What Happens Next: If more than half of the players’ cats succeeded on the Smell Check, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with 22.
If half or fewer of the players’ cats succeeded on the Smell Check, continue with 14.
19. Well Played
Read Aloud: “As the last weasel disappears deeper into the burrow, the apprentices rush over to show their thanks. It’s unclear, though, whether they’re more thankful for your arrival or impressed with the way you were able to beat the weasels without ever resorting to violence.”
Narrator Tips: The players’ cats have rescued the missing apprentices. They’ve also shown that it is not always necessary to use fighting to solve a tense and dangerous situation. A true warrior knows when it is time to attack, and when it is time to use his or her other strengths.
Describe scenes where the Clan leaders repeat this message at their camps, holding the players’ cats up as examples of what is best in their Clan. In addition, the cross-Clan mentoring is considered a complete success, and the players’ cats are given a good deal of credit for that. It seems likely that they will get to meet with and train these apprentices again in the future, and hopefully this will increase communication between the Clans.
What Happens Next: The players’ cats should be proud of what they’ve done. This is a good ending—the apprentices have been rescued and taught a valuable lesson about the use of force. The members of all the Clans will speak about this day for many moons to come, and your actions will inspire others who want to bring all the Clans closer together in peace and harmony. The players’ cats get all the rewards listed in the “Experience” section at the end of this adventure.
20. Den of Weasels
Read Aloud: “Pressing through a slight narrowing of the burrow, the earth opens up around you and you’re standing in what must be the weasels’ den. Ahead you see three of the beasts—nasty, snarling, and cruel. Behind them are the missing apprentices—pressed against the den wall in fear.”
Narrator Tips: This is the climactic scene of the adventure. The missing apprentices are here, the enemy weasels are here, and the players’ cats have one big decision to make before you can resolve the situation: Are they going to fight the weasels, or are they going to try to use a less violent strategy? Either could work.
Remind the players of the facts that their cats may have remembered about weasels—that they are vicious fighters who never give up once a fight has begun, but also that they will run away if they seem outmatched. If the group has not yet uncovered these facts, give them one more chance to do so with a Ponder Check that has a total of 7 or higher (any cat with the Animal Lore Knack knows the information automatically).
If the cats line up like they’re going to fight, clearly indicating which weasel they mean to attack, they might scare the creatures off without a fight. Any weasel that has more than two cats aligned against it will automatically run away (scurrying through another tunnel that leads deeper into the burrow). A weasel that has two cats aligned against it will run away if those cats each make a Hiss or Arch Check and have a group total of 12 or higher. A weasel that faces just a single cat will fight unless the cat can scare it off by making a Hiss or Arch Check of 8 or higher.
If a weasel is not immediately scared off, it will start a fight. Each of the weasels has Strength 6, Intelligence 4, and Spirit 5. It also has 5 levels each of Jump, Pounce, and Sneak, and 3 levels each of Bite and Swat. A weasel will fight until it has taken 10 Chips worth of damage, then will run away.
Once a cat’s weasel opponent has fled or been Knocked Out, that cat can join one of the other fights on the following round. Each round, the weasel will reassess its situation. If it is facing more than two opponents, it will break off the fight and run away.
What Happens Next: If any of the players’ cats are Knocked Out during the fight, continue with 17.
If the players’ cats are able to scare off the weasels without a fight, continue with 19.
If the players’ cats get the apprentices back by winning a fight with the weasels, continue with 21.
21. Take That!
Read Aloud: “The weasels have been routed and your cats stand proud and unbeaten. The apprentices rush forward to thank you for rescuing them, and almost immediately begin to mimic the fighting moves they saw your cats use during the battle.”
Narrator Tips: The players’ cats have rescued the missing apprentices. They’ve demonstrated the skill that warrior cats can wield, and the damage that they can inflict when claws are bared. The apprentices immediately start talking about ways they’re going to make use of the fighting moves they’ve seen—applying it to hunting and fighting training they’ll do with the rest of their Clan’s apprentices.
Describe scenes where the Clan leaders make speeches at their camps, telling their Clans what great warriors your cat characters are. They point out that if all the apprentices and kits work hard, they too can learn to fight the way your cats do. This, however, makes it seem less wise to teach other Clans’ young warriors the same lessons—after all, the next time the Clans square off in battle, it would be best to have a secret advantage. As Narrator, your challenge is to show that all the Clans are saying the same thing—each one thinking that their warriors were superior to all the others.
While your cats will get to see their temporary apprentices again in the future at Gatherings and other times when the Clans get together, they won’t get to teach them again. And one day, it is possible that after those apprentices grow into warriors, they may have to fight against them in battle. Hopefully, though, the peace will be maintained.
What Happens Next: This is a good ending—the apprentices have been rescued and brought home, and all of the players’ cats came through safely. The players’ cats get all the rewards listed in the “Experience” section at the end of this adventure.
22. The Right Burrow
Read Aloud: “The overlapping scents of cat and weasel lead down a winding but distinct trail toward a patch of gorse shrubs, where you see a small, furry body on the ground. It doesn’t appear to be moving at all.”
Narrator Tips: Build a quick bit of tension about whether that’s one of the apprentices and how hurt it might be, but quickly let the players’ cats investigate. When they do, they’ll find that it is another of the missing apprentices who, like the one they found previously, is Knocked Out because of sheer exhaustion. After a night’s rest and perhaps some medicinal herbs, the apprentice will be fully healed and ready to resume training.
The scent of a weasel can clearly be smelled on the apprentice’s fur, as if the creature had been nudging the small cat, but not actually attacking her.