Warriors: Omen of the Stars #6: The Last Hope (42 page)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Narrator Tips:
The cats are lucky in that they found the foxes rather than the other way around. If the foxes had snuck up on the players’ cats, the first sign of trouble would have been the beasts charging to attack.

The number of foxes present depends on the number of players in your game (not counting the Narrator). If there are between three and five players, there are two foxes. If there are six or more players, there are three foxes. If there are only one or two players, there are at first two foxes, but as the players’ cats watch, one of the pair runs off to hunt elsewhere, leaving just a single fox. Of course, one fox is nearly twice as big as a cat.

Armed with this information, the players’ cats must again make a decision about how to proceed. To make matters more interesting, tell them that the foxes are sniffing around what seem to be very fresh rabbit tracks.

If the players ask for more information about the foxes, feel free to give them any of the information that they could have gotten in scene 13. In addition, allow the group to choose one cat to make a See Check (that can make use of the Animal Lore or Alertness Knack). If the total for this Check is 7 or higher, the cat notices that the foxes look thin and hungry. The long leaf-bare has been even tougher on them than it’s been on the Clans.

In the end, the players’ cats have three choices: attack the foxes, leave the valley and go to the highlands, or try to sneak around the foxes and keep hunting in the valley.

What Happens Next:
If the players’ cats attack the foxes, continue with
9.

If the players’ cats go into the highlands, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with
7.

If the cats try to sneak around the foxes, continue with
12.

Read Aloud:
“Finally! Tracks! Quick, follow them—but which ones?”

Narrator Tips:
The trail the players’ cats are following intersects with a collection of tracks set in a small patch of ice. These are a mix of old and new tracks that were made on a warmer day and then frozen in place when night came and the temperature dropped again.

Mostly these appear to be rabbit tracks, but there are also squirrel, raccoon, and fox tracks. This must be a spot that different creatures pass on their way to and from different locations, because the tracks come in from various directions, mingle a bit in the center, and then head off in another wide variety of directions. Improvise a scene where the cats can investigate these tracks and try to figure out which tracks are most likely to lead them to prey animals now.

In order to figure out what set of tracks to follow, the cats should each make a Ponder Check (the Animal Lore Knack can be used with this attempt) and then add their totals together to get a group total to determine which tracks they chose.

What Happens Next:
If the group total was 15 or higher, continue with
3.

If the group total was 14 or lower, continue with
5.

Read Aloud:
“Those foxes have such big ears! This isn’t going to be easy.”

Narrator Tips:
Be sure to tell the players that this is a very difficult thing to do. The foxes are already on alert because they are hunting. The cats can see the foxes’ ears twitching to hear every sound and see their noses twitch as they sniff every wind for a new scent. It’s not too late for the players to choose a different course of action—heading to the highlands or attacking the foxes while they’re still unaware of the cats’ presence.

If the group wishes to attempt sneaking around the foxes, have the players’ cats make a Sneak Check (which can be aided by use of the Stalk Knack). Each cat must have a total of 9 or higher in order for this plan to work. If any of the cats has a total of 8 or lower, the foxes hear the group.

What Happens Next:
If the players’ cats would rather strike first and attack the foxes, continue with
9.

If the players’ cats would rather go into the highlands, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with
7.

If the players’ cats successfully sneak around the foxes, continue with
6.

If the players’ cats are unsuccessful at sneaking around the foxes, continue with
9.

Read Aloud:
“As you pass through an area of deeper snow, the tracks become clearer—but that’s not necessarily a good thing.”

Narrator Tips:
Deeper snow means clearer tracks, which allows the players’ cats to get a better idea who and what they’re following. Have the group choose one cat to make a See Check (which may use the Animal Lore Knack). If that Check has a total of 7 or less, the cat can’t tell what the tracks are. If the total is between 8 and 10, the cat can tell that there are rabbit tracks—and they were made today. If the total is 11 or higher, the cat can tell that there are fox tracks in the mix, too—and that the fox tracks are the freshest.

The players must now decide whether their cats are going to continue following these tracks—perhaps knowing that one or more foxes are on the trail, too—or if they are going to give up searching in the valley and instead head up to the highlands. This probably isn’t going to be an easy decision. Foxes are dangerous. Any cat with Animal Lore can inform the group that foxes are clever, fast, and tough. A single fox can sometimes defeat up to four warriors in a single fight.

On the other hand, the valley has had fairly abundant signs of life (in particular, rabbits). Going to the highlands might lead the cats away from the foxes, but it might also lead them away from the prey animals they are looking for.

Help the players through their discussion, making sure they consider their options and understand the potential consequences. When they’ve made their decision, continue below.

What Happens Next:
If the players’ cats decide to follow the tracks in the valley, continue with
10.

If the players’ cats decide to go into the highlands, this is the end of the chapter. Hand the adventure to the next Narrator and tell him or her to continue with
7.

Read Aloud:
“Cold. All you can think about is how cold it is. No matter how brave a warrior you are, you can’t fight the cold.”

Narrator Tips:
If the adventure has reached this scene, it’s because one or more of the cats failed to escape a snowy danger—either an avalanche or a perilously deep snowfield. Being buried in snow is very disorienting. It’s dark, freezing, and in most cases difficult to even tell which way is up. It is hard to even move, let alone start digging yourself out of the predicament.