Secrets of Cats: The Awards Ceremony

Well, boy-howdy, it's been a while since we played this. On we go!

The characters decide that Grimmy needs to be free of his magical prison. Locke falls asleep and projects her astral form, and sees the spell sitting on Grimmy's back - a horrible lump of putty-like, yellow gunk with tiny fibers puncturing him. She uses her magic to make it visible to the other cats, and then yowls at it. Heck screams at it to get its attention and it astrally attacks Locke, but Grimmy lashes out at Heck. Hobbes realizes that to use Naming magic, he needs a conduit, so he zips off to the debris around the shed to catch a mousie. Sledge, not entirely sure what's going on (it was explained, but Sledge is Big Brawl, Small Brain after all) uses his Absorb spell so that any punishment Grimmy takes will get bounced over to him.

Locke yowls at the spell, flaying some of its ick away, and Hobbes comes back with a mouse and bites it, inflicting the damage on the spell. It responds by trying to flow into Grimmy's body, controlling him completely, but Sledge comes over and sits on Grimmy, immobilizing him. Hobbes bites at the mouse again, killing it, and reducing the spell to nothing. Grimmy coughs up a disgusting lump of chewed salmon and fish bones, and his eyes open - finally free of it. 

He tells the characters that he's been enslaved by Jenna for some time now - she is able to speak with animals and forced him to give up the secrets of cats, explaining how their magic works. Hobbes, as a Parliamentarian, considers that he might need to bring Grimmy in for discipline, but they have bigger issues at present. Grimmy explains that the Feast of Magic that Locke foresaw will happen at the judging ceremony of this cat show - Jenna intends to absorb and consume the magic of all the cats there!

Obviously this cannot stand. Heck suggests slicing up her face with her claws, but Sledge points out this might have consequences they don't want to deal with. Locke points out that buildings have boxes on their walls that cause the buildings to yowl, and sometimes even drench their inhabitants with water. Sledge knows where this switch is, and they decide that this is their attack - they will wait until the ceremony begins, and then make the building yowl. The chaos, they hope, will stop the ceremony and prevent Jenna from casting her spell. 

The next day, the judging ceremony takes place in one of the conference rooms with Awesome Rafters. Sledge and Hobbes lurk up there, while Heck sits with her Burden in the audience. Locke, of course, is on the table with the other cats (and her Burden). Jenna gets up and talks with the other humans there about how she hopes this cat show can become a yearly thing, makes some bad jokes, but the cats notice that the humans in the room seem to be warming to her. Locke passes the word along to the other cats to scatter when she yowls...and then she yowls. Immediately the cats jump from the table, Ready for Trouble!

Heck jumps off her Burden's lap and uses her Shaping magic to give herself longer fingers, and jumps up and pulls the fire alarm. The Building Yowls, and all is chaos. Sledge bats at the spigots on the ceilings and triggers the Smelly Water, and everyone starts running around crazy-like trying to wrangle the cats.

Jenna, for her part, stands firm, makeup running down her face and hair soaked like a swamp witch, and whispers "God, I hate cats" to herself. And then she splays her fingers and every cat in the room feels their magic start to drain away. 

The characters, however, aren't going down without a fight! Locke yowls at Jenna, distracting her while Heck sneaks under a table to launch a surprise attack. Hobbes nabs another mouse to begin his Naming attack, and Sledge calls up the shadows around him as armor. Heck leaps out of the waters (using the Caaaaaaat! stunt) and Jenna pitches over the table in fear. Hobbes chomps down on the mouse, and Jenna's arm snaps. She screams in pain and the magic stops.

All of the cats with owners are taken away. Locke's Burden, Cherry, grumbles about the scathing post she's going to make about this shitshow. Brian, Heck's Burden, takes her off to bathe her (which Heck grudgingly accepts given that she is part cerval). Hobbes, who is a Ladykiller, goes off to meet some of the lovely lady-cats from the show before they all get taken home. And Sledge shows Grimmy, who has decided to stay here at the resort, the best places to nap.

Secrets of Cats: The Cat Show

I'd say it's a one-shot, but it's gonna wind up being three sessions (chargen and two actual play), so. 

Secrets of Cats! Our setting is the Solage Winery and Resort in Napa Valley, where the first annual Napa Valley Cat Show is about to start. We've four kitties in the doubt:

Hobbes is a representative of the local Parliament of Cats, where he is known as The Grand Fuzzy Peacekeeper. He is a street cat; he's lived with people before, but doesn't have a Burden at present, leading him to wonder Where is My Forever Home? Hobbes is also Not Without His Vanity, which gets him in trouble sometimes. 

Locke, known to her Burden Instagram Pushover Mom (Cherry) as Sestie, is a Scottish fold and a purebred show cat. She is also proficient in Seeking magic, making her the Yowler of Secrets. She is also prone to fallen victim to the occasional Nap Attack!

Heck, short for Gaia Hecate etc etc (lots of other vaguely pagan names) belongs to a family that breeds show cats, but her ear is crooked so she's not eligible. Her Burden is the breeder's son Brian, and Heck tries to get him to Cheer Up, Emo Kid. Heck is a revolutionary at heart, a Fiery Idealist, and perpetually in the mood to Rage Against the Meow-chine. 

Finally, Sledge lives at Solage. He chases mice and otherwise roams the resort, the Brave Protector watching out for the Unwashed Masses. Sledge is a very large tabby, Big Brawl, Small Brain, and skilled at Warding magic. 

We open in one of the conference rooms as people are bringing their cats in to get their badges and check in to the show. Sitting at a table running everything is a blond-haired woman, and the room echoes with cat noises. Heck and Locke are both in carriers; Locke is very used to this sort of thing, while Heck is confused as to what she's doing here (she is not, after all, a show cat). Sledge is in the rafters, looking down on everything, and Hobbes, sent here by the Parliament, is hiding under a table. 

Brian brings Heck up to the table and then realizes that he's in the wrong place, but the blond woman asks to see Heck anyway. She oohs and aahs over her and says that she should absolutely be in the show - this show isn't about the outdated European standards of cat beauty, after all. Heck isn't entirely sure how to feel about this, but hisses a bit. Locke is next, and she primps as usual, and then yowls at Cherry for food, as was foretold. 

Hobbes rubs up against some legs and draws the blond woman's notice. She lures him over with some gentle words and pets him, talking about how pretty he is, and before he knows it, he's in a carrier and rather confused about how that happened. The blond woman also notices Sledge up in the rafters and tries to coax her down, but Sledge just shifts some dust, which falls into the woman's bag. The bag sneezes, and a gray cat surfaces and looks at the woman. They seem to nod to each other (which confuses the heck out of Sledge), and the cat hops up into the rafters. 

The cat introduces himself as Grimmy, and Sledge asks if he and his Burden can really communicate. Grimmy kind of shrugs off this question, and says that Jenna (his Burden, and the head of this show) really loves cats and knows all about them. 

Down in the room, Heck decides he's had about enough of captivity. He uses Shaping magic to shift his paws so he can open the carrier lock, and then slips over and frees Hobbes. The two of them jump up into the rafters, and talk with Grimmy and Sledge about all this. Grimmy seems to be of the opinion that living as a pet cat and getting salmon and stroking is the best way to live, while Heck is pretty convinced she could catch her own salmon, thanks anyway. They decide to hop down and open the other carrier (the one Locke is in). 

Locke, meanwhile, is snoozing. Heck creeps up and opens the door, jarring her awake. She yowls a prophecy: "FEAST OF MAGIC!" And then starts trying to get Cherry's attention, because she's hungry. 

The yowl attracts Jenna's attention and people start trying to put cats back in carriers. The cats split up, and Sledge yells for them to meet in the building that smells like old candy later on. 

And indeed, later that evening, the four of them meet up in a dusty old shed with Halloween decorations. They talk it over and decide that this "feast of magic" sounds pretty dire. If someone is going to feast on their magic, that's really not acceptable. They also agree that this "Jammie" woman (really it's Jenna, but Sledge is the only one that heard the name and she's Quick to Forget) is suspicious, and Grimmy is really a little too complacent. They decide to go do some spying. 

They head to the suite where Jenna and Grimmy are staying. Heck assumes Shadow Form and slips under the door, while the other three jump in an open window. Sledge lands a bit heavily, though, and Grimmy wakes up. He's perfectly happy to see them, though, and offers them some salmon he didn't finish, which Sledge cheerfully slurps up. 

Meanwhile, Heck realizes that The Floor is Nipped - someone has sprinkled catnip all over this place! And indeed, Locke, Hobbes, and Sledge start to get stoned (Heck is still in shadow form, so it doesn't affect her). Locke starts yowling, hoping to attract her Burden, and Sledge ambles over to try and quiet her down. Hobbes, meanwhile, is happily rolling around on the floor...and he notices Grimmy batting at the handle of the window, closing it.

He jumps on the sill next to Grimmy and tries to talk him out of it, and Grimmy doesn't seem entirely enthused, but he doesn't stop. Locke summons her Mighty Yowl and gets Grimmy's attention, and then Heck pops out of nowhere and frightens Grimmy so much he tumbles off the sill. The cats decide that they need to take Grimmy with them and do a proper interrogation, so Sledge grabs him by the scruff, Hobbes and Locke shoulder the window back open, and they all head back to the shed.

Once there, they try questioning Grimmy, but when he tries to answer them, he coughs up a hairball - except it's not his fur, it's Jenna's blond hair. Hobbes, as the Dark Gentle Namer, realizes that Grimmy is under a spell similar to the naming magic he employs. Grimmy confirms that he is trapped in a cage of soul and salmon, and the others decide that they must break that spell and free him.

We shall start there next time!

Character Creation: The Secrets of Cats

It's Sunday, so it's time to make a character!

The Game: The Secrets of Cats
The Publisher: Evil Hat Productions
Degree of Familiarity: Some. I've played it once (a friend ran a one-shot), and of course I'm pretty well-versed in Fate core.
Books Required: The Cats book and I think the Fate Core book.

So, Secrets of Cats is one of several RPGs in which you play cats protecting people from supernatural evil. It's also probably the best-realized one just in terms of a solid system, a solid backstory, and some good support, but then again, that would all fall apart if you don't like Fate.

Anyway, in this game, cats refer to their humans as "Burdens," and they have to protect them from the kind of standard array of supernatural badness (ghosts, monsters, etc.). There's also quite a bit of detail given to cat magic. When I played this before, my cat was basically the Cat Who Walks By Himself (from the Kipling story of the same name), so this time, I think I'd like to play a pussycat who's a little bit more friendly to people. I also want to use Naming magic, which allows for said pussycat to animate dolls and other such objects. My cat is a burnt orange color with black spots on his back and tail, and black on the tips of his ears. His Burdens call him Freckles, but other cats know him as Cinders.

I happen to know that one of the stunts I can take allows me to be a reincarnated cat, so I'm gonna say that Cinders has been with this particular household for more than a century, in one form or another. The house he lives in used to be a farmhouse, and his then-incarnation was a mouser. Over time, the house expanded but the land got sold off, families came and went, but they always had a cat (whether they knew it or not). Now, the family living there has a little girl who's five years old and a tiny baby Burden, and "Freckles" just showed up one day while the girl (then only two) was outside playing. The family let him stay, and here we are.

So, we start off with High Concept. I have to use "Namer" if I want to be a master of Naming magic, which I do, so let's say his is Old Soul Namer.

Next up we have his Trouble Aspect. And...ooh, this'll be sad and fun.

Cinders' soul is tied to the house and the farmland (which is mostly developed now), and in previous lives that hasn't been a problem. He liked his Burdens well enough, but if the choice was between letting some silly human brush or pet him and taking care of business outside, well, he could groom his own self, thanks. But he loves the little girl, and he loves the little baby, and he even loves their parents. If the time came to leave the house to protect the territory, or if they had to move away...would he go with them? And would that mean he wouldn't reincarnate? His Trouble Aspect is I Love My Family.

Next Aspect is Burdens, which is where the conflict comes in. His Burden Aspect is The People Who Live in the Old Farmhouse.

And then we get True Name, which is an Aspect that really shows what Cinders is all about. I kinda already refer to the reincarnation thing in his High Concept, so I think I want to drift from that a little and call this one Quiet Protector.

Finally, I get a free Aspect. This time I do want to refer back to the past-lives thing. I'll call this Aspect Secrets of 99 Lives (that's 11 cats, 9 lives each).

Now, Skills. I get the standard Fate Core Skill ladder (one Great, two Good, three Fair, and four Average), but I add Territory and the four magic Skills into the mix.

OK, I know I want my Great Skill to be Naming magic, so that's easy. My Goods, I'll take Athletics and Investigation. Fairs, I'll take Stealth, Territory, and Warding (more magic, but it fits with my Protector concept). And then for Average, we'll take Fight, Empathy, Will, and Rapport.

Now I get three magic stunts and three normal stunts. We'll do magic first. I want Animate, and I'll take Multitasking, too (so I can animate two things at once). I'll also take Invisibility (which is a Warding stunt).

Right, now I get three non-magical stunts. Hmm. Many Lives, which I want, actually keys off of Lore. No matter. I'll take a version of it that keys off of Territory, and say that it only works within the old farmland (which is actually most of the neighborhood/suburb now).

I'll take Stalk, off of Stealth (+2 to Stealth when hearing is the most likely way to detect me). And finally, I'll take Pounce, giving me +2 to Fight when I attack from concealment (which plays into Cinders' proclivity to be stealthy and careful).

Now, I could spend refresh for more stunts, but eh. I think we're in pretty good shape, actually.