What Happens Next: If the group decides to help the members of ShadowClan who are caught in the flash flood, continue with 16.
If the group thinks that ShadowClan is just getting what it deserves, and walks away to leave them to their fate, continue with 20.
12. An Unexpected Pond
Read Aloud: “As you make your way down the hill, you notice that the rain has finally stopped. This will make the trip home much more pleasant, and you think about that as you stop to get a drink from a small pond. Then you suddenly realize that this pond was not here during your trip up the hill yesterday.”
Special Note: If the cats failed to catch any rabbits on this hunting mission, their hunger and sense of failure make this scene more difficult. Add +2 to all the target numbers in this scene. Additionally, if the cats tried to follow the fox’s trail but failed twice, their sense of disappointment also increases the difficulty—add +1 to the target numbers. These conditions can be added together, so if they neither got any rabbits nor followed the fox, the target numbers in this scene all should be increased by a total of +3.
Narrator Tips: To figure out where this pond came from, one of the cats needs to make a Ponder Check with a total of 5 or higher. Getting that total lets the cat know that the pond is the result of the incredible amount of water from the recent rains. This is normally a small ravine, but it’s filled with runoff water.
If the Ponder Check had a total of 7 or higher, the cat also realizes that this is a dangerous place.
Because the ground is so muddy and the gathering water is so heavy, it’s unlikely the ravine can withstand the pressure—the muddy sides are likely to collapse and send the water spilling down the hill.
If the Ponder Check had a total of 9 or higher, the cat realizes that this catastrophe is going to happen very soon.
Allow the cats a few moments to think about what they’ve realized, and to step away from the water’s edge if they want to.
Just a few moments later there is a loud, wet “schloomph” sound and any cats that are still drinking from or standing next to the pond must make a Jump Check as the downhill side of the ravine collapses in a mudslide and the entire contents of the pond spill out at once.
What Happens Next: If any of the affected cats have a Jump Check total of 10 or lower, continue with 4.
If all of the affected cats have a Jump Check total of 11 or higher (or none of them were standing close enough to be affected), continue with 13.
13. Impending Doom
Read Aloud: “Where just a few minutes ago there was a pond, now there is nothing but a swath of mud and slime that trails straight down the hill for as far as you can see.”
Narrator Tips: Use the first part of this scene to make sure the cats understand how much damage the flash flood just did. The solid wall of water suddenly rushing down the hillside knocked down some saplings, whisked away loose branches and small rocks, and even pried a few large rocks loose from the ground, sending everything tumbling toward the bottom of the hill.
Have each of the cats make a Ponder Check—let them know that the Clan Lore Knack can be helpful in this activity, if they want to use it. Those who get a result of 8 or better are relieved to know for certain that directly below them on the hill is an area that is outside of the Clan territories.
They can continue their trip home.
A while later, though, the cats come across another pond like the one they just saw. But not just one—they see a close grouping of three ponds in a row leading down the hill. The cats realize that when the walls of these ponds collapse, the devastation will be three times more powerful than what they just witnessed.
Have each of the cats make another Ponder Check—again, the Clan Lore Knack can be used.
Any cat who belongs to ShadowClan gets a bonus of +4 to this Check. Those who get a total of 6 or lower believe that these ponds are also above a safe area that the cats don’t frequent. Those who get a total of 9 or less know that this area is directly above ShadowClan territory, but believe it is away from the area where most of the cats live and hunt. Those who get a total of 10 or higher know that the area directly below these ponds is very close to the ShadowClan camp.
The question is: What will the group do with the knowledge they have gained? Normally, ShadowClan is fiercely protective of their land and entering it without invitation is dangerous. But the danger is real and could strike at any time. Perhaps one of the other Clan leaders will have a better idea of what to do. But taking the time to go ask is risky—the ponds could collapse at any moment.
What Happens Next: If the group decides to head into ShadowClan territory to warn them of the danger, continue with 17.
If the group decides to continue back to one of the other Clan camps to talk to that Clan’s leader, continue with 3.
14. A Winding Trail
Read Aloud: “It’s clear these aren’t rabbit tracks—no rabbit was ever as clever or determined as the creature you’re now following. The trail goes through bushes and over rocks; it speeds up, slows down, and doubles back across its own path repeatedly. Whoever made these tracks is a sly character indeed.”
Narrator Tips: Whether or not the cats know these are fox tracks, they at least know that they’re following a clever creature. Improvise a description for where the trail goes, and at several points have the players choose one of their cats to make a See or Smell Check to stay on the trail (the Track Knack can be used on these Checks). Do not let the same cat make all the Checks—this requires a team effort.
If a Check has a total of 8 or higher, it counts as a success, 7 or lower and it’s a failure. If the group gets four successes before it gets three failures, it has succeeded in running down the creature.
If the group gets three failures first, it has followed the wrong trail.
What Happens Next: If the cats succeeded in catching up with the creature, continue with 9.
If the cats followed the wrong trail, continue with 2.
15. Gone in a Flash
Read Aloud: “You hear another, louder sloshing sound and then notice a literal wall of water racing down the hill toward you.”
Narrator Tips: If the group ends up in this scene it is because the players missed the warning signs that a flash flood is imminent. Getting out of the way at this point will be very difficult. Any cat who wants to try to avoid the water must make a Jump Check (using the Dodge Knack will be very helpful).
A Jump Check with a total of 12 or higher will allow a cat to get out of the way of the flash flood. Any lower and the cat is swept away by the water.
Cats caught in the flash flood immediately take damage that causes them to lose 4 chips. Then they must make a Swim Check to get their heads above the water. If this Check has a total of 7 or higher they succeed, otherwise they lose an additional 2 chips.
In order to escape the flash flood, a cat needs to be pulled to safety by someone who is not currently in the water (if all the cats failed, there is no one to save them so they will just be carried away by the flood). To do that, a cat must make a Swat Check with a total of 5 or higher. Each cat on dry land can only attempt to pull one cat from the water each round. (Being involved with the flash flood uses a system of rounds just like fighting does—see Chapter Five of the game rules for details.) At the end of the round, the cats who are still in the water automatically take 1 chip worth of damage, and then must make another Swim Check, as described above; then a new round begins.