. Below them, a round-bellied raccoon is hissing and barking and swiping the air with its claws, furiously trying to get to them.
The kit sees the players’ cats and calls out, telling them what happened.
He and the cub were just running around, having fun, when they accidentally tumbled into a raccoon. This made the raccoon angry, and it chased after them. At first this seemed fun, too. The raccoon was heavy and slow, and the kit and cub were small and fast—they expected it would give up the chase soon enough. But it didn’t. It kept coming, and it kept getting closer as the kit and cub grew tired. Soon it was almost on top of them, and they noticed just how sharp its teeth and claws were. In order to get away, he and the cub climbed this tree. This turned out not to be a great plan because the raccoon just climbed after them, so they went out on a branch that seemed too thin to bear the raccoon’s weight. The plan worked—the raccoon couldn’t come out on the branch after them—but they still underestimated its anger. Rather than going away, the raccoon simply climbed back down to the ground and has been there ever since.
The kit and cub both look terrified, exhausted, and desperate for the players’ cats to do something to help. The question is: What will the group do?
What Happens Next: If the players’ cats want to attack the raccoon, continue with 15.
If the players’ cats want to try something other than fighting, continue with 11.
Read Aloud: “The raccoon hisses and growls at you. Even after all this time, it’s still seething with anger at the kit and cub, but it’s aware of your presence and seems to realize that you have it outnumbered.”
Narrator Tips: The raccoon has no intention of leaving, so it is up to the players’ cats to convince it otherwise. How they try to do that is up to them and, in great measure, the results depend on you, the Narrator. The players’ cats can try any tactic they can imagine—using the Hiss or Arch Skills, charging at the raccoon as if they plan to attack and then backing away, finding some fresh-kill to offer in order to distract it, etc. It is up to you to decide how to use the game to resolve their actions.
The raccoon has a Strength score of 10, an Intelligence of 4, and a Spirit of 6, and it has Ability chips to spend just the way the players’ cats do. It doesn’t have as many advantages as the cats, but it does have a few Skills and Knacks. The raccoon has 4 levels of Hiss, 3 levels of See, and 2 levels of Smell. It also has the Leap Knack.
As an example, if the cats decide to try to scare the raccoon away by making noise, you’ll probably want to have them make Hiss Checks. You may want to set a target number for a cat to try to beat on a single Skill Check, or set a higher number and have all the cats generate a group total, or let the raccoon make its own Hiss Check. Do whatever you think best fits the situation.
As the Narrator, your best guess is automatically right.
This scene continues until the cats succeed in chasing the raccoon away or they decide to switch tactics and fight it.
What Happens Next: If the cats decide that this isn’t working and that it would be better to fight the raccoon, continue with 15.
If the cats succeed in scaring away the raccoon, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 20.
Read Aloud: “The scent trail is finally clear. Before long, you come to a small clearing with a fallen log at the far end. Sitting in the hollow of the log is the fox. She glares at you, then looks down between her paws where you see she has one of the WindClan kits pinned. The kit is struggling to call out to you, but its words are muffled by fox fur.”
Narrator Tips: Allow the players to ask any questions they want about the situation—don’t rush them into making a decision about what to do next. Exactly what they find out will depend on what they ask, but below is a detailed summary so that you know how to answer clearly.
The fox, noticing how close the players’ cats were to catching her, headed back to her den in the hollow of the log. When she went searching for her missing cub, she left the other two cubs and one of the WindClan kits, the she-cat, here sleeping. Knowing that the cats would arrive momentarily, she put the kit up front under her paw—a warning that she will hurt it if the cats come too close. Really, she has no plan to hurt the kit at all. She simply wants to get her missing cub back, and she blames the Clan cats for the fact that it is missing at all. (The kit can explain this reasoning, if the cats can get the fox to let her up so she can speak.) The other two fox cubs are now awake but hiding behind her, deeper in the den.
The fox is a clever animal, capable of communicating basic feelings by emotions—angry looks and sad whines—and pointing. She is not able to speak to the cats or make complex plans. The fox wants the cats to know that she is holding the kit until such time as her missing cub returns. She’s also hinting that if she finds out that the cats hurt her cub, she will retaliate by hurting the kit. This may be too complicated a message to get across without words, but it’s what the fox is thinking.
At first, it may seem that the fox is intentionally keeping the kit silent by covering its mouth with her paw. In fact, she is just trying to keep the kit from wriggling away and running back home. Unfortunately, at the moment, she is preventing the kit from calling out to the cats, which would help to clear up the situation.
What happens next depends entirely on how the players’ cats react to this situation. The fox is not going to make the first move.
What Happens Next: If the cats decide to attack the fox, continue with 8.
If the cats decide to leave and follow the other scent trail, continue with 14.
If the cats do anything that involves staying near the fox’s den but not starting a fight, continue with 16.
Read Aloud: “When your eyes flutter open, you can see the friendly face of your Clan’s medicine cat peering down at you.”
Narrator Tips: A significant portion (or perhaps all) of the cats have been knocked out in a fight. While it might have been possible for the other cats to finish the adventure alone, they succeed or fail as a team.
Improvise an appropriate conclusion for the cats based on their actions. As long as they acted nobly and fought courageously, their Clan leader will be proud of them and say so. There is no shame in failing as long as you try your best. If they acted rashly or, worse, failed to uphold the warrior code, the leader will give them a more stern talking-to.
Some other warriors succeeded in finishing the mission and finding the kits. As Narrator, you can decide how that happened and tell the players that tale.
What Happens Next: The adventure is over. The players’ cats do not get any Experience rewards for this adventure. The group can, however, play the adventure again, hopefully either being more careful about when to pick a fight or merely being better fighters.
Read Aloud: “Knowing that there is a second scent on the trail makes everything clear. In fact, you’re certain that this scent belongs to a fox cub, and the fox you’ve been chasing is its mother. But the cub hasn’t been moving around nearly as frequently, so the trail is difficult to follow because it is hidden under the mother fox’s scent.”
Narrator Tips: The cats are hot on the trail of the second fox. This scene will require the cats to make one final Smell Check as a group. It also provides a chance to be sure that they have put together all the various snippets of information about the cub into an accurate understanding of the situation. As Narrator, you may ask the players to have their cats make Ponder Checks to see which ones understand things most clearly, but whatever the results are, the group as a whole should get all the following information.
The two main scent trails are the cub running around and exploring the woods and the mother fox looking for him. Sometime early today, the cub’s scent was joined by the scent of a WindClan kit, and the two youngsters seem to be exploring and playing together. But then suddenly their scents stopped—they were no longer moving around—and their trail was buried under the scent of the mother fox as her search became more frantic.
In order to figure out the last place the cub and kit went, have each player make a Smell Check for his or her cat, and then add the Check totals together to get a group total.
What Happens Next: If the group total is 13 or lower, continue with 17.
If the group total is 14 or higher, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 10.
Read Aloud: “After the better part of a day, the raccoon is still snapping at the kit and cub. Clearly it’s ready for a fight.”
Narrator Tips: This scene focuses entirely on the fight between the players’ cats and the raccoon. It uses the rules for fighting found in Chapter Five of the game rules.
From where it stands, the raccoon will hiss at the players’ cats, but it remains focused on the kit and cub perched on the branch above. The cats will need to force it away.
If the players’ cats decide to fight the raccoon, the fight will follow all the usual rules for fighting. The raccoon has a Jump score of 7, a Pounce score of 10, a Swat score of 12, and a Bite score of 10. The raccoon has Ability chips just like the players’ cats do and spends them in the same way. It has 10 Strength chips, 4 Intelligence chips, and 6 Spirit chips. For the purposes of this fight, the raccoon is treated just the same as a player’s cat except that the Narrator controls all its movements.
The raccoon will fight until it only has 7 chips remaining, and then it will try to run away. If this happens and the cats decide to chase the raccoon, they can easily catch up with it and continue the fight. However, if they let it go, the raccoon will leave Clan territory entirely and never be heard from again.
What Happens Next: If the cats decide to delay the fight and instead try to scare the raccoon away, continue with 11.
If two or more of the cats are knocked out during the fight, continue with 13.
If the cats knock out or chase off the raccoon, they win the fight and this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 20.
Read Aloud: “With a tiny grunt of exertion, the kit lifts up her head and calls out, ‘Wait! I can explain everything!’”
Narrator Tips: The kit gets her head free from the fox’s paw and attempts to explain what happened. The details are below. Use them to improvise a scene where she is trying to make things clear quickly in order to prevent a fight, but also is struggling with the fact that she is just a frightened kit and doesn’t really understand all the details of what’s going on.
The brother and sister had snuck away from the queens and the other kits, as they often did, and were poking around in one of the furthest corners of the WindClan camp. They smelled a strange scent and heard something scratching on the other side of the camp’s wall. It didn’t smell dangerous, and the scratching sounded like it was coming from something no bigger than they were.
Their curiosity got the better of them, and they started scratching on their side of the wall, curious to see what was out there. Soon they’d poked a hole through the wall, and on the other side they saw a fox cub. They started sniffing and pawing at one another. Before long, they were rolling around and play fighting, just like old friends. This quickly turned into a running and tumbling game of tag and soon they were far away.
They spent some time running and playing together—this was the first time the kits had been out of the camp. After a while, though, she got separated from her brother and the fox cub. She thought she saw the fox cub’s tail, so she pounced on it, but it wasn’t the cub—it was his mother!
The mother fox was frantic, searching for her cub. The kit could tell because her face had the same look the queens got whenever one of the kits went missing. Then there was the sound of other cats in the area—Clan warriors who were out looking for the fox—so she grabbed the kit by the scruff and carried her off to this den.
“She’s been very kind to me but won’t let me leave,” the kit tells them. “I think she’s waiting until her missing cub comes home. But I have no idea where the cub or my brother is, and I just want to go home!”
The kit begs the players’ cats not to hurt the fox. She bets that if they find and return the cub, the fox will probably take her whole litter and get out of Clan territory as fast as they can.
What Happens Next: If the cats decide to go look for the missing kit and fox cub, continue with 14.
If the cats decide they want to fight the fox first, continue with 8.
Read Aloud: “The scent trail heads up the hill, away from the Lake. As it leads you deeper into the woods, the other trails fade away until only this one remains. But then you realize that this scent trail is older than all the others. You’ve accidentally followed the path the fox first used when she entered the Clan territories.”
Narrator Tips: There are several scenes that can lead to this bad ending, so you will have to improvise the specific details of this scene. All of the possible lead-ins, though, are similar in that after following tracks around in circles for the better part of the day, the cats ended up focusing on the wrong one. They’ve now gone far enough away that it will take the rest of the day to get home, and by the time they do, other warriors will have resolved the situation.
What Happens Next: Not every adventure can end in success, and this one hasn’t. Although they tried hard, the cats failed to solve the problems being caused by the fox in Clan territories. They do not get any Experience rewards for this adventure. The group can, however, play the adventure again, hopefully finding a way to get a better result next time.
Read Aloud: “As you enter the small clearing, you can see the fox perched in her den within a hollow log. She’s looking right at you, as though she has been expecting you.”
Narrator Tips: The fox has the she-cat kit beneath her paws, but luckily the kit is free to call out to you. She says that she is all right, and she is happy to see her brother. Although she struggles to get free and come over to you, the fox maintains her hold.
The fox cub will immediately run to its mother unless the players’ cats stop it, which they can do easily. It will whine and keep trying to go, but there is nothing it can do to overpower the cats.
The fox will not let the kit go until the players’ cats let her cub come back to her. She does not like or trust the cats, and so will not release the kit until it is absolutely clear that they are not trying to trick her. The cats may want to talk to her or try to negotiate a situation where both the cub and kit are released at the same time. However, while the fox is clever, she at best only understands the very basics of what the cats are saying.
This might be a tricky scene for you, as Narrator, to improvise, but try to make the fox’s meaning and intention as plain as possible without actually putting words in her mouth. It is up to the players to figure out how to solve this situation, but if they are having too difficult a time of it, allow their cats to make Ponder Checks (using the Animal Lore Knack, if they wish). If the Skill Check total is higher than 8 (the fox’s Intelligence score), they understand the situation and know what the fox is demanding.
If the cats are not willing to release the cub, nothing will change. The only other option is to start a fight with the fox, though it’s doubtful anyone really wants that to happen.
Once the cub is free and very close to the hollow log, the fox will let the she-cat kit go and move to nuzzle her pup. At that point, the kit will run directly over to her brother.
What Happens Next: If the cub and kit are both back with their families, continue with 19.
If the cats won’t let the cub go, choosing instead to start a fight, continue with 8.
Read Aloud: “The kit dashes across to her brother and they roll about with wild enthusiasm. Meanwhile, the fox nudges her cub into the den with its siblings, then steps out and glares at you angrily.”
Narrator Tips: The fox has gotten just what she wanted, but she’s still not very happy about the situation. The cats know where her den and, more important, her cubs are. Now she will have to take her cubs and go find a new den, preferably far away from the Clan territories. The angry glare is her way of saying “Leave my family alone… or else!”
As with the previous scene, there really isn’t any way to have direct communication between the fox and the players’ cats. Through an improvised scene and a few well-placed Ponder Checks, though, you should be able to get the players to understand what’s going on.
The big question is how the players’ cats will respond to such an aggressive stance. The fox doesn’t want to fight; she just wants the cats to know that she will if it’s necessary. If the cats are feeling aggressive, though, that might be enough to get combat started. If they simply acknowledge the fox’s anger and concern, though, she will gladly let the tension ease.
What Happens Next: If the cats accept the fox’s message without escalating to violence, continue with 21.
If the cats decide to take the tension up to the next level and start a fight, continue with 8.
Read Aloud: “The kit is so relieved that the situation with the raccoon is over that he almost leaps off the branch. It’s then that he realizes just how high up he and the cub are. ‘H-how do we get down from here?’ the kit asks.”
Narrator Tips: This scene is all about getting the tom kit and the fox cub out of the tree. They’re both much better at climbing up than they are at coming down. Plus, after such a prolonged and frightening experience, they’re both more than a little tired.
It is up to the players’ cats to figure out how to get the two out of the tree, and it is your job, as the Narrator, to use the game rules and your imagination to improvise a scene that lets the group find a workable solution. If the idea they have seems impractical or unlikely to work, tell them so—or hint at it strongly. If possible, think of an Ability or Skill Check that goes along with the actions they suggest, and an unpleasant result that will happen if they fail at those Checks.
Don’t make it anything too harmful—just inconvenient. After all, they beat the raccoon. This is merely a small inconvenience when compared to the sharp claws and teeth they just avoided. But a few added bruises or embarrassments can certainly be gained if the cats use bad judgment.
In the end, if necessary, help the group find a way to succeed in getting the kit and the cub out of the tree. This scene should be a memorable diversion, not one where the adventure grounds to a halt.
If the cats have already interacted with the mother fox near her den, they will know just where to go next. If not, have the cub dash off, following its own sense of smell and memory of where the den is, and have the group follow.
What Happens Next: If the players’ cats have fought and knocked out the mother fox, continue with 22.
If the mother fox is still in her den waiting for the return of her missing cub, continue with 18.
Read Aloud: “The fox seems satisfied that the cats mean her family no harm—at least for the moment. She walks over to the hollow log and climbs in with her cubs. They nuzzle and rub against one another so happily, you almost expect them to purr.”
Narrator Tips: The fox and her cubs are reunited. So are the WindClan kits, who the players’ cats now have to guide back to the Clan’s camp. The brother and sister spend the whole trip apologizing for the trouble they’ve caused and promising they’ll never do it again.
The leaders of all the Clans will be pleased with what a good job the cats did, and everyone will be fascinated with the tale of the fox and her cubs. The cats who know the most about Animal Lore will say that the Clan warriors should probably stay away from the fox’s den for a few days, just so she feels safe. As soon as she doesn’t feel threatened anymore, chances are good that the mother fox will take her cubs and find a new den—they like to keep the location of their homes secret, especially from potential enemies. In fact, it’s most likely that the fox will take her cubs and leave the Clan territories entirely.
If the players’ cats go against this advice and go back to the hollow log within the next day, they will get there just in time to see the fox and her cubs walking up the hill away from the Lake and out of Clan territory. The fox will look back with a warning glare, as if to say “Don’t follow us!”
If the players’ cats wait a few days and then go back, they will find the fox’s den abandoned, and a fading scent trail leading up the hill away from Clan territory. Either way, the foxes are gone and they will not return to this part of the woods.
What Happens Next: The players’ cats should be proud of their accomplishments. Dealing with a fox is never easy, but dealing with an anxious mother fox is even more dangerous. They handled the situation wonderfully, and the leaders and other warriors will tell them so. All the Clans will tell stories of these deeds for many, many moons to come, and the two WindClan kits will grow up thinking of the players’ cats not just as warriors but as heroes!
Read Aloud: “The fox lies limp on the ground, out cold. You feel a great rush of success momentarily—then you hear the whines and sniffs of fox cubs as they rush out to see what’s wrong with their mother.”
Narrator Tips: While beating the fox in battle may give the players’ cats a momentary sense of accomplishment, the truth is that it is a bad ending to the adventure. With their mother injured, the cubs’ lives are in jeopardy. While she is hurt, no one will be around to feed them or protect them from other forest animals.
Improvise a scene where other Clan cats arrive, including one or more of the Clan leaders. Have them point out that the warrior code says that all kits must be protected—and it seems reasonable to say that applies to these three fox cubs.
It should be clear that the players’ cats did well by rescuing the kits. But their actions also make them responsible for the fox cubs while the mother fox recovers. They will have to spend a day or two shepherding the cubs around, the way a Clan’s queens do for its kits, and even bringing food to the mother fox (who is too weak to hunt).
What Happens Next: When all is said and done, the fox and her cubs will leave the Clan territories, and the kits will be returned to WindClan. The adventure is a success and the players’ cats should be proud of their accomplishments. A fox is always a wily opponent, but a mother fox who is protecting her cubs is even more dangerous. Beating her in combat shows just how strong the cats have become, and the leaders and other warriors will tell them so. All the Clans will tell stories of these deeds for many, many moons to come, and the two WindClan kits will grow up thinking of the players’ cats not just as warriors but as heroes!
After the last scene of the adventure has been played, the game itself is not necessarily over. There still are a few things you can do if the players want to keep at it.
Maybe you just want to try the whole thing a second time, starting back at the beginning or perhaps picking up somewhere in the middle where it feels like things went wrong. In either case, your cat would be right back where he or she was and have another chance to try to find a more favorable outcome.
One of the great things about storytelling games is that you can always tell the story again. And, since the actions of the fox are very much dependent on not only what the players’ cats do, but what order they do it in, this adventure could easily have several distinct twists in how the story unfolds.
Plus, however they handled the interaction with the fox the first time through, the cats may want to see what happens if they try a more aggressive tactic—or a less aggressive one. Playing again will let everyone see all the parts of the story and give other players the chance to try their hands at being the Narrator.
If the cats completed the adventure successfully, then they all get Experience rewards. It is important to note, though, that each cat can only get experience from this adventure once. If you play through and successfully finish the adventure several times, your cat only gains the rewards listed below after the first time he or she completes the adventure.
If you use different cats each time, though, each one can get the Experience rewards. The rule is not that a player can only get experience once, it’s that a cat can.
There is more than one way to successfully conclude this adventure. The players’ cats could have solved the situation by being diplomatic or by defeating the mother fox in a fight. As long as the fox and all her cubs were able to find a new den and carry on with their lives, it counted as a victory for the cats. However, the two resolutions have slightly different Experience rewards, as described in the Knack section below.
Age: Although the action in this adventure clearly happens over the course of a handful of days, the presumption is that this is the most interesting and exciting thing that happens to your cat during the whole of that moon. Increase your cat’s age by 1 moon and make any appropriate improvements described in Chapter Four of the game rules.
Skill: On top of the improvements your cat gets from aging, he or she also gains 1 level in the Smell Skill and 1 level in the Ponder Skill.
Knack: Dealing with a mother fox and her cubs certainly gave the players’ cats some lessons they would never have learned any other way. As a result, they each get a Knack based on what approach they used to resolve the situation.
If the players’ cats finished the adventure without having to fight and knock out the mother fox, they each gain 1 level of the Animal Lore Knack from interacting so closely with the mother fox and correctly interpreting her moods and intentions.
If the players’ cats finished the adventure by fighting the mother fox and knocking her out, they improved their fighting skills by facing down a very fast and dangerous foe. Each cat learned a few new sneaky combat moves and gains 1 level in the Feint Knack. If a cat already has 3 levels in Feint, then there wasn’t anything new for him or her to learn from this encounter.