If a cat realizes that a Climb Check is too difficult and wants to go back down the cliff voluntarily, he or she may do so by making a Jump Check. If the total is 5 or higher, the cat gets down safely. If the total is 4 or lower, the cat is injured and loses 1 chip (player’s choice).
What Happens Next: If any of the cats are Knocked Out, continue with 12.
If the cats decide to take the route by the river instead, continue with 6.
If the cats decide to take the Twoleg path instead, continue with 8.
If all the cats manage to climb the cliff safely to the top, continue with 5.
Read Aloud: “The thick forest of trees gives way to a large, open meadow. But this meadow is being patrolled by an angry group of Twoleg monsters!“
Narrator Tips: This is the meadow where the humans are riding their ATVs. They are driving as fast as possible then skidding to a stop, using small hills to cause their vehicles to jump into the air, going into the woods along narrow paths, and then returning to the meadow at full speed.
To the cats, this will be an almost inexplicably strange sight. Try to describe it in the weird and alien way it would seem to a cat—let the players make their own conclusions about what’s really going on.
There is no more path to follow, but it is easy to tell which way the cats have to head in order to reach the top of the hill. If any cats try to use their senses to find clues as to where to go next, they may uncover the following. Any of the following Checks must have a total of 5 or higher in order for the cat to perceive anything over the ruckus the monsters are making. A Listen Check can reveal the faint sound of splashing water just a little farther up the hill—a sign that the pools of water they’re seeking may be nearby. A See Check can reveal a small stream running through the meadow—another sign that pools of water may be nearby. A Smell Check can reveal the scent of fresh herbs wafting down from the woods beyond the meadow—perhaps even the distinct scent of feverfew.
Unfortunately, the only way to get to the woods is to cross this grassy meadow and, hopefully, avoid the monsters along the way. If the cats try to sneak around the outside of the meadow, they keep finding that monsters suddenly appear out of the woods and force them back the way they came. Their only real hope is to cut across the meadow or go back toward the dirt path. Of course, they can also head back down the hill and try a different route entirely.
If the cats decide to try to cross the meadow, it’s just a matter of timing and luck. Each cat in turn must do the following.
1. Make a Focus Check—This is to help them concentrate on this important task. If the total is 4 or higher, the cat gets a +1 bonus to the Checks in steps 2 and 3 below. If the total is 7 or higher, the bonus increases to +2.
2. Make a See or Listen Check—This is to recognize the pattern the monsters are following and time a safe sprint across the open field. If the total is 3 or less, the cat gets a –1 penalty on the Pounce Check below. If the total is 6 or higher, the cat gets a +1 bonus to the Pounce Check below.
3. Make a Pounce Check—This is to make the dash across the field. If the total is 7 or higher, the cat gets across safely. If the total is between 4 and 6, one of the monsters steps on the cat’s tail and the cat loses 2 chips (player’s choice) from the injury. If the total is 3 or less, one of the monsters swats the cat, doing damage that causes the cat to lose 4 chips (player’s choice) from the injury. As long as the cats aren’t Knocked Out by this damage, they make it safely to the far side of the meadow.
What Happens Next: If the cats all make it across the meadow, continue with 5.
If any of the cats are Knocked Out, continue with 12.
If the cats decide to go back to the Twoleg path, continue with 10.
If the cats decide to take the route by the river instead, continue with 6.
If the cats decide to go directly into the deep part of the woods, continue with 7.
Read Aloud: “Despite the fact that it’s a warm day in the middle of greenleaf, you feel cold. In fact, you find yourself beginning to shiver slightly.“
Narrator Tips: Although the cats seemed completely fine at the start of the adventure, the truth is that they were already infected with the fever that is ravaging the Clans. But out here in the middle of a strange land, there is no medicine cat to take care of them, nor a comfortable nest to lie down in. The cats must press on. If they are successful in their mission, they will have feverfew to cool their brows. But until then, they must muddle through as best they can.
This isn’t a dramatic scene so much as it is a time when the cats have to muster their willpower and press on despite the fact that their own bodies are working against them. Whenever the cats reach this point, each must make a Spirit Check.
The first time a cat plays through this scene, if the total of the Spirit Check is 5 or higher, nothing happens. If the total is 4 or lower, though, he or she is feeling ill and must lose 1 chip of the player’s choice—as though the cat had taken damage in a fight (see Chapter Five of the game rules for details).
Each time the cat plays through this scene, the difficulty of the Spirit Check increases by 1. So the second time it must total 6 or higher in order to succeed, and it must total 7 or higher to succeed on the third time. This continues until the cat is cured of the fever.
What Happens Next: If the cats have just finished following the river or climbing the Twoleg path, this is the end of the chapter. Pass the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 15.
If the cats have just left one of the wrong ponds or successfully climbed the cliff, this is the end of the chapter. Pass the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 16.
If the cats have found the right pond, go back to 20 and follow the additional instructions.
Read Aloud: “As you go up the hill, the rocks grow bigger and the streams get wilder. So just as the climbing gets tougher, the rocks also become harder to navigate.“
Narrator Tips: Your job in this scene is to give the characters some information, and then let them choose their path. There are three main paths the cats may take. They can walk along the slippery rocks, dangerous as it may be. They can move away from the stream to the forest’s edge, but since the rocks along the stream are growing bigger, it will be impossible to see the water and the cats won’t know if the streams point to anything important. Finally, the cats can decide that walking along the stream is not the way they want to go after all, and they can try one of the other ways up.
You should give the players a chance to discuss the matter. Each course of action has its own ramifications and possible dangers. Your job is to make sure they understand that all the choices have their own element of risk.