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Secrets

THЄ

Cats
ΟF

A WORLD OF
ADVENTURE FOR

Richard Βellingham
This adventure was made awesome thanks to our Patreon patrons at patreon.com/evilhat—thanks guys!

INSIDERS
Alan Daniel Linder Jack Joshua Reubens Misdirected Robert Kemp
Alan-Michael Krauklis Stephenson- José Luis Mark Rod Meek
Havens David Carr Porfírio Productions Roger Edge
Alexander Gräfe David Dorward Jacob Moffitt Katie Ramsey Morgan Ellis Ryan
Alexander R. David Ellis James F Keith Stanley Nick Bate Ryan Singer
Corbett David L Kinney Thunberg Ken Nick Reale Sanchit
Amethyst Lynx David Reed Jason Kenji Ikiryo Nicola Urbinati Sarah Vakos
Andrew Sier Donald Wheeler Jason Blalock Kevin Jiyang Li Nicolas Scott Hamilton
Anne-Sylvie Dustin Jason Cotton Kurt Zdanio Marjanovic Sean
Betsch Evermore Jason F Larry Hollis Osye Pritchett Sean O’Dell
Antero Garcia Eden Brandeis Broadley Leif Erik Furmyr Pablo Martínez Sean Smith
Arlo B Evans Edgardo A Jason Tocci Marc Mundet Merino Selene O’Rourke
ArthurDent Montes Rosa Jean-Christophe Mark Miller Patrick Ewing Shane Russom
Bastian Edward Cubertafon Marshall Smith Patrick Sharif Abed
Clarenbach MacGregor Jeff Craig Marty Mueller-Best Shervyn von
Ben McKenzie Elsidar Jeff Xilon Matt Anderson Paul Shawley Hoerl
Brandon Burger Amhransidhe Jere Krischel Matt and Nykki Paulo Rafael Tim L Nutting
Brett Abbott Emmanuel Jeremiah Boersma Guariglia Timothy Carroll
Brian Allred Eneko Zarauz McCoy Matthew Escanhoela Troy Ray
Brian Chase Frank Jeremy German Matthew Pavel Zhukov Ulf Bengtsson
Bruce Frédéri Jeremy Tidwell Broome Peter Burczyk William Huggins
C. J. Hunter POCHARD Jim Matthew Peter Gates William J. White
C.K. Lee Gavran Jin Shei Dickson Peter Hatch William Lee
Cerity Giuseppe Johannes K. Matthew Philip Nicholls William McDuff
Charlton Wilbur D’Aristotile Rasmussen Whiteacre Rafael Meyer Woodrow Jarvis
Chris Caporaso Graham John Beattie Michael Barrett Randy Oest Hill
Christopher Gregory Hirsch John Rogers Michael Richard Zach
Christopher Griffin Mitchell John Rudd Bowman Bellingham
Gunning Haakon John Wyatt Michael Rick
Dan Thunestvedt Jon Cambata Rick Jakins
Dan Moody Heron Jay Jordan Dennis Michael Riabov Rob Kirchner
Daniel Gallant Adkins Josh Flint Michael Shea Robert Hanz

ADVENTURERS
Aaron Brian S. Holt Daniel Hernandez Gabriel Whitehead Jason Mill Juanma Mark Harris Paul Olson Ryan Macklin Steven Whitelock
Adam Bruce Daniel Kraemer Garrett Jones Jason Pasch Barranquero Mark Widner Paul Stefko Ryan Olson Steven sims
Gutschenritter Bruce Harlick Daniel Ley Gary Anastasio Javier Julianna Backer Markus Haberstock Paul Tayloe Ryven Cedrylle Svend Andersen
Adam Hesselfeldt Bryan Daniel Markwig Gavin Jayna Pavlin Julien Delabre Markus Schoenlau Paul Yurgin Samuel Sławomir Wrzesień
Aidan Grey Bryan Gillispie Daniel P. Espinosa Geoff Jeff Tilotson Justin Markus Widmer Pavel Panchekha Samuel Phinizy Teresa Oswald
Alan Phillips Bryan Hilburn Daniel Roe Geoffrey Jeffrey Boman Justin Thomason Martin Deppe Pete Samuel Tevel Drinkwater
Alasdair Bryce Daniel Taylor Gian Domenico Jeffrey Collyer Jürgen Rudolph Mason Pete Figtree Steinbock-Pratt The Roach
Alejandro Caleb Figgers Darren Lute Facchini Jens Kaarchin Mathias Exner Peter Griffith Sarah Williams Thom
Alejandro Angel Carl McLaughlin Dave Glynn Stewart Jeremy Glick Kalle Saarela Matthew Cody Peter Kahle Sarn Thomas
Alexis Lee Carl-William David Gonzalo Dafonte Jeremy Hamaker Karl Naylor Matthew Gushta Peter Woodworth Schubacca Thomas Balls-Thies
Alistair Palmqvist David Bellinger Garcia Jeremy Kear Kean Stuart Matthew Miller Phil Groff Scot Ryder Thomas Maund
Allan Bray Carlos Flores David Bowers Graham Meinert Jeremy Wong Kenny Snow Matthew Whalley Philip Harboe Scott Acker Tim
Andrew Dacey Carlos Martín David Greg Park Jesse Kenny the Matti Rintala Larsen Scott Dexter Timo
Andrew Grant Chad Barber Buswell-Wible Gregg Workman Jesse E. Hamer Cabbage Maurice Strubel Philipp Pötz Scott Greenleaf Timothy Seiger
Andrew Lloyd Charles Chapman David Gatt Gustavo Joanna Kent Snyen Max Kaehn Philippe Marichal Scott Krok Todd Estabrook
Andrew Loch Charles Kirk David Goodwin Campanelli Joe Kevin Flynn Mel White Philippe Saner Scott Martin Todd Grotenhuis
Andy Arminio Chip Dunning David Maple HFB Joe Patterson Kevin Harrison Michael Phillip Webb Scott Puckett Torolf de Merriba
Angus MacDonald Chris & Brigid Hirst David Millians Heather Joel Beebe Kevin Lindgren Michael D. Piers Beckley Scott Thede Trevor Crosse
Anthony Popowski Chris Challacombe David Morrison Herman Duyker John Kevin McDermott Blanchard Porter Williams Scott Vondrasek Trevor Stark
Antoine Pempie Chris Edwards David Olson Hillary Brannon John Bogart Kevin Payne Michael Hill R. Brian Scott Scott Wachter Tyler Hunt
Anão é irmao Chris Heilman David Rezak Howard M John Buczek Kevin Veale Michael Hopcroft Rachael Hixon Sean M. Dunstan Tyson Monagle
Arlene Medder Chris Kurts David Stern Thompson John Clayton Kieren Martin Michael McCully Ralf Wagner Sean Smith Udo Femi
Arne Baben­ Chris Lock Davide Orlandi Huston Todd John Fiala Krista Michael Thompson Raun Sedlock Sergio Le Roux Urs Blumentritt
hauser­heide Chris Nolen Denis Ryan Ian Charlton John Hildebrand Kurtis Peterson Mighty Meep Raymond Toghill Seth Clayton Victor Allen
Asier Serras Chris Turner Dianne Ian Noble John Lambert LarrxX N’Gham Mike Esmailzadeh Reynaldo Seth Hartley Vincent Arebalo
Athalbert Christian Lajoie Didier Bretin Ian Stanley John Petritis Les Simpson Mike de Jong Ricardo Gesuatto Seán Harnett Vladimir Filipović
Augustas Christoph Thill Dillard Ibon Presno John Portley Lester Ward Mitchell Smallman Rich Palij Simon Browne Warren P Nelson
Vaitkevičius Christopher Allen Don Arnold Gonzalez John Taber Lindsey Wilson NPC CAST Richard Greene Simon Brunning Wayne Peacock
Austin Stanley Christopher Doug Blakeslee Indi Latrani John Tobin Link Hughes Naomi McArthur Richard Lock Simon White Whitt
Aviv Sigmund Douglas Irene Strauss John William Lisa Hartjes Nathan Barnes Richard Warren Simon Withers William Carroll
Barac Wiley Christopher Smith Doyce Testerman Ismael McDonald Lobo Nathan Reed Rishi Agrawal Sion Rodriguez y William Chambers
Bastien Daugas Adair Dragoș Costache JP Johnathan Wright Loren Norman Neal Dalton Rob Voss Gibson William Johnson
Beket Christopher Drew Shiel Jack Gulick Jon Rosebaugh Louie Perez Nessalantha Robb Neumann Stacey Chancellor William Keller
Benjamin Welke Stone-Bush Duncan Jackson Hsieh Jon Smejkal Lowell Francis Nicholas Pilon Robert Biskin Stan Shinn Winston
Bill Christopher W. Eirch Mascariatu Jaime Robertson Jon-Pierre Luca Agosto Nicholas Sokeland Robert Daines Stefan Feltmann Crutchfield
Björn Steffen Dolunt Eric I Jake Linford Jonas Richter Lucas Bell Nick Robert Huss Stephan A. Terre WinterKnight
Blackdere Chuck Eric Poulton James Crowell Jonathan Lukar Nick Townsend Robert Rees Stephanie Bryant Yong
Blake Hutchins Cody Marbach Erik Ottosen James Heide Jonathan Finke M Kenny Olav Müller Robert Zasso Stephen Caffrey Zeb Walker
Bo Bertelsen Cole Busse Ernie Sawyer James Husum Jonathan Hobbs M. Alan Thomas II Oliver Scholes Roger Carbol Stephen Holder Zed Lopez
Brad Davies Colin Etienne Olieu James Rouse Jonathan Lee M.H. Owen Duffy Roland Stephen Hood Zonk PJ Demonio
Brandon Metcalf Corey Brin Evan Jorgenson James Schultz Jonathan Rose Manfred Owen Thompson Ron Stephen Rider Sonriente
Brandon Wiley Craig Andera Fagner Lima James Stuart Jonathan Young Marc PK Ron Müller Stephen Waugh
Brandt Craig Mason Florent Poulpy Jamie Wheeler Joonas Iivonen Marcel Lotz Pablo Palacios RoninKelt Steve Ela
Brendan Conway Curt Meyer Cadio Jan Stals Jose A. Marcel Wittram Paolo Castelli Ross Hellwig Steve Gilman
Brent Ritch Cyrano Jones Florian Greß Janet Jose Espinoza Marcus Paolo Cecchetto Roy Steve Kunec
Brett Ritter Dain Francisco Jared Hunt Joseph Formoso Mario Dongu Patrice Hédé Roy LaValley Steve Radabaugh
Brian Dan Behlings Frank Beaver Jason Bean Joshua Mark Patrice Mermoud Russell Hoyle Steven Code
Brian Koehler Dan Hall Frank G. Pitt Jason Best Joshua Ramsey Mark A. Schmidt Patrick Gamblin Ryan Burpee Steven D Warble
Brian Kurtz Daniel Chapman Frank Jarome Jason Lee Waltman Juan Francisco Mark Diaz Truman Paul Arezina Ryan D. Kruse Steven K. Watkins
Brian McDaniel Daniel Hagglund Frédérick Périgord Jason Lund Gutierrez Mark Gedak Paul Baldowski Ryan Lee Steven Maloney
THE
SECRETS
OF CATS
A WORLD OF
ADVENTURE FOR

writing & adventure


design by
RICHARD
BELLINGHAM

development by
LEONARD BALSERA
and ROB DONOGHUE

editing by
JOSHUA YEARSLEY

art direction & layout by


FRED HICKS

interior & cover


artwork by
CRYSTAL FRASIER
An Evil Hat Productions Publication
www.evilhat.com • [email protected]
@EvilHatOfficial on Twitter
facebook.com/EvilHatProductions

The Secrets of Cats


EHP0008 • Softcover ISBN 978-1-61317-091-5
Copyright © 2014 Evil Hat Productions, LLC and Richard Bellingham.
All rights reserved.

First published in 2014 by Evil Hat Productions, LLC.


10125 Colesville Rd #318, Silver Spring, MD 20901.

Evil Hat Productions and the Evil Hat and Fate logos are
trademarks owned by Evil Hat Productions, LLC. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a


retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior express permission of the publisher.

That said, if you’re doing it for personal use, knock yourself out.
That’s not only allowed, we encourage you to do it.

For those working at a copy shop and not at all sure if this means
the person standing at your counter can make copies of this thing, they can.
This is “express permission.” Carry on.

This is a game where people make up stories about wonderful, terrible,


impossible, glorious things. All the characters and events portrayed in this
work are fictional. Any resemblance to real people, haunting spirits, vermin, or
magical talking shapeshifting cats is purely coincidental, but kinda hilarious.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements.....................................................................................2
Using This Supplement...............................................................................2

Part I: The Duty of Cats: Introduction............................................ 3


The Hidden World........................................................................................3
Sapient Animals............................................................................................ 4
The Duty of Cats.......................................................................................... 4
The Parliament of Cats.............................................................................. 4
What Cats Do.................................................................................................5
Feline Magic....................................................................................................7

Part II: The Naming of Cats: Character Creation.......................... 8


Quick Reference ...........................................................................................8
On Being a Cat...............................................................................................9
Aspects...........................................................................................................10
Skills ................................................................................................................ 12
Magic Skills.................................................................................................... 13
Normal Stunts............................................................................................. 26

Part III: Silver Ford..........................................................................30


Issues in Silver Ford................................................................................... 31
Places & Faces............................................................................................. 31

Part IV: Black Silver......................................................................... 32


Adventure Overview................................................................................. 32
The Beginning............................................................................................. 33
Questioning or Following the Rats..................................................... 33
Investigating the Dark Place.................................................................. 35
The Next Morning…................................................................................... 35
Next Steps.................................................................................................... 39
Hieronymous’ Price................................................................................... 39
Local History................................................................................................ 39
Dealing with the Burning Ghost........................................................... 42
Stopping the Rat King............................................................................. 42

Part V: Complications and Threats...............................................45


Complications.............................................................................................45
Threats ..........................................................................................................46

Inspirations & Related Media.........................................................49

Random Tables for Random Cats..................................................50


True Name Generator...............................................................................50
Burden Generator....................................................................................... 51
Cat Stunt Generator.................................................................................. 52
Acknowledgements
Thanks go to my good friend and alpha reader Jon Peacock, to my playtesters
Rodrigo, Peter, Laurie, and Blake, and to Fred, Rob, Sean, Lenny, and all the
Evil Hat crew for giving me this opportunity. Thanks also to the members of the
Google+ Fate Core Community who gave valuable feedback on early drafts of
this project, including Jack Stephenson-Carr, who suggested the Warden’s Cat
Walk power, as well as Jon Smejkal and Hans Messersmith for their feedback on
the Seeker’s Prognostication power.
And last but not least, thanks to my wonderful partner Blake for his patience
in putting up with me talking about this thing constantly for the last few months.

Using This Supplement


In The Secrets of Cats you’ll play magical cats whose duty is to protect their poor,
vulnerable humans—whom they call Burdens—from the many threats that
lurk in the night.
Part I focuses on the duty of cats and the world they inhabit, while Part II
gives you everything you need to create and play an empowered feline. Part III
describes an old mining town called Silver Ford and Part IV outlines a story
set there called Black Silver. When kids exploring the old silver mine one
Halloween unleash a terrible evil upon the town, can your cats save the day?
Finally, Part V suggests complications and threats for your cats to deal with in
Silver Ford or your own corner of the world.

2 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


PART I: THE DUTY OF CATS: INTRODUCTION
“Settle down now,” Jezzabella says, peering down at you from her lofty perch. Chastened,
you try to sit still and ignore the bug you’d been hunting. She nods slightly and then
looks from kitten to kitten, each of them quieting as swiftly as you did under her
searchlight gaze. Silence falls and she draws out the moment, her tail switching lazily
back and forth as she inspects you. You crane your neck to see her and try not to fidget.
“I’m here to speak with you today about every cat’s sacred duty,” she says at last, her
voice a soft, husky purr. “A duty to the Burdens in our lives.
“They seem big and powerful, don’t they? They make and control clever machines.
They tame dogs and other dangerous animals. But the truth is that humans, without
our help, are as helpless as suckling kittens.
“It is our duty to protect them from things they don’t understand, things they don’t
believe exist; evil things that come for them in the night. Things that will hurt them
if we fail.
“You will never be thanked, because your Burdens can never know what you do for
them. But you and your magic will save them, time after time.”
Jezzabella pauses, looking down at each of you as you sit taller, practically glowing
with purpose.
At last she narrows her eyes in satisfaction and nods. “If you’re sitting comfortably,
then I’ll begin.”

The Hidden World


We occupy a different world from our Burdens, a world filled with sapient ani-
mals and all manner of spirits, creatures, and monsters. Not everything in this
hidden world is hostile, but it’s difficult to tell a harmless pixie from a needle-
toothed monster with a taste for human noses—and it’s better to be safe than
sorry.
Most human myths contain a grain of truth. There really is a faerie realm that
touches ours in the wild places, and horned hermits sometime emerge from the
woods to snatch up careless campers. Ghosts of people and sapient animals exist,
as do malevolent spirits that inspire stories about demons. Whatever you can
imagine, it’s out there, somewhere.
But we must also look closer to home; the most insidious evil of all is a rogue
cat willing to sacrifice sapient animals—including other cats—in their quest for
ultimate power.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 3


Sapient Animals
A sapient animal is one capable of true thought, not driven by mere instinct. The
capacity for sapience varies by species: cats, crows, and ravens are almost always
gifted, while dogs, squirrels, and mice rarely are. All sapient animals can speak
with one another, and—though we often clash—many of us also have allies of
other species. Such relationships are usually based on mutual self-interest rather
than friendship, but there are exceptions. Ungifted animals greatly respect sapi-
ent members of their species and often obey them without hesitation.

The Duty of Cats


The world is not as simple as humans pretend. They like to believe in the illu-
sions of cause and effect, action and reaction, but the reality they acknowledge is
only a fraction of all that is. Some people, especially children, leave their minds
open to the possibility of the supernatural and thus see the monsters hiding in
the darkness.
We cats know better, too—a fortunate truth for our Burdens. While humans
scurry about their workaday lives, we nap in the sunlight and wait for night to
fall. Then we stand vigil while they sleep, ready to protect them with tooth and
claw and a legacy of ancient magic.
Your duty is to protect your Burdens from the dark forces that would do them
harm. Fortunately, you won’t have to do it alone.

The Parliament of Cats


As brave and magical as you are, many threats we face are far more powerful. To
vanquish such horrors we must work together, but we cats are territorial and dif-
ficult to organize. Thus we have our Parliament of Cats, a democratic council of
the region’s felines. Each Parliament meets at least monthly to discuss important
matters and to deal with disciplinary issues and disputes among its members.

If you’re going to play The Secrets of Cats as a campaign, rather than


just the adventure we’ve provided, you’ll need current and impending
issues. Here’s our suggestion:
Current Issue: Literally Herding Cats. Cats try hard to work together,
but doing so is very much against their nature.
Impending Issue: Enemies in Concert. The cats’ greatest advantage
is that their foes don’t work together. If their adversaries formed alle-
giances, the cats would have quite a threat to fight against.
Of course, you don’t have to use these.

4 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


What Cats Do
We dedicate ourselves to protecting our Burdens, but that’s not all we do. There’s
plenty to occupy the rest of our time.
Territorial Matters: To a cat every place falls into one of three categories: my ter- For more
ritory, something else’s territory, or not my territory yet—and the lines between on territory,
the last two are often blurry. Very rarely will we designate a neutral ground, see the
where those living in the area agree not to take it as our own territory…for now. Territory
Despite the importance of our sacred duty, most of us spend much of our time skill on
jealously guarding our territory, fighting rival cats and other sapient animals in page 12.
border disputes. We do this because winning and keeping large swaths of terri-
tory earns serious respect from other animals and makes it easier to find what
we need.
Forewarned Is Forearmed: We must anticipate dangers and prepare to deal
with them if and when they materialize. It is important to regularly consult
with Seekers who can foretell the future, and we must confer often with other
members of the Parliament and local sapient animals to keep abreast of impend-
ing issues. We also organize regular patrols of trouble spots, like the Blue Moon
Woods here in Silver Ford. Every cat is responsible for keeping our land safe;
each of us takes a turn on patrol while our own territory is watched by allies.
Training and Education: Kittens have to learn the techniques and duties of
cats at some point. Ideally your parents would have taught you, but most cats
are taken soon after birth and sent to homes far away. It therefore falls to experi-
enced cats to train our juniors in small, manageable groups.
Mundane Threats: Many threats don’t pose any danger to our Burdens, but
do to us. Nasty children with strings of firecrackers, vicious dogs, overzealous
animal catchers: these are just a few examples. They must be handled if our
community is to thrive. One of the most dangerous missions we undertake is
the animal shelter run, a desperate effort to free our brothers and sisters from
captivity and potential death. Burglars, murderers, and arsonists threaten our
Burdens, of course, so we must protect them from these threats as well as the
more esoteric ones.

HOW BIG IS A REGION?


The region over which your Parliament presides can vary a lot. The entire
town of Silver Ford is managed by just one Parliament, but in New York
City each Parliament only handles a region a few blocks wide. Cats have
no reliable means of communicating across great distances, especially
in urban areas where busy roads and other obstacles make it impractical
for messengers to travel widely.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 5


Feline Politics: A Parliament of Cats is, as the name implies, a political organi-
zation. The leader of each Parliament can heavily influence the group’s overall
strategy, but it’s still a democracy… more or less. Every cat has an opinion on
how things ought to be done, and those cats most involved in the Parliament
spend much time lobbying other members and maneuvering for power to make
their opinions count more than others’.
Legal matters are also of great importance, as each Parliament arbitrates dis-
putes between its members and disciplines cats who break the rules.
Each Parliament has its own bylaws, but common to all is the First Rule:
Don’t let the humans find out what we can do.
Our ancestors were revered as gods in ancient Egypt, and the word “feline” is
related to the Latin word for “lucky,” but in medieval times we were viewed as
symbols of evil or vanity and thousands of us were burned alive.
We’re not taking any chances.

COMMON PARLIAMENTARY RULES


Your Parliament may have different rules, but these ones are common:

• Don’t spy on each other from the astral plane

• Don’t maim or kill another member of the Parliament except in


self-defense

• Never sacrifice a sapient being to power your magic

6
Feline Magic
Human magicians use the principle of sympathy to cast spells on a subject
through a picture or effigy. Similarly, feline magic uses the link between some-
thing’s name and the thing itself. Knowing the True Name of your target will
make your magic easier to perform and more powerful.
Discovering the True Names of our enemies is a critical part of our work. This
is an easy task for most humans because their True Names are the same as their
given names. They’re careless and often speak their full names aloud or leave
them lying around on pieces of paper for those of us with Seeking to find.
Sapient animals and supernatural creatures are much more cautious with their
True Names—finding them out can be arduous indeed. Even spirits that were
once human learn to adopt new names or titles. You might find their True Names
written on tombstones or old papers. Otherwise, you may have to befriend the
target, trick them, eavesdrop on them, or interrogate them or their allies.
Our most potent magics must be fueled by blood sacrifice. To lengthen and
empower our spells, we will kill a small animal like a bird, mouse, frog, or rat
and pour its life force into our spells. Of course, no decent feline would sacrifice
a sapient animal.
There are four schools of magic. Each of us can only ever master one school For more,
and unlock its most powerful abilities, but experienced cats usually have some see “Magic
ability with all four. Skills” on
page 13.
• Warding is the school of protection and defense. A master of the art is
accorded the title of Warden.
• Naming is the school of manipulation and control. A master of this school
is known as a Namer.
• Shaping is the school of self-transformation, and a master is called a Shaper.
• Seeking is the school of seers and oracles. A master is known as a Seeker.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 7


PART II: THE NAMING OF CATS:
CHARACTER CREATION

Quick Reference
Creating a cat in The Secrets of Cats is very similar to creating a character in the
Fate Core System:
• Refresh: 3—up to two points can be spent on additional magic or
normal stunts.
• Aspects: High Concept, Trouble, Burdens, True Name, Free Aspect.
• Skills: One Great (+4), two Good (+3), three Fair (+2), four Average (+1).
The skill options are Athletics, Burglary, Deceive, Empathy, Fight,
Investigate, Lore, Notice, Physique, Provoke, Rapport, Stealth, Territory,
and Will, as well as the magic skills: Warding, Naming, Shaping, and
Seeking.
• Magic Stunts: Pick 3. Exclusive stunts require the high concept to con-
tain the relevant title (Warden, Namer, Shaper, Seeker).
• Normal Stunts: Pick 3.
• Stress: 2 mental boxes, 2 physical boxes. Will and Physique increase
stress as normal.
• Consequences: 1 mild, 1 moderate, and 1 severe. Superb Will and
Physique provide extra mild consequences as normal.

8 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


On Being a Cat
A lot of the fun in The Secrets of Cats comes from cats being very different pro-
tagonists than human beings.
Nature: While the cats in this game are sapient and possessed of great magical
powers, they’re still cats. They are easily distracted by laser pointers or pieces of
string, and their predatory instincts can make it difficult for them to keep prey
alive for interrogation. They aren’t generally fond of water and tend to poke their
noses into places where they shouldn’t. These tendencies are fertile ground for
compels on a cat’s high concept. Similarly, cats can invoke their high concepts to
be good at things like balancing on a narrow rail or surviving a fall.
Senses: Cats have excellent night vision and can see in color, but struggle to
distinguish between colors near the red end of the spectrum. They can’t see if
there’s no light at all and can’t hold flashlights, so in totally dark environments
they must rely on magic or their other senses. Fortunately, their sense of smell is
more than ten times better than humans’, and they have a preternatural ability
to sense air currents, objects, and spaces around them with their whiskers. Cats
hear low-pitched sounds about as well as humans, but they can detect sounds at
much higher pitches—higher than even dogs can sense.
Literacy: Cats have no written language and generally can’t read human lan-
guages. They can however leave simple messages for each other such as “Stay
away!” or “Danger here!” with scent markings, and can understand similar mes-
sages left by other animals.
Naiveté: Cats, clever as they are, know a lot about the human world. However,
being outsiders, they are often baffled by the things that humans do or use.
Most cats can’t read pictographic signs, so they can’t benefit from human books
and histories. Rather than using their own experience, cats often have to piece
together clues to understand human behaviors and tools. GMs, you can describe
clues and events from this outsider’s perspective and require Lore or Investigate
rolls for cats to know even relatively basic things about the way humans do
things. As a part of the cat’s high concept, this is also rich fodder for compels.

Richard describes how the group finds a shoeprint outside the old
mine that’s relatively small and has an animal footprint on top of it.
It’s obvious to Peter that the impression was made by a kid’s sneaker
with a decal on the sole, but his cat Swift thinks it must be a small
human being followed by an unknown animal.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 9


Aspects
Cats have the following aspects:
High Concept
As for humans, this aspect describes who you are and what you do. Specializing
in one of the schools of magic means that you must add the relevant title—
Warden, Namer, Shaper, or Seeker (page 13).

Tack’s high concept is Greedy Seeker.

Trouble
Your trouble causes drama in your life. You might be curious to a fault, bad-
tempered, or a sucker for flattery. Perhaps your Burdens won’t let you leave the
house, you’re haunted by an old enemy, or you live with a mean dog. Or maybe
there’s a fear or habit that you struggle to overcome.

Jezzabella’s trouble is Youth Is Wasted on the Young, representing


her impatience with the young cats she works with. This often leads
her to do things herself that she really ought to delegate to younger
felines.

Burdens
This aspect details the Burdens in your life. In less cat-centric terms, Burdens are
the people your cat is dedicated to protecting, whether an entire neighborhood
or a single homeless person. If you’re a stray, pick a person or people whom
you sometimes visit and think are worthy of protection. Describe them in an
interesting way that suggests invokes or compels—cats call people Burdens for
a reason! While you might accumulate more Burdens throughout your life, you
begin with a Burden of one person or group of people.

Jezzabella’s Burden is Witchy Widow Haggerty, a frail old lady who


the local children think is a witch. Tack’s Burden is Everyone on My
Street because he lives from house to house and considers all of the
street’s residents to be under his protection.

10 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


True Name
You learned your True Name in a dream soon after you became an adult. You
earned your True Name from your actions—it might be Brave Warrior or
Silent Hunter—and it’s part of your core identity. To share your True Name is
a sign of great trust and respect, because someone who knows it has enormous
power over you.
Your True Name might relate to an adventure shared with another PC during
early adulthood. If you’re struggling to come up with a True Name, discuss your
character’s history and coming of age with the other players.

Rod is struggling to come up with a True Name for his Warden, Black
Paw, so he discusses his character’s early life with the group. He
describes that Black Paw was forced to sacrifice his brother’s life in
order to save his Burden. Black Paw upheld his duty over his own sib-
ling’s life, so Rod chooses a True Name of Oath-Keeper.

A CAT HAS THREE NAMES


Your True Name is your third and final name, but you have two others.
First is your everyday name, chosen by the humans in your life. You’re
unlikely to answer to this name, and you’ll probably be gravely offended
if it’s used by anyone who should know better.
Your kitten name was a physical characteristic or personality trait, like
“Clumsy” or “Brown Ear.” On the day you became an adult, you shed that
name and replaced it with your own chosen name, though you may have
decided to keep your kitten name or a variation of it.

Free Aspect
This aspect can be anything you’d like. For example, you could establish a rela-
tionship with another PC and invent some shared backstory, but you don’t have
to if nothing comes to mind. Write this aspect in the “Other Aspects” category
of your character sheet.

Swift once protected Black Paw’s Burden, Lily, while Black Paw was
busy elsewhere. Because of this mutually beneficial relationship, Swift
chooses I’ll Scratch Your Back If You Scratch Mine as her free aspect.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 11


Skills
Your cat gets one Great (+4) skill, two Good (+3) skills, three Fair (+2) skills, and
four Average (+1) skills.
Regular Skills: These skills work the same as in Fate Core: Athletics, Burglary,
Deceive, Empathy, Fight, Investigate, Lore, Notice, Physique, Provoke, Rapport,
Stealth, and Will.
Contacts and Resources: These skills are replaced by Territory, which reflects
how much space you control. Maintaining a large territory will make other cats
and animals respect you and means you have more resources at your disposal. It
also makes you a target for those who want to expand their own turf.
Want to find an albino squirrel for a rare ritual needed to fend off a hungry
wendigo? Roll Territory to know where you can find one on your land. Want to
find out what’s being whispered behind your back? Roll Territory to find a cat
impressed enough with you to spill it. Involved in a pissing contest with another
cat for the deputy leadership of your Parliament of Cats? Roll Territory to create
an advantage related to how big, powerful, and well known you are.
Defeating an animal with Territory in a conflict lets you steal some of his turf.
When this happens, the winner and loser each writes down a situation aspect
that persists until the loser persuades the winner to give his turf back or beats the
winner in a conflict. You can’t be saddled with more negative Territory aspects
than the rating of your Territory skill.

Tack defeats a malevolent rabbit called The Lop in a fight and opts
to steal part of his territory. Tack writes down Stole the Area in Back
of The Lop’s Hutch and The Lop writes down Tack Stole the Area in
Back of My Hutch. These aspects stay in play until The Lop wins his
turf back.

THE FULL SKILL LIST


Athletics Investigate Provoke Territory
Burglary Lore Rapport Warding*
Deceive Naming* Seeking* Will
Empathy Notice Shaping*
Fight Physique Stealth

* Skills marked with an asterisk are magic


skills, covered on the following pages.

12 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Magic Skills
The four magic skills are Warding, Naming, Seeking, and Shaping.
If you try to use a magical skill rated at Mediocre (+0) or below, you must pay
a serious cost (Fate Core System, page 189) regardless of whether you succeed, tie,
or fail. You also can’t buy any of its stunts.
If you have a magical skill rated at Average (+1) or above, you can use it to
accomplish the actions listed for that school and may buy any of its stunts not
listed as exclusive.
To buy a school’s exclusive stunts, you must master that school. When you
master a magical school, add Warden, Namer, Seeker, or Shaper to your high
concept as appropriate. You can only ever master one school, and your choice
is final. No other magical skill may be higher than the skill you have mastered.
If you don’t master a school at character creation, then the most powerful
magic won’t be available to you, but you’ll keep your options open for later. You
can master a school at any milestone, adding its title to your high concept.
You have three points to spend on magical stunts, but you can buy more by
spending points of refresh as normal.
The lists of magical stunts in this chapter are not exhaustive. When designing
new stunts, make them appropriate to the relevant school of magic and be sure
to highlight the importance of sacrifice and True Names. Any magical effect
that involves another target is easier, cheaper, or more powerful if you know the
target’s True Name.
GMs, if a stunt requires a sacrifice, talk with the players about whether hunt-
ing for the prey needs to be played out. Usually it’s only warranted if the char-
acters are limited by time or are handicapped. Hunting for prey is a challenge
involving Stealth and Fight with a base time of one sleep.

CAT TIMEKEEPING
The smallest time interval recognized by cats is the
nap—about 15 minutes, the length of an average cat
nap. A sleep is about an hour long. Longer periods are
measured in half days, days, weeks, months, and years.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 13


Warding
Practitioners of this school of magic are a bulwark against the forces of evil.
You can use Warding to overcome a ward set up against you
OOvercome:
specifically or cats in general.
an Advantage: By sacrificing a small animal and leaving its corpse
CCreate
as an offering to Death, you raise a powerful magical barrier around a
place. Left untampered, this ward lasts until the sacrificial offering is nothing
but bones, but humans tend to remove them long before that stage. To prevent
interference, you may need to find ingenious hiding places for your offerings.
The corpse must be fresh when you create the ward—one sleep old or less—but
it doesn’t have to be complete; you might like to bite the head and front parts off
for a tasty snack before you get to work.
You can ward any place with a defined boundary like a wall, fence, or hedge.
The opposition to creating the ward starts at Average (+1) for an area of up
to two rooms, Fair (+2) for a house or area of similar size, or Great (+4) for
anything up to half a mile in diameter. For each general or specific threat you
want to block with the ward, increase the opposition by one. If you know a foe’s
True Name, then adding her to the ward won’t increase the opposition. A ward
cannot be altered once created; if you wish to defend against new threats, you
must raise a new ward.
Succeeding with style when creating a ward gives you an extra free invoke. For
every two additional shifts, you get another free invoke.
When a magical threat tries to enter a warded area, he will encounter what
seems to be a solid, transparent dome that blocks his progress. A mundane threat
will instead find that “luck” conspires against her to deny entry—lockpicks
break, doors jam, windows refuse to shatter, and so on. If the ward’s boundary is
intangible—like the edge of a clearing—then stones trip her, roots entangle her,
branches jab her in the eye, or she simply gets confused and turned around. You
immediately sense any attempt to breach your ward, and you can roll Warding
to actively oppose the intrusion, regardless of where you are. If your ward is
breached, it remains intact and will block the target again if the foe leaves the
warded area and tries to return. You may choose to override the ward and allow
a threat to enter.
You can raise as many wards as you like, but an area can only be protected
by one ward at a time. This is sometimes abused by cat troublemakers who
deliberately over-extend their wards through an entire neighborhood, making it
impossible for fellow felines to create their own wards.

14 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Jezzabella wants to create a ward around Witchy Widow Haggerty’s
home that will keep out rats and one human she knows by sight. The
base opposition to the Warding roll is Fair (+2); adding “rats” (+1)
and “that creepy human guy” (+1) as designated threats increases
the opposition to Great (+4). If she knew the human’s True Name,
then adding him as a designated threat wouldn’t increase the oppo-
sition, meaning the final opposition would be Good (+3). Starting
with Average (+1) Warding, she rolls and gets ++++, for a total
of Superb (+5). She succeeds and gets one free invoke on the ward.

Wardens can lead a chorus of cats to improve an existing ward. Each cat in the
chorus must have Warding at Average (+1) or better, but need not be a Warden.
Every cat in the chorus must sing for at least one sleep. If interrupted, you must
begin again from the start. When you finish the song, the ward gains an extra
free invoke per cat in the chorus. Regardless of the ward’s designated threats, any
cat in the chorus can enter or exit the warded area and can extend this permis-
sion to anyone they choose.

AAttack: Warding isn’t used to attack.


You can use Warding to defend someone inside your ward
DDefend:
against attacks from a designated threat, even if you aren’t there. If you
fail, then you become the target of the attack, taking your choice of mental or
physical stress.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 15


Warding Stunts
These stunts do not require a sacrifice.
Invisibility: You whisper your True Name backward to create an inverted ward
around you, making you Invisible until the end of the scene. Roll Warding
against passive opposition from the environment: it might be Superb (+5) if
you’re a dark grey cat trying to hide in a bright white corridor, but Average
(+1) if you’re in a dark alleyway. If you’re a Warden, you can make multiple tar-
gets invisible by hiding everyone in a zone (+2 opposition) or by splitting your
shifts among the targets chosen. Success with style grants an extra free invoke
as normal.
Shadow Armor (Exclusive): You gather the surrounding shadows to armor your
body, turning your fur black and your eyes into empty holes touched with faint
glimmers of starlight. Gain Armor equal to your Warding for the rest of the
scene and fill your lowest mental consequence. You can only use this power after
nightfall or in dark places. This power can reduce the physical stress transferred
to you from an active ward or by Absorb, but doesn’t protect against attacks
based on fire or light. While in this unnatural form, you can use Fight to attack
spirits and vice versa.
Absorb (Exclusive): You whisper your and an ally’s True Names to a pebble,
linking you until the next sunrise or sunset. While you touch the pebble, any
stress your ally would take is halved (rounded down), and the remainder you
take as your choice of mental or physical stress. You can drop the pebble at
any time, except when dice are being rolled against your ally. Anyone else who
touches the pebble while this stunt is active shares a Strong Link with you and
your ally (see Seeking on page 22). You can only protect one ally with this
stunt at a time.
Cat Walk (Exclusive): By whispering your True Name to the air, you create
wards set against yourself that are shaped in cunning ways. You can manifest
temporary bridges, gantries, or ramps of pure force that let you climb to other-
wise inaccessible places. You can use this power to overcome relevant obstacles
or to create advantages related to being in a weird or unexpected position. The
First Rule of the Parliament of Cats means this power mustn’t be used in sight of
humans; it has led to some embarrassing incidents for cats seen atop trees with
no way down.

16 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Naming
This school of magic lets you exert terrifying and direct control over a foe by
using his True Name. Masters of this art are respected and feared in equal mea-
sure because a proficient Namer can do almost anything to a victim whose
True Name she knows. Giving your True Name to a master of Naming is either
incredibly foolhardy, a sign of great trust, or both.
You can use your power over your own True Name to remove
OOvercome:
aspects related to mental domination or caused by hostile applications of
Naming.
an Advantage: You can sacrifice a small animal and whisper a
CCreate
target’s name to bless or curse it, wherever it is. Targets can defend them-
selves with Will or Naming. The aspect created must be specific and lasts until
the next sunrise or sunset. If you don’t know the target’s True Name, your magic
is weaker—the target gets +2 to defend, and success with style confers no addi-
tional benefit. You can only apply one blessing or curse to a given target at a
time. Examples: Blessed with Luck in the Fight Against Black Heart, Cursed
with Severe Nausea.

AAttack: Naming isn’t used to attack without a relevant stunt.


You can use your mastery of your own True Name to defend
DDefend:
against Naming used on you.

17
Naming Stunts
Harm: You’re proficient enough with Naming to directly harm an enemy within
one zone of you. Speaking your foe’s True Name to a small animal in your paws,
you wound the animal to inflict identical but larger injuries on your target. This
is a Naming attack, defended with Will or Naming. Scale does not apply to this
stunt (page 20). The small animal won’t die unless you inflict a consequence
on your target, and you may limit attacks made with this power to one shift of
stress. You can be disarmed if a compel or an advantage created makes you acci-
dentally kill the animal or let it escape.

DIRECT CONTROL
Animate and Control both let you assume direct control over a
target—an object or being, respectively. Once you assume control
of a target, you can control it from any distance, but you must take
an action to enter or leave direct control. While directly control-
ling a target, you experience the world from its perspective and
can use their body as if it were your own, using its skills for physi-
cal actions and your own for mental actions. This level of control
requires complete concentration and prevents you from using
your own body—including defending yourself or perceiving your
surroundings. You will sense any physical interference, though,
and can return to your body on your turn in the next exchange.

Animate (Exclusive): By sacrificing a small animal and whispering your True


Name to an inanimate object—including corpses—you imbue it with life until
the next sunrise or sunset. The opposition depends on the size of the object,
starting at Average (+1) for insect-sized objects and increasing by two per rung
on the scale ladder (page 20). Animated objects can only move as their con-
struction allows: a rope can slither, an action figure can walk around, but an
inflexible statue can only judder on its base. Things you animate will follow
simple instructions, but won’t fight. You can also assume direct control of the
object, letting you perform any actions you wish. An animated object has one
Good (+3) skill and one Poor (–1) skill. Animated objects can see and hear, even
if they don’t have eyes or ears. The animating magic is quite fragile; it can be
destroyed by attacking the animating energy directly from the astral plane or by
attacking the physical object. Animated objects have one stress box. If you suc-
ceeded with style while animating the object, it gains a mild consequence. You
can only animate one object at a time, unless you have the Multitasking stunt.

18 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Control (Exclusive): This terrifying power lets you enter a mental conflict
with an opponent up to one zone away whose True Name you know. In this
conflict, you roll Naming opposed by your opponent’s Will. Consequences
inflicted during this conflict can be compelled to represent brief moments of
control. If you take out your victim, you gain complete control over him until
the next sunrise or sunset. When you aren’t in direct control, the victim behaves
like a shambling zombie that follows simple instructions but won’t fight or act
independently. You can only control one victim at a time, unless you have the
Multitasking stunt.
Multitasking (Exclusive): This stunt lets you control up to two beings and two
animated objects at the same time.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 19


Shaping
Those who learn Shaping know that the body can be changed from within. By
whispering your True Name to yourself, you can shape your body to make it
better suited to the task at hand for the rest of the scene. Dabblers in the art can
make minor alterations, but Shapers can effect more dramatic changes.
You can use Shaping to overcome an obstacle for which a
OOvercome:
minor change in your form would be useful. For example, you could try
to escape from being Tied Up by shaping yourself to be more flexible.
an Advantage: Roll Shaping to change your physical form for the
CCreate
rest of the scene. The opposition is Average (+1) for minor changes (like
Razor Claws or A Coat as Black as Night) and higher for more extreme changes
(like Musclebound or Unnaturally Huge Grin). You can’t change your size by
more than about a quarter—meaning you can’t change your place on the scale
ladder—or have more than one Shaping advantage active at a time.

AAttack: Shaping isn’t used to attack.


As a practitioner of Shaping, you know yourself inside out. You
DDefend:
can use Shaping to defend against attempts to magically change your
body. This includes the Harm power of the Naming school.

Scale Rules
The scale ladder has the following rungs:
Insect < Mouse < Rat < Cat < Dog < Human < Tiger < Horse
When attacking or defending creatures of different scale, apply the following
bonuses:

Size Attacker Defender


Larger Weapon:+2 Armor:+2
Smaller Attack +1 Defend +1

If you’re a cat attacking a mouse, then you’re two rungs higher on


the scale ladder. The mouse gets +2 to his defense roll, but you get
+4 to your Weapon rating if you hit him. If the mouse counterattacks,
he gets +2 to his attack roll, but you get +4 to your Armor rating if
he hits you.

20 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Shaping Stunts
A Knack for Change: You’re more experienced at changing your physical form.
Each time you purchase this stunt, you can maintain another simultaneous
Shaping aspect.
Change Size (Exclusive): You can use Shaping to radically change your size for
the rest of the scene, letting you move along the scale ladder. The opposition
increases by two per rung along the scale ladder you want to transform.

Swift wants to grow to the size of a tiger. That’s three rungs up the
scale ladder, so the opposition is Fantastic (+6).

Disguise (Exclusive): This stunt lets you change your physical appearance to
exactly match that of any other cat, including coat pattern, scars, and deformi-
ties. To adopt a disguise, create an advantage using Shaping with passive opposi-
tion based on how well you know the other cat:
Familiarity Opposition
You’re working from a description Legendary (+8)
You saw them once at a distance Epic (+7)
You met them once Fantastic (+6)
You’ve met them a few times Superb (+5)
You see them around all the time Great (+4)
You meet with them regularly Good (+3)
You’re good friends Fair (+2)
They’re right in front of you Average (+1)

If you know the target’s True Name, then you automatically succeed with style.
If you succeed at a cost, the details of the disguise are somehow imperfect—
modify the disguise aspect to reflect this—but the disguise is otherwise perfect.
To fool anyone who knows the target, you’ll still need to roll Deceive.
You can also use this power to create a disguise based on an imaginary cat. In
this case, the opposition is based on how much the disguise looks different from
you, starting at Average (+1) and increasing by one per difference in appearance.
Shadow Form (Exclusive): Whispering your name to the darkness, you trans-
form yourself into a shadow, gaining Shadow Form for the rest of the scene. To
attempt to transform, use Shaping with Fair (+2) opposition. If you fail the roll,
you still become a shadow, but the transformation warps your mind; you gain a
negative aspect—like Cruel Streak—for the rest of the scene. In this form you
can see in total darkness, you’re completely invulnerable to physical sources of
harm, and you can attack spirits (with Fight). Because you exist in two dimen-
sions, you can slip through the narrowest crack and travel almost anywhere.
However, you can’t travel outside of shadows or darkness, can’t attack or interact
with anything physical, and can be hurt by spirits and light. Though you’re a
shadow in a shadow, you aren’t invisible; you’re darker than your surroundings,
and your eyes still shine with reflected light. You may, however, invoke Shadow
Form to aid your Stealth rolls.
THE SECRETS OF CATS 21
Seeking
Cats are curious and are always finding trouble. The truth is, if you’re skilled in
Seeking, you can find almost anything—so long as you know what you’re look-
ing for. Experienced users of this art can find their way into a sleeper’s dreams,
and Seekers can even leave their physical vessels to journey on the astral plane or
dream of future portents.
Using Seeking, you can become aware of the direction and
OOvercome:
distance of any specific place, object, or being for the rest of the scene.
When you use Seeking to look for a place or object, the passive opposition
depends on how well hidden the target is. If you only have a picture or descrip-
tion of the object, you have a Poor Link, which can be invoked against you. If
you’ve seen the target, no aspect applies. If you have a piece of it, you have a
Strong Link, which you can invoke.
When you use Seeking to find a being, they actively oppose you with Will or
Seeking. If your target succeeds with style while defending, she realizes someone
is seeking her and will know your direction and distance for the rest of the scene.
If you’re working from a description or picture, you have a Poor Link. If you’ve
seen your target before or know her name, then no aspect applies. If you have
a piece of your target, such as a hair, you have a Strong Link. If you know your
target’s True Name, you automatically succeed without a roll.
You can also use Seeking to remove aspects related to being lost or navigating
through a maze-like environment.
If you succeed with style, you also gain a feel for the target itself. This reveals
one of the target’s aspects to you and gives you a free invoke on it. You can only
ever gain this benefit once per target.
an Advantage: Seeking lets you find optimal routes when you’re
CCreate
chasing prey, trying to escape, or otherwise moving through an environ-
ment. You can create aspects like Shortcut or “I know exactly where I am.”
You can also create advantages related to finding things you need, as long as
it’s plausible. For example, in the woods you might create an advantage called
Abandoned Camping Stove.

AAttack: Seeking isn’t used to attack.


Defend: You can use Seeking to defend against magical attempts to locate
Dyou or things you’ve deliberately hidden as well as attempts to inflict
aspects on you like Lost in the Wilderness.

The Time Ladder


For a full description of time increments, see Fate Core System (page 197). The
relevant time increments for Psychometry (page 25) are as follows:
A month g a few months g half a year g a year g a few years g half a decade g a decade

22 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Seeking Stunts
Dreamwalking: You attune yourself to a sleeping being by inhaling some of his
breath, letting you visit his dream when you fall asleep yourself. In the dream
you can speak with the dreamer, even if he’s human, and you can use your magic
to shape his dreams. You can use this power to transform a nightmare into a
pleasant dream, but you can also nefariously implant a belief or instruction into
the dreamer’s subconscious. Some cats use this power just to speak and bond
with their human companions and to enjoy the wondrous dreamscapes of their
imagination.
Fighting a nightmare to calm the sleeper is mentally taxing. Resolve it as a
mental conflict of Seeking, opposed by the nightmare’s intensity. A mild anxi-
ety dream has Average (+1) intensity and no stress boxes, while a guilt-stricken
nightmare of terror and loss has Superb (+5) intensity, three stress boxes, and
three consequences. Losing this conflict can leave you feeling very drained when
you wake; you may even suffer from a new phobia or other psychological prob-
lem. If you defeat the nightmare, you can apply a positive aspect to the dreamer
or completely cure a mental consequence related to the root of the bad dream.
You can converse with the dreamer with complete fluency. You can also use
your access to the dreamer’s subconscious mind to begin a mental conflict. If
you take him out in this conflict, you can dictate a belief that afflicts him until
he’s convinced otherwise or you can implant a single instruction he must carry
out during the next day. This is not something that should be trifled with, how-
ever—many a cat has been rendered permanently catatonic after a dream con-
flict gone wrong.
Because dreams are so malleable, everyone experiencing it can declare story
details without spending fate points. You can shape the dream to create advan-
tages by using Seeking, opposed by the dreamer’s Will. For example, you might
create the aspect Nightmarish Chase to soften up the target for a Provoke attack.
Be wary of lucid dreamers, however, who can turn the tables by creating their
own advantages.
If you know True Name of a participant in the dream, create a situation aspect
related to the participant’s name. You can invoke this aspect on any roll made
against her, even if she isn’t the dreamer.
Multiple Dreamwalkers can visit the same dream, which may explain that
time you woke under a pile of cats after a night of vivid dreams. Dreamwalkers
can bring other cats with them, but strictly as invisible observers who can’t inter-
act with the dreamer or the dream. GMs, if any players aren’t involved in the
dream scene as Dreamwalkers or observers, ask if they want to play figments of
the dreamer’s imagination.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 23


Prognostication (Exclusive): You can delve into your own dreams and return
with knowledge of what is yet to be. Once per session, after you’ve slept, make a
Seeking roll against Average (+1) opposition.
If you fail, you get a single-word aspect hinting at a future event.
If you succeed, you get a single-word aspect hinting at a future event and a
timeframe of several days in which it will happen. You can spend shifts, one at a
time, to reduce the timeframe by one increment (Fate Core System, page 197) or
to add a word to the prophetic aspect, not counting linking words.
If you still have at least three shifts once you stop refining the prophecy, you
succeed with style as normal.
To determine the nature of the prophecy, roll a separate/distinctly colored die:

Result The prophecy hints at...


- Something horrible (Betrayed, Killed).
+ Something beneficial (Answers, Ally).
0 A complication (Promise, Doubts).

GMs, if you wish to give players more control over the process, let them
choose the prophecy type before rolling.
You can’t seek a second prophecy until the first has come to pass or been
averted.

Nameless naps and decides to get a glimpse of the future. Laurie rolls
Seeking, rated Great (+4), and gets -+++ for a total of Fantastic
(+6), giving him five shifts. To determine the nature of the prophecy,
he rolls and gets -, so it’ll be about something horrible. Nameless
gets the prophecy “Die six to ten days from now.” Laurie spends
a shift to narrow the timeframe, so Richard amends the prophecy
to “Die seven days from now.” Laurie spends another shift to add a
word to the prophecy, hoping to find out who will die. Richard gives
him “Tack will die seven days from now.” Laurie decides to stop
there. With three shifts remaining, he succeeds with style, gaining a
second free invoke on the prophetic aspect.

Astral Projection (Exclusive): While your body sleeps, you can send your soul
traveling and take an Astral Form. In this form, no ordinary door or wall can
stop you, you can see in complete darkness, and you can fly at great speeds.
However, you can’t pass through natural rock, earth, or living things. The astral
realm is home to many anchor-less spirits that will take exception to you enter-
ing their domain, but just as many are useful sources of information. If you’re
within a few yards of a cat or another psychically aware being, it can see your
ghostly presence with Notice, opposed by your Stealth. You can invoke Astral
Form to help you on this roll. Your spiritual form can be harmed by spirits, crea-
tures in both the astral and physical realms, and other astral travelers.

24 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Conflicts in the astral realm look like ordinary battles, but one’s fighting
ability is irrelevant compared to sheer force of personality. Astral conflicts are
resolved by rolling Provoke opposed by Will, and all stress suffered is mental.
While you travel in the astral realm, your physical body is completely vulnerable,
but you will sense any physical interference and can return to your body on your
turn in the next exchange.
For details on spirits and anchors, see page 46.
Psychometry (Exclusive): All events of emotional significance leave a psychic
residue on the place and objects involved. By whispering your True Name to
the place or object, you create a temporary resonance between your spirit and
the subject of the event. Through this connection, you experience fragmentary
memories of an emotional event in the subject’s history. Use this ability with
caution—some events can take a toll on the mind.
An object or place can hold only one psychic impression; it takes an equally
significant event to overwrite the existing one. A knife used to murder will carry
that residue until it’s used to kill again.
To read the subject, use Seeking opposed by the time passed since the event,
starting at Fair (+2) for a month or less and increasing by one per rung on
the time ladder. If the object is imprinted with a particularly intense residue—
for example, feelings of terror or homicidal rage—then it has an aspect like
Murder Weapon. GMs, when a player begins to use this power on such an
object, tell them that they sense a strong emotion but don’t reveal the aspect.
This allows them to invoke the aspect for a fate point to gain an advantage on
their Psychometry roll. If they wish to investigate the object in advance, they can
create an advantage.

Tack the Seeker is trying to read a knife connected to a multiple


murder a few years ago. That’s four rungs above “a month” on the
time ladder, so the opposition is Fantastic (+6), but he can invoke the
Multiple Murder Weapon aspect if he knows about it.

On a success, you see a fractured vision of the event from the perspective of
the object or place. If you succeed with style, you can also ask one question,
which will be answered clearly. If you succeed at a cost, then you still receive
the vision, but you also take a mental consequence from the psychic feedback.

Tack sees from the perspective of the knife as it’s repeatedly lifted
and thrust into the victim, giving him a good look. He doesn’t see
much of the murderer from this angle, but he can see a man’s hand
gripping the knife hilt and a pair of Wellington boots on his feet. If
he’d succeeded with style, he could have asked “What did the mur-
derer look like?” and received an answer.

Viewing an event with very strong emotions inflicts a Great (+4) mental attack
against you, which you can defend against with your Will.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 25


Normal Stunts
You have three points to spend on normal stunts, but you can buy additional
stunts by spending points of refresh. As normal you can’t go below one point
of refresh.
You don’t need to build stunts related to normal feline abilities, such as having
claws, excellent night vision, always landing on your feet, or being able to walk
along narrow rails. These are either narrative truths or invokes on your charac-
ter’s high concept.
Of course, you can build a stunt based on a cat trait if it is particularly impor-
tant to your character or so you don’t need to invoke an aspect to take advantage
of it.
Some example stunts follow, but you can build your own using the rules from
page 88 of Fate Core System.
General Stunts
Nine Lives: Cats have nine lives, or so the legends say. When you are taken
out of a physical conflict, you can give your opponent a fate point to concede
instead. You don’t get any of the fate points you’d get for conceding normally.
I’m Not… Dead… Yet: If you’re taken out of a continuing conflict—or have
conceded—but are still physically present, you can spend a fate point to take a
single action. You can use this stunt even if you died, taking a last gasp at life.
You can only use this stunt once per conflict.
Athletics
Leaper: You’re very good at jumping obstacles. +2 to Athletics when leaping
onto or over things.
Death from Above: You can use Athletics instead of Fight when you jump to
attack your foe from above.
Offensive Defense: Carefully positioning yourself, you make your opponents
injure themselves as you dodge away. When you defend with Athletics and suc-
ceed with style, you can forgo your boost to deal two stress to your attacker.
Burglary
Cat Burglar: +2 to Burglary to move by rooftops, chimneys, or other high places.
Getaway Cat: You can use Burglary instead of Athletics when you’re fleeing
pursuit with ill-gotten gains.
Invisible Pockets: You can carry one or two small items, up to the size of a
chicken egg, without holding them in your mouth. Nobody is quite sure where
you hide them or how you get them back, and you can’t make them reappear if
you know anyone is watching.

26 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Deceive
Ventriloquist: You’re good at throwing your voice. +2 to Deceive rolls to create
advantages that make others think your voice is coming from a zone adjacent to
your actual location.
Method Actor: No matter how unlikable you usually are, when you adopt a
guise you ooze charisma. You can use Deceive instead of Rapport when you
interact with someone under a false identity in a friendly way.
Lying to Myself: Your psyche is armored in a sheath of lies. Use Deceit rather
than Will to determine your extra mental stress boxes.
Empathy
Psychopomp: You know when someone is ill or dying. +2 to Empathy when
detecting an illness or injury, even if it’s hidden, and when determining whether
a visible death, injury, or illness is feigned or real.
False Friend: You use your relationship with a target to deceive her. You can
use Empathy instead of Deceive against someone when one of you has an aspect
defining a positive relationship with the other.
I Feel Your Pain: Once per session, you can transfer someone’s mental conse-
quence to yourself.
Fight
Pounce: You’re an expert at pouncing from concealment. +2 to your Fight roll
when you make your first attack of a conflict from ambush.
Dangerous Moves: Your every movement telegraphs your martial prowess. You
can use Fight instead of Provoke to intimidate.
Scrapper: You’re used to punching above your weight. Once per scene, after
a successful attack against something larger than you on the scale ladder
(page 20), you can spend a fate point. If you do, your target must absorb your
attack with a mild or moderate consequence, if it has any remaining.
Investigate
Reconstruction: Unlike most cats, you’re great at working out what humans did
and why. If they’ve left behind clues, +2 on Investigate rolls.
I’ve Already Won: If you’ve watched an opponent for a few minutes, you can
plan where to strike them most effectively. You can use Investigate instead of
Fight to attack that target in your next conflict with them.
We’re a Lot Alike: To put your foe off balance, you point out that the two of
you are very similar. Roll Investigate opposed by their Will. If you succeed, each
of you gains one of the other’s aspects until the end of the scene, and you get a
free invoke on both. If you succeed with style, gain a second free invoke on one
of those two aspects.
THE SECRETS OF CATS 27
Lore
Literate: Unlike most cats, you can read written text. +2 to Lore when reading
could help.
I’ve Seen Your Moves Before: You’re a student of feline movement, considered a
formal expert by other cats. You can use Lore instead of Athletics when defend-
ing by moving your body.
Many Lives: You’ve lived in the same area through successive reincarnations.
Once per session, without spending a fate point you can declare a story detail
related to your home area’s history. For example, “Oh, sure there’s a hidden shaft
that leads into the old mine. It was blocked up some 85 years ago, but there’s
enough of a gap for bats to get through…”
Notice
Preternatural Awareness: Your sense of the other is particularly strong. +2 on
rolls to notice invisible beings, astral travelers, and other subtle supernatural
weirdness.
Look Before You Leap: You’re an expert at judging distances, gaps, and other
leaping hazards. If you have an aspect related to having appraised an area, you
can use Notice instead of Athletics when jumping.
Skittish: You’re so paranoid and nervous that you react very quickly to any per-
ceived threat. Even if you’re ambushed, you always act first in a conflict.
Physique
Iron Constitution: +2 on Physique rolls to resist poisons and diseases.
Not Skin and Bones: You’re better padded than your average mouser. You can
use Physique to defend against Fight attacks.
Size Advantage: If you’re attacking something smaller than you on the scale
ladder (page 20) and succeed with style, you can reduce your damage by one
to create an advantage like Pinned rather than gaining a boost.
Provoke
Night Terror: You’re a much scarier cat by night than by day. +2 to Provoke rolls
to induce fear at night.
Bravo Cat: You have a reputation in the neighborhood for being a bully. You
can use Provoke rather than Territory to obtain information or favors from other
cats in the region. Any cat you bully this way gains a situation aspect to reflect
resentment.
Caaaaaaaat!: You’re an expert at jumping out and inspiring terror. Once per
session, during a tense scene in which your victim can’t see you, use Provoke as
a Weapon:2 mental attack, opposed by Will.

28 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Rapport
Top Cat: +2 to Rapport when persuading cats who see you as a leader.
Totally Lovable: You’re so sweet and loveable that it’s almost impossible to lie
to you. You can roll Rapport instead of Empathy to detect lies, except white lies.
Snazzy Cat: When you create an aspect related to your looks, like Well Groomed,
you get an extra free invoke.
Stealth
Prowl: Your ability to move silently is legendary. +2 to Stealth when hearing is
the most likely sense to give you away.
Stalk: You can use Stealth instead of Fight to launch your first attack during a
conflict, if you’ve been stalking your prey from concealment.
Surprise!: Once per session, you can reveal your hidden presence in a scene you
weren’t in. You immediately gain a boost called Surprise!, which only lasts for
one exchange.
Territory
Mysterious: No matter when the crime took place, you weren’t there! +2 on
Territory rolls to convince other animals to offer false alibis for you.
It’s Not What You Know: You never bothered to learn much—you’ve got others
for that. You can use Territory instead of Lore to know stuff you heard from
others.
Iron Grip: You’re good at holding on to your turf. You can never have more
than two negative Territory situation aspects, regardless of your Territory rating
(page 12).
Will
Insatiable Curiosity: +2 on Will rolls when opposing attempts to persuade or
bully you out of satisfying your curiosity.
Stubborn: Once you’ve set your mind on something, you won’t be swayed. You
can use Will to defend against Rapport.
Iron Will: You gain another mild mental consequence.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 29


PART III: SILVER FORD
Between 1878 and 1892, Maine experienced a silver boom and became home to
more than a dozen small mines. The quality of the ore was overstated, though,
and the lack of local smelters drove expenses too high for mining to become
profitable. Silver Ford was one of several towns that sprang up during the boom
to service the mines.
Nestled on the shore of Lake Murkitt in the heart of breathtaking hill country,
Silver Ford survives today as a tourist destination. Starting on Labor Day the
population of the town begins to swell, until the out-of-towners outnumber the
locals by almost three to one as fall begins.
Silver Ford has more than its fair share of ghost stories. A draw for tourists,
they’ve enlivened many a campfire cookout in the hills above the town, but the
residents speak of these stories with caution. Though the town enjoys very little
crime, over the years a few people have gone missing in the woods and moun-
tains, not to be found until the next spring—if at all.
As a feline living in the town, you’re well aware that every ghost story contains
a grain of truth. Your Parliament keeps tabs on the known spirits, but most of
you agree it’s wise to leave them alone unless they threaten the people of Silver
Ford.
Most of the time, you work to protect your Burdens against other people
or the sometimes-unnatural creatures that venture into the town from the sur-
rounding wilderness. But every now and again, something far more sinister
raises its head.

30 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Issues in Silver Ford
Current Issue—Tourists Are a Blessing… and a Curse: While the town sur-
vives wholly on tourism, the yearly influx of out-of-towners also brings trouble
of a criminal and, sometimes, supernatural nature—for example, The Red Leaf
Killer. When the leaves start turning red and gold, you know to be extra vigilant
around young humans. Every fall for the last five years, a nearly grown human
has “run away“ from Silver Ford, never to be seen again. Seekers have found the
victims’ cremated remains buried in seemingly random wilderness spots, but the
killer remains elusive.
Pending Issue—Ancient Evil Spirits: The town is becoming a magnet for a
variety of disquieting and unquiet spirits, some seemingly waking from genera-
tions-long slumbers. Among them might be The Shriveled One, an unnatural
creature who hasn’t been seen for years, but used to appear as a walking corpse
with a noose around its neck. Nobody knows what causes it to appear and tor-
ment its victims—driving many of them mad—but its murderous hatred of cats
is common knowledge.

Places & Faces


The places and faces for Silver Ford are detailed in Part IV—Black Silver:
The Meeting Place (The Milly Ross Play Park): Neutral ground where the cats
of Silver Ford meet. Its faces are Jezzabella (page 36) and Sable (page 37).
The Burnt Place (The Old Mining Museum): A burnt-out, boarded-up shell
of a building. Its faces are a very bad cat named Scarlet (page 40) and a spirit
named The Burning Ghost who has a talent for local history (page 41).
Blue Moon Woods: An ancient wood of oak and pine trees. A popular haunt for
young lovers by day, by night it’s an eerie borderlands between realms. Its face is
Hieronymous Screech, a wise owl (page 38).
The House Across the River (Longman’s Covered Bridge): A warped and
twisted bridge across the river from the old mine. Its face is Fuscus, a large
brown bat who guards the bridge against evil (page 34).
The Dark Place (The Old Silver Mine): The mine has been boarded up for
decades, and rumor says something evil is trapped inside. No living cat has gone
in there, so nobody knows what it’s like inside or what the rumored evil might
be—for now (page 43).

THE SECRETS OF CATS 31


PART IV: BLACK SILVER
It’s the day after Halloween, and something evil is stirring in Silver Ford. Can
our feline heroes put an end to the menace before townsfolk start disappearing?

Adventure Overview
During the height of the silver boom, a man called Ezekiel Morton killed his
three partners, stealing the silver nuggets they were keeping as proof of a new
claim. He was caught by the friends and family of his victims, who sealed him
up in a mineshaft with his ill-begotten silver and left him to starve to death.
There his spirit has rested ever since.
Last night, four kids tore through the boarded-up entrance to the mine and
went down the shaft. Breaking through a crumbling wall, they found Morton’s
rat-gnawed skeleton clutching the four nuggets. This was unbelievably cool, so
they each took a nugget as a souvenir. This woke Morton’s spirit from its slum-
ber, angered by their theft of “his” silver. The ghost possessed a horde of large
and cannibalistic albino rats living in the mine, forming a Rat King to hold its
consciousness and magnify its powers.
Now it sends its rat minions into the town on a mission: find the nuggets and
take revenge on the thieves and his murderers’ descendants. Each of the players’
Burdens is one of these potential victims.

32
The Beginning
Yesterday our heroes were dealing with strange, unpleasant beasts that took
advantage of the shallow border between worlds to cross over and pursue their
malevolent agendas. To break the ice and get the players thinking in character,
spend a few minutes discussing the threat each dealt with last night.

Blake decides Tack was dealing with the obligatory pumpkin-headed


man, while Peter says Swift was ridding the town of a living flame.
Taking a different tack, Rod says that Black Paw was guarding his
little girl, Lily, from creepy guys while she was trick-or-treating.

At around 11 pm, one gigantic albino rat with a hunched back and tiny ves-
tigial eyes comes scurrying into each player’s neighborhood. If not intercepted,
the rats get into the PCs’ homes and start to poke their noses into everything,
making a hell of a mess and freaking out anyone who sees them.
They mutter to themselves about “the shinies,” and search through laundry,
under carpets, and so forth until they’re interrupted.
If attacked they’ll put up token resistance and then flee—for now.

Albino Giant Rat


Other Aspects: Nearly Blind, Big and Strong
Skills
Great (+4): Fight
Fair (+2): Athletics, Investigate
Poor (–1): Notice
Stress
Mental: 2 no consequences
Physical: 2 no consequences
Notes
These animals are cat-sized. They’re barely sapient on
their own, but they become smarter as they gather.

Questioning or Following the Rats


If the PCs capture a rat, they can interrogate it. Unfortunately, it isn’t too bright.
It’s looking for “the shinies,” which it needs to return to “the master” in “the
deep place.” After a while, it will stop talking and revert to behaving like an
unintelligent animal.
If the PCs follow the rats and get noticed, the rats will turn and fight. If
the PCs remain undetected—which is easy if they follow from a distance using
Seeking—they can follow the rats as far as the House Across the River, where
Fuscus and the bats let the huge rats pass unchallenged. This is very out of char-
acter for him.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 33


The House Across the River (Longman’s Covered Bridge)
The PCs must cross the Black River to get to the old mine from the town. The
Longman’s Covered Bridge is the only way across without getting wet. The
bridge’s timbers are badly warped and the whole thing tilts to one side, but it’s
stable enough for a cat to pad across.
Inside the covered bridge the air smells strongly of dry mold and bat drop-
pings—almost enough to choke a cat on a windless day. The floorboards are
sprung in places, revealing the long drop to the rocks below. The PCs could
easily fit through some of the gaps, but they aren’t too hard to avoid.
The face of the bridge is a bat named Fuscus, one of the few sapient bats in
the area.

Fuscus
High Concept: Guardian Bat
Trouble: Pacifist
Other Aspects: A Fine Specimen, I Command Many,
Manners Matter
Skills
Great (+4): Notice
Good (+3): Flight, Provoke, Empathy
Fair (+2): Rapport, Investigate, Deceive
Average (+1): Will, Physique, Stealth, Lore
Stunts
Shriek (Notice): Fuscus emits a near-deafening, high-pitched sound that
can knock a nearby target unconscious if they can hear it, which cats can.
He can use Notice to attack a target in the same zone. He can choose to
attack multiple targets in the zone by splitting his shifts among them.
Ultrasound (Notice): Fuscus can see in absolute darkness using echoloca-
tion. This also lets him detect heartbeats and other physiological signs,
giving him +2 to Empathy when detecting emotional states and +2 to
Lore when diagnosing injuries (2 stunts).
Stress
Mental: 3 Physical: 3
Notes
Fuscus is a particularly large brown bat with silky fur and powerful wings.
His eyes gleam red in the darkness, and he always looks like he’s wrin-
kling his nose up at something. He’s polite and conducts himself with a
sense of brittle dignity, wrapping his wings around himself like a martial
cloak. He’ll happily talk with those approaching the entrance to the
House Across the River, but won’t let anyone pass under normal circum-
stances. The other bats, all non-sapient, obey him without question. If he
orders them to attack, treat them as an environmental hazard that attacks
everyone in up to two zones once per exchange with Good (+3) Fight.
It’s impossible to take out the swarm without using an attack that affects
their whole zone, though they can be driven away with fire.
34 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE
WHAT’S UP WITH FUSCUS?
He’s being controlled by the Rat King (page 43). He lets servants of
evil pass in both directions, but bars their enemies. A Seeker using Astral
Projection sees this control as a black malaise around the bat’s head.
Those in the astral plane can attempt to break the Rat King’s control
over Fuscus, engaging in a contest of Will opposed by the Rat King’s
Clever. If the evil wins, the astral traveler takes a moderate mental con-
sequence. The PCs can also get around Fuscus by beating him in a fight,
sneaking across the top of the bridge, or finding other routes—which
probably involve swimming.

Investigating the Dark Place


When the PCs investigate the mine entrance, they find that the boards sealing
it off have been broken apart, leaving a three-foot square hole into the mine.
Toolmarks and footprints suggest that a group of young humans was responsible.
Inside the mine, the PCs find a previously walled-off tunnel. The skeleton of
Ezekiel rests within, along with evidence that the wall was freshly broken down
and the body tampered with. The sound of scurrying rodents begins to fill the
mine, as the albino rats move up from their low cave to investigate the sounds
of movement above. Hundreds of rats emerge from a crack in the tunnel floor,
moving with scary coordination. It’s obvious that fighting would be suicidal. If
the PCs choose stay and fight anyway, see “Fighting the Rat King” on page 42.

The Next Morning…


The next morning, Jezzabella calls the Parliament to gather at the Meeting Place
to discuss the albino rat menace—apparently they were all over town.
The Meeting Place (The Milly Ross Play Park)
Considered neutral ground by the cats of Silver Ford, this grassy space is lined
with flowers around its edges. Off to one side there is a large pit of sand, perfect
for taking care of your ablutions, and in the middle there is a delightful array of
framework climbing structures and ingenious moving things, each surrounded
by bark chips that are lovely and soft on the paws. During the day the cats of
Silver Ford graciously allow children to play here, but at night this is where they
meet to discuss business.
The face of The Meeting Place is Jezzabella. An old black Seeker, she’s too
infirm for active work but directs the town’s younger cats as the leader of the
Parliament. She lives with an ancient human woman named Mrs. Haggerty,
whom the town’s children like to pretend is a witch. Jezzabella doesn’t guard
Mrs. Haggerty by herself, though. She’s helped by a much younger cat named
Sable, an arrogant Namer who lives with her.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 35


Jezzabella
High Concept: Venerable Seeker and Leader of the Parliament
Trouble: Youth Is Wasted on the Young
Burden: Witchy Old Widow Haggerty
True Name: Lie Dancer
Other Aspects: Impossible to Surprise
Skills
Great (+4): Seeking, Territory
Good (+3): Will, Lore, Deceive
Fair (+2): Investigate, Notice, Provoke, Naming
Average (+1): Rapport, Warding, Burglary, Stealth, Empathy
Stunts
Prognostication (Seeking): See glimpses of future events.
Psychometry (Seeking): See past events related to a place or object.
Invisibility (Warding): Become invisible, allowing stealth even when it
would be impossible.
Harm (Naming): Wound a small animal to hurt a foe whose True Name
you know.
I’ve Seen Your Moves Before (Lore): Substitute Lore for Athletics when dodg-
ing attacks.
Well Organized (General): When you provide a teamwork bonus, give +2
rather than +1.
Literate (Lore): You can read. +2 to Lore rolls when you have access to
appropriate texts.
Stress
Mental: 4 Physical: 2
Notes
A scrawny old black cat, Jezzabella maintains a sense of prickly dignity
and refuses to allow her great age and increasing frailty to afford her any
special treatment from other cats. She enjoys the company of younger
cats, but their lack of wisdom often frustrates her quickly. She enjoys
affecting an air of mystery and will never give a straight answer unless
straits are particularly dire.

36 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Sable
High Concept: Arrogant Namer
Trouble: Lying to Myself
Burden: Witchy Old Widow Haggerty
True Name: Black Heart—relates to
Sable’s utter ruthlessness.
Other Aspects: For the Greater Good
Skills
Great (+4): Deceive
Good (+3): Naming, Provoke
Fair (+2): Rapport, Physique, Territory
Average (+1): Warding, Stealth, Will,
Shaping
Stunts
Cipher (Naming): A rite on your True Name makes
you immune to Seeking powers used against
you. However, you are completely unable to use
Seeking magic yourself.
Control (Naming): You can gain complete control over an
opponent whose True Name you know.
A Knack for Change (Shaping): You may take two Shaping
aspects rather than one.
Mysterious (Territory): +2 to Territory rolls to arrange
false alibis for yourself.
Surprise! (Stealth): Once per session, you can reveal
that you were hidden in the current scene all
along. When you do, gain the Surprise!
aspect, which lasts one exchange.
Lying to Myself: Use Deceit to determine extra
mental stress, rather than Will.
Stress
Mental: 4 Physical: 3
Notes
A compact black cat with a splash
of white on his chest, Sable is being
groomed by Jezzabella to be her successor.
The Parliament appears to respect him, but
nobody has anything nice to say about him
behind his back. Many felines think that
Jezzabella’s support of this arrogant
cat is evidence of her mental decline.
The more charitable cats feel she chose
Sable out of practicality—because they
share a home—letting her more easily
pass on her wisdom and experience.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 37


Hieronymous Screech
High Concept: Wise and Enigmatic Owl
Trouble: Not from Around Here
Other Aspects: Quid Pro Quo, No Patience for Fools, Long Memory
Skills
Great (+4): Lore
Good (+3): Investigate, Flight
Fair (+2): Notice, Territory, Rapport
Average (+1): Empathy, Physique, Will, Provoke
Stunts
Oracle (Lore): Hieronymous can sacrifice a small animal and use Lore to
know something he couldn’t possibly know—for example, something
happening right now in another part of the world. The information he
gains in this way is always cryptically worded, though, which explains
much of his reputation for being wise but enigmatic.
Death on Silent Wings (Flight): Hieronymous can use Flight rather than
Stealth when he’s trying to avoid notice while flying, and can use Flight
rather than Fight when he dives to attack (2 stunts).
Stress
Mental: 3 Physical: 3
Notes
Hieronymous is a handsome great grey owl with distinctive plum-
age marked with spots of darker grey. His claws are wickedly long
(Weapon:1), and he is a master of the cold, unblinking stare. Some say
he’s a creature of the eerie mist that rises some nights in the Blue Moon
Woods and that this unnatural origin is what makes him so very wise.
Perhaps the cats of Silver Ford would consult with him for help more
often if his favors weren’t so expensive—to get something from him, you
have to agree to perform a task on his behalf. His tasks are often strange,
dangerous, and without any discernible logic, but presumably the owl has
reasons for everything he does.

38 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Next Steps
Jezzabella asks the PCs to investigate the rats and lead the fight to put an end
to their menace. If they haven’t been to the mine yet, she’ll suggest they visit
Hieronymous Screech at the Blue Moon Woods for some help figuring out
where the rats are coming from.
Blue Moon Woods
To the northeast of the town is an ancient wood of oak and pine trees. In a
clearing at the center of the woods stands a broad, ancient oak that humans call
The Millennium Tree. It’s a pleasant place by day and a popular haunt for young
lovers, many of whom carve romantic messages into the old tree’s bark.
After dark, though, the woods grow eerie and threatening. On some nights an
unnatural mist rises from the ground, clouding vision and muffling sound; the
woods become a bridge to realms beyond our own, ushering forth faeries and
nightmares to plague the town.
The face of the woods is an old owl named Hieronymous Screech, who nests in
The Millennium Tree. This enigmatic bird is demanding and has little patience
for fools, but can be a valuable source of advice—if you can meet his price.

Hieronymous’ Price
If the PCs ask Hieronymous where the rats are coming from, he asks them to
fetch a glowing fungus from the edge of the woods at twilight tonight. This
seems straightforward until an eerie, glowing mist falls and an ethereal hound
appears, who sets off in pursuit of the PCs. Escaping the hound is a contest
of Athletics opposed by the hound’s Great (+4) Hunting. Any cat the hound
catches takes a consequence. After that, the hound lets them escape, lesson
learned. Once the PCs return with the fungus, the owl directs them to the mine.

Local History
If the PCs have already been to the mine, Jezzabella will suggest they speak with
The Burning Ghost at The Burnt Place to see if he can identify the spirit in the
mine from his knowledge of local history.
The Burnt Place (The Old Mining Museum)
Gutted in a fire some 50 years ago, this boarded-up shell of a building is still
waiting to be rebuilt by its owners. Humans shun the place, believing it haunted
by the arsonist who died in his own conflagration. The cats of Silver Ford know
that the haunting is genuine. They also know the angry ghost has a long memory
for town history, which makes him useful on occasion.
The face of The Burnt Place is Scarlet, a legendarily bad-tempered cat who
makes the museum her permanent home despite—or perhaps because of—its
ghostly resident. Scarlet claims a wide swath of territory around The Burnt Place
and resents visitors unless they bring suitable gifts.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 39


Scarlet
High Concept: Solitary Shaper
Trouble: I Drive Everyone Away in the End
Burden: The Burning Ghost
True Name: Walks Alone—relates to Scarlet’s self-reliance and
inability to work in a team.
Other Aspects: One Day I’ll Find a Lady Cat to Love
Skills
Great (+4): Fight
Good (+3): Physique, Shaping
Fair (+2): Athletics, Burglary, Stealth, Territory
Average (+1): Will, Notice, Empathy, Provoke
Stunts
Change Size (Shaping): Grow or shrink radically larger or smaller.
Shadow Form (Shaping): Take on a physically invulnerable, two-dimen-
sional shadow form.
Disguise (Shaping): Physically disguise yourself to look exactly like another
cat.
Nine Lives (General): When you would be taken out of a physical conflict,
give your opponent a fate point to concede instead.
Dangerous Moves (Fight): Use Fight instead of Provoke when intimidating
others.
Preternatural Awareness (Notice): +2 on rolls to notice invisible beings, astral
travelers, and similar entities.
Stress
Mental: 3 Physical: 4
Notes
Scarlet is a large, russet-furred tabby cat with a nasty scar over one eye.
She hates being alone but drives away anyone that tries to get close to her.
She’s afraid they’ll leave eventually, anyway. She has no interest in tomcats.
She prefers lady cats, but hasn’t yet found one that returns her affection,
fueling her isolation. Her Burden is The Burning Ghost himself. While
he’s a terrifying and curmudgeonly apparition, she feels more comfort-
able with him than with other cats. She knows he’ll never leave because
he’s bound to haunt the place where he died. She guards the ghost jeal-
ously from anyone looking to pump him for information, but she can be
persuaded if she’s in a good mood. You could try visiting The Burnt Place
while she’s out patrolling her territory, but you’d better not be caught
there by her.

40 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


SPIRITS
Spirits in The Secrets of Cats use approaches from Fate Accelerated
Edition rather than skills. See Spirits on page 46 for more details.

The Burning Ghost (Jedediah Morton)


High Concept: Fiery Apparition
Trouble: Cursed to Haunt the Old Mining Museum
Other Aspects: 50 Years Dead and Still Pissed,
“You will show respect!”, Local History Buff
Approaches
Careful: Mediocre (+0) Forceful: Great (+4)
Clever: Good (+3) Quick: Average (+1)
Flashy: Fair (+2) Sneaky: Fair (+2)
Stunts
Pyrokinesis (Forceful): Take at least one stress to ignite an object or creature.
Haunt (Flashy): Take one stress to create an aspect like Hot Spot or The
Sound of Flames with Flashy for the rest of the scene.
Telekinesis (Quick): Take at least one stress to create an aspect like Whirling
Shards of Glass on a zone. This aspect lasts for a number of exchanges
equal to the stress taken.
Stress
Spiritual: 4
Notes
The Burning Ghost appears as a
stocky man in black jeans and a
black leather jacket with charred
skin and a permanent scowl. A
wreath of flames surrounds him at
all times. He was killed by his own
devices—the fire he set to burn
down the museum spread faster than
he’d anticipated, and he’s still angry about
that more than 50 years later. He’s a bitter mis-
anthrope who demands respect for his family
and himself. If you ask him about the fire, he’ll
tell you he set the museum ablaze because an
exhibition described his grandpa as a greedy
murderer. While he’d never admit it, he’s glad
that Scarlet lives in the museum with him. She
tolerates his mood swings and makes the place
he’s doomed to haunt feel less lonely.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 41


Dealing with the Burning Ghost
The Burning Ghost knows exactly who the body in the mine belongs to and
why it’s there. In fact, The Burning Ghost is Jedediah Morton, the grandson of
the man in the mine, Ezekiel Morton. The Burning Ghost is loyal to his family,
though, so the PCs must be careful in approaching him. If they reveal their true
intentions, the ghost will obstruct them rather than help them. He tends to
respond well to flattery, however.

Stopping the Rat King


There are four main ways to put an end to the Rat King’s menace:
1. Fighting the Rat King
If the PCs kill the Rat King in which Morton is manifested and exterminate the
remaining rats, they will consign the spirit to powerlessness. This is probably the
hardest option; the rats are myriad and coordinated, even if the Rat King himself
stays out of the battle.

42 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


The Rat King (Ezekiel Morton)
High Concept: Vengeful Spirit
Trouble: Four Cursed Nuggets
Other Aspects: Greed Beyond Death, The Sins of the Father, Overconfident
Approaches
Careful: Good (+3) Forceful: Great (+4)
Clever: Fantastic (+6) Quick: Average (+1)
Flashy: Fair (+2) Sneaky: Superb (+5)
Stunts
Corrupt (Clever): The Rat King can corrupt a living thing and add it to his col-
lection of vessels. By taking one stress, he begins a mental conflict of Clever
opposed by the victim’s Will. If this conflict takes out the victim, he becomes
the Rat King’s servant. The Rat King can use his victim’s senses and force it
to do his bidding until its corruption is cleansed. If the Rat King is taken out
during this conflict, then he falls dormant until the next sunset and can never
again try to corrupt that target. The Rat King can use Corruption in his zone
or in any zone holding three of his existing vessels.
Entomb (Forceful): Taking one stress, the Rat King uses Forceful to inflict a ter-
rifying hallucination of being entombed alive on a victim, who opposes with
Will. While this Vision of Entombment is active, the victim cannot act except
for trying to overcome the hallucination with Notice, opposed by the Rat
King’s Forceful. The victim’s allies can provide a teamwork bonus to his escape
by talking him through the illusion and touching him to make him realize he
isn’t alone. Only one victim can be entombed at a time.
Rat Swarm (Sneaky): Rather than attacking with his own clumsy body or instruct-
ing rats to attack for him, the Rat King can take direct control of his rat swarm.
They move as stealthily as possible and seem to attack out of nowhere. Costing
one stress, this is a Sneaky attack with Weapon:3 that ignores scale.
Stress
Spiritual: 4, 1 mild, 1 moderate, and 1 severe consequence
Physical: 4, 2 mild, 1 moderate, and 1 severe consequence
(the Rat King’s body)
Notes
The Rat King is a circular mass of twenty-some giant hunchback albino rats, their
chattering teeth facing outward with tails clubbed into a filthy, tangled knot in
the center. It exudes malevolence and glows with faint greenish light. Its many
eyes are tiny glowing pinpricks in the darkness. These rats are the descendants
of the same rats that fed on Ezekiel’s flesh and gnawed on his bones. Since then,
they’ve fed on grubs, bats, insects—and each other. Their cannibalism means
every rat contains a tiny remnant of Ezekiel’s body, giving him amazing control
over them. The Rat King can’t be attacked spiritually until Ezekiel is forced out
of his corporeal vessel. As long as more rats are around him, he can take one
spiritual stress to create another Rat King body in around one sleep.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 43


2. Convince the four kids to return the nuggets
To make Morton rest, the children who took the nuggets must return them. If
the PCs do it, there will be no effect. Each kid keeps a nugget for a different
reason:
• One because it makes him feel like a grown-up.
• One because it’s proof of their Halloween adventure.
• One because she can’t persuade the others to take theirs back with her; she
doesn’t want to go by herself.
• One because it’s part of her collection of weird and interesting things.

GMs, if you’re short on time, consider letting the cats just collect and
return the nuggets themselves. You can make things more challenging
by requiring them to persuade the spirit to be satisfied with this and
return to his slumber.

The PCs need to find the kids first. They can do the do the legwork using
Investigate or Territory, and they can get help in many ways:
• Hieronymous Screech can assist with his oracular ability, but will want
payment.
• If Fuscus is cured of the Rat King’s influence, he’ll describe the kids in
enough detail for one to be found with Seeking.
• If one of the PCs’ Burdens was involved in the theft, then the PCs might
discover a nugget in his or her possession.
Once the PCs find the children and the nuggets, they must lead the kids back
to the mine. Using Dreamwalking to persuade them is a logical approach, but
more overt methods like using Control also work.
3. Collapse the mine’s entrance
Trapping the Rat King’s minions inside the mine will neutralize the Rat King
for now because he’s permanently anchored to the mine. The PCs can persuade
humans in a dream to collapse the entrance, or they could try to use Animate on
a large object to the same effect. Either way, they’ll have to fight off rats and bats
near the entrance until the collapse begins.
4. Use Morton’s True Name to seal him
If the PCs handle The Burning Ghost with tact, they may discover Morton’s
True Name. If so, they can gain control over him using Naming or Warding.
Understanding his history might give them the edge they need to defeat him in
a mental conflict and get rid of him that way.

44 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


PART V: COMPLICATIONS AND THREATS

Complications
If you’re running Black Silver as the beginning of a campaign, or if you want to
stretch it over more than one session, here are some complications you can drop
into the story:
Betrayal: Jezzabella’s second-in-command, Sable, has come to realize that cats
shouldn’t be fighting monsters but rather using them to gain power. If a few
humans happen to come to sticky ends, well it’s all for the greater good, isn’t
it? Why should cats work themselves to the bone to protect ungrateful humans
anyway? What he does, he does for cat kind. Once he hears of the Rat King,
Sable will see the potential for a very beneficial relationship. He won’t want the
players to interfere, but he also won’t want to give away his true nature.
The Shriveled One: (page 31) This ghost is a former warlock, executed for
witchcraft, who wears a noose around his desiccated neck. He had never harmed
the other villagers, but false witness was borne against him. He now appears to
punish or torment those who bear false witness against others. He especially
despises cats because he was betrayed by his own feline familiar. If the players
lie during their investigation, he might arise to hunt them down. He can be
temporarily “killed,” appearing to fall to pieces and melt away, but he can only
be permanently killed by someone who has never lied.
Unlucky Kid: One of the kids who stole the silver from the mine disappears
with his or her nugget. The child fell prey to The Red Leaf Killer (page 31),
an out-of-towner who visits Silver Ford regularly to perform the magical ritual
that maintains his eternal youth. Can the players save the kid and—and retrieve
the nugget if needed—before The Red Leaf Killer leaves town for another year?

45
Threats
Monsters are real, and they’ve got an appetite for humans. Whether for their
flesh, souls, innocence, or something else, humans are like a walking buffet bar
for creatures of darkness. Here are a few of the things lurking out there, waiting
to take a bite.
Spirits
Spirit is a blanket term for ghosts, forces of nature, and other intangible enti-
ties that are essentially engines of will contained within ectoplasm shells. Rather
than skills, spirits use the approaches from Fate Accelerated Edition. Spirits have
only one stress track—spiritual stress—which is based on Forceful, though
some may also be able to possess corporeal beings and use their bodies. Many
spirits have stunts that affect the real world, but they always cost stress. If a spirit
is taken out, it is dispelled and can’t manifest again until the next new moon. To
kill a spirit permanently, you must also destroy their anchor, an object or place
named in one of their aspects that lets them reform in the real world. Some
spirits—usually those associated with emotions or nature—don’t have anchors,
making them particularly vulnerable. Spirits with anchors can be seen by cats
and other spiritually aware beings when they’re within a few yards, but can stay
hidden by rolling Sneaky opposed by Notice.
Below are some sample spirit stunts:
Haunt (Flashy): You press against the barrier between worlds to exert minor
influence in the real world. By taking one stress, you can create an aspect like
Ghostly Apparition or Whispering Voices with Flashy for the rest of the scene.
Pyrokinesis (Forceful): Taking at least one stress, you concentrate on a flam-
mable object to make it burst into flame. If you attack a living target with this
power, each point of stress you take after the first increases the Weapon value of
the attack by one. The target of this attack defends with Physique.

The Burning Ghost tries to set Swift on fire. Marking off his fourth
stress box, the Ghost attacks her with a Weapon:3 attack.

Telekinesis (Quick or Forceful): Taking at least one stress, you set a number
of small objects moving in a chaotic pattern, creating an aspect like Whirling
Shards of Glass or Cloud of Soot on your zone. If you whip up something
dangerous like glass or metal shards, this will inflict an environmental attack on
anything trying to pass through the affected zone. This aspect lasts for a number
of exchanges equal to the stress you took to activate the power.
Telekinesis (Forceful): Taking at least one stress, you can psychically interact
with a physical target. You can use this to break a window, shove a person or
slap them with psychic force, lift a table, write with a pen, and so on. You can
continue to interact with the chosen object for a number of exchanges equal to
the stress you took to activate this power.

46 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Misdirect (Clever): You can take one stress to attempt to confuse someone’s
sense of direction. During a conflict, if an opponent tries to move multiple
zones during an exchange, she must succeed on a Will or Seeking overcome
action, opposed by your Clever plus the passive opposition of any obstacles in
her intended path. If you successfully oppose your opponent, you can place
them in any zone you choose. Outside of conflict, you may initiate a contest of
their Will or Seeking opposed by your Clever to get them hopelessly lost or force
them to go to a place of your choosing. You can also use this power to create
advantages like Disoriented or Lost.
Were-Creatures
The idea of a human that becomes an animal or part-animal hybrid at certain
times is common throughout the world. From the were-hyenas of Africa to
the loups-garous of French myth, there’s a grain of truth in all of them. And
unfortunately cats can’t wield silver weapons, one of the were-creatures’ only
vulnerabilities.
It’s rare for cats to go toe-to-toe with a were-creature in its transformed state.
It’s far safer to keep their Burdens inside on nights when the creature roams,
searching for the fiend in human form. Ideally the transformation is caused by
a curse that can be lifted—if not, more direct solutions are sometimes necessary.
To create a were-creature, start by building a main NPC as described in Fate
Core System, page 22. Add three stunts related to animal features or powers that
it gains when it transforms, and note what causes it to transform. In their trans-
formed state, were-creatures are immune to physical damage not inflicted with a
silver weapon or, in rare cases, a different metal or weapon they’re vulnerable to.
Fairies
Fairies appear most commonly at the borders between inhabited areas and the
wild. Most are mischievous—if not malevolent—and they cause no end of trou-
ble with their pranks, rituals, and obsessions. Many of them can be placated
with a specific offering such as bread and honey, but such gestures don’t always
work even if you gift the right item. Fairies sometimes steal children and often
eat the dreams of mortal folk, leaving them drained and exhausted in the morn-
ing. For reasons long lost in the depths of time, most of the Fair Folk can’t stand
cats and will go out of their way to torment the felines they happen upon. Most
faeries are supporting NPCs with one or two signature stunts related to their
nature: for instance, Red Caps can make wounds bleed and Will o’ the Wisps
can entice people into following them. Because they’re vulnerable to wrought
iron, faeries must take consequences to absorb stress inflicted with this material.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 47


Tulpas
Tulpas are a special form of physically embodied spirit that take their form from
the fears and nightmares of humans. Because children have especially vivid fears,
they are responsible for most tulpas.
Tulpas have both physical and mental stress tracks, but they’re otherwise built
as normal spirits. A tulpa’s anchor is the human from which it originated. They
feed on fear and can only be seen by psychically aware beings like cats, unless
they choose to appear. The only way to permanently kill a tulpa—without kill-
ing the originator—is by getting the originator to stop fearing it.
Sorcerers
Magic is real, and most people who can use it are evil and corrupt. Such sorcer-
ers need copious time to enact their spells, which use complex rituals and exotic
ingredients—such as eye of cat or a human sacrifice—to achieve astonishing
feats of magic. Sorcerers are almost always main NPCs with access to feats simi-
lar to the schools of feline magic as well as several powerful spell effects, such as
immortality, storm calling, or necromancy.

48 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


INSPIRATIONS & RELATED MEDIA
Our ancient forebears worshipped cats and, if the Internet is anything to go by,
many of us still do. I drew from a long and storied tradition of cats as heroes
when writing The Secrets of Cats, and the following is a short list of works that
inspired me or which draw from the same tradition.
Cat by John Wick
“A Little Game About Little Heroes” that features housecats protecting their
owners from monsters they can’t see. With a very straightforward system and a
lighthearted tone suitable for younger players, Cat is well worth checking out.
You can find the revised version at:
www.johnwickpresents.com/market/products/cat.html
The Call of Catthulhu by Joel Sparks
This recently Kickstarted tome takes the guardian cat idea in a Lovecraftian
direction, focusing primarily on animalistic eldritch horrors. For more see:
www.catthulhu.com
Another Fine Mess by Gray Ghost Games
A FUDGE game featuring a band of animal companions trying to rescue their
masters from danger in a high fantasy setting. See:
www.fudgerpg.com/products/fudgerpg/anotherfinemess.html
The Price by Neil Gaiman
This short story, originally published in Smoke and Mirrors, was one of the
major inspirations for The Secrets of Cats. It’s very dark, and poetic in the way
Gaiman’s writing is always poetic, and focuses on the terrible price paid by one
cat to protect his family from the forces of evil.
Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by TS Eliot
Another of my main inspirations. I’ve paid homage to Eliot’s deliciously
quirky poems at various places throughout The Secrets of Cats, most obviously
in The Naming of Cats, where I tell you that a cat has not one but three names.
Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye
This wonderful (and wonderfully strange) film from 1985 was the other major
influence for The Secrets of Cats. If you’ve seen it, you’ll know exactly which
sequence I’m talking about: the deliciously creepy scenes where the cat, General,
protects a little girl from the troll that’s trying to steal her breath.
In addition to the main inspirations I’ve mentioned above, there are countless
books, films, and TV series that helped form the brain-stew that led to this book,
including The Rats of NIMH, the TV shows Sleepy Hollow and Supernatural, and
the Night Warriors book series by Graham Masterton.

THE SECRETS OF CATS 49


RANDOM TABLES FOR RANDOM CATS
Looking to create a cat quickly? Need some adventure hooks and all you’ve got
is a few moments and a handful of Fate dice? You’ve come to the right place!
In this section you’ll find a number of random tables. There are two styles:
Triangular tables like the first one below are used as follows: roll 4dF; then,
starting from the upper left, count right for each + you roll, and down for each
- you roll. So if you rolled +0+- on the first table below, you’d count
right twice, down once, landing on the “... Scout” result.
Rectangular tables like the second one below are used as follows: roll 2dF,
then consult the Roll column for the matching result. So if you rolled a +0 on
the second table, you’d end up with the “Excitable, Dedicated, Keen, ...” result.
Pick one and match it to your first roll to get your cat’s True Name! (I’d go with
Hopeful Scout, myself, but maybe you’re more of a Grinning Scout kind of cat.)

True Name Generator


0 + + + +
0 ... Cipher ... Storyteller ... Daredevil ... Oathkeeper Hope Bringer
- ... Dancer ... Hunter ... Scout ... Finder
- ... Chaser ... Trickster ... Haunter
- ... Avenger ... Dreamer
- Doom Bringer If your result starts with a ‘...’, roll below for suggestions!

Roll Adjectives
-- Lonely, Hollow, Midnight, Lie, Fear/Fearful, Malicious
0- Night, Dark, Moonlit, Shadow/Shadowed, Haunted, Fearful
-+ Twilight/Twilit, Solemn, Mist/Misty, Hidden, Stealthy, Gray
00 Mystery/Mysterious, Enigma/Enigmatic, Paradox/Paradoxical,
Occult/Occulted, Weird, Strange
0+ Excitable, Dedicated, Keen, Hope/Hopeful, Happy/Happiness, Grin/Grinning
++ Daylit, Bright, Exuberant, Truth/Truthful, Fearless, Joy/Joyful

50 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE


Burden Generator
0 + + + +

... Priest or ... Artist or ... Doctor or


0 ... Ghost ... Celebrity
Rabbi Novellist Veterinarian
Roll an
Roll a Family
- ... Taxidermist Individual ... Dog Fanatic
(below, 2nd col.)
(below, 1st col.)
... Professor Roll a Group ... Elderly
-
or Scientist (below, 3rd col.) Person
- Multiple* ... Mortician
If your result starts with a ‘...’, roll a
- ... Cat Burglar
Description below for suggestions!

* For Multiple: Roll a Family or Group below & then again on above table

Roll Individual Family Group


-- ... Man Single Parent Family Homeless Shelter Visitors
0- ... Teen Boy Nuclear Family Street Residents
-+ ... Boy Foster Family Sports Team
00 ... Girl Same Sex Parent Family Dorm Residents
0+ ... Teen Girl Large Family Fire Station Crew
++ ... Woman Very Large Family Retirement Home Residents

Roll Description
-- Cynical, Stingy, Jealous, Judgmental, Misanthropic, Creepy
0- Misunderstood, Witchy, Narcissistic, Lonely, Shunned, Devious
-+ Pessimistic, Argumentative, Unpopular, Unpredictable, Lazy, Depressive
00 Perfectionistic, Obsessive, Eccentric, Ingenious, Absent-Minded, Impractical
0+ Wealthy, Friendly, Generous, Optimistic, Approachable, Intuitive
++ Caring, Loving, Overprotective, Devil-May-Care, Cheerful, Wise

THE SECRETS OF CATS 51


Cat Stunt Generator
0 + + + +

General Stunts Empathy Provoke Awareness Investigate


- Nine Lives - Psychopomp - Night Terror - Preternatural - Reconstruction

0
0 You choose 0 False Friend 0 Bravo Cat Awareness 0 We’re a
+ I’m Not + I Feel Your Pain + Caaaaaaaat! 0 Look Before Lot Alike
Dead Yet You Leap + I’ve Already
+ Skittish Won
Territory Athletics Stealth Physique
- Mysterious - Leaper - Prowl - Iron Constitution
- 0 It’s Not What 0 Death from Above 0 Stalk 0 Size Advantage
You Know + Offensive + Surprise! + Not Skin
+ Iron Grip Defense and Bones
Deceive Fight Rapport
- Ventriloquist - Pounce - Top Cat
-
0 Method Actor 0 Dangerous Moves 0 Totally Lovable
+ Lying to Myself + Scrapper + Snazzy Cat

Burglary Will
- Cat Burglar - Insatiable Roll three times on each table to get your stunts. For the
- 0 Getaway Cat Curiosity first, after you roll your four Fate dice, roll one more—or
+ Invisible 0 Iron Will you can roll five if one of them is a different color!
Pockets + Stubborn
Once you have your stunts, allocate your skill ranks to
Lore
- Literate
take best advantage of your cat’s special abilities.
- 0 I’ve Seen Your
Rolled the same stunt twice?
Moves Before
+ Many Lives
Pick another in the same box, or roll again!

0 + + + +

Control* OR
Prognostication* Cat Walk* Shadow Armor* Absorb*
0 Multitasking*
(Seeking) (Warding) (Warding) (Warding)
(Naming)
Change Size* Harm A Knack for Psychometry*
-
(Shaping) (Naming) Change (Shaping) (Seeking)
Astral Projection* Invisibility Dreamwalking
-
(Seeking) (Warding) (Seeking)
Disguise* Shadow Form* Stunts marked with a * are exclusive (page 13);
-
(Shaping) (Shaping) you can’t have exclusives from more than one
skill, and that (mastered) skill will need to
Animate* OR be your highest-ranked magical skill.
- Multitasking* If you roll the same stunt twice, pick another from
(Naming) that same (color-coded) skill; if you roll an exclusive
52 you can’t take, pick one from your mastered skill.
Threat Generator
0 + + + +

Sapient Human Human


0 Malevolent Cat Red Cap Fairy
Mammal Kidnapper Arsonist
Spirit Were Creature Sapient
- Pixie Fairy (Roll type below, (Roll type below, Mutated
4th column) 3rd column) Animal
Sapient
- Sorcerer Tulpa
Reptile
- Human Thief Sapient Bird
Human Got a Malevolent Cat? Use the stunt generator on the
-
Murderer opposite page to work out their abilities. Sorcerers too!

Were
Roll Motive Inciting Incident Creature Spirit
-- Power-Mad Someone Disappears Cat Demon
0- Psychotic Someone Is Hurt or Killed Lizard Nature Spirit
-+ Vengeful Physical Evidence Is Found Wolf Near-Human Ghost
00 Hungry Something Is Seen Or Heard Bird Inhuman Ghost
0+ Greedy Something Is Taken or Broken Fox Emotion Spirit
++ Misguided A Warning Is Received Spider Angel

What Stupid Thing Did My Burden Do Now?


Roll - Bad Ideas 0 Mistakes + Good Intentions

Stole Something They Adopted a Stray Dog


-- Locked Me Inside
Shouldn't Have (That Turned Out to Be Evil)
Dared to Stay the Night Let Troubled Friend
0- Fell Down a Hole
at a Haunted House Stay Over
-+ Held a Séance Woke a Sleeping Spirit Bought a Cursed Object
Angered Something
00 Ate a Special Mushroom Babysat a Terror Child
Dangerous
0+ Disrespected a Sorcerer Trespassed Somewhere Went to the (Evil) Doctor
Shared Personal Broke Something Invited a Threat Inside
++
Info Online Important (see above tables)

THE SECRETS OF CATS 53


Prophecy Generator
0 + + + +

The Right Something


Someone The Enemy of A Happy
0 Place at the Changes
Is Lost My Enemy Accident
Right Time Forever
An Old Enemy A Mysterious Something
- A Falling Out
Returns Stranger Is Found
A New Enemy Something A Horrible
-
Appears Is Lost Mistake
A Terrible
- A Betrayal
Accident
- A Death

Location Generator
0 + + + +
0 School Museum Shack Factory Mansion
- Store Bar House Apartment Block
- Warehouse Cemetery Cottage
- Library Hospital Roll one or more times below to
- Prison determine features of the location!

Roll - Obstacles 0 Condition + Secrets


-- Haunting Spirit(s) Falling Down A Spirit's Anchor
0- Human Criminals Overgrown A Summoning Circle
-+ Territorial Sapient Animal Abandoned Something Missing
00 Eerie Whining Noise Ramshackle A Hidden Body
0+ Guard Dog Worn A Useful True Name
++ Cat Proof Cared For A Hidden Safe

If rolling more than once on the second table, you only need one Condiiton;
if you roll another, pick a neighboring Obstacle or Secret on the same row.

54 FATE: WORLDS OF ADVENTURE

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