Alternatively, the cats may want to go investigate the other set of tracks they saw when they awoke this morning. Even though those tracks aren’t rabbit tracks, maybe they’ll lead to something interesting.
Finally, the cats may decide to give up. If this is the case, remind them that it will be an embarrassment to go back to their Clanmates without any fresh-kill. But if they’re firm in their desire to give up, don’t try to force them into a different course of action.
What Happens Next: If the cats get another chance to hunt, continue with 5, but make all of the target numbers 2 points higher because the rabbits know there are cats around.
If the cats decide to go investigate the other set of tracks, continue with 14.
If the cats decide to give up and go back down the hill to report their failure, this is the end of the chapter. Pass the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 12.
9. Fox Found
Read Aloud: “Hot on the trail, you burst through a final dense thicket of brush and find yourself face-to-face with a proud, russet-furred fox.”
Narrator Tips: In point of fact, this is not a fox—it’s a vixen (a female fox). As the Narrator you should know her background and motivation. This vixen has recently had a litter of pups and is out hunting so she can feed them. She saw the cats and laid this trail on purpose to lead them away from her den. Her main motivation is to either scare the cats away or to make them think her den is somewhere near here. Once one of those things is accomplished, she will sneak back to her pups to keep them warm and safe.
Of course, the cats do not have any way of knowing that. Here is what they can see and learn.
Rather than running any farther, the fox stands her ground and bares her teeth in a snarl. She seems to be daring the cats to come closer. If the players ask, their cats can learn some information by making the Skill Checks (all of which require a total of 7 or higher to succeed). An Animal Lore
Check can tell them that this type of posturing is unusual for a fox—but no one really understands the behavior of foxes, so it’s difficult to draw conclusions. A Smell Check can tell them that this is a female fox (a vixen) and that her fur carries the scent of at least three other foxes, though none of those foxes are in the area. A Ponder Check will tell them that although she has struck an aggressive stance, she doesn’t seem ready to fight to the death—it may be possible to chase her away.
If the cats want to scare the vixen away by Hissing and Arching at her, have them make the appropriate Skill Checks. (Each cat may only perform one Check.) Add the results to get a group
total. If this group total is 25 or higher, the vixen hisses back but then sprints into the woods. The cats can try to follow, but it soon becomes clear that she is running away from Clan territory as fast as she can and that it would likely take the cats hours to catch up with her.
If the group total is 23 or less, the cats have two choices—attack the vixen and hope to drive her off, or simply walk away and leave her alone.
If they decide to attack, their fighting will follow the standard rules (see Chapter Five of the game rules). The vixen has Ability scores of Strength 7, Intelligence 9, Spirit 11. Her Skills are Bite
+4, Jump +4, Sneak +6. And she has the following Knacks: Alertness, Hide, and Dodge. She has the Ability chips and can spend them during battle just the way the players’ cats can. You may want to write down the vixen’s game stats on a piece of paper for easy reference during the fight.
The vixen will fight until she has taken 7 chips worth of damage. At that point she will run away as described above. It is possible, though not likely, that she will hurt the cats so badly that they must run away. If this happens, the vixen will let out one final hiss and then stalk proudly into the woods (and then, once she is out of sight of the cats, she will quickly dash off to the safety of her den).
When the encounter with the vixen is over, the cats have a few choices. They can go back and hunt for rabbits (unless that action is no longer an option for them, as described in scene 8) or they can take what fresh-kill they’ve gathered and head for home.
What Happens Next: If one or more of the cats was knocked out in the fight with the vixen, continue with 7.
If the cats decide to go hunting for rabbits, continue with 5.
If the cats decide to head back down the hill toward home, this is the end of the chapter. Pass the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 12.
10. Fresh-kill!
Read Aloud: “You’re a Clan cat, and that means that even though the hunt is successful, you can’t eat until you’ve brought back food for the Clan. Still, the taste of the rabbit is sweet on your tongue and you know that, plump as it is, several cats will share this meal.”
Narrator Tips: The cats have succeeded in getting some fresh-kill, so they have been at least partially successful in their mission. On the trip home, the most they will be able to carry is one rabbit each. Until they have that many rabbits, this is not a completely successful hunt and they cannot eat anything (you may want to remind them that they are feeling hungry). The question is: What do they want to do next?
The cats may want to hunt again, to get more food for the Clans—plus a little extra for themselves. On the other hand, they may want to take what they’ve got back to the Clan camps
quickly. There’s also a chance that, the hunt having been successful, they’ll want to investigate the other set of tracks they saw when they woke up this morning.
Your job is simply to make sure that the players are aware of those choices. Whatever choice they make is up to them.
What Happens Next: If the players decide they want to hunt some more, they only have to wait a short while and rabbits will return to this meadow. Let them stalk and hunt again using the details in 5.
If the players decide to investigate the other set of tracks, continue with 14.
If the group decides to take the fresh-kill they have back down the hill to the Clans, this is the end of the chapter. Pass the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 12.
11. Here It Comes Again
Read Aloud: “A great, rushing wall of water tumbles down the hill at breakneck speed. It looks like a river that suddenly decided that this was a better course than the one it previously followed. You’re not in its path, but farther down the hill you can see some cats who are.”
Narrator Tips: If any of the players’ cats belong to ShadowClan, they immediately recognize that the flash flood is headed very near their Clan’s camp. Most of the queens, kits, and elders will be in that area and therefore in danger. If none of the players’ cats come from ShadowClan, Ratscar will volunteer this information.
The flash flood narrowly misses the ShadowClan camp itself, but you can hear the yowls of cats that were caught in the waters and are being rushed off toward the Lake. All the warriors in the area rush off to help, so no one stands in the way of the players’ cats. They can come in and help with the rescue efforts if they like. Alternatively, they can decide that the cats of ShadowClan deserve what they’re getting for being so suspicious of cats who came here only to help.