CatA Little Game about Little Heroes

“I Know I’m Dreaming” 4Introduction 8

What You Need 8Making a Cat Character 8

Step 1: The Traits 8Step 2: Names 9Step 3: Reputation 9Step 4: Lives 10

Taking Risks 10Easy 10Moderate 10Hard 10Testing Fate 10Advantage Dice 11Scars 11

Healing 12Fighting 12

Fighting Other Cats 12Fighting Non-Cats 13Dodging 13Death 13

Reputation 13Using Reputation 13Losing Reputation 13Getting a New Reputation 13

Lives 14Style 14Magic 14

Magic Points 14The Bauble Curse 15Getting Wet 15No Tail 15Using Magic 15

Fall on All Fours (Variable) 16Hide in Plain Sight (Variable) 16Sneak (Variable) 16Doorslip (Good) 16The Dinner Dance (Good) 16Dream Bite (Good) 16The Chase Your Tail Whammy 16Fighting Frenzy (Good) 16

Storytelling 17

Advanced Rules 17Increasing Your Traits 17Legendary Traits 17Experienced Cats 17

GM Advice 17Step #1: Writing Stories 17Step #2: Telling Stories 18Step #3: Running the Game 20

Storytelling in the Kingdom of Dreams 22

The Quality of Dreams 22The Dreamer 22Symbols and Absurdity 22Exaggeration 24Time 24Jumping, Flying and Other Amazing

Acts of Physical Impossibility 24Nightmares 24

Dreaming Rules 24Cat Adventures 25

A New Secret Name 25Rescuing the King of the Cats 26Good Dogs and Bad Cats 26

Cross-Genre Cat 27Natural Enemies 28

A Note on Traits 28Dogs 28Rats 29Mean People 30

Boggins 30The Green-Eyed Monster 31The Man under the Bed 31Ghosts 32Heavies 32The Shoulda Brothers 33

Fictional Facts & Factual Folklores 34Last Words 42

TTaabbllee oo ff CCoonntteennttss

Writing/Layout/DesignJohn Wick

Wicked EditrixAnnie Rush

Special Thanksto Jared Sorensen

For helping me throw out the (litter) box.

Extra Special Thanks to Cobb Still

Who protects little heroes.

http://www.wicked-dead.com/cat

Cat uses the Advantage System. http://www.wicked-dead.com/advantage

Cat: A Little Game about Little Heroes is © and ™ 2004 by John Wick. All rights reserved bythe Author, published here under permission. Any mention of trademark or copyrighted

material is not a challenge to those marks. The stories, characters and situations in this bookare entirely fictional. Except boggins. Those are real.

Go give your cat a hug.

CCrreeddiittss

I know I’m dreaming. See, mummies usuallydon’t do their Wednesday wash at mylaundromat.

“You’re right,” says my cat, sitting beside meas I pile microwave dinners into the dryer.“You’re dreaming.”

“How do you know?” I ask him, fumbling forquarters.

“Because I’m dreaming, too.” He licks hischin and watches the dinners cooking in thedryer.

The dryer buzzes and I pull out the tin platesfilled with food. “So, why are you here?”

He starts snacking on the Southern friedchicken. “It’s the only place you and I canreally talk.”

“We talk?”

“Well, I talk all the time. Problem is, youdon’t know how to listen.” He chews morechicken and I start with the cherry desert.“And you usually don’t remember when we’redone. Sometimes, things stick in that littlebrain of yours. The important things, at least.”

“So you have something to tell me?”

“Yup. A few things. But we don’t have a lot oftime. It took me all night to find you, and it’screeping up on dawn right quick.”

I nod, and put the dinner back in the dryer.“Where are we off to?”

“Anywhere. I just want to get away fromthose mummies. They give me the creeps.”

* * *

My cat and me, we walked through a city fullof zombies. Not the flesh-eating, drooling,rotting kind of zombies, but the “Where theheck am I?” kind of zombies.

I ask, “Where did all these zombies comefrom?”

“They’re you. Well, most of you. You knowwhen you can’t remember your dreams?” Heshrugs at the zombies. “That’s you.”

I’m only briefly aware that my cat justshrugged, almost get around to asking how heshrugged when a beautiful brunette walks byand my head turns all the way around myneck.

“That’s your problem,” my cat tells me. “Youmen can’t keep focused. It’s why your dreamsare filled with all this nonsense.”

“Yeah,” I say, my voice as far away as mycat’s voice. “Whatever you say.”

“Ugh,” he says. “This isn’t going to work.You’re just not concentrating.”

I shake my head. “No, no. I’m back. I’mback.”

“Good. Let’s get to work.”

I look up and see us standing outside myhouse.

“Our house,” my cat says. “Let’s go inside.”He opens the door and we go on in.

“Hey, how did you…” I realize I don’t knowwhether to ask him how he read my mind orhow he opened the door.

“Never mind that,” he says. “Take a lookaround.”

I look up and see my couch, my TV, my desk,my dining room table and… things. Black,inky things with eyes and pincers andmandibles and tentacles and mouths and teeth.So many mouths, so many teeth. They’remade of teeth. Little, sharp teeth that bleedwhen the things smile.

“What are all those...” (I don’t know what tocall them) “... crawling all over the place?”

“That one over there,” he points at the onecrawling all over my favorite chair. “Thatone’s a Lazy.” Then, he points at the phone. Itlooks like a blood-bloated tick. “That one’s aFear. You made it real fat the last time you satin front of the phone, trying to call the girlyou met in class.”

I nod. “I think I’m getting the idea. But whatare they?”

“The fewer names you give them the better,”my cat tells me, licking his paw, washing outhis ear. “My grandpa called them ‘Boggins.’It’s a pretty harmless name. I’ve heard themcalled a lot worse.”

I watch them oozing all over the furniture foranother moment or so, then I ask himsomething. “These things are dangerous?”

“Oh yeah. Mostly because you can’t seethem.”

“If they’re so dangerous,” I ask, “why are theyall over there?”

My cat smiles. “Because I’m over here.” Hejumps up the stairs. “Come on. I’ve got moreto show you.”

* * *

I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, he tellsme. You aren’t in charge. Sure, I know you liketo think you are, and with your guns andlights and cars, you can kill just aboutanything you want. But killing a thing with agun or a car isn’t the same as killing it withyour claws, and that’s where you all fall short.When it comes to fierce fighting, your kind areabout as helpless as kittens.

That’s why, every thousand years, we win thecontest, and why, every thousand years, youall come in dead last. Your champion showsup all half-witted and naked, no more readyfor battle than a white blister ready to bepopped. You’ve got no teeth and you’ve got noclaws, and you just don’t remember how tofight. It’s a shame, really. You know why?Because the less you know about protectingyourselves, the more we have to know aboutprotecting you. That’s our job. Well, one ofthem, at least.

* * *

We get to the top of the stairs, and the dooropens up on a sky full of stars. “Come on,” hesays, and jumps on one of the stars. I give it ashot, only make it halfway. I nearly fall all theway through the sky to the water below – allfull of sharks and telephone booths – when hecatches me with his teeth.

“You’re better at this than most,” he saysthrough the grip he’s got on me, “but not bymuch.”

He pulls me back up to the star. “Hold on tomy tail, but don’t tug.” I do what he says. Hekeeps talking.

* * *

For as long as anyone can remember, he says,there’s been the Contest. Every thousandyears, we all meet here in Dream and fight itout for the right to rule the world. Last time, itwas us who won. The King of the Cats, he

““ .. .. .. ddrreeaammiinngg””

4 5

II KKnnooww II ’’mmDDrreeaammiinngg .. .. ..

beat out the Bitch Queen for the rights, andher kind ain’t given us no quarter since.They’re a jealous breed, them dogs, and theydon’t like being in second place.

Now, us ruling the world is all well and good,but there’s a catch. The one who wins has tolook out for the one who comes in last. Wewon, you lost. You lost big time. You trim offyour claws, you dull down your teeth and youdon’t pay attention to anything that’simportant.

That’s the difference between us and you. Weknow Dream is the “real” world, and this, theflesh and stuff, that’s nothing. We may besmall there, but in here, we got it all over you.

* * *

“When did you get all mean?” I ask him.

“Sorry. I get caught up in the bragging.” We’renot in the sea of stars anymore, but we are ona boat. The crew is all made of candy andwe’re sailing over soda pop.

“Don’t drink the water,” he tells me. Then, hetells me more.

* * *So, anyway, you all came in dead last. Thatmeans you need protection. No, not from thedogs. You need protection from the Boggins.Yeah. Boggins. Monsters. Bogeymen. Thosethings.

I know, you never seen them. You can’t. Wecan. That’s where the protection comes in.

Boggins are bad. I mean real bad. They hookinto your soul with those barbs of theirs andthey hang on. They sink their teeth into you,and they drink, and they drink. Worst part is,you can’t see it. You can feel it, but you mencome up with fancy explanations for somepretty simple stuff, all because you don’t wantto look at the truth. You wake up one morningand you feel about as tall as a turnip and you

call up your doctor and he gives you pills andyou think you feel better.

It’s the Boggins that do that to you. Drinkingup your dreams. Soon, they get in there withyou. I see it all the time. Some man walkingaround with his chin on his chest, walking likehe’s got no tomorrow, and he’s got Bogginshanging on him like leeches, sucking andsucking. I hate the sound of it. Yeah, I canhear it. I hear it all the time. There’s Bogginseverywhere you look. Everywhere but wherethere’s one of us, that is. There ain’t noBoggins where there’s one of us, because wekill ‘em, and we kill ‘em dead.

* * *

“If you’re doing such a good job, why arethere so many Boggins in my house?”

“You should have seen it before I got there,”he tells me. The crystal ship lands on theMoon and he starts chewing.

“What?” he says, looking at me looking athim. “You didn’t think we came all the wayup here because it’s made of rock and dust,did you?”

I pick up a hunk of it and give it a taste. Now,I know why he wanted to come up here. Ichew and listen, and he does his best not totalk with his mouth full.

* * *

There’s lots of kinds of Boggins, and if you’regood, you know all kinds of different ways totake care of ‘em. You know the saying,“There’s more than one way to butcher aBoggin.” But it’s dangerous work. Too manyBoggins, and even the best of us winds uplosing lives to ditch the bunch.

Yeah, I said lives. We won the contest, we getnine of ‘em. Dogs say they get seven ‘causethey came in second, but who believes what adog says? Now, go west – that’s right – for

another mile or so. When you hit the JewelPool, let me know. I want to stop for a drink.

Another thing you should know aboutBoggins. They’re contagious. Got them asystem of dropping off eggs with a touch, andit’s bad. You gotta keep yourself clean of theeggs, or they hatch and dig right in. Damnhard to get out, too. I know you won’tremember much of this when you go back tothe Wake, but if you remember one thing,remember this: them that smell bad, they’vegot the Boggin eggs all in ‘em and around‘em. I know your nose is about as good asyour teeth, but even the dullest man can smella Boggin. You’ve just got to concentrate andnot ignore the warning signs.Heh. That’s kind of funny. For all your lack ofskill in other areas, there’s one thing you menare damn good at: ignoring things. You neversee anything you don’t want to see.

Some Boggins you got to kill with teeth andclaws, but others are less tough and a wholelot more stupid, and you can use tricks.Sometimes they sneak into the house indisguise. That’s the worst. Them we call“changelings.” Most of the time, you cansmell a changeling right out, but other times,they use Boggin tricks to sneak by you. Worstkind is the ones posing as kids. Had to kill onein the crib, once. That lost me my man. Nearlylost me a life. His woman was one meanwoman, so covered in Boggins, you couldn’teven see her face. Just her eyes, shining inthat bright light. I’ll never forget that.

* * *

“Is that why you were in the adoptionagency?”

He nods. “Let’s not talk about that, okay?” Wecatch a moonbeam back down to the street.

“See, I make sure you don’t have to worryabout the Boggins. I’ll take care of them. Assoon as we don’t have a Boggin problemanymore, and I go somewhere else, and helpsomebody who needs me.”

There’s a bit of sun on the horizon as we stepback into the house. The Boggins scatter underthe furniture when they see him, but hedoesn’t seem to notice.

“You came all this way through Dream to tellme about all this?”

“That was a secondary goal,” he tells me. “Itell you about the Boggins every night.Sometimes you remember, as best as a mancan, that is. Most of the time you don’t.”“So,” I ask, giving my squirming couch theevil eye. “What did you want to tell me?”

He looks up at me with his big green eyes.“Not so much ‘tell’ you, as ‘ask’ you. See, Ineed a favor.”I looked over at the things staying far awayfrom me and my little friend, and I nod.“What is it?”

“Something you can do that I can’t. And, afterseeing the Boggins, I hope it isn’t too much toask…”

“Anything you want.”

He smiles and gives me a wink. “Glad yousaid it that way.” Then, he walks away andstops in front of that big tan litter box.

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Cat is a game for telling stories about catsprotecting people from Things they can’t see,both in the real world and in the Kingdom ofDreams.

Storytelling games are the oldest kind ofgames in the world (despite what fans of Gothink). People have been telling stories sincethey first wondered what the stars were andwhat made those scary sounds in the dark ofnight. Cat is a game in the tradition of thosestories, where players explain just why catsalways jump at things that aren’t there, refuseaffection one moment, then rub up againstyour hand the next, and otherwise act incompletely irrational ways. The easiest answerto these questions is: cats see things we can’t.

WW hh aa tt YY oo uu NN ee ee ddIn order to play Cat, you need some pencils,photocopies of the Catsheet, and a copy of thisbook. One copy will do the trick, but theAuthor encourages you to purchase as manycopies as you like, including copies you don’tneed, to share with friends.

Before you play the game, you must first havea cat character. Photocopy the Catsheet at theend of this book for each player in the game.Next, look at the sheet. You’ll see a list ofphysical descriptions: Face, Tail, Legs, Claws,etc. These are called “Traits,” and theydescribe your cat’s abilities. Now, proceedstep-by-step below.

MM aa kk ii nn gg aa CC aa tt CC hh aa rr aa cc tt ee rrStep 1: The TraitsA cat’s Traits represent his physical andmagical prowess. Each Trait is important to acat in specific ways. Your cat has a total of sixTraits. Let’s take a look at them and see howthey help your cat.

A cat’s CLAWS are important for fighting andclimbing.

A cat’s COAT shows off his colors andprotects him from claws and teeth and helps

him persuade others.

A cat’s FACE is his sensory center. It containshis eyes, nose, ears, tongue and whiskers, all

of which help him sense the world.

A cat’s FANGS are important for fighting andcarrying things around.

A cat’s LEGS are used for jumping, balanceand other quick movements.

A cat’s TAIL is important for using Magic.

Picking TraitsNow you know what the Traits do, it is time tofigure out which Trait is his BEST TRAIT andwhich of his Traits are his three STRONGTRAITS. The remaining Traits you don’t makehis Best and Strong Traits are GOOD.

First, take a look at the Traits, and think aboutwhich one is the most important to you. Thisis your BEST TRAIT. This is your cat’s shining,defining Trait, used for the actions he is

known for. Write “Best” in the Rank spacenext to the Trait. Notice that under your BestTrait is a space “Bonus.” Write 5 in that space.

Second, pick three other Traits that you likemore than the rest. These are your cat’sSTRONG TRAITS. These Traits aren’t as good ashis Best Trait, but they’re better than average.Write “Strong” in the Rank space next to theseTraits. Again, with each there is a space for“Bonus.” Write 4 in this space for all yourSTRONG Traits.

Finally, all the other Traits on your Catsheetare GOOD. These Traits are no better or worsethan any other cat’s Good Traits. Write“Good” in the Rank space next to those Traitsand 3 under “Bonus” for all your GOOD Traits.

For example, look at the Catsheet on the nextpage. This is Roland, my cat character.

Claws = Strong (4)

Coat = Best (5)

Face = Good (3)

Fangs = Good (3)

Legs = Strong (4)

Tail = Strong (4)

Roland’s BEST TRAIT is his COAT, which helpsin his attempts to persuade other cats and

keeps him warm at night. His three STRONGTRAITS are his CLAWS (for fighting and

climbing), his LEGS (for jumping, running andbalance) and his TAIL (useful for Magic, which

we’ll talk about in a minute).

As I do this, I write “5” for my Best Trait(Coat), “4” for my three Strong Traits (Claws,Legs and Tail) and “3” for the remaining two

Good Traits (Face and Fangs).

Step 2: NamesOne for a secret, one for a riddle, name puss

twice and befuddle the devil.

– Folk Saying

Once you finish assigning your Traits, it’stime to give your cat his names. As T.S. Eliotsuggested in his Old Possum's Book ofPractical Cats, cats have many names.

Your cat has three names. His first name, orgiven name, is the name men know him by.His second name, or cat name, is the nameother cats, mostly trusted friends, know himby. Finally, a cat has a secret name, one thatno-one knows, not even trusted friends. Toknow a cat’s full name is a powerful secret,one that opens up many forbidden magics. If aBoggin ever discovered a cat’s secret name –well, let’s just leave that thought alone.

Step 3: ReputationWhile Mr. Eliot knew about names, he failedto learn from his feline friends that each catalso has a number of titles, also known asReputations. A Reputation is something a catis known for, a particular skill, knack, orquirk. If you’re good at catching rats, youmight have the Reputation “Rat-catcher.” Ifyou’re good at hiding, you may have theReputation “the Unseen.”

Like Traits, a cat’s Reputations have Bonuses.Beginning cats (like yours) start with 7 pointsof Reputations (and no beginning Reputationshould be higher than 3).

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Step 4: LivesA cat has nine lives. For three he plays, for

three he strays, and for the last three he stays.

- Another Folk Saying

Because the King of the Cats won TheContest, every cat is blessed with nine Lives.A cat’s Lives are very valuable to him,something to be cherished and protected.Some cats are reckless with their Lives, butmost protect them. Write down “9” in thisspace on the Catsheet. You don’t need to knowhow to use your Lives yet; we’ll talk aboutthat soon enough. Perhaps too soon…

All Done!That’s it! Your cat character is all set toprotect his family from Boggins. Now, all youhave to do is learn how and that takes just asecond.

TT aa kk ii nn gg RR ii ss kk ssWhen your cat tries to do something felineduring the story, he usually succeeds (he’s acat, after all). But, there are times when thetask is difficult, and the success of a cat’saction is questionable. In these times, chancehas as much to do with his success as his skilldoes. In Cat, we call this a “risk.” To sortthings out, we use your cat’s Traits todetermine the outcome of a chancy action.Use this simple system to determine if hisaction is successful or not.

All risks can be classified in three categories:Easy, Moderate, and Hard.

EasyAn Easy Risk is something nearly any healthycat can pull off without any degree ofdifficulty. Swatting a ball of string across theroom, jumping over a low wall, or climbingon the back of the couch are all goodexamples of Easy Actions.

ModerateA Moderate Risk requires a bit more finesse.Catching a clever mouse, jumping up to thetop of the refrigerator from the kitchen table,or climbing a sheer wall are all good examplesof Moderate Risks.

HardHard Risks are those that truly test a cat’sskills. Jumping up to the top of a high ledgewithout making a sound or toppling theTupperware, catching two mice with onestrike and sneaking by a sleeping dog to stealhis bone are all good examples of Hard Risks.

Testing FateThere is a way for a cat to perform Risks thatare beyond his capabilities… but it’suncertain. Whenever a cat takes a chance, it issaid he “tests fate.”

Whenever you Test Fate, roll a number of six-sided dice equal to the appropriate Trait.Count each die that rolls an even number (2,4, or 6).

To beat an Easy Risk, you have to roll atleast one even.

To beat a Moderate Risk, you have to rollat least two evens.

To beat a Hard Risk, you have to roll atleast three evens.

If the number of evens is equal to or greaterthan the Risk’s difficulty, your cat beats theodds and succeeds. However, if you less thanthe required evens, fate gets the better of him,and your cat’s action fails.

For example, Roland wants to jump from thekitchen floor to the kitchen table. The

storyteller determines this is an Easy Risk forRoland. I take a look at his Catsheet and seeRoland’s LEGS are Strong, so he can do that

with ease. I roll four dice (for my Strong Legs)and roll:

q w r tThat’s two evens. Because I only needed one, I

succeed in my Risk.

Next, I decide I want Roland to jump from thekitchen table to the top of the refrigerator. The

GM decides that’s a bit more difficult of ajump because the top of the ‘fridge is quite a

way up. The storyteller decides this is aModerate Risk. Again, Roland’s Legs are

Strong, so he gets four dice to roll. But thestoryteller lets me know that the top of the‘fridge is covered with empty Tupperware

bowls, and if I do make the jump, I’ll causemost – if not all of them – to fall to the

ground, making an awful racket. He says,“Making it to the top of the ‘fridge without

dropping the bowls is a Hard Risk.”

I roll four dice:

q w r tThis time, I roll two evens again. Because I

needed three evens, the GM decides whether

Roland falls down to the kitchen floor ormakes a noise when he lands on top of the

‘fridge.

Advantage DiceOne of the most important elements of Catsystem is Advantage Dice. These are dice theGM hands out to players for showing initiativeand for good roleplaying. Each Advantage Dieis another die the player can roll for a chanceof rolling another success.

Advantage Dice represent advantages your cathas in any given Risk. GMs should not be shyabout giving Advantage Dice; they are here toreward good roleplaying, planning, andinnovative thinking.

A cat tries to hide from a dog. The playersays, “I have three advantages. First, it’s dark,lending to my hiding skills. Second, it’sraining, which makes it hard for the dog tocatch my scent. Finally, I’m up high, hiding ona dumpster. High above the dog’s head.”

The GM agrees and says, “Okay. You havethree advantages. You can roll three additionaldice to hide.”

ScarsDespite their natural graces, cats get hurt.When they do, they sometimes walk awaywith a Scar or two. Whenever your cat testsFate while doing something dangerous, there’sa chance he will fail and get Scars.

For example, jumping from one rooftop toanother is “dangerous.” Catching a fly withyour paw is not, so you can fail that Riskwithout taking any Scars.

When your cat fails a particularly dangerousRisk, check your dice. The lowest odd yourolled is the number of scars your cat gets forfailing his Risk.

When you get Scars, you choose where theygo. You can apply all your Scars to a singleTrait or divide them up as you see fit. You

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have to explain to the GM why you got a Scarin a particular Trait. If you can’t come up witha compelling reason, he’ll tell you where toput the Scar (usually in the Trait you tried touse).If you get three Scars in one Trait, that Traitdrops down to the next Rank.

If you get three Scars in a Good Trait, it dropsto a Hurt Trait. Hurt traits have a bonus of 2.

If you earn three Scars in a Hurt Trait, it dropsto Crippled. You may not takeRisks with aCrippled Trait.

HealingA cat heals one Wound at the beginning ofeach game session. Cats also heal one Woundper week (if time passes quickly in a gamesession).

FF ii gg hh tt ii nn ggCats fight. They fight each other, they fightBoggins, they fight lots of things. There aretwo circumstances under which cats fight:they fight other cats or they fight non-cats.The rules for each are as follows.

Fighting Other CatsCats do not fight to kill each other: just toprove who the better fighter is. Cats only fightfor one round; one quick scuffle to provedominance.

Both players roll either their Fangs or Claws(cat’s choice). Compare the number of evens.Both cats take a nubmer of Scars equal to theother cat’s evens. Whoever got the most evens(took the least number of Scars) wins thefight.

You may use Lives or Fighting Magic (seebelow) to dodge Scars as usual, which meanscats may get into a fight and lose but take noScars. However, the winner of the fight isalways the cat who rolled the most evens.

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Fighting Non-CatsWhen fighting dogs, rats, or Boggins, thesystem is a little different. Cats only fight eachother to prove dominance; when fighting aBoggin, your cat is fighting for his life.

Use the same system as above with eachthrow of the dice representing one round offighting. At the end of each round, eachcombatant takes a number of Scars equal tothe number of evens his opponent rolled.

At the end of each round, check your Scars. Ifyou have to adjust Traits because of Scarsyou’ve earned at the fight, do it now.

DodgingDuring a fight, you cat may try to dodgeinstead of scoring a hit on his opponent. Notethat if you dodge in a fight with another cat,you inflict no Scars at all and you areautomatically considered the loser of the fight.

To dodge, roll your Legs instead of rollingyour Claws or Fangs dice This way, your cattries to dodge the hits rather than deliver oneof his own.

You may also dodge a Boggin’s hits in thesame way. Remember, you deliver no hits atall when dodging.

DeathA cat can only take so much damage before heloses his grip on life. When three of a cat’sTraits are crippled, he’s in real danger. Whenfour of his Traits become Crippled, of if heuses his last Life, he dies.

RR ee pp uu tt aa tt ii oo nnYour cat can have up to five Reputations, andeach Reputation has both a Trait and a Rank.A Reputation’s maximum Rank is 5. As anexample, Roland has the followingReputations:

Boggin Killer 3

Rat Catcher 2

Good Kisser 2

Using ReputationWhenever your cat takes a Risk, look at yourReputations. If the GM agrees that one of yourReputations is appropriate to the Risk, you canadd your Reputation in dice to your roll. Thisgives you more dice for a better chance atmore evens.

Losing ReputationIf your cat ever takes an action that goesagainst his Reputation, he stands a chance oflosing it. If he doesn’t fix the problem in thevery same session, taking an action that wouldrestore his Reputation, he loses a point of thatReputation.

The GM is the final judge of when a cat maylose or restore his Reputation.

Getting a New ReputationCats can earn new Reputations by doingthings other cats hold in high esteem. Ifanother cat sees your act he can declare thatyou deserve a new Reputation. The cat

RReeppuuttaattiioonn

Advantage DiceHey, Mr. and Mrs. GM! Don’t skimpon the Advantage Dice! They’re whatmake the world go ‘round.

Advantage Dice came out of aresponse to watching another systemin action. (The system shall remainnameless, but its initials are DAD.) Inthat system, all the advantages acharacter could have were pre-loaded: right there on his sheet. Theplayer didn’t have to think about howto gain bonuses because all hisbonuses were already in front of him.Besides, the wimpy circumstantialbonus (+2) didn’t match the Feats hehad on his sheet.

This led to the classic “I roll to hit”syndrome that drives me crazy. So, Idecided to come up with something Iliked more.

Advantage Dice make the playerengage the world around him, makehim look for any advantage hischaracter can get. Rather than rely onhis sheet, the player has to thinkoutside his sheet and think of ways togain advantages. The advantagesaren’t front loaded and calculatedahead of time.

When all the thinking is already donefor the player, he resorts to “I roll tohit.” He doesn’t even address thesituation with an in-character voice.“I roll to hit.”

With advantage dice, he must thinkabout the fight in-character. He mustaddress the situation going on. If hejust “rolls to hit,” he’s missing out onall the goodies. As the GM, it is yourjob to reward his creativity. Do it. Youmight be surprised at the response.

“spends” one of his own Reputations to giveyou a new Reputation at half the value of hisown. He must spend a Reputation that’sappropriate to your new Reputation. Here’show it works.

Roland saves another cat from a nasty dog(using some good ol’ fasioned cat magic). Theother cat – Sylvia – decided Roland needs areward, so she decides to give him a newReputation.

Sylvia has a Reputation for outsmarting dogs:Hound Huckster 3. She “spends” herReputation to give Roland the sameReputation at half her Rank (rounded up). Thismeans she can’t rely on her Reputation for therest of the game.

So, Roland now has a new Reputation: HoundHuckster 2.

LL ii vv ee ssA cat has nine Lives and may use them in twoways.

First, you may spend a cat’s Life to succeed inany Risk, regardless of your Trait or thedifficulty.

Second, you can use a Life to dodge any Scarsgained from a single round.

Once your cat runs out of Lives, he’s out forgood. Although, there are rumors of cats whofind a way to refresh a Life… althoughnobody’s actually met a cat who has.

SS tt yy ll eeFinally, cats have Style.

A cat’s Style comes from his confidence(some say his cockiness) and assuredness inhis manner and physical prowess.

In other words, dogs just get the job done andcats do things with panache.

Whenever you make a roll and have moreevens than you need, the evens become StylePoints; write them down on your cat sheet.You can use Style in one of two ways.

First, you can keep them to use later. Eacheven kept in this way counts as an automaticeven you can use later in the game. You mayuse your Style Point whenever you like andyou may use as many Style Points on any rollyou like – you are a cat, after all.

Second, you can use extra evens you justrolled to creatively edit the that particularmoment of the scene. In other words, you canuse your Style to put yourself in a betterposition, becoming the GM for a moment toadd some zest to the scene. While you cannotsubtract anything that already exists from thescene, you can alter established facts. For example, while running away from a dog,

Roland makes his way across a busy street.The GM tells me I have to make a Hard Legs

roll to not get hit by the cars. I roll and get:

w w r yFour evens! Because I only needed three, I

have one additional even to use for Style. I tellthe GM that one of the cars spins out of the

way, cutting me off from the dog; he’s gonnahave to wait a few moments while I continuedarting down a dark alley, clear out of sight.

MM aa gg ii ccA cat’s Tail is his soul, his source of powerand magic. And while it is called “cat magic,”cats don’t cast spells... they play Tricks.

The stronger a cat’s Tail, the mightier hismagic and the more clever his Tricks. We’lllearn more about Tricks in a moment. First,let’s talk a little bit about the limits of catmagic.

Magic PointsTricks don’t happen all by themselves; a cathas to make a Trick work. He does this byusing Magic Points and rolling dice. Theharder the Trick, the more magic it requires,the more evens you have to roll to make itwork.

Each cat has five Magic Points, plus oneMagic Point per Tail Rank. In order to use anymagic at all, a cat has to spend at least oneMagic Point which gives him a number ofdice to roll equal to his Tail. Each additioanlMagic Point gives you an Advantage Die toroll.

The Bauble CurseLong, long ago, a sorcerer dog tricked theKing of the Cats, putting a curse on him andall his kind. Known by cats as “the BaubleCurse,” it is one of the more humiliatingaspects of cat nature. If you’ve ever seen a catchase a ball of twine or a feather on a longpiece of string, you’re familiar with the Curse.

As long as the object is in his sight (andactive), a cat is under the thrall of the curse.He remains under the thrall of the Curse untilhemakes three Hard Risks with his Tail. Untilhe does that, the Curse holds him tight,making him completely helpless and under thethrall of the Curse. If he fails all three Risks,he is suddenly free from the Curse. A cat

cannot take any Risk while under the effectsof the Bauble Curse.

Getting WetIf a cat gets wet – and we’re not talking aboutdrops, we’re talking about the drowned ratkind of wet – he can’t use his magic for therest of the day, even if he gets himself dryagain.

No TailSome species of cat have no Tail. While theymay have no physical tail, they still have aTail Trait, just like other cats.

Using MagicListed below are the many Tricks cats use tobefuddle their enemies. Each Trick has a TailRank indicating how strong your cat’s Tailneeds to be to use the Trick. If your cat’s Tailis equal to or greater than the listed Rank, youmay use the Trick. If the Trick’s Rank isgreater than your Tail Rank, you cannot usethe Trick.

Some Tricks have a “Variable” Tail Rank; thismeans the Trick has a number of effects basedon your cat’s Tail Rank. You can pull off theeffects equal to or lesser than your Tail Rankbut not those greater than your Tail Rank.

For example, Roland wants to use a Trick. HisTail is Strong, so he can use any Trick in the

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book that requires a Poor, Good, or StrongTail. He cannot use any Trick that requires a

Best Tail.

Fall on All Fours (Variable)Whenever scientists study how cats fall, theyalways get very strange results. That’s becausecats are using magic to keep themselves safeduring the fall and some cats are just better atmagic than others.

Good: A cat with a Good Tail can fall twentyfeet and take no Scars.

Strong: A cat with a Strong Tail can fall fortyfeet and suffer no Scars.

Best: A cat with a Best Tail can fall seventyfeet and suffer no scars.

Hide in Plain Sight (Variable)Cats have an amazing ability to disappearalmost before your very eyes. Once a catdisappears, he remains hidden as long as heremains still.

Good: A cat with a Good Tail can disappear ifeveryone in the room has their back turned tohim.

Strong: A cat with a Strong Tail can disappearif no-one is looking directly at him (i.e. he’s inthe corner of your eye).

Best: A cat with a Best Tail can disappear,quite literally, “in the blink of an eye,” even ifyou’re looking straight at him.

Sneak (Variable)Cats are sneaky; they move very quietlywithout drawing any attention to themselves.

Good: A cat with a Good Tail can movethrough a darkened area (room, alleyway, etc.)without being seen by anyone.

Strong: A cat with a Strong Tail can movethrough a room full of people without beingseen.

Best: A cat with a Best Tail can pass oversleeping people (and other creatures) withoutdisturbing them from their rest.

Doorslip (Good)A cat must have a Strong Tail to perform theDoorslip Trick. It allows a cat to slip by alocked door. It requires a small sacrifice (a rat,mouse or rabbit) to be placed before the door.Once the Ritual is complete, the cat slips bythe door as if it were open.The Dinner Dance Ritual (Good)The Dinner Dance Ritual (some precociouscats call this the “DDR”) is a favorite of tomsand requires little preparation. All you need dois walk around a human three times and he’llgrant a single request (bring me food, give meshelter, etc.). The request must havesomething to do with fulfilling a basic need.Dream Bite (Good)It’s hard to find humans in the Dream,especially the ones who don’t pay attention. Afew bites (just two or three) mark a humanwith your scent (clawing works as well),making the human easy to find in the Dream.Dream Bite also works on Boggins, makingthem easy to find (and kill).

The Chase Your Tail Whammy (Best)A not-very-nice Ritual that befuddles dogs. Ifyou can jump over a dog – head to tail – hegets confused and starts chasing his tail. Thislasts for 1, 2 or 3 minutes (roll a 6-sided dieand divide the result).

Fighting Frenzy (Good)When a cat needs it, he can enter a kind ofwild frenzy of claws and teeth. The price ishigh, but sometimes, a cat needs it to survive.By spending one Life, a cat may gain anumber of actions in a fight equal to his Tailbonus. This means a cat with a Good Tail (3)can take three actions during a round. He canattack three opponents, attack an opponentthree times, or whatever else he needs to do.This particular trick has a high price, however:it costs the cat one of his Lives.

This is the Game Master’s part of the book. Itcontains Advanced Rules to help the GMtailor the game to his liking, advice on makingand telling stories, running the game,storytelling in the Kingdom of Dreams, awhole bunch of Enemies and a few otherhelpful hints.

AA dd vv aa nn cc ee dd RR uu ll ee ssBelow are a few extra rules you can put inyour game. You don’t have to use all of them,you can pick and choose. If you feel morerules get in the way of enjoying the game,leave them alone.

Increasing Your TraitsAt the end of the game, each cat gains a TraitPoint to allocate to one of his Traits (plus oneor two for good roleplaying).

You can increase a Trait with Trait Points. Youmust invest three Trait Points in a Trait toincrease it one Rank.

Experienced CatsYou may want to play a more experienced catat the beginning of the game. Before you evenbegin the story, you can spend one Life toincrease a Good Trait to Strong or two Livesto increase a Strong Trait to Best. You canspend up to three Lives this way.

Legendary TraitsSome cats have “Legendary Traits” (6). Toincrease a Trait from Best to Legendary, youmust spend 6 Trait Points. Remember, a Traitcannot increase if it has any Scars.

GG MM AA dd vv ii cc eeStorytelling is not an easy job, but it’s a veryrewarding one. This chapter is dedicated tomaking his job easy and fun. In order to dothat, I’ve divided storytelling up into threesimple steps: #1 Writing Stories, #2 TellingStories, and #3 Running the Game.

Step #1: Writing StoriesBefore we get too far into how you writestories for Cat, we should stop a moment toconsider a question: what kind of stories doyou want to tell? Problem is, that’s a trickquestion. As GM, you don’t tell the playersstories, you help them tell stories to eachother.

Storytelling is a lot like being a tour guide fora group of people going to an amusementpark. They’re all eager to play your brand newstorytelling game, but the problem is, they alllike different kinds of stories. Some folks likehorror stories, some like romance, and otherslike action.

Some people like to be scared. They enjoystories of ghosts, bogeymen and other thingsthat bump your bed in the night. Others can’tstand scary stories, and want to stay as faraway from them as possible. Some folks likestories with a lot of action, suspense anddrama. Others like softer, quieter stories,where there’s no doubt the hero wins in theend. Your job as a GM is to make sureeverybody has fun, so you have to figure outwhat kind of stories they like. Now that maysound hard, but a couple of tricks make iteasier than it sounds.

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Trick 1: Ask Your PlayersIt’s so simple, you’d never think of it, butactually sitting down and asking your playerswhat kind of story they’d like to tell is a reallygood way of making sure everybody in yourgame is happy.

Trick 2: Look at their CatsheetsAnother good trick is taking a peek at theirCatsheets. Players looking for an action-filledfight fest make their Claws and Fangs theirBest and Strong Traits. Folks who want a littleromance make their Coat their Best Trait.Players looking to use Magic and wanderthrough the Dream have a thick, bushy BestTail. Take a peek at those Catsheets, figure outwhat your players want and give it to them.

It’s All About DramaWhen writing a story, it’s important to includean element of drama. Now, this little wordgets tossed around a lot (like its cousin“irony”) but what exactly does it mean? Well,drama is conflict. Without conflict, cats sitaround all day and get very little done.However, when you give a protagonist a goal,then put something between him and that goal,you have drama.

For example, let’s say there’s a little boyhaunted by a very exotic Boggin nobody’sever seen before. It’s mean and ruthless andsends all the neighborhood cats away lickingscars. The boy is dying and the Boggin islaughing. The cats have to do somethingbefore its too late.

Here you have goal (“protect the boy”) andobstacle (“Boggin is too tough to beat upalone”). The heroes of the story have to find away to save the boy, but in order to do that,they must defeat the Boggin. Now that youknow the goal, you set up complications andsmaller obstacles the players must overcomeon their way to the big goal. They hear arumor of an old cat who lives across townwho knows all sorts of things about Boggins.

Maybe if they get to him, he can tell themhow to defeat the Boggin?

This sets up all sorts of obstacles for theheroes. First, they have to discover where theold ratter lives. Second, they have to get out ofthe neighborhood and across town. Thatmeans a whole city of dogs, mean people,stray Boggins and animal control people tododge. That city’s worth three nights ofadventures all by itself. Then, once they’vefound the old cat, they have to convince himto pass on his knowledge. Finally, once theyknow the method for dealing with the Big BadBoggin, they have to get back across town anddeal with it.

Another example: Your child goes off tosummer camp with a fat Boggin sitting on hisback. You have to find a way to smuggleyourself on that bus and make sure that thingdoesn’t spread Boggin eggs all over the camp.You know, most summer camps have dogs...

But even simple circumstances can inspireepic adventures. Fleas, disease, ticks, even amessy house can inspire cats to incrediblemethods to get their people to pay attention totheir actions. As the opening story suggests,just getting them to clean out the litter box canbe a challenge.

Step #2: Telling StoriesSome people say the oldest rule in storytellingis: “Show, don’t tell.” They’re probably right,but in my head, it isn’t the most important. It’smore important to keep your audienceentertained at all times.

How do you do this? Well, the Japaneseswordsman-scholar Miyamoto Musashi oncesuggested that swordfighting had a lot to dowith carpentry. I think its safe to say thatstorytelling does, too. After all, both of thememploy toolboxes...

The Two ToolboxesA storyteller has two toolboxes: his VoiceToolbox and his Body Toolbox. Let’s look ateach in turn.

Using Your VoiceThe human voice is a powerful tool. Like amusical instrument, it’s capable of all kinds ofsounds. However, no instrument in the worldis as versatile as your voice. With it, you cancreate lightning, thunder, dogs barking orhowling at the moon. You can createcharacters, each with their own unique voiceand mannerisms. Use funny voices, scaryvoices, gutteral voices, high pitched voices,ticks, stutters, slurs and anything else you canthink of.

Spend one day, just one day, listening to theworld around you and pay close attention tohow things sound. Then, try mimicking thosesounds. You may be amazed at how close youget. Or, just sit in your kitchen for tenminutes. Turn the TV and music off, and justsit and listen. Listen to the hum of therefrigerator, the sound of neighbors outside,cars starting and driving by, water flowingthrough the walls as someone turns on theshower, a distant phone ringing, and petsrunning around downstairs. The world isseldom, if ever, silent. Cats know this. Soshould your players.

Using Your BodyThe Body Toolbox is just as powerful,although not as subtle as the Voice Toolbox.The easiest example of using your body tohelp communicate information to your playersis through the body language of non-playercharacters. Each character should hold himselfdifferently. Like the exercise I mentionedabove, go the mall or some other place werepeople congregate, and watch them. Just overlunch, sit for an hour with a sandwich andwatch as people walk by. Note where theyhold their hands, how they hold their heads,how they dodge the glances of strangers, howthey get out of the way, how they drop eyecontact to the floor, how they recover from astumble, how they hold themselves in a largegroup of friends, how they hold themselves inlines and how their entire body languagechanges when they need to apologize. It’samazing to watch, it really is.

And you can learn so much from just an hourof paying attention. And don’t spend all yourtime watching people; spend some timewatching cats, too. The more you know aboutour feline friends, the more you cancommunicate their actions and voices to yourplayers.

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Step #3: Running the

GameFinally, a quick discussion on how to run thegame. First, a look at the rules. Second, adiscussion of one of the oldest storytellingtricks in the world. Finally, a chat on how toreward your players.

The RulesAs was stated at the beginning of this book,the only rule you really have to follow isHAVE FUN! Now, that’s easy for me to say: Iwrote the rules, I know how they work and Iknow which rules to ditch when I need to,right?

Well, frankly, so do you. I have a lot of faithin you. I designed the rules to be simple andeasy to fudge with so you could do just that.Everybody’s got their own house rules forMONOPOLY, and there’s no reason whyeveryone who owns a copy of this gameshouldn’t have their own set of house rules forit as well.

Yes, dropping and changing rules changeshow the game works, but that’s the point ofdropping and changing rules: to make thegame work differently. I don’t expecteveryone to like every rule I’ve written in thebook. I expect people to change them, tweakthem or just ditch them all together and create

an entirely new rule set. That’s half the fun ofa roleplaying game: watching how otherpeople play the same game with different setsof rules.

In fact, while running Cat, I found myselfchanging the rules every session or so. Oneplayer had to make a jump and failed it by oneeven (he needed 3 and rolled 2), but he said,“My cat just landed on the other side, just apaw short, right?” I nodded. “So, he could usehis Claws to climb the rest of the way?” Inodded again. “You can make a test with yourClaws to try climbing up the rest of the way.”

Nowhere in the rules does it say a player cando that, but his solution to the failure was socool (it made everybody’s eyes shine – hereally needed to make that jump), I let him getaway with it. And just like that BANG! a newrule. If I played the rules hard and fast, hewouldn’t have made the roll and fell for someScars. Instead, because I was willing to bendthe rules for a creative player, the gameproceeded and he managed to save a mommyfrom a nasty Boggin.

So, if you don’t like how Lives work andthink they should have a more important rolein the game, make them more important.Don’t worry about “game balance” or any ofthat nonsense. The only “game balance” toworry about is when one player takesadvantage of the rules and exploits them at the

expense of other players. It doesn’t matterwhat rule set you put in front of him, he’llruin any game he can get his hands on. That’shis brand of fun: enjoying himself at theexpense of others. That’s why other gameshave “game balance”: to ensure the rulesmonkey doesn’t “abuse” the game system.

I want you to abuse the game system. Make itwork the way you want it to work. But if oneplayer spoils everybody else’s good time,don’t blame the game system, blame theplayer.

And don’t invite him back next time.

Let Them Do All the WorkThis is a trick the best storytellers know:there’s a lot more of “them” (the players) thanthere are of “us” Fortunately, they haven’tfigured that out just yet, and you can use it toyour advantage.

In a movie or a book, the author has completecontrol over every aspect of the story. Hecontrols the thoughts, actions and dialogue ofall the characters, but more importantly, healso controls the setting, scenery and props.Most roleplaying games use the premise “thestoryteller is the author and the players are themain characters.” We’re not gonna go in thatdirection. I suggest to you the players areauthors as well. Your chief role as GM (apurposefully misguiding title) is to help theplayers tell their own stories.

When their cats enter a room, tell them todescribe it. Let them fill it with props. Fill inthe blanks as you see fit, but otherwise, letthem do all the work. Let them describe thefamily they live with, the house they live inand the surrounding neighborhood. Let themname the dog next door. Let them name anddescribe the hawk that lives just up the way inthe forest off the main road. Let them come upwith the backstory of how they found thathawk with a broken wing and brought miceand rats to it and nursed it back to heath, thus

making an ally for life. Let them detail theirown past adventures, but when you do, listenclosely and keep notes. You’ll find all sorts ofadventure seeds in their descriptions, as wellas possible future allies and enemies.

The more control you give your players overtheir own characters’ destinies, the morethey’ll invest into not only their owncharacters, but the world surrounding them. Ifyou introduce a secondary character, theydecide whether or not they want to invest anytime with him. If they create the character,they’ve already got a say in his look, hismannerisms, his habits and flaws. In otherwords, they’ll create characters they want tointeract with.

In other words, they’re doing all the work.

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SS tt oo rr yy tt ee ll ll ii nn gg ii nn tt hh eeKK ii nn gg dd oo mm oo ff DD rr ee aa mm ssWhen your characters enter the Kingdom ofDreams, you have many challenges beforeyou. Dreams aren’t like the real world, theyhave qualities that make them distinct. In thissection of the book, we’ll talk about dreamsand how to invoke their unique atmosphere.

The Quality of DreamsThe most important thing to remember abouttelling stories in the Kingdom of Dreams isatmosphere. Dreams feel a certain way, and ifyou can invoke that sensation, you can make itreally feel like your players are walkingthrough a dreamscape.

The DreamerThe first thing to consider when describingDream is the environment of the dreamer. If adreamer is snuggled up in a cozy blanket withhis favorite pillow, the Dream is a friendly,warm place.

The sun is high in the sky, sending delicatedrops of warmth down on your head. It’s nottoo hot because a cool breeze keeps youcompany. The tall grasses wave, the treessway and the air is fresh and cool. And you’repretty sure if you jump hard enough, you canfly off into that beautiful sky…

On the other hand, if the dreamer falls asleepin a cardboard box with rain pelting throughhis makeshift home while sirens blare and thegrowl of a dog can be heard somewhere in thedarkness, a dreamer’s experience is verydifferent.

It is dark. And wet. Lightning flashes, butgives no illumination. The drooping limbsclaw the earth below them, hoping to dig upsomething buried long ago. You think youhear screaming, perhaps below those trees.And now a sucking sound, perhaps at theroots. You are cold, alone and in the dark.You’re pretty sure if you don’t keep walking,

the mud will suck you down. Maybe that’swhere the screams are coming from. Someonewho couldn’t keep walking. And your feet areso heavy…

Details are important. Use colors tocommunicate mood. Use sounds, use smells.Use everything at your disposal to invoke theatmosphere of dream.

Symbols and AbsurdityYes, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but thatmeans other times, it isn’t. Symbols are animportant element of Dream, although thesymbolic world doesn’t always make sense.That’s probably because it isn’t supposed tomake sense.

Symbols communicate information to us, butsometimes that information isn’t supposed tobe interpreted in a logical way (the surrealfilms of David Lynch are called “dream-like”for a reason). Sometimes, dreams presentimages that don’t “mean” anything, butcommunicate a sensation or an emotion.

A strange man approaches you. His eyes areblack, his hair is blond and his fingernails aremade of alabaster. “There is something I needto do,” he says, and he reaches forward andkisses you with his corpse-cold lips. Hisbreath smells like burned rubber. When he’sdone, he whispers, “Thank you,” and walksaway. Roses drop from his trousers as heleaves, filling the room with their scent.

The above paragraph could very well be adream, and there are a dozen different ways tointerpret the experience. However, what ismore important is the emotion you get fromthe experience. When describing dreams, usesurreal experiences to elicit response from thedreamers, rather than fill their heads with“What did that mean?”

We almost never understand our dreams, butwe always remember the way they made usfeel.

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ExaggerationIn the Kingdom of Dreams, everything isbigger than it should be. Or, if you like,everything is much, much smaller. Either way,exaggeration is a great tool for invoking theatmosphere of dream.

You approach Charlie’s house. You rememberyou owe him that ten bucks you borrowed forlunch the other day. The windows open wide,staring down at you. The drapes curl intosmiles. The wooden fence twists into an irongate as you pass through, slamming shut whenit is behind you. The grass murmurs. The treeschortle. The door swings open by itself as youapproach. You want to stop; turn back and run,but your feet keep carrying you forward…

So much of the geography and architecture ofDream is exaggeration, reflecting the mood ofthe dreamer, or the subject of his dream. Ifhe’s facing his fears, everything is dark,gloomy and sharp. If he’s comfortable,everything is soft, warm and inviting.

TimeIn the Kingdom of Dreams, time only exists asa variable, an elastic element. There is noconsistency to its passing. A journey thatshould take weeks lasts mere moments, withno recollection at all of the events betweenPoint A and Point B. A second can take hoursto pass, especially when running away from anightmare. Things speed up and slow downwhen they feel like it.

Jumping, Flying and Other Amazing Actsof Physical ImpossibilityAnything is possible in dream, but most of itis unintentional. Some dreamers can controltheir actions, flying when they feel like it.Others stumble on minor miracles and enjoythem while they last.

Cats can control the landscape of dream (seeDreaming Rules, below), but humans makeeverything difficult. Because they can’tcontrol their dreams – only a few, very

talented humans can – their psychesmanipulate and warp the dreamscape beyondany hope of repair. In other words, cats haveto make do with the world humans make.

NightmaresAs if Boggins weren’t enough.

In the Kingdom of Dreams, cats have to lookout for nightmares. Like Boggins, nightmarescan do little to danger cats… unless they’repowered by the fears of dreamers, that is.

Nightmares feed on human fear, and seek outdreaming humans to quench their hunger.Many nightmares even collect humandreamers, keeping them trapped within cagesmade from their own phobias and insecurities.

Dreaming RulesCats have great power in the Kingdom ofDreams. Because they won the Contest, theyhave the ability to alter and manipulate theDreamscape. However, because mankind’scontrol over the Dreamscape is random atbest, they have a lot to do when looking outfor their people while they dream.

A cat uses his Tail to manipulate dream.Unlike Tricks, however, he can only alter thedreamscape by taking Risks. Listed below arethe ways cats can change the Dreamscapealonw with the Difficulties.

Change Yourself (1 Even)With a Good Tail you can jump a mile into thesky, grow wings and fly, grow gills and swim,and anything else that affects you, only you,and nothing else.

Change Something Else (2 Evens)Your cat can make an alarm clock ring, acomputer shut down, a wound stop bleedingand a mean lady fart in a public place. Youcan change any object as long as it is notpermanently destroyed by the change and it issomething it can do.

Alter Something Else (3 Evens)If your cat’s Tail is his Best Trait, your cat canmake something (not a person) do somethingit can’t do. You can make a clock face laughor a pig fly or a candy bar turn into a flower.

Create or Destroy Something (4 Evens)If your cat’s Tail is Legendary, he cancompletely destroy one thing. It can’t besomething made out of more than one part likea gun or a clock, but you can destroy a part ofthat clock, so it doesn’t work anymore.

Completely Change One Place (5 Evens)Finally, a cat can completely change hissurroundings into something else. He can’tpredict what it will be, but the entire situationchanges. This is an act of incredible will,demanding every bit of magic a cat’s got. It isno ordinary feat, but it can be accomplished.

CC aa tt AA dd vv ee nn tt uu rr ee ssListed below are a few story hooks for you toincorporate into full blown stories. Make sureeach fits your own group’s style of play anduse the tricks you learned in the previoussection.

A New Secret NameIf Boggins ever discover a cat’s secret name,they become invisible to him, just as they’reinvisible to humans. It also means Bogginscan haunt the poor cat and steal his magicfrom him.

If a cat ever “loses” his secret name this way,he must find another one. The only way to dothat is in Dream. The Well of Names is hidden(to keep Boggins and Nightmares fromdiscovering it) and only the mostknowledgeable creatures in the world knowwhere it is. But getting that knowledge isn’teasy and probably requires a quest.

Once the knowledge is gained, the journey isonly half done. Journeying through Dream tothe Well of Names requires cunning, courageand stealth (to make sure no Boggins orNightmares follow you). It rests in a hiddenvalley just off the shores of the Sea of Flame.Once there, the cat whispers into the Well andthe echo tells him his new name – dependingon what he whispered into the Well. Whatshould he whisper? That’s up to the cat.

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Rescuing the King of the CatsA witch (typically a mean old lady, but there’snothing wrong with flying in the face ofcliché) has captured the King of the Cats andplans on skinning him for his magic andknowledge. Of course, its up to you toorganize and direct a rescue plan.

The witch has all kinds of tricks and traps setup for cats who hope to rescue their King (justthink of what the traps in Home Alone wouldreally do to a cat and you’ve got the rightidea). She also has twin Dobermans (named“Tooth” and “Claw”) and a pit bull (“Esau”)who have free run of the house. She also has aflock of crows who sit on the roof looking forcats. They’re not really crows, but nightmaresshe pulled out of Dream. The other birds inthe area don’t like them and would be willingto help out a group of cats to get rid of them.

Finally, she has a little black cat she callsCirce. This cat has been possessed by aBoggin and has Boggin Points (see Boggins,below). It has a Best Tail and the rest of herTraits are Strong. She’s always on the lookoutfor other cats and will kill them for theirmagic. She can use cat magic and has set up aritual to warn her when cats enter the house.Circe is clever and knows she probably can’ttake on a group of cats by herself, but she canwarn the dogs and isolate less clever cats withher magic, taking them out one-by-one.

The player cats may be armed with an army ofneighbors (what cat in his right mind wouldn’twant to have “saved the King of the Cats” onhis name?) but they have very little time to gethelp and even less time to plan. They discoverhe’s been captured one morning and they haveuntil midnight to save him (that’s when sheplans doing the sacrifice).

Give the witch the same traits as a MeanPerson, but also give her some Boggin Points

(depending on how many cats you have andhow tough you think they are). She can doeverything a witch should be able to with herMagic Points:

Flight: She can fly for 3 BP – no matter thedistance – but she needs her broom to do it.

Curses: For 2 BP she can cause a cat to fail ata specific action (climbing, sneaking,fighting). The curse only lasts until the cattries that action, then he fails and the curse isoff his coat. She must point at the cat with hermagic chicken leg (taken from a blackfeathered chicken) to cast a curse.

Potions: She has potions that stink (causing –1die to all actions) and stick (3 dice ofAdvantage to keep a cat held). She also has apotion that makes her invisible (until shestands in sunlight). She also needs a potion tosee and talk to Boggins. This potion lasts forten minutes.

By the way, the witch is trying to become aBoggin. She wins their faith and trust untilone of them possesses her, giving her exactlywhat she thought she wanted. Saving thewitch from herself may be a secondary taskhere, but it is still a noble one.

Good Dogs and Bad CatsAs suggested above, there are “bad cats,” butit have to take a Boggin to make a cat go bad.Like people, some cats are just born bad. Alsolike people, ambition, heartbreak, trauma, andother emotional landmines can turn a catagainst its people.

Imagine a cardboard box full of abandonedkittens sitting in the August heat, left to die ofexposure. Imagine a kitten with a rope androck tied to its neck, thrown into a river.People are notorious for their treatment ofcats, and there are those out there who feelpeople just don’t deserve protection. Whatthey do deserve is the same pain they givecats.

“Bad cats” go out of their way to bring miseryto humans, including one trick that no honestcat ever uses: stealing breath. It’s an old ritualthat’s forbidden by the King of the Cats, butthat doesn’t mean his subjects never use it. If acat sits on a sleeping person, he can steal thebreath right out of them. The ritual takes 1hour per Magic Point the person has, and atthe end of the night, the person is one MagicPoint less and the cat has three more. When acat steals a person’s last Magic Point, theperson dies. An adult has only 3 Magic Points,teens have 4, adolescents have 5, toddlershave 6 and infants have 7.

For example, a bad cat named Klytemnestra isstealing a little boy’s breath. The boy has 5Magic Points, so the ritual takes 5 hours a

night to complete. In the morning,Klytemnestra has 3 extra Magic Points and

the boy has 1 less. That means the next night,the ritual only takes 4 hours to complete.

On the other hand, there is such a thing as a“good dog.” Many canines resent cats forwinning the Contest, but not all of them. Afew – just a few – recognize a cat’s duty to

protect people and actually assist them in theirduties. After all, nothing on Earth knows dutybetter than a dog; it’s just that duty sometimesturns into jealousy...

Often times, a puppy gets raised in ahousehold of cats, learns how to see Boggins(not all dogs can see them) and helps out hisfeline fellows. He uses his own magic (seeDogs, below) to hunt down and kill Boggins,thus earning friendship and trust.

Now, with all that in mind, consider anadventure with a good dog and a bad cat. Thecat is trying to get revenge on a family forgiving away her kittens while the dog – apuppy named “Hijinx” – tries to get the helpof his cat neighbors. The cats have neverheard of a dog trying to talk with cats, so theyhave no need to trust him. Hijinx does his bestto win them over, trying to show evidence ofthe bad cat’s treachery. However, this bad catis clever and uses tricks of his own tosabotage any trust Hijinx earns. Nobodylistens to poor Hijinx and every night, thelittle baby in his care wakes with less breath...

CC rr oo ss ss -- GG ee nn rr ee CC aa ttNearly every roleplaying game in existencehas rules for cats. If you’d like to play a catfrom this game in another roleplaying game,it’s pretty easy.

All you do is use the traits from the othergame for your physical actions. Then, assumeyour cat’s tail is his Best Trait (you need allthe advantages you can get) and use the magicsystem in this book as is. If you use a MagicPoint to disappear between the blink of aneye, that’s exactly what you do. Assume catmagic always works and its stronger than anymagic (or technology) humans have. After all,we’re protecting them – whether they know itor not – and their little attempts at magicwon’t get in our way of doing our job.

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Don’t feel you have to stop at transplantingcat magic, however. Move over the Boggins aswell. Humans can’t see Boggins (mosthumans, anyway), and even if they do have amagic sword, magic armor and holy handgrenades, they still need protection fromthings they can’t see. Nearly every hero offantastic fiction and mythology has gonethrough long periods of melancholy. Ever stopto consider that may be a big, fat Heavysitting on them, sucking their dreams dry?

People need cats, no matter the time or theplace. And just because your Strength orDexterity isn’t 18 don’t mean you can’t be ahero.

(A quick aside: I remember watching Alienwith friends during the writing of this book,thinking how little Jones the Cat using everylast Magic Point he had trying to leadeveryone away from the monster. Just imaginehis consternation at the end: locked in a box,completely unable to help out his humanfriends. Now that’s drama.)

NN aa tt uu rr aa ll EE nn ee mm ii ee ssCats have a lot of enemies – most of them youand I can’t even see. We’ll talk about thoselater. First, lets talk about the kind of enemiesyou and I can see.

A Note on TraitsNot all Enemies have the same Traits as cats,and cats don’t always have the same Traits astheir Enemies. In a nutshell, this is how itworks.

If a cat has a Trait an enemy doesn’t have,there’s no competition; the cat wins anycontest involving that Trait. The same is truefor the reverse: if an enemy has a Trait a catdoesn’t have, the cat loses the contest. In otherwords, if a human tries to pick up a cat withhis Thumbs, and a cat doesn’t have anyThumbs to counter the action, there’s very

little he can do. On the other hand, peopledon’t have Claws...

Also, as a last ditch resort, cats can always tryto run away with their Legs.

Some enemies have “Extra Scars” and “LessScars.” Extra Scars are deducted from a fightbefore any Scars go to Traits. Enemies withLess Scars can only take the listed number ofScars before they can’t fight anymore.

DogsTraitsJaws (for carrying and fighting)

Legs (for running and jumping)

Eyes (seeing)

Ears (hearing)

Nose (smelling)

Coat (for impressing other dogs and takingScars)

Paws (for digging)

Dogs are very similar to cats, but with littledifferences in Traits. They usually rushheadfirst into an attack, and they don’t usetheir Claws, they use Jaws.

A dog’s Jaws are just like a cat’s Fangs, onlythey do a lot more damage. In a fight, if a dogwins a test with his Jaws, he’s grabbed hold ofthe cat and can crush him. A dog’s Jaws inflicta number of Scars equal to his Jaws Bonuseach round. He doesn’t need to roll any dice todo so. A cat’s only hope is to spend Livesevery round to avoid gaining Scars.

Every round, the cat gains one chance toescape the dog’s Jaws. He cannot spend a Lifeto automatically succeed, he must Test Fate,and he may only use his Claws to do so.

Dogs also have their own kind of magic. It’sless powerful because they didn’t win TheContest, but it is still there. A dog’s magic is

based on loyalty to one person and he earnsLoyalty Points as long as his bond with thatperson remains intact. Assume a dog has 3Loyalty Points per year he’s spent with asingle owner (or family). A dog’s magic canbe spent in the following ways:

Find (1 Point): The dog can find his owner –no matter where he is.

Speak (3 Points): The dog can communicate asingle word to his owner using non-verbalcommunication.

Defend (any Points): A dog can spend aLoyalty Point when defending his owner,adding 3 to any roll.

Smell Boggin (1 Point): Dogs can’t seeBoggins, but some of them can smell them.Just smelling a Boggin isn’t enough; the doghas to pinpoint it before he can attack. A dogcan spend a Loyalty Point to smell a Bogginhaunting his owner. He can attack the Bogginafter he’s spent a Loyalty to find him.

Track (2 Points): A dog can spend 2 Loyaltyto remember any creature’s scent. Once he’sspent the Loyalty, he can always follow thatcreature’s trail.

Banish Boggin (3 Points): Dogs know a ritualthat gets rid of Boggins. The ritual iscomplicated, but allows the dog to get rid of aBoggin forever. It requires an item and some(unknowing) participation by the owner. First,the dog chews on the item, spending 1Loyalty. Second, the dog must get the ownerto throw the item at the Boggin. (This usuallyrequires several throwing attempts.) Once theitem hits the Boggin in question, the dogspends 2 Loyalty, takes the item away fromthe owner and buries it. If it remains in theground until the next dawn, the Boggin isbanished.

RatsTraitsFace (whiskers, eyes, ears, nose)

Legs (for running and jumping)

Teeth (for biting and carrying)

Tail (not an advantage; see below)

Swarm (a big advantage; see below)

Nails (for clawing, digging)

While one rat isn’t much of a threat to a cat,many of them all at once can be a problem,even for the best ratter. Rats work welltogether, and when they do, they use theirSwarm Trait. If a swarm of rats attacks a cat,they add their Swarm Traits together for anyRisks against the cat.

Individually, if a cat wants to do anything to arat, he always makes a test against the rat’sTail: a rat’s Tail is always Poor (Bonus 1) andcannot be improved.

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Mean PeopleTraitsFace (eyes, ears, nose)

Legs (for running and jumping)

Thumbs (for picking things up)

Tools (see below)

Mean People do mean things to cats. This isusually predicated by use of Thumbs. In orderfor a mean person to get hold of a cat, make atest between the mean person’s Thumbs andthe cat’s Legs. Once he’s in the Mean Person’sgrip, there’s little he can do to get away –other than claw the Mean Person’s eyes out. Asuccessful use of Claws against the MeanPerson’s Face means the cat has scratchedhard enough to escape the Mean Person’s grip.

Tools give Mean People additionaladvantages. Small tools like hammers andknives give a Mean Person 2 Advantage Diceon all rolls. Larger tools like shovels, broomsand other two-handed implements give them 4Advantage Dice. Guns, cars and other largeand deadly weapons give Mean People 10 ADon all rolls.

BB oo gg gg ii nn ssThere are many different kinds of Boggins,but they all want one thing: physical form.Boggins don’t cause fear and anger and othernegative emotions for the fun of it. They havegoals; notably to possess a mortal shell.Boggins can possess any living creature –including cats – but the process requiresspecific steps. Once the process is completed,the Boggin is in control of the body, with thethoughts and memories of the host shuntedaside.

How do Boggins gain control of a host? Thereare many methods, but the most popular arelisted below.

Note that all Boggins begin the same:formless, skittering shadow-like creatures. Thefirst step in the process of possessing a host isfinding that host’s potential weaknesses andexploiting them. The shape of the Boggin isdependent on those weaknesses. In otherwords, it is the host who gives a Boggin itsshape and power.

For game purposes, we call that power“Boggin Points.” The more Points a Bogginhas, the more potent a foe it is, and the moredifficult it is to defeat. Each Boggin hasdifferent abilities, all requiring the use ofBoggin Points.

Defeating a Boggin before it possesses a hostis pretty straightforward. If a Boggin runs outof Boggin Points, it reverts back to its naturalshape – a formless blob – and skitters back towherever it came. But once it gets its hooksinto a host, driving it away is next toimpossible. Each is different, requiring a ritualknown only to the oldest most experiencedBoggin hunters. You’ll learn all those tricksbelow.

The Green-Eyed Monster“The Green-Eyed Monster, as you may guess,sits on your shoulder, whispering all sorts ofthings into your ear. Most of them involvethings that other people have and you don’t.”

TraitsClaws, Hide (Coat), Face, Fangs, Legs, Nose,Wings

Green-Eyed Monsters – otherwise known as“Greenies” – aren’t very tough Boggins, norare they as dangerous as Men Under the Bedor Heavies, but they are industrious and aboutas assiduous as Boggins come. Not content towork alone, Greenies work in groups, ensuringthe host hears nothing but their own littlewicked whispers.

When they first take shape, Greenies appear astiny devils, complete with horns and tails.They have talons and teeth and tiny wingsthey use to fly about. Their skin is likehardened leather (thus, the “Hide” Trait),making them highly resistant to injury. Theylatch on to the host’s shoulder, whispering intothe host’s ear all sorts of nonsense abouteverything he doesn’t have. Soon, the hostbecomes completely distracted from his ownlife, losing his own identity in an obsessivelust for other people’s belongings.

Greenies work together in small groups. Everyday a host is infected with Greenies, the littlebeasts all gain a Boggin Point. Like otherBoggins, when Greenies first take shape, alltheir Traits begin at Poor, but they can spendBoggin Points (one-per-one) to increase theirTraits.

The Man under the Bed“He’s a nasty one. We called him ‘The OneWho Lurks.’ I had to find my Tommy inDreaming and have a long chat with himabout it. Then, I had to do some fighting of myown. When my Tommy saw me standing up toit, he knew he could, too. And when he did,The One Who Lurks became The One WhoRuns Away.”

TraitsClaws, Face, Fangs, Legs, Nose, Thumbs

He’s also known as The Man in the Closet,and The Man at the Window, but his purposeis always the same: to scare the wits out ofchildren everywhere. The Boggin gainsstrength from children’s fears, especiallyhopeless fear. They know parents don’tbelieve in the Man under the Bed (despitetheir own childhood memories), and when aparent gives the “There’s no such thing asmonsters” speech, that’s when the Bogginstarts acting in full force.

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The Man under the Bed gains one BogginPoint every night it spends under a child’s bed(in his closet, behind the drapes, etc.). It gainstwo Boggin Points every night after the“There’s no such thing as monsters” speech.

The Man Under the Bed has the same Traits asMean People, but when it first takes shape, allTraits are Crippled. The Man can take form,but it can only frighten the child by movingbetween shadows, giving the child a hint atdanger. As it gains Boggin Points, it increaseseach Trait on a Point-per-Point basis. When allits Traits reach Good, it begins physicallyterrorizing the child. When all its Traits reachStrong, it possesses the child.

The best way to battle the Man is to help thechild beat his own fear. If he isn’t afraid of theMan under the Bed, the Boggin gains nopower (Boggin Points). Encouraging the childin his dreams (children remember dreamsmuch better than adults do) and fighting theBoggin while the child watches are both waysof showing him how to overcome his fears

Ghosts“They think they’re especially ‘sensitive’because they can see these things. Truth is,what they are is vulnerable. The Bogginwouldn’t be there if they weren’t.”

TraitsClaws, Face, Fangs, Legs, Thumbs

Ghosts are actually Boggins feeding on theregret of not saying or doing things before it’stoo late.

Ghosts feed on regret, taking the shape of lostloved ones to invoke feelings of helplessnessand ennui (which are equally tasty). Theywant the future host to feel helpless, hopelessand pointless. Every day a ghost successfullyhaunt a host, it gains one Boggin Point. Assoon as the host begins talking to the ghost (oracknowledges it in some other way), it gainstwo Boggin Points per day. Like the Manunder the Bed, Ghosts have the same Traits asa Mean Person. When it first takes form, aGhost’s Traits are all Crippled, and it isincapable of interacting with the physicalworld. However, it increases its Traits byspending Boggin Points on a one-per-onebasis. When its Traits reach Good, it can liftsmall, hand-held objects – including cats.When its Traits reach Strong, it can possess ahuman’s body, thus making it nearlyimpossible to remove.

Heavies“It’s a sick sight. Watching that thing sit onyour man, keeping him all wrapped up in aweb that he can’t see, but he can sure feel….”

TraitsCoat, Eyes, Fangs, Hairs (Ears), Legs, Web

Sitting on the couch, eating potato chips,sipping soda and watching a TV show thatyou just hate is the perfect way to spend theafternoon. But if you knew why you weresitting there, you’d get off your… backside

and go for a walk. Your cat can see whyyou’re there, and the longer you sit, the harderit is for him to get you up.

Heavies are Boggins who feed on sloth. Evertry to get up from the couch and feel a heavy,warm weight just keeping you down? That’s aHeavy. It takes the shape of a giant, furryspider, and it spends its day spinning a web,sticking you right where you are so it can dineon all that lovely apathy you’re making.

When a Heavy first takes form, it’s a tinyspider crawling over the host’s body, feedingon little idleness. Then, as the Heavy’s poisonfills his veins, the host spends more timesitting down, doing as little as possible. That’swhen the webs begin. The spider gets larger,using the webs and its weight to hold the hostdown. Finally, when the host is nearly coveredin webs, the Heavy lays eggs. Those eggseventually hatch and the host has even moreHeavies keeping him idle, feeding off hislaziness.

When it first takes its shape, a Heavy’s Traitsare all Crippled. Every day it feeds off thehost, it gains one Boggin Point. As soon as thehost spends a night on the couch in front ofthe TV, it gains two Boggin Points a day.When its other Traits reach Good, it beginsweaving its web. The web itself is like a Trait;it begins at Crippled and gains strength with

each day. A Heavy must either spend BogginPoints on its own Traits or on its Web, notboth. As soon as all the Heavy’s Traits(including Web) reach Strong, the Heavy laysits eggs. Once that happens, its only a matterof days (usually two) before the eggs hatchand the host is covered with tiny Heavies, alleager to keep the host on that couch.

The Shoulda Brothers“These guys... what I wouldn’t give to seethem get a taste of their own medicine. Sittingaround, wondering who to infect next,worrying about the person they infected lasttime, afraid to take even a single step just incase it’s the wrong thing to do.”

TraitsClaws, Hide (Coat), Face, Fangs, Legs, Nose,Wings

Tree brother Boggins – the Shoulda, theCoulda and the Woulda – are very industrious.Similar to the Green-Eyed Monster, they sit ona host’s shoulder and whisper in his ears allthe things he should have done, could havedone and would have done... if only he knewbetter.

The Shoulda Brothers create self-doubt intheir victims until all his confidence is lost tohesitation. They sit and whisper, sit andwhisper, sit and whisper until the host beginssaying the words himself. Like other Boggins,the Shoulda Brothers gain a Boggin Pointevery day they infect the host. As soon as thehost says “I should have,” “I would have,” or“I could have” three times in one day, theygain two Boggin Points per day. And, likeother Boggins, their Traits begin at Crippled,but can be increased with Boggin Points.(A strange cousin of the Shoulda Brothers is“the Gotta” which appears as a big bundle ofthreads and hairs; a twitching, nervous thingfull of static electricity. As its name suggests,the Gotta keeps its host on its toes, runningback and forth, making sure everything getsdone on time...)

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PP aa rr tt 99 :: FF ii cc tt ii oo nn aa ll FF aa cc tt ss && FF aa cc tt uu aa ll FF oo ll kk ll oo rr ee ssBecause of The Contest, a cat’s reputation hasgreatly fluctuated through history. Sometimesworshiped as gods, sometimes reviled asdevils, cats have always been associated withmagic, the diabolical, and the divine. In thissection is just some the knowledge men haveon cats. Some of it may be true, but only catsknow for certain, and like their names, theyjust ain’t tellin’.

“You’ve got that right.”

“Roland?”

“Yeah. Did you think I was going to let this bea one-sided discussion? I can’t say much, butI’ll add what I can.”

With as much knowledge we do have on cats,there is still so much we don’t know.

“You said that already”.

(Let me finish the thought, okay?)

Even the things we do know, we don’t alwaysunderstand. For example, we know that catspurr, but exactly how they do it is still amystery. However, we do know people havebeen keeping cats for a very long time. Theearliest evidence of “domestic cats” comesfrom ruins in Jericho from approximately6,700 B.C. Yes, we know cats have beenprotecting us from Boggins for the almost ninethousand years.

“This is because claw marks don’t show upvery well on stone sofas. Also, it took youhumans a few hundred years to develop artthat could withstand the test of time. It hasbeen more than nine thousand.”

Let’s take a look at what man knew, knowsand thinks he knows about cats.

“And what cat thinks about what man thinkshe knows.”

FactsWhat we know about cats can be found inthousands of books, most of which can bepicked up in the bargain bin section of yourlocal bookstore (trust me, I know this firsthand).

“And did you get me out of a bargain bin,too?”

(No, I got you from a little girl giving awaykittens in front of the grocery store.)

As far as his biology goes, a cat really is anamazing creature. To begin with, he smellswith over 200 million olfactory mucosa cells;twice as many as humans (but not as many asdogs). However, a cat doesn’t just smell withhis nose. His “Jacobson’s Organ,” located inthe upper surface of the mouth, providesadditional olfactory information. His hearingis also pretty amazing. His ears have 40,000nerve fibers (the human ear has 30,000) andcan distinguish between sound sources 3inches apart from up to 7 feet away or thosefrom 1 inches apart from up to 70 feet away.

One study showed three-week-old kittens heartwice as well as adult cats.

“What?”

(Nothing.)

“But can kittens read?”

(Ugh.)

A cat’s night vision – thanks to his famouspupil and a reflective layer in the back of hiseyes – is fifty percent better than a human’s.However, he has one-sixth the number ofcones (the color sensitive cells in the eye) andcan only see some blue and green, but are notsensitive at all to the red spectrum.

“I have a cousin who lives with a bullfigher.She can’t understand what the fuss is about.”

A cat’s eyes are also especially sensitive tomovement, activating a “predator behavior”especially keen in the cat’s brain. The parts ofa cat’s brain that control hunger are separatefrom the parts of the brain that control thehunting instinct. Therefore, a cat’s desire tohunt can be triggered independent of its desirefor food. The hunting instinct also has aconnection to the pleasure centers in a cat’s

brain. In other words, kitty hunts because itmakes him feel good, not because he’s hungry.

“If you don’t believe this, remember those giftswe leave you don’t usually have bite marksbeyond the mortal wounds.”

Incidentally, a typical meal of dry or wet catfood is the approximate equivalent of fivemice.

“Less fur in the canned food, unless the canopener is shedding. Or balding.”

A cat’s whiskers are more important than hiseyes or ears, sensing changes in air movement,helping him navigate through the dark. Evenblind cats can make their way aroundobstacles, thanks to the sensitivity of theirwhiskers. Also, when he’s trying to getthrough a small opening, he uses his whiskersto judge the size. Because your cat lacks a truecollarbone, he can generally squeeze his bodythrough any space he can get his head into.

“Your cat lacks a true collarbone, too.”

(True, but he really has a huge head.)

“Touche.”

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A cat’s cerebellum, the part of the braincontrolling physical coordination, isproportionally larger than in most othermammals. Cats jump far enough above theirtarget to gain a hold with their back claws,then fall forward and balance on their frontlegs. Your average housecat can jump seventimes his own height.

“That would be like you jumping up a fivestory building.”

(But if I was on all fours like a cat, my heightwould be under three feet. Pole vaulters jumpalmost 21 feet.)

“I could jump 21 feet with rocket shoes.”

The tail, an organ with more bones than thehuman spine, also helps for balance. Andwhile cats may be fast, they aren’t built forspeed. A cat’s anatomy is built for quickjumps and short runs. After a few moments,they burn out their batteries and have to stopto recharge.

“And most cats will have put their batteries togood use so they have a snack while waitingto recharge.”

(Food helps to speed up the recovery process,anyways.)

Speaking of agility…

“We were?”

(Hush.)

Why does a cat always land on his feet? Well,he doesn’t always, but he’s got a pretty goodchance of making it nearly every time. Within70 milliseconds of the beginning of a fall, acat’s biology is in action. An automaticsequence of responses begins with the eyessending information to the brain and thevestibular system takes over. The cat firstturns its head so it is upright. Then, the fronthalf of its body flips 180 degrees. Nerves inthe spine turn the rest of the body. A fact mostpeople miss: it isn’t really amazing the cat

turns so quickly to put its feet under its body.What’s really amazing is that it never turns toofar, but always turns precisely the necessarydistance to get its feet under it.

“‘The whole process is as natural asbreathing.’ I don’t think I could land wrong if Iwanted to. But why would I want to?”

A cat’s skin is thinner than most mammals,but it is also more flexible. It also containssebaceous glands which secret sebum, an oilysubstance that waterproofs the cat’s fur andmakes it shine. Apocrine sweat glands secretea fluid that lets other cats know when he’s “inthe mood for love.”

“Before you say anything, John, I’ll have youknow that my sweat glands do nothyperfunction. The ladies love me for mycharm.”

(Of course they do.)

A cat’s skin contains 130,000 hairs per squareinch. They actually have two kinds of hairs:overfur and underfur. Overfur is coarse andprotects the undefur which is finer and growsin clusters, providing a cat with insulation.There are even different kinds of underfur, allof which have their own functions. But not allcats have the same kind of fur. There aredozens of different hair types, making each catbreed unique. Finally, a cat’s hairs are part ofa complicated sensory system including itspaws, whiskers, eyes and ears. Hairs,penetrating three times deeper into the skinthan human hairs, can sense particle changesin air density.

“And we more than feel it when your pet a catfrom back to front.”

(Is it really that bad?)

“Sometimes it feels like a splinter being bentthe wrong way when it is pulled out. Or an earbeing tugged in the wrong direction.”

Like dogs, cats mark their territory with scent,but do so in a very social way. When a catrubs against you, he’s not only passing hisscent on to you, but he’s also getting yourscent on him. Cats create a complicated“family scent” that includes all members ofhis family (including the dog). Thus, when hegoes out on the town, he carries your scentalong with him, to show others he belongs to afamily. When a stranger comes into the house,a cat smells him out to determine if he wantsthe stranger’s scent to become part of thefamily scent. It may take a while for the cat toaccept a new scent into the family, but whenhe does, expect him to get snuggly. It’s alsothe reason cats claw furniture: a cat’s clawscarry a lot of his scent. So, when kitty clawsthe furniture, he’s marking it as part of thefamily. Self-cleaning is also a way ofspreading his scent. Your cat’s saliva is richwith scent, and by constantly cleaning himself,he’s spreading that scent over his fur.

Also, when a cat picks a fight, he scratches infront of another cat, kind of drawing a line inthe sand saying, “This ground right herebelongs to me. Cross it if you dare.” Finally, acat’s scent communicates how old the cat is,his sexual status and what mood he was inwhen he made the mark.

“I personally feel this is a mark of a highlyevolved species. Noses don’t lie. Neither docats, really. We’re an open book. If you knowhow to read, what the language is, and how toopen the book.”

(Yeah. You and women.)

“What’s that...”

(Nevermind. I’d better stop while I’m behind.)

When cats communicate with each other, theydo so with a silent body language thatinvolves dozens of different signals. Theposition of the body, ears, tail and whiskers allgo into this elaborate communication process.

“I dance with my face and my feet. But whena cat is clumsy with it, do you say he has eightleft whiskers? Or two left ears?”

Cats seldom, if ever, communicate verbally toother cats and only in times of great emotion.It is believed (but not proven) that catscommunicate verbally to humans because theyperceive us as parents, or caregivers.

“That’s mostly untrue. Humans never seemedto catch on to the nonverbal cues. So we’releft with the blunt and inefficient ‘meyow’noises. And dreams, of course.”

(I’m getting to that.)

Kittens communicate verbally to their mother,and thus, if cats do indeed perceive us ascaregivers, they may feel the need tocommunicate to us verbally. Some scientistsbelieve that cats save verbally because we’retoo dumb to understand the non-verbal talkthey’re trying to tell us. But that’s just atheory…

“And for those of you who cling to the beliefthat cats think they are little people: you’vegot it backwards. People are big cats.”

A cat’s paws are also versatile tools. They arepadded for silent movement, have hooks forclimbing, and talons for clawing and fighting.They even act as sponges for cleaning.

“And you say that thumbs are versitile. I’dlike to see your thumb kill dinner and wash itin the same movement.”

(Touche to you.)

A cat’s paws are also part of their sensorysystem, capable of detecting the smallestvibrations in the Earth. A cat can feel thevibrations from a mouse moving its tiny feetacross the floor from up to sixty feet away.

“Keep this in mind, kids, when your kitten isup a tree. Shaking it will scare her out of herwits. Then I’ll have to come console her.”

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Also, cats walk on tippie-toe. The back legsare used for jumping and power pushes, thefront legs for catching prey. When stalkingmice, a cat catches its prey nearly 75% of thetime. When stalking birds, only 10%.

“Hey, John, did you know that 90% ofstatistics are made up on the spot?”

(Including that one? Why would I make up anumber to make you guys look bad? If I madeit up, I’d say you catch birds 60% of the time.But this is the ‘Facts’ part, not ‘Folklore’.)

“What do you expect? We don’t have wings.Often.”

While hunting the cat is nearly silent; the tuffsof hair between its paws muffle most of itssound. Because cats are long-sighted, they relyon their whiskers rather than their eyes tosense prey close-up.

Cats are also true carnivores; one of the fewspecies on Earth that can survive solely onmeat. Unfortunately, this specialized digestivesystem means they can’t detoxify certainchemicals, making creosote, paracetamol, andorganophosphates deadly poisons in theirbodies.

“What?”

(Don’t eat anything in the medicine cabinet orchew on wood, and be careful what kind offlea medicine you let someone use on you.)

A cat’s must have fat in his diet because hecan’t produce it on his own and he’ll diewithout it. Cats can taste salt, sour and bitter,but not sweet. It is possible that certain aminoacids give a cat the same pleasurable sensationwe associate with sweet, but when youconsider the fact that chocolate is poisonous tokitty (as well as Tylenol, English ivy, iris,mistletoe, philodendrons, and yew), it’s not assad as it initially sounds.

“Chocolate is poisonous to mistletoe?”

(... Yes.)

“Too bad. At least I can get my sweets from alady friend.”

If all this information on a cat’s senses isn’tenough to impress you, consider this. A cat’ssenses are “always on,” even when he’sasleep. Snoozing on your lap, with hisconsciousness buried deep in the Land ofDreams, he can hear the rats scampering in thewalls, smell the food you’re cooking in thekitchen, and sense the vibrations in the airfrom the dog walking by. Oh, and by the way,kittens begin dreaming before they are oldenough to open their eyes.

“Hey, I’ve got one for you.”

(Go ahead.)

“We cats have a homing ability that uses abiological clock, the angle of the sun and theEarth’s magnetic field. I can almost alwaysfind somewhere I’ve been before. Try throwingyourself in the middle of nowhere and findyour way home by instinct some day.”

(Show off.)

FolkloresLet’s start at the beginning. Well, what a lot ofpeople consider the beginning. The word “cat”never appears once in the Bible. Not once.Cats are native to the region where the Biblestories take place, but there’s no mention ofthem at all. (However, if you take a look in theBook of Kells, you’ll see illustrations of catson many of its beautiful pages.) Keep that inmind as we begin our journey into the long,tangled and dark history of cats in the folkloreof man.

“To be fair, the Bible doesn’t mention pets ingeneral. But a few lions do show up.”

While the cat is never mentioned in the Bible,she’s a powerful symbol in nearly every otherreligion. Freya, the Norse goddess, owned achariot pulled by cats (sometimes grey,sometimes black and varying in number).After serving the goddess for seven years, thecats were rewarded by being turned intowitches, disguised as black cats.

“Sounds more like a curse to me, losing thisfantastic form.”

Cats were also sacred to Bast, the Egyptiangoddess, daughter of Isis and Osiris. The catsin her temple in the city of Bubastis woreheavily jeweled collars and regarded as gods.Anyone who killed a cat in that city was put todeath. (“I like that rule.”) Cats were believedto control the moon’s movement, protect thedead and had total authority over the royalhouses at night because of their ability to seethings in the dark that humans could not. Catswere so loved by the Egyptians theysometimes mummified a mouse to accompanythe cat into the afterworld. During excavationsin the ruins of Tell-Basta (the formerBubastis), the archaeologists discovered agraveyard with 300,000 mummified cats.

“I’ve met some of those cats in Dream.They’re pretty boring.”

Egyptians also believed in a creature called“The Great Cat...”

“Huh. And I’ve never even been to Egypt.”

(ahem) ... who accompanied Ra on his nightlyvoyage around the world, protecting him inApep – the World of the Dead – while he wasweak. Every night, an evil serpent named Sethtried to devour the boat, and every night, theGreat Cat sliced off the serpent’s head,allowing Ra’s magic boat to continue on itsway around the world. Egyptians kept cats intheir houses as protectors as well, keepingthem safe as they slept just as the Great Catprotected Ra.

Both Buddha and Mohammed have catsassociated with them. It is said at the

Buddha’s funeral, the cat was one of twocreatures in the entire world who did not weepat the Master’s funeral (the other was thesnake). A little further West, Mohammed cutthe sleeve off his robe rather than disturb thecat sleeping there.

“My grandfather told me that story. He saidthat the cat took the piece of cloth to her nestand kept it there. She lived to be onehundred.”

(Really?)

“That’s what he said.”

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In the West, cats have almost always beenassociated with magic, witches, and naturalphenomenon. “When kitty washes behind herears, we’ll soon be tasting Heaven’s tears” is acommon English schoolyard rhyme.

“Puffah! The saying would be meaningful if itcame out of Egypt. Cats wash like it rains inEngland. All the time!”

According to British folklore, if a cat sat withher back to the fireplace, you should expect acold night. In France, dropping a cat at acrossroads and following her would lead youto treasure, while in Germany, tortoiseshellcats were believed to see into the future andgive the gift to a lucky child in the householdthrough a scratch or a kiss. Also, if a catwashes your face and turns to the East, youcan expect company from that direction by theend of the week. Also, if you carry a cat bonein your right pocket, you’ll have good luck allday long.

“That ‘turn and face East’ one was especiallypopular in northern Europe where thecoastline faced East. Wives and mothersblessed the cats wth large gifts of meat andmilk when they believed their husbands andfathers would be home soon.”

And, despite his lack of mention in the Bible,Christian folklore tells us the cat is the onlycreature who remembered the passage from

Eden when Adam and Eve got themselveskicked out. Therefore, a cat is the onlycreature who knows how to get back.

“Yes, another secret we’re not telling. Yet.”

Cats and dogs have often been called“guardians of the hearth,” chiefly becauseancient peoples believes pritis – both good andevil – came into the house through thefireplace (remember old St. Nick?). Thus, ifyou bring a cat into the house, you must placeit by the hearth. If you do, she’ll never leave,and ensure only good spirits enter the house.

“If you no longer have a hearth, try placingthe cat near an open can of tuna.”

A cat’s “household magic” was very importantto medieval Europe. But before you can keepa cat in your house, you have to make sure hedoesn’t leave. In order to do that, carry him inthrough a window, not the front door. Thisensures the cat will never leave the house (atleast, he’ll always come back). If you place acat in the crib of a newborn child, she’llprotect that child ‘till the day she dies (acommon belief among the Pennsylvania Dutchtells placing a cat in the baby’s crib will makehis dreams come true). Masons (guys whoworked with mortar and built houses; not theconspiracy theory guys) put living cats in thefoundation of a building to ensure good luckto the inhabitants. Driving away a cat whocomes into your house voluntarily is bad luck,and finally, a visitor to the household shouldalways kiss the cat to ensure good luck on hisjourney home.

Sailors also put a lot of faith in the magicalpower of cats. Cats were often kept on boardto bring good fortune. If a sailor wasapproached by the ship’s cat, it meant goodluck, but if the cat only came halfway, itmeant he would never see home again. Aloudly mewing cat means a difficult voyagewhile a playful cat foretells a voyage withgusty winds. If a cat runs to the pier ahead of

a sailor on his way to the voyage, it bringshim good luck. But if the cat crosses his path,it means bad luck.

“Sometimes they guess fortunes by a catwandering aimlessly about the deck. The morewrong the sailors were, the more confused thecat was, and stranger their ‘fortunetelling’became.”

In America, school girls have been known touse cat hairs to determine whether or not toaccept a marriage proposal. Take three hairsfrom a cat’s tail and fold them in a paper.Place the paper under your doorstep (pillow,windowsill, etc.). Next morning, carefullyunfold the paper to see if the three hairsformed themselves into a Y or N and reply tothe suitor accordingly.

“I did a couple of these. They always involvenasty Boggins fights. It’s a sad day when a girlwise enough to invoke the practice is not wiseenough to follow the advice of herprotectors.”

While sneezing has always been a sign ofwitchcraft (if you sneeze three times, it’sbecause you’re trying to “sneeze the witchout”), a cat’s sneeze is also indicative of goodor bad luck. Also, if a cat sneezes three timesin a row, it means you’ll catch a cold.

Some Greek alchemists believed cats held thesecret to the Philosopher’s Stone. The cat’swhiskers make an “X,” the first letter in theGreek words for “crucible,” “gold” and“time.” These words are also known as TheThree Secrets. A cat has nine lives (3 x 3) andthese Three Secrets multiplied create theGrand Design, also known as thePhilosopher’s Stone (the material that changesbase metals into gold).

“A few recent humans have been deemedworthy of the secret, but the King of Catsdecided that lumps of gold appearing wouldcreate more problems for those men than itcould solve.”

Of course, in addition to storms andwitchcraft, cats have also been associated withdeath. As mentioned above, in ancient Egypt,cats were considered the guardians of thedead, but that reputation was not isolated toEgypt. Early Christians believed if a cat sat ona grave, the buried person’s soul was in thedevil’s power. In sixteenth century Italy, thesame incident caused the corpse to rise againas a vampire. In America, Scottish immigrantsbrought with them the notion that if a catentered a room where a dead body was lyingin state, the next person to touch the cat wouldbe blinded.

Meanwhile, over in Japan, cats are believed tobe some of the most advanced souls inCreation. The Buddhists believe cats turn intosuper souls when they die, for the body of acat is only a resting place of a highly spiritualsoul.

“Children in Buddhist families have beenknown to say, ‘When I grow up, I want to be acat!’”

Of course, as long as people have beenlooking to cats for wisdom, they’ve beentreating them with abject cruelty. In Europe itwas believed a cat’s tail contains a worm, andif you don’t cut off the tail, the cat will die infits. Also, if you tie paper around all fourpaws, the cat will dance herself to death, andit has been said you don’t speak secrets infront of a cat because she’ll carry them downto the devil.

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Face Rank ____

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CatA Little Game about Little Heroes

Scars ___________________

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It was Pope Gregory XI (born around 1145 anddied August 22, 1241) who first declared catsin league with the Devil in the Vox in RamaPapal Bull, causing a vast massacre of felinelife in Europe.

“Obviously, he was a dog person. And somebad cat sipped some of his breath while he wasa baby. Spoiled things for the rest of us.”

Ambrose Paré was a sixteenth centuryphysician often regarded as “the father ofmodern surgery.” He made the revolutionaryobservation that the physician’s role was: “tocure, to relieve, to comfort, and always toprevent.” He also said the cat was “a venomousanimal which infects through its hair, its breathand its brains” and encouraged mass killings ofthe creature. All of which shows even the mostenlightened men in history could still besuperstitious twits.

On the other hand, Charles I, king of England,owned a lucky black cat he was terrified oflosing. He even assigned guards to watch overit. As it happened, the day after the cat died, hewas arrested and ended his reign six inchesshorter than when he began it.

“Did he bleed to death when they chopped offhis legs?”

(No, the six inches were from the top. He wasbeheaded.)

“How rude.”

And, one last thought on historical figures andtheir associations with cats. Abraham Lincolnowned four cats. Napoleon had a nearpathological fear of them and never let onenear his person or in his sight. Take from thatwhat you will.

“Paranoia ain’t the only the inner demonhumans need to be protected from.”

* * *

(Well, little guy, I’m all done.)

“About time.”

(Sorry it took so long.)

“‘Sorry’ don’t clean the box, pal.”* * *

I started this game two years ago. I wasmarried then. I was living with two cats and adog. I was working for a company that hadnothing to do with what I loved to do: writeand play games.

Well, much has changed.

I’m no longer married, I have no pets, and I’mworking at a job I love: writing and designinggames. In the meantime, I’m also writing anddesigning games as a hobby -- and that’s whereThe Brewery comes in.

When Jared first suggested getting together fora mutual admiration club, he said, “You know,so you can finally release Cat.” Over the years,this has been the game everyone’s asked meabout. Well, Cat and Elfworld. But for somereason, this game has really captured people’simagination. Or, at least, their curiosity. Andwe all know about curiosity, now don’t we?

I’d like to thank Jared for helping meremember why I love games. And Annie for thesame reason (and for putting up with my overlydefensive reaction to her very justified edits).Also a big thanks goes out to all of you whoput your faith in The Brewery with our firstround of brews. Enemy Gods, Lacuna, and RunRobot Red were smashing successes. We hopeto continue impressing you.

Finally, a little tip of the hat to the fellow whomade this game possible. He died of felineleukemia when he was just a year and a halfold. Hours after he was gone, the ideas startedrushing into my head. It was like I was hauntedby his ghost, telling me secrets. These are thesecrets he told me. I share them now with you.Good night, little Roland. I’ll see you aftersunset.

“Heh. Not if I see you first.”

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Bonus ___

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“It’s about damn time!” -- Yog Sothoth

“Didn’t he announce this ten million years ago?” -- Shub Niggurath

“I thought he was dead!” -- Herbert West, Re-Animator

A Satirical Sanity Blasting Game of Real Estate Management!

by John Wick

Halloween2004