Warriors Adventure Game

Training Day

Whatever the previous adventure you played, consider that one moon has passed since then. Determine what age that makes all of the cat characters (including the one 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 improvements.

Unless you are the first person who will act as Narrator in this adventure, you should stop reading here. The information beginning in the next paragraph is for the Narrator only.


The Adventure Begins

Hello, Narrator! It’s time to begin playing “Training Day.” Make sure all the players have their character sheets, the correct number of chips, a piece of paper, and a pencil. For this adventure, you will also need a six-sided die (like those you find in most standard board games). Remember that the point of the game is to have fun, so don’t be afraid to go slow, keep the players involved, and refer to the rules if you aren’t sure exactly what should happen next.

When you’re ready, begin with 1 below.


1. A Time to Teach

Special Note: Over the course of the previously published adventures, your cat characters have grown and improved—going from newly promoted apprentices to experienced warriors. The Clans are tight-knit groups that depend on older members to pass their knowledge down to the younger ones. Just as the players’ cats had mentors and teachers who taught them the basics of life in the forests around the lake, in the opening scenes of “Training Day” the players’ cats take their turn sharing the knowledge they’ve gained with a new generation of apprentices.

Read Aloud: “Usually, the training of apprentices is handled completely within their own Clans. However, in an effort to reduce suspicion and tension between Clans, the Clan leaders have decided to try an experiment. They want a group of warriors to spend a day working with apprentices from Clans other than their own, and your cats have been chosen to take part in this experiment.”

Narrator Tips: Tell the players that their cats are each approached by the leaders of their individual Clans and told about this. The leaders feel that it is an important task and that the players’ cats have been chosen because they seem to be good at working side by side with cats of varying backgrounds (as may happen every time you play the game, if the players’ cats come from different Clans). Their job will be to teach basic warrior skills—patrolling a border, stalking an enemy, and hunting for freshkill—to show these apprentices that all cats are alike no matter what Clan they belong to.

Each cat will get a specific apprentice to work with. Have the players (including the Narrator) each roll the six-sided die and use the chart below to discover what Clan the apprentice comes from. If the result is the same Clan that the player’s cat belongs to, reroll. Remember that what Clan a cat is from gives that cat an added boost in one skill (see Chapter Two of the game rules).

Die Result

Clan

1

ShadowClan

2–3

RiverClan

4–5

WindClan

6

ThunderClan

Then have the players (including the Narrator) each roll the six-sided die again, using the chart below to see what personality and skills their apprentice has. Have the players write down the game details for their new apprentices, listed below the chart. They’ll need this information as the adventure progresses.

Die Result

Personality

1-2

Clever

3–4

Tough

5–6

Insightful

Clever Apprentice: A clever apprentice has the following Ability scores—Strength 1, Intelligence 3, Spirit 1. The apprentice has the following Skill levels—Jump 1, Ponder 1, Sneak 1.

Tough Apprentice: A tough apprentice has the following Ability scores—Strength 3, Intelligence 1, Spirit 1. The apprentice has the following Skill levels—Pounce 1, See 1, Swat 1.

Insightful Apprentice: An insightful apprentice has the following Ability scores—Strength 1, Intelligence 1, Spirit 3. The apprentice has the following Skill levels—Focus 1, Listen 1, Smell 1.

Finally, have the players (including the Narrator) each roll the six-sided die one more time. If the result is even, their apprentice is female. If it’s odd, the apprentice is male. Once that is known, the apprentices need names. Rather than have the players choose the names themselves, have each player select the name for the apprentice belonging to the person on her or his right (keeping the apprentice’s personality and Clan in mind).

With all the apprentices fully developed, the players’ cats must decide in what order they want to teach the skills. Will they start with border patrol, stalking, or hunting practice?

Once that is decided, it is time to reveal the final surprise—during this adventure they will sometimes be playing as their regular cats and sometimes be playing as the apprentices. Have each player set aside his or her cat’s character sheets and focus on the game details of the new apprentices.

The big challenge will be that, when playing an apprentice, the players need to remember that the young cat does not know everything that the more advanced cat does. The Narrator may find it helpful to remind the players of what perspective and knowledge they are supposed to be using—the apprentice’s or the mentor’s—as that shifts during play.

What Happens Next: If the players’ cats want to begin with border patrol practice, continue with 5.

If the players’ cats want to begin with stalking practice, continue with 7.

If the players’ cats want to begin with hunting practice, continue with 10.


2. Hey, You!

Read Aloud: “That tall tree in the distance marks the border, you’re sure of it. As you approach, though, you can tell that this isn’t the tree you thought it was. In fact, you’ve never seen this tree before in your life because it’s deep within ShadowClan territory.”

Narrator Tips: The apprentices are more lost than ever. They’ve made a terrible error and wandered deep into ShadowClan territory. Ask the players what the apprentices want to do about it, but tell them to make a quick call—you never know who might have seen, heard, or smelled them.

In fact, a pair of ShadowClan warriors has caught scent of the apprentices and is padding over to find them. The apprentices must act quickly or they will be discovered. The Narrator should give the group a fair warning that danger could arrive at any moment. If the group continues to dawdle or is unable to decide on a plan of action, the aggressive older cats arrive.

If the apprentices try to make their way back to ThunderClan territory, ask whether they want to do so quickly or quietly (they can’t do both). If the answer is quickly, have all the apprentices make a Strength Check and tell them that any total lower than a 4 will be a failure. Before attempting that test, tell the group that any player whose regular cat has the Dash Knack may spend three Strength Chips to add them to the bonus pool. If any of the apprentices fails this Check, the ShadowClan cats catch the group.

If the apprentices try to escape quietly, tell the players that all the apprentices must make two separate Sneak Checks and that any total lower than 3 will count as a failure. Also tell them that any player whose regular cat has the Hide or Stalk Knack may add three Spirit Chips to the bonus pool. If any of the apprentices fails either of the Checks, the ShadowClan cats catch the group.

If the ShadowClan warriors catch the group, they will start a fight. (This fight uses all the usual rules as described in Chapter Five of the game.) They know that the apprentices are here by accident, but they believe swatting a young cat whenever it makes a mistake is the best way to encourage better behavior in the future. These cats each have Strength 5, Intelligence 3, and Spirit 3. Each round, each one of them will attack one of the apprentices. The Narrator can determine which one by any method she likes, or one of the apprentices can volunteer to receive the attack by throwing him- or herself in front of the attack. (A single apprentice can only jump in front of one attack per round.)

The ShadowClan warriors’ plan is to make a show of force and frighten the apprentices. They expect that the young cats will run from a fight, proving that the cross-Clan training is a failure and will only weaken ShadowClan. These warriors will fight for three rounds. If all of the apprentices are still standing their ground and ready to continue the fight at the end of the third round, they have proven their strength and bravery to the ShadowClan warriors, who will leave them alone from now on.

Although the ShadowClan warriors only want to scare the apprentices, it is possible that one or more of the younger cats will be Knocked Out. The older cats will be ashamed of themselves but, after making sure that no permanent damage has been done, they will still use this turn of events as “proof” that the current training is making the apprentices weak.

What Happens Next: If the apprentices manage to sneak safely back to ThunderClan territory, or to beat the ShadowClan warriors in battle, the apprentices can try the test again. Go to 5.

If the apprentices are seen running away from ShadowClan territory (and do not face down the ShadowClan warriors in battle) or if any of the apprentices is Knocked Out during the battle, continue with 13.


3. Who’s Stalking Who?

Read Aloud: “The scent of your foe is getting stronger. You can hear his movements nearby. You know—hey… wait… that’s coming from the wrong direction!”

Narrator Tips: The apprentice has made such a mess of this attempt to stalk a pretend foe that the quarry was able to turn things around and stalk the apprentice instead.

Describe the end of the “hunt,” where the apprentice thinks he or she is about to catch the target, but suddenly the pretend foe comes charging at the apprentice from an unexpected location and pounces on him or her instead. It should be a little embarrassing, but not actually painful.

Ask the players what suggestions their regular cat characters have for the apprentice. Where did things go wrong? How could he or she do better next time? What should a warrior do when he or she realizes that the situation has been reversed like that? Could the apprentice have done the same thing to turn the situation around again?

As Narrator, you should be keeping track of how many failures the apprentices get. This result was so bad that it counts as two failures instead of just one.

What Happens Next: If the apprentices have amassed a total of four or more failures in the stalking test, continue with 13.

If the apprentices have not yet amassed four failures, return to scene 7 and let them try again. Note, though, that once an individual apprentice succeeds at this test, he or she does not have to perform it again.


4. Is It Dinner Yet?

Read Aloud: “None of the Clans is particularly large in number. You all easily know every member of your own Clan, and a good many of the cats in other Clans, too. But the size of a Clan suddenly seems much bigger when you look at your newly caught freshkill and realize that the hunters do not get any food until all the other Clan cats eat first.”

Narrator Tips: If the adventure has reached this scene, the apprentices have not yet gathered enough freshkill. The Narrator should keep track of how many times the apprentices’ efforts return them to this scene—it will determine what happens next.

Ask the players to discuss what they think went wrong. What advice would their cats offer to the apprentices to help them gather freshkill more quickly? Is it better to hunt small prey or large? Would things be better if the apprentices worked together in pairs or trios?

The Narrator should tell the players that the apprentices can work in teams using special rules. If a group of apprentices hunt the same creature, all of the apprentices may try each of the required Skill Checks, but only one apprentice needs to succeed in that Check in order to overcome the prey. In other words, no matter how many cats are hunting together, they only need a single success by any one of the apprentices for the whole team to succeed.

What Happens Next: If there is not enough freshkill and this was the fourth time that the adventure has reached this scene, continue with 13.

If there was not enough freshkill but the adventure has reached this scene fewer than four times, the apprentices may continue hunting. Return to 10.


5. On Patrol

Read Aloud: “Patrolling the borders of the Clan’s territory is one of the most important jobs a warrior has. It’s the best way for the Clan to keep an eye out for any new threats, and to find out if anything unusual is happening in a neighboring Clan’s territory.”

Narrator Tips: In this section, the older cats are teaching their new apprentices how to behave on border patrols. As a group, they’ve gone to an area where there is a complicated border separating ThunderClan territory, ShadowClan territory, and non-Clan forest territory.

Begin by asking the players what advice their cats would give to the apprentices. What should a cat do on patrol? How should they behave? Are there any particular tricks or dangers to look out for? Lead this as a discussion among the players to get them to roleplay what their cats might say.

When the instructional part is over, it is time for the players to take control of the apprentices again. Let the apprentices refresh their chips, if they need to. Then have them try to walk the border without crossing into the other Clan’s territory. To do this successfully, each apprentice must make one of the following Checks: Focus Check, Intelligence Check, Ponder Check, or See Check. Add together the results of these Checks to create a Group Total. If the Group Total is 12 or higher, the apprentices have successfully walked the patrol route. If the Group Total is lower than 12, the cats have crossed the border.

What Happens Next: If the apprentices have successfully walked the patrol route, continue with 11.

If this is the first or second time the apprentices crossed the border, continue with 8.

If this is the third time the apprentices crossed the border, continue with 2.


6. Waiting for Supper

Read Aloud: “It seemed certain that the apprentices were about to complete their task. You were sure they’d bring back enough freshkill to meet their goal, but you were wrong.”

Narrator Tips: The Narrator should begin by telling the players to set aside the information about their apprentices and focus on the character sheets for their usual cat characters—the apprentices have failed to return from their hunting expeditions.

One of the interesting things about roleplaying games like this is that the players will sometimes have access to different perspectives of the story and levels of ability. Over the last few scenes, the players have been able to see the actions both through the eyes of their regular cat characters and through the eyes of the apprentice cats. The more experienced cats could easily have succeeded on any and all of the tests being performed, but the apprentices often struggled to do so.

In this instance, the players know everything that happened to the apprentices up to a certain point, but not beyond. Now they must use the skills and abilities of their experienced cat characters to find the missing information and (hopefully) find the missing apprentices, too.

Ask the players what their cats are going to do about the situation. How will they go about trying to find the missing apprentices? Likely strategies include trying to follow the young cats’ trail (either by sight or scent), trying to hear faraway sounds that might hint at where they’ve gone, or simply sitting down and using the cats’ knowledge about the apprentices to puzzle out what could have happened. These activities can be represented by See, Smell, Listen, and Ponder Checks, but other possibilities exist, too. If a player’s plan seems reasonable and likely to help, figure out which Skill or Knack is appropriate, and allow the player to use that.

Since what happened to the apprentices was sudden and unplanned, getting clues is difficult. Any cat that got a total of 12 or higher on the Checks above succeeds in that action and gets a bit of an idea. However, it will take the group as a whole to puzzle this out. Add up the number of successes the players’ cats got as a group.

What Happens Next: If the players’ cats as a group got five or more successes, continue with 18.

If the total number of successes for the group was four or fewer, continue with 15.


7. Finding Your Foe

Read Aloud: “Some will say that a warrior’s most important assets are their sharp claws. But if you cannot find and follow your enemy, it doesn’t matter how sharp your claws are—you’ll never get close enough to use them.”

Narrator Tips: In this section, the players’ cats are teaching their new apprentices how to find, follow, and eventually catch a foe that is sneaking through the woods. Stalking an enemy is similar to hunting for freshkill, but other cats and wild predators are much more clever and dangerous than prey like rabbits and voles, and tracking them is a very complex task. On the other hand, clever foes can often be convinced to leave the territory simply by letting them know that their movements are being followed—a smart creature avoids unnecessary combat.

Begin by letting the apprentices refresh their chips, if they need to. Then ask the players what advice their cats would give to the apprentices. What Skills are most important when it comes to stalking? What Knacks can a cat learn to make this process easier? Are there any tricks that are useful when trying to chase down a clever foe? Lead this as a discussion among the players to get them to roleplay the things their cats might say.

When the instructional part is over, it is time for the players to take control of the apprentices again and have them try to stalk a pretend foe. In this case, it will be one of the players’ cats, though that cat will not use all of his or her sneakiness—these are just apprentices, after all. To succeed at this test, an apprentice must try all three of the following Checks and be successful at two of them: a Listen Check, a Smell Check, and a Sneak Check. These Checks must have a total of 5 or higher to succeed.

In most cases, even an apprentice that fails the overall test will succeed on at least one of the Checks. However, if any of the apprentices fail at all of the Checks in the test, it counts as a complete failure.

What Happens Next: If all of the apprentices succeed at this test, continue with 9.

If some apprentices fail but none have a complete failure, continue with 12.

If any of the apprentices had a complete failure, continue with 3.


8. Learning the Land

Read Aloud: “At first it seems like following a marked border is easy, but after a while all the trees begin to look alike and there are many places where one scent overwhelms another. Despite your best efforts, you have wandered over the border into another Clan’s territory.”

Narrator Tips: The apprentices have failed at their attempt to patrol a border. This counts as one failure for determining the next step of the adventure (as described in Scene 5).

Ask the players to discuss what they think went wrong. Why did the apprentices fail? What could they do differently to get a better result next time? What advice would their cats offer to the apprentices? Sometimes the best way to learn something is to try and fail, then try again. The apprentices have certainly learned something from this experience and now the players can allow them to make use of the advice that the players’ cats are giving them.

The Narrator should create a bonus pool of Ability Chips. This pool should consist of one chip for each of the players’ regular cat characters, and the chips should represent the Abilities in which the player’s regular cats have the highest scores. If a cat’s highest Ability score is Strength, then a Strength Chip is added to the pool. (If this is the second time the adventure has come to this scene, double the number of chips in the bonus pool.)

As the apprentices try again to patrol the border, they may use the bonus pool of Ability Chips to augment their efforts. Any apprentice may take a Chip from the bonus pool, but these Chips never refresh. Also, once the apprentices succeed in the border patrol test, this bonus pool may no longer be used—it is only useful for the test in Scene 5 and the action in Scene 2.

What Happens Next: The apprentices may now try to patrol the border again, but this time with the advantage of the Ability Chip bonus pool. Return to 5.


9. Gotcha!

Read Aloud: “It hardly seemed fair—apprentices trying to track down fully trained warriors—but with solid effort and a bit of luck, you succeeded. Well done!”

Narrator Tips: The apprentices have completed the stalking test, and they are to be congratulated. Since the players are taking the roles of the apprentices and may feel uncomfortable using the voices of their regular cat characters to basically praise themselves, it is important for the Narrator to do so. These apprentices have just proven that even when in a confrontation with a well-trained opponent, they have the ability to think, adapt, and find a path to success. Make sure that the moment is properly captured.

Once that’s done, it is up to the players’ regular cat characters to decide where to take their apprentices next—to practice border patrol skills or to practice hunting for freshkill. (Note that the apprentices can only go to each test section once.)

What Happens Next: If the players’ cats want to continue with border patrol, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 5.

If the players’ cats want to continue with hunting practice, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 10.


10. Finding Food

Read Aloud: “Hunting is not the most difficult task a warrior must perform, but it is one of the most important. The Clan counts on the warriors to bring back enough food to feed all of its members. Since the warriors eat last, there is always an incentive to make sure every empty belly has something to fill it.”

Narrator Tips: In this section, the players’ cats are teaching their new apprentices how to hunt, stalking small prey and catching it so that the Clan will have enough freshkill come day’s end. As they become more proficient, the apprentices will learn that different types of prey require different strategies, but for now they must be introduced to the basics of this important activity. Stalking prey is similar to stalking an enemy, and oftentimes easier. But it must be combined with rougher physical skills of pouncing or biting to bring the prey to ground. Altogether, the combination is trickier to master than most new apprentices realize.

Begin by letting the apprentices refresh their chips, if they need to. Then ask the players what advice their cats would give to the apprentices. What Abilities and Skills are most important for a hunt? What Knacks do the best hunters use? Is it better to try to kill a single larger bit of prey (like a rabbit) or to gather a large collection of smaller prey (like voles)? Lead this as a discussion among the players to get them to roleplay the things their cats might say.

When the instructional part is over, it is time for the players to take control of the apprentices again and have them try hunting on their own. Have each apprentice decide whether she or he is going to try to hunt rabbits or voles. Then let them try.

Hunting a rabbit requires a Sneak Check with a total of 5, a Pounce Check with a total of 6, and a Bite Check with a total of 5. If any of these Checks fails, the rabbit gets away. However, if all the Checks succeed, the rabbit is now freshkill that the apprentice can bring back at the end of the day.

Hunting a vole requires a Sneak Check with a total of 3, a Pounce Check with a total of 4, and a Bite Check with a total of 1. If any of these Checks fails, the vole gets away. However, if all the Checks succeed, the vole is now freshkill that the apprentice can bring back at the end of the day.

Each rabbit that the apprentices bring down can feed three cats. Each vole can feed one cat. The Narrator should keep a running tally of how many cats can be fed with what the apprentices have collected. In order to succeed at this test, the cats must gather enough freshkill to feed a number of cats equal to three times the number of players (not including the Narrator). So in a group of four players and a Narrator, the apprentices would have to gather enough freshkill to feed twelve cats.

What Happens Next: If the apprentices have gathered enough freshkill to succeed at this test, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 6.

If the apprentices have not gathered enough freshkill to succeed at this test, continue with 4.


11. Walking the Line

Read Aloud: “The scents are muddled, the way twisting and ridiculous, but warriors and apprentices patrol this route every day—and now you have, too.”

Narrator Tips: Despite the difficulty of the task, the apprentices have succeeded at border patrol. They are to be congratulated. Since the players are taking the roles of the apprentices and may feel uncomfortable using the voices of their regular cat characters to praise themselves, it is important for the Narrator to do so. These apprentices have just completed a difficult task. Make sure that the moment is properly captured.

Once that’s done, it is up to the players’ regular cat characters to decide where to take their apprentices next—to practice stalking foes through the forest, or to practice hunting for freshkill. (Remember that the group should not repeat a test they have already passed.)

What Happens Next: If the players’ cats want to continue with stalking practice, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 7.

If the players’ cats want to continue with hunting practice, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 10.


12. The Cold Trail

Read Aloud: “Until now, the only sights, scents, and sounds that the apprentices have been exposed to were those in their Clan camp. Out in the woods, there are an endless series of distractions. It’s not surprising, then, that the young cats are having trouble finding and catching a skilled foe.”

Narrator Tips: The apprentices have failed in their attempt to stalk a foe through the woods. Reaching this scene counts as one failure. Keep track of the total number of failures the group amasses while attempting this test.

Ask the players to use the perspective of their regular cat characters to discuss what they think went wrong. Why did the apprentices fail at this action? What could they do differently to get a better result next time? What advice would their cats offer to the apprentices? Sometimes the best way to learn something is to try and fail, then try again. The apprentices have certainly learned something from this experience and now can make good use of the advice that the players’ cats are giving them.

The Narrator should create a bonus pool of Ability Chips. Each player whose apprentice has already succeeded at this test may add one Ability Chip of his or her choosing to the pool.

When the remaining apprentices try again to stalk a foe, they may use the bonus pool of Ability Chips to augment their efforts. Any apprentice may take a Chip from the bonus pool, but these Chips never refresh. Also, once all the apprentices succeed, this bonus pool may no longer be used—it is only useful for the stalking test in Scene 7.

What Happens Next: If the apprentices have amassed a total of four or more failures, continue with 13.

If the apprentices have not yet amassed four failures, return to scene 7 and let them try again. Note, though, that once an individual apprentice succeeds at this test, he or she does not have to perform it again.


13. Flunking Out

Read Aloud: “Not every adventure ends successfully. Sometimes cats make mistakes, and sometimes they hit a patch of bad luck. The important thing for a Clan warrior is what happens next.”

Narrator Tips: There are several reasons why the adventure may end up at this scene, but none of them are good. Either the apprentices failed one of their tests or the mentors lost their apprentices.

There isn’t any crucial need for the apprentices to succeed at these particular tests immediately. And no matter how hard the players’ cats want to work at it and be good mentors, eventually they may have to accept that the lessons are not going to be learned today.

The Clan leaders will thank the players’ cats for their hard work, and congratulate the apprentices for being part of such a grand undertaking. But as sundown approaches, they decide to bring this experiment to an unsuccessful close. Maybe in the future they will try it again.

Alternatively, if the story ended up here because the players’ cats lost their apprentices, tell them that another group of warriors (the ones they met in scene 15) managed to find the missing youngsters and bring them back to safety.

What Happens Next: Although no one did anything particularly wrong, arriving at this scene means that the apprentices did not learn quickly enough for the training experiment to count as a success—the adventure has ended badly. The players’ cats do not get any Experience rewards for this adventure. The players’ cats can, however, play the adventure again, hopefully finding ways to get better performances out of their apprentices.


14. Under the Old Oak Tree

Read Aloud: “The scent of young cats becomes overwhelmed by another, more dangerous smell—the powerful fumes of weasel musk. Dangerous creatures, weasels. If they have the apprentices, there could be real trouble.”

Narrator Tips: The players’ cats have arrived at a burrow that contains a weasel den. Unfortunately, it is the wrong weasel’s den. The missing apprentices are not here, though the players may not realize it at first.

Describe for the players a scene where the scent trail they’ve been following takes them to a burrow entrance that leads into the ground below a large oak tree. There are signs of activity in the area, but only weasel tracks can be seen.

If the players’ cats have not yet had a chance, allow them to make Ponder or Intelligence Checks to see what facts they may know about weasels. (This information can be found in scene 18.)

Have each of the players’ cats make Smell Checks. Anyone whose total is 8 or higher notices that all the scents around this burrow come from a single weasel—this is not a large family’s den. Anyone whose total is 12 or higher notices that there is a complete lack of any scents related to the missing apprentices—not even faint, lingering scents.

The players will have to make a decision about what to do next. If enough of them had very good Smell Checks, they may think that it is very likely that they are following a false trail. Of course, the only way to be one hundred percent certain would be to explore the burrow, but doing that means likely running into the weasel. If the players decide to leave the burrow unexplored skip to the last paragraph of this scene.

Going into the weasel’s den is difficult. The burrow is narrow and winding, and the cats must proceed in single file. Eventually, the lead cat will reach the burrow’s end—a small chamber where the weasel is sleeping. The lead cat must make a Stealth Check with a total of 12 or higher, and all the other cats that are in the burrow must make Stealth Checks with totals of 8 or higher. If any of these Checks fail, the weasel awakens.

The weasel will immediately attack the lead cat using its claws and its teeth. The weasel has Strength 6, Intelligence 4, and Spirit 5. It also has 5 levels each of Jump, Pounce, and Sneak, and 3 levels each of Bite and Swat. It will fight until it has taken 10 Chips worth of damage. If the players’ cats manage to draw it out into the open, the weasel will give up the fight and run away if it sees that it is being attacked by three or more opponents.

Backing out of the burrow is also slow going. Once a fight begins, only one cat can make it out for every round. In other words, the lead cat must stay underground fighting the weasel for at least as many rounds as there are other cats currently in the burrow. Once there are no more cats behind him in the tunnel, the lead cat can back out the following round.

When the players’ cats decide to start looking elsewhere for the missing apprentices, have each of them make a Scent Check. The goal of this Check is to get a total of 10. If half of the group or more fails that Check, the players’ cats are following another false trail. Otherwise, they manage to pick up the apprentices’ trail again.

What Happens Next: If the players’ cats are following a false trail, continue with 13.

If one or more of the players’ cats were Knocked Out while fighting the weasel, continue with 17.

If the players’ cats pick up the missing apprentices’ trail, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 22.


15. The Wrong Apprentices

Read Aloud: “Your temporary apprentices have been all over this area, so it’s hard to find the most recent scent trail. But suddenly you hear a young cat call out in shocked surprise. Something’s wrong!”

Narrator Tips: The players’ cats have followed the wrong trail. Describe for them an exciting chase along a relatively short trail that ends with them bursting in on another group of warriors training a different group of apprentices. Like the players’ cats, these warriors and apprentices are from a mixed group of Clans. They are engaged in the stalking test (as described in 3), but the apprentices are doing much worse than the players’ apprentices did (if they already played through that section).

The other warriors can explain that the players’ cats must have followed the wrong trail, because they have been here for a while and have seen no sign of the missing apprentices. Normally, they would offer to help in the search immediately, but they have the safety of their own apprentices to worry about. They have to take the young cats back to their Clan camps before they can do anything else, particularly if there may be something dangerous lurking in the forest.

The players’ cats may begin their search again with the same rules as before.

Ask the players how their cats will go about trying to find the missing apprentices and then allow them each to make appropriate Skill Checks. If a cat gets a total of 12 or higher on the Checks above, it counts as one success. However, it will take the group as a whole to puzzle this out. Add up the number of successes the players’ cats got as a group.

What Happens Next: If the players’ cats as a group got five or more successes, continue with 18.

If the total number of successes for the group was four or fewer, continue with 13.


16. Tight Squeeze

Read Aloud: “The farther underground you get, the darker it becomes. As the faint light from the surface dwindles to nothing, you find yourselves in complete darkness. You know nothing has changed. So why does it feel like the tunnel walls are starting to squeeze in around you?”

Narrator Tips: The players’ cats have chosen to go down the wrong tunnel. This one is an incomplete weasel passageway, simply leading away, getting thinner and thinner until it simply reaches a dead end.

Describe to the players that as their cats go along, they really do feel the walls pressing in against them. They can only proceed in single file now. Soon they have to squeeze through to continue onward. At this or any of the future junctures, the cats may choose whether to back up or press on. If they want to press on, it requires a Strength Check with a total of 10 or higher. A little farther on, another juncture requires another Strength Check with a total of 12 or higher. Farther on still, a third juncture requires a Strength Check needing a total of 14 or higher. If the cats make it past this point, the one in the lead feels his or her nose bump into solid earth as they reach the tunnel’s disappointing end. Now they have to back up and try a different tunnel.

Backing up through such a tight tunnel is difficult and (because of the rocks in the raw earth) sometimes painful. For each Strength Check that the cats made on the way into the tunnel they suffer 1 Chip worth of damage on the way out. So if they turned back immediately upon meeting earthy resistance, they suffer no damage. If they passed the first Check before turning back, the cats suffer 1 Chip worth of damage, etc.

What Happens Next: If any of the players’ cats are Knocked Out from the damage taken getting out of the tunnel, continue with 17.

If all of the cats got out safely, they can try going down the right hand tunnel. Continue with 20.


17. Knocked Out!

Read Aloud: “Sleep is usually a warm, comfortable thing that covers you like a queen wrapping her tail around her kits. What you’re experiencing now is nothing like that—restless and disagreeable, even painful. When you open your eyes, you remember why.”

Narrator Tips: The adventure reaches this scene when one or more of the players’ cats were Knocked Out. Because of the multiple threats, the confused emotions of the apprentices, and the mission given to the cats to serve as an example for all warriors in every Clan, the loss of even one member of the team is enough to keep the adventure from finishing as a success.

As Narrator, you may want to make sure that the players keep in mind that there is a subtle but important difference between “not succeeding” and “failing.” In a difficult situation like this, it is possible to do very well, and still not achieve full success. Any of the Clan leaders would certainly tell the cats this. The players’ cats did many things right, and may have ended up here solely because of bad luck. That’s how life can be sometimes, and every warrior knows that the only thing to do in these situations is dust yourself off and try again.

Describe a likely ending for the scenario—probably based around another set of warriors (like those in scene 15) having come in and rescued the missing apprentices. Tragedy has been averted, but the players’ cats are not the heroes of the day.

What Happens Next: The adventure is over. The players’ cats do not get any Experience rewards for this adventure. The players’ cats can, however, play the adventure again.


18. Found One!

Read Aloud: “The scent trail is getting clearer now, so you can begin to move more quickly. With that added speed, you almost go straight past a bush until you hear a weak, plaintive mew coming from beneath its leaves.”

Narrator Tips: If the players’ cats look under the bush described above, they find one of their apprentices. (Determine which one randomly.) Unfortunately, the youngster cannot provide answers about what happened because he or she is Knocked Out.

An Intelligence or Ponder Check with a total of 5 or higher will reveal that the apprentice is Knocked Out from sheer exhaustion, rather than any more serious injuries. (The Medicine Lore Knack may be used in this Check, if the player’s cat has that option.) This means that the apprentice will make a full recovery, but not quickly enough to be of further help today. If the players are not able to determine that information, they find that the apprentice appears unharmed and they may continue to worry about the young cat’s health, but they realize that they need to carry on and look for the others.

The players’ cats must try to find the scent trail again. Have them all make Smell Checks. Any cat whose total is 8 or higher can find the trail, but any cat whose total is 12 or higher also notices another scent following the same trail. That scent doesn’t belong to any of the apprentices; indeed, it doesn’t belong to any cat at all. It is the smell of a weasel.

Any cat with the Animal Lore Knack automatically knows a few things about weasels. (Others can get this same information by making a Ponder Check with a total of 7 or higher.) Weasels are vicious, mean creatures with terrible tempers. Unlike most other beasts that the Clan cats might encounter, weasels actually like to fight. They will often attack another creature just for the “fun” of having a fight to the death. However, weasels are also bullies—they only attack in situations where they have a good chance to win. If a weasel is overpowered or severely outnumbered, it will flee if there is anywhere for it to go. When cornered, a weasel always puts up a ferocious fight.

What Happens Next: If more than half of the players’ cats succeeded on the Smell Check, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 22.

If half or fewer of the players’ cats succeeded on the Smell Check, continue with 14.


19. Well Played

Read Aloud: “As the last weasel disappears deeper into the burrow, the apprentices rush over to show their thanks. It’s unclear, though, whether they’re more thankful for your arrival or impressed with the way you were able to beat the weasels without ever resorting to violence.”

Narrator Tips: The players’ cats have rescued the missing apprentices. They’ve also shown that it is not always necessary to use fighting to solve a tense and dangerous situation. A true warrior knows when it is time to attack, and when it is time to use his or her other strengths.

Describe scenes where the Clan leaders repeat this message at their camps, holding the players’ cats up as examples of what is best in their Clan. In addition, the cross-Clan mentoring is considered a complete success, and the players’ cats are given a good deal of credit for that. It seems likely that they will get to meet with and train these apprentices again in the future, and hopefully this will increase communication between the Clans.

What Happens Next: The players’ cats should be proud of what they’ve done. This is a good ending—the apprentices have been rescued and taught a valuable lesson about the use of force. The members of all the Clans will speak about this day for many moons to come, and your actions will inspire others who want to bring all the Clans closer together in peace and harmony. The players’ cats get all the rewards listed in the “Experience” section at the end of this adventure.


20. Den of Weasels

Read Aloud: “Pressing through a slight narrowing of the burrow, the earth opens up around you and you’re standing in what must be the weasels’ den. Ahead you see three of the beasts—nasty, snarling, and cruel. Behind them are the missing apprentices—pressed against the den wall in fear.”

Narrator Tips: This is the climactic scene of the adventure. The missing apprentices are here, the enemy weasels are here, and the players’ cats have one big decision to make before you can resolve the situation: Are they going to fight the weasels, or are they going to try to use a less violent strategy? Either could work.

Remind the players of the facts that their cats may have remembered about weasels—that they are vicious fighters who never give up once a fight has begun, but also that they will run away if they seem outmatched. If the group has not yet uncovered these facts, give them one more chance to do so with a Ponder Check that has a total of 7 or higher (any cat with the Animal Lore Knack knows the information automatically).

If the cats line up like they’re going to fight, clearly indicating which weasel they mean to attack, they might scare the creatures off without a fight. Any weasel that has more than two cats aligned against it will automatically run away (scurrying through another tunnel that leads deeper into the burrow). A weasel that has two cats aligned against it will run away if those cats each make a Hiss or Arch Check and have a group total of 12 or higher. A weasel that faces just a single cat will fight unless the cat can scare it off by making a Hiss or Arch Check of 8 or higher.

If a weasel is not immediately scared off, it will start a fight. Each of the weasels has Strength 6, Intelligence 4, and Spirit 5. It also has 5 levels each of Jump, Pounce, and Sneak, and 3 levels each of Bite and Swat. A weasel will fight until it has taken 10 Chips worth of damage, then will run away.

Once a cat’s weasel opponent has fled or been Knocked Out, that cat can join one of the other fights on the following round. Each round, the weasel will reassess its situation. If it is facing more than two opponents, it will break off the fight and run away.

What Happens Next: If any of the players’ cats are Knocked Out during the fight, continue with 17.

If the players’ cats are able to scare off the weasels without a fight, continue with 19.

If the players’ cats get the apprentices back by winning a fight with the weasels, continue with 21.


21. Take That!

Read Aloud: “The weasels have been routed and your cats stand proud and unbeaten. The apprentices rush forward to thank you for rescuing them, and almost immediately begin to mimic the fighting moves they saw your cats use during the battle.”

Narrator Tips: The players’ cats have rescued the missing apprentices. They’ve demonstrated the skill that warrior cats can wield, and the damage that they can inflict when claws are bared. The apprentices immediately start talking about ways they’re going to make use of the fighting moves they’ve seen—applying it to hunting and fighting training they’ll do with the rest of their Clan’s apprentices.

Describe scenes where the Clan leaders make speeches at their camps, telling their Clans what great warriors your cat characters are. They point out that if all the apprentices and kits work hard, they too can learn to fight the way your cats do. This, however, makes it seem less wise to teach other Clans’ young warriors the same lessons—after all, the next time the Clans square off in battle, it would be best to have a secret advantage. As Narrator, your challenge is to show that all the Clans are saying the same thing—each one thinking that their warriors were superior to all the others.

While your cats will get to see their temporary apprentices again in the future at Gatherings and other times when the Clans get together, they won’t get to teach them again. And one day, it is possible that after those apprentices grow into warriors, they may have to fight against them in battle. Hopefully, though, the peace will be maintained.

What Happens Next: This is a good ending—the apprentices have been rescued and brought home, and all of the players’ cats came through safely. The players’ cats get all the rewards listed in the “Experience” section at the end of this adventure.


22. The Right Burrow

Read Aloud: “The overlapping scents of cat and weasel lead down a winding but distinct trail toward a patch of gorse shrubs, where you see a small, furry body on the ground. It doesn’t appear to be moving at all.”

Narrator Tips: Build a quick bit of tension about whether that’s one of the apprentices and how hurt it might be, but quickly let the players’ cats investigate. When they do, they’ll find that it is another of the missing apprentices who, like the one they found previously, is Knocked Out because of sheer exhaustion. After a night’s rest and perhaps some medicinal herbs, the apprentice will be fully healed and ready to resume training.

The scent of a weasel can clearly be smelled on the apprentice’s fur, as if the creature had been nudging the small cat, but not actually attacking her.

If the players’ cats look under the shrub near the unconscious apprentice, they can see the mouth of a large burrow (much larger than the one in scene 14, if the cats’ journey followed that route). Have any cat exploring this area make a Smell Check. If the Check has a total of 8 or higher, the cat knows that there are other cat scents here, but cannot be sure whether or not they belong to the missing apprentices. If the Check has a total of 12 or higher, the cat recognizes the scents of the other apprentices and is sure that they went down into the burrow. If the Check has a total of 15 or higher, the cat realizes that there are also scents for a handful of weasels, not just the one they smelled on the unconscious apprentice—this burrow is home to a group of the vicious creatures.

The only way for the players’ cats to rescue the apprentices is to go down into the weasel burrow and get them. But as the Narrator, you should never force the players to make their cats do anything that dangerous—the players must make that decision for themselves. Your job as Narrator is simply to give the players the information they need to decide what their next course of action will be.

Describe the situation and the things that the cats know for certain. If the players’ cats want to try different tactics to, perhaps, entice the weasels to come out of the burrow, let them—but they will not be successful. If the players’ cats do anything that will let the apprentices know that they are there, the young cats will begin crying out for help. They can tell the players’ cats that they are, indeed, in the burrow somewhere (though they can’t say exactly where) and that the weasels are guarding them and looking at them hungrily.

When the cats finally decide to head into the burrow, tell them that the tunnel is wide enough for them to walk through one at a time, or squeeze through two at a time. After a twisting, turning path downward, the burrow forks in half. There are now two tunnels. The scents are confused and the sounds echo through the underground passageways. There is no way to be sure which way leads to the apprentices—the players’ cats will just have to guess.

It’s possible that the players will want their cats to split up and search both tunnels at the same time. If so, have them tell you which cats are going in which tunnels.

What Happens Next: If the players’ cats want to follow the right hand tunnel, continue with 20.

If the players’ cats want to follow the left hand tunnel, continue with 16.

If the players’ cats want to split up and try both tunnels, roleplay the left hand tunnel first, then continue with 16.

After the Adventure

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.


Play It Again

If the players’ cats chose to make hunting the first thing they taught their temporary apprentices, you may want to go back and play again so that the group can experience the action to be had in the stalking and border patrol tests. Or perhaps you just want to go back and pick up the adventure again 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 there are many different ways the players’ cats could choose to interact with their temporary apprentices, the story could unwind in a different way every time you play (particularly as different Narrators get to guide the storyline).


Experience

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 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.

Age: Although the action in this adventure clearly happens over the course of a single day, 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 one of the following skills: Listen, Ponder, or Smell.

Knack: If the players’ cats rescued the missing apprentices without fighting the weasels (and your final scene was 21), your cat also gains one level of the Clan Lore Knack.

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