The Last Hope

The dream should begin with a situation the cats know well, but someplace dangerous—perhaps a climactic scene from one of their previous adventures. Make them play through the scene as if it were real, except nothing they do succeeds, no matter what totals they achieve with their Checks. Things look bad for the cats, like they may actually fail or, worse, die. But just then, a bright light comes from behind them and the cats’ enemies disappear like fog in a strong wind.

When the cats turn around, they see a member of StarClan that has some personal significance to them. Different cats may see different members of StarClan, but they each receive the same basic message: The cats of StarClan know that leaf-bare has been long and difficult, but the Clan cats must see it as a test, which, if they pass, will leave them even stronger in the future. “The test,” the StarClan cat says, “is to find a green shoot in a white field and bring it back to your Clans. If you do this, newleaf will arrive before the next moon. If you fail, leaf-bare will continue for at least one moon more.”

The StarClan cat will be willing to answer a few questions from the players’ cats, but it cannot give any further instruction. (It can’t, for example, tell the cats where to find this green shoot.) It can, though, answer personal questions from the cats’ past, if you feel comfortable improvising such details.

When the dream ends, it ends abruptly—perhaps even in the middle of a sentence the StarClan cat is speaking—with all the players’ cats waking up at the exact same minute. This happens when the time feels right to you, as the Narrator. Don’t let this scene go on too long. Better to leave it with questions unanswered and mysteries still abounding.

Once the players’ cats are awake, they must decide what to do next. Will they continue to hunt for prey (and now a “green shoot”) here in the highlands, or has the dream made them think that the valley is a better place to look? Perhaps they think it’s worth climbing even higher up the hill to search for clues.

What Happens Next: If the players’ cats want to keep searching where they are, continue with 16.

If the players’ cats want to go down to the valley and they have not yet encountered any foxes, continue with 4.

If the players’ cats want to go down to the valley and they have already encountered foxes during this adventure, continue with 10.

If the players’ cats want to climb higher on the hillside, continue with 15.

9. Fox Fight

Read Aloud: “Look out! Their teeth are small, but they’re sharp—and so are their claws!”

Narrator Tips: Foxes are wily opponents and this is going to be a tough fight. Make sure you’re as familiar as possible with the “Fighting” section in Chapter Five of the game rules before you begin. Remember that while you control the foxes that are fighting against the players’ cats, you are not trying to “beat” the players—your job, as Narrator, is to make your decisions based on the best interest of the story.

As you narrate this scene, do your best to make the foxes act cleverly, while being careful not to make them act like they know everything you do (because as Narrator you will hear all of the players’ cats’ plans ahead of time). A good method is to write down a list of simple actions the foxes will attempt—which cats they will focus on first, whether or not they will use teamwork, and how. Then, if you’re not sure what the foxes will do at a given moment, you can refer back to that list.

The foxes each have a Jump score of 10, a Pounce score of 7, a Swat score of 10, and a Bite score of 8. A fox has Ability chips just like the players’ cats do, and spends them in the same way. Each fox has 5 Strength chips, 8 Intelligence chips, and 7 Spirit chips. For the purposes of this fight, a fox is treated just the same as a player’s cat except that Narrator controls all its movements.

Each fox will fight until it loses half of its Health Chips. At that point, if there are more foxes in the fight than there are cats, the fox will continue fighting. Otherwise, it will flee. It is faster than the cats, so it can get away, but any cat that was fighting that fox can make one more attack before it gets away.

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

If any of the players’ cats are knocked out, continue with 17.

If the players’ cats win the fight and chase away the foxes, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 6.

10. Sly Competition

Read Aloud: “Just beyond the snowdrift you catch a flash of brown fur. Peering carefully out, you see a fox. And then another!”