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.”