Эрин Хантер - Battles of the Clans

After the players have had a chance to talk about the issue, have all the cats make Listen Checks.

Anyone whose total is 7 or higher hears a deep, wet “schloomph” sound in the distance. Clearly at least one of the ponds has collapsed. There may be a flash flood headed down the hill right now!

What Happens Next:The group has a difficult decision to make. Will they go into ShadowClan territory to help save them from the flash flood or will they continue on their original course?

If the group decides to stay on their original course, continue with 20.

If the group decides to cross the border into ShadowClan territory to try to help, continue with 11.

4. Carried Away

Read Aloud:“You’re tumbling head over tail and rolling downhill in a slosh of water and mud.”

Narrator Tips:One or more of the cats has been caught in the collapse of the pond and the resulting flash flood. Any cats in this predicament immediately take damage that causes them to lose 3 chips.

Then they must make a Swim Check to get their heads above the water. If this Check has a total of 7

or higher they succeed, otherwise they lose an additional 2 chips.

Being caught in the flashflood uses a system of rounds just like fighting does (see Chapter Five of the game rules for details). In order to escape the flash flood, a cat needs to be pulled to safety by someone who is not currently in the water. To do that, a cat that is safely on land must make a Swat

Check with a total of 5 or higher. Each cat on dry land can only attempt to pull one cat from the water each round. At the end of the first round, the cats who are still in the water must make another Swim Check, as described above; then a new round begins.

This continues for three rounds or until either all of the cats are rescued from the flash flood or knocked out from their ordeal. What Happens Next:If all the cats were rescued from the flash flood, continue with 13.

If any of the cats were knocked out by their ordeal, continue with 7.

5. Rabbit Ears

Read Aloud:“The rabbit’s tracks are not difficult to follow. Hopping through the mud leaves deep imprints. After scampering under some bushes and over a log, the tracks lead you to a small meadow where you don’t just see one rabbit—you see several of them!”

Narrator Tips:The cats have followed their prey to an area where all the local rabbits feed. Many of the rabbits haven’t had a decent meal in days because of the rains, so quite a few are here now, chewing contentedly on grass. There are enough rabbits that each cat can try to catch one on his or her own. The problem is, the ground is still soft and muddy.

Tell the players that the slippery conditions will make it more difficult than usual to sneak up on and catch their prey (don’t tell them the details described below; they only need to know that it will be more difficult in general). Tell them also that it will be easier for them to catch prey in these poor conditions if they hunt in pairs.

Hunting is described in Chapter Five of the game rules, and those basic rules will apply to this scene. However, because of the soggy state of the ground, things will be a little different.

Because all the cats are hunting in the same area, you should have them all hunt at the same time.

If one cat attacks a rabbit, all the other rabbits in the area will flee. So you should first have all of the cats make their Sneak Checks, and then have them all make Pounce Checks at the same time.

Cats who are hunting alone must make a Sneak Check with a total of 10 or higher in order to succeed at stalking their prey. Cats who are working in pairs should each make a separate Sneak

Check, then add their totals together. If their combined total is 14 or higher, they succeed as a team.

For every cat or pair of cats that fails their Sneak Check, they were not sneaky enough to trick the rabbits and you’ll have to increase the difficulty of the Pounce Checks below by +2. So if one cat or team failed, the difficulty for all the cats is increased by +2; if two failed, the increase is +4; and so on.

When all the cats have finished making their Sneak Checks, it is time for them to try to nab their intended prey. Have all the cats make Pounce Checks. The difficulty of this Check is based on the rabbits’ Jump scores. All of the rabbits have a Jump score of 9, but this may be increased if any of the cats fail to be sneaky enough. Cats who are hunting alone have only one chance to catch their rabbit—if they miss, it gets away. Cats that are hunting in pairs may each make a Pounce attempt, so even if one is unlucky, the other may still succeed.

If the cats have successfully caught rabbits, they must Bite in order to finish them. The Bite

Check is made against the rabbit’s strength of 3. Multiple cats can bite a single rabbit, so even if a cat failed to catch one of her own, she can still help to bring down another one. If a rabbit takes 4 chips worth of damage, it is killed.

Any rabbit that is still alive after all the cats have made their attacks will try to escape. The cat (or cats) holding it must make Wrestling Checks to keep their grip and can perform another round of Bite attacks. If the Wrestling Check is 5 or higher, the cats are successful. If not, the rabbit escapes and dashes into a nearby burrow before the cats can pounce again.

What Happens Next:If at least one rabbit was caught, continue with 10.

If all of the rabbits got away, continue with 8.

6. Talking to the Shadows

Read Aloud:“Ratscar looks at you suspiciously. ‘What have you got to say that’s so important?’”

Narrator Tips:Remember that any of the players’ cats that belong to ShadowClan get bonuses to some of their Checks (as described in scene 17). Under normal circumstances, that would mean that the ShadowClan patrol cats would automatically believe what the players’ cats said—members of the same Clan trust one another. But the presence of cats from other Clans puts the members of the patrol in a very aggressive frame of mind. The fact that a member of ShadowClan is standing with these other cats instead of his or her Clanmates has clouded the patrolling cats’ judgment and they must be convinced to listen to reason.

Let the players’ cats lead the conversation, giving them sufficient time to explain themselves.

The cats of ShadowClan may be suspicious, but clearly something important must be happening if this group so brazenly crossed their border without a full war party.

The scene will center around you improvising Ratscar’s and the other ShadowClan cats’ reactions and responses to what the players’ cats say. It may also involve the players’ cats making Spirit or Intelligence Checks (aided by Orate or Clan Lore) to try to find the right words to make their opponents understand the importance and danger of this moment. Such Checks are opposed by the ShadowClan cats’ Spirit scores (and you can spend their Ability chips in the process if they are feeling particularly stubborn).

If the players’ cats do well, it will make the ShadowClan cats more likely to trust them. If they do poorly, or purposely antagonize the patrol, the ShadowClan cats may decide that fighting is the better option.