OOC Lounge The Secrets of Cats Social & Worldbuilding

[Modern Fairy Tale]

Hello, all.  I will be your Game Master.  I dont like that title, though, and would rather appropriate the title Storyteller from White Wolf.  I consider a good game to be more art than science.  I appreciate the two responses and definitely consider this is an interesting way to start off our story.  So so far I have Vex and Sain.  I look forward to playing with both of you.

Now I have us in Non-Adult. I want this to be about as Mature as 'Watership Down'.  In survival situations things arent pretty, but at the same time we are talking about cats, so why even go anywhere near Adult.  So all I want is a solid PG-13 rating to cover the blood and violence of man and nature.

This will be the first part of the Secrets of Cats setting.  This is where we will decide on characters and placement in the world of Silver Ford.  Now my thoughts are to create a spooky place.  Im thinking a potter's field of an old cemetary which spawns tiny undead motes of darkness which can gather together and overwelm a cat or person.  So Im thinking all the main characters have territory along this kind of historic area which borders this potter's field.  In honor of the Munsters we can call it Mockingbird Lane.  With your story tell about whatever 'burdens' or human caretakers a cat might have.

So feel free to ask questions or introduce yourselves as well as any others who might want to join us.





PS  There are three books which will constitute this game.  What follows is a short description and a site where you can download the book.  These are fully bookmarked high quality pdf products.  Now each can be downloaded for free, but if you can spare a dollar or two for the awesome artwork and the prospects of future products of a similar quality, please feel free.

Fate Core System
This is the main system everything hangs on.  It is simple and cinematic.  I think it is better then d20, which kind of grew out of historic miniatures game and never lost that grinding attention to stupid mathamatic, legalistic details like price and weight and volume and really inane stuff like that.  It lends itself well to story with Aspects acting as direct game mechanics of whatever phrase you want to describe someone or something with.  Even ways to spot and use these Asepects in play.  This is a sound investment of time and attention and has a lot of very good lines supporting this system.  Dresden Files.  Starblazers.  Spirit of the Century.  Agents of SWING.  Modernity.  Bulldogs!  All these and many more use this system or an iteration of it.
http://www.rpgnow.com/product/114903/Fate-Core-System

The Secrets of Cats
This is the main book on which this campaign will run.  I probably wont use the story attached to it, because everybody already knows everything who has the book, but I will use the setting detailed in it.  It lays the setting about how cats see things and how the world reacts to them.  It is a fun short book of about 50 pages and lavishly illustrated.  This book details all of the magics which cats can use.
http://www.rpgnow.com/product/134533/The-Secrets-of-Cats--A-World-of-Adventure-for-Fate-Core

The Secrets of Cats: Animals & Threats
This is the first FATE world book to get a sequal.  This is additional material added to the Secrets of Cats line.  It includes details on dogs, rabbits, some insects and ghosties.  It only serves to add more options with the general mechanics of each as well as an example.  It is as well written and illustrated as the original book and clocks in at a little over 40 pages.
http://www.rpgnow.com/product/147773/The-Secrets-of-Cats-Animals--Threats

[Sain]

Hey hey everyone.

Non adult sounds natural and I like your setting. Anything with old untouched places that seem like they're inbetween worlds makes me excited to write.

Were you familiar with fate already Vex?

e. I didn't read the interest thread it seems lol

I'm still thinking of which magic to pick, but will probably want to play a bit chubbier cat with big dreams and I'll need children as burdens. Since it's just two players we might want to either have some pretty tight connections with them before or go with the classic (New family moves into the neighborhood) scenario and throw the new arrival and their burdens straight into the middle of fun trouble.

[Vex]

Hi ya'll! Nice to meet you. Looking forward to seeing what we can do with a rather unique concept.  :-)

Putting this in Non-Adult is fine by me. It was originally in the Adult section, which I figured might had been worth it to cover our bases. Adult doesn't just refer to sexuality, after all, and you, Modern Fairy Tale, were pretty clear you wanted this tale to have dark and disturbing elements. But, I don't have any problem with the shift. It might be interesting to explore a bit of how sapient cats justify the feline mating habits and rituals, which are definitely different than the human perspective, I imagine, and it's neat to explore the culture of other species, but it's more the social aspect that I'd be interested in than the physical descriptions anyway. We can still do that, if we're so inclined.

As for questions, I suppose I wonder most just what kind of focus this game would have as a group. Cats have a social aspect to them, certainly, but they're pretty territorial and individualistic as well, much more so than humans and dogs tend to be. I understand that a Parliament could certainly require cooperation, but outside of that, it seems like the nature of cats would lean toward more individual pursuits and concerns. How is this going to play in the game? Are we just going to focus on the group activity, or are our characters going to go a fair amount of time on their own? We certainly have the freedom to do so in a PbP forum, in a way a tabletop format wouldn't, but is that what you're aiming for?

Mockingbird Lane sounds neat, with the tiny undead motes spawning from the graves. That's definitely something that would be neat to add to the town. But, I'm not sure it should be a major focus for the story, at least initially. After all, it seems kinda straight-forward. All the problems are caused by a tainted graveyard? That sounds a little too cliche, and not in the amusing way. I'd kinda like to see it as an element to play with, like maybe a Warder claims the potter's field who's highest responsibility is to keep wards over the land to keep it contained, or maybe a historical mystery might involve awakening some of the undead spirits to ask them about what they know, but it comes with possible consequences. Again, I'm not against it. I do like it. I just want to make sure it's not the sole anchoring point of the story. Silver Ford offers a lot of potential sources of chaos and problems, so I'd prefer not to focus too much on any one, even if it might be the eventual "big bad" of the setting. In that case, it's probably best for a slow build, rather than an upfront one. Just my thoughts.

I'm still thinking of which magic to pick, but will probably want to play a bit chubbier cat with big dreams and I'll need children as burdens. Since it's just two players we might want to either have some pretty tight connections with them before or go with the classic (New family moves into the neighborhood) scenario and throw the new arrival and their burdens straight into the middle of fun trouble.

Already have an idea? Well, that's good! I like that enthusiasm. I had a few concepts myself, but I like to tailor my characters to provide contrast to the other PCs, and to add diversity to the cast. So, the more ideas you have about the character you want to play, the better informed I feel when creating my own. Still, I could put my own idea forward first, if you prefer.

I was initially thinking a Playful Shaper who might had been a stray (but she'll have burdens, naturally), but if your character's the ambitious dreamer, I think I might make someone who's a bit more conservative and knowledgeable about the local lore, perhaps the aforementioned a Watchful Warder, or an Discerning Seeker of some sort. I also had the idea of a Manipulative but Benevolent Namer, seeing as that school seemed to lean itself most toward harm, so it might had been interesting to see someone who holds it with some ethics, but I'm thinking that might not be my choice for this game.

Anyway, we might be jumping the gun a little. It might not just be the three of us. Just keep that in mind until we officially decide to call it.

[Sain]

Heh I also tend to try make characters that fill the spots nobody's covering, but not so worried about it in a tiny game like this (though as you say some more interest might show up, and it's rather easy to drop in middle of a campaign in fate.) If you have ideas you can lay them out, I don't mind flipping my concepts around at early stages.

Only character qualities necessary for a fate game like this to work are having at least one character with a lot of motivation to get stuff done and some chemistry between the characters to force everyone to follow them into trouble. Of course we could have all charas have their own motivation for helping, like if you're planning on stray then it's going to need some reason to risk its fur, well I guess you don't need it at the beginning... character development leading stray cat to grow better is also fun. If you wanna go manipulative stray with her own agendas etc. I would probably make mine more eccentric about burdens needing protection and the sacred duty of cats or if you want to go watchful warden or those more responsible routes I could make him a real sloppy cat. I'll give the book a reread today to see which of the magics were most fun.

[Modern Fairy Tale]

Had to do chores and such today.  Have to go to work shortly.  I will have to respond to this properly tonight.

[Modern Fairy Tale]

Sorry, the holiday has been difficult.  Someone in my store quit and its left everything in a tissy.  We've had to reschedule around them.  Its been raining, which means my connection can be spotty too.  I apologize for the delay.

For Vex.
I do see what you are saying.  Writing such scenes would be challenging and interesting, actually.  I kind of don't want to focus too much on that.  I want a darker edge, but not one which would cause a not for children rating.  Especially in America.  Murder can happen by the bucketloads as long as no one is topless.

I agree with seeing what the players want first.  I was taking Waunder's advice and letting you guys in on some of my ideas.  I wanted to just hear the kind of cats and the kind of things you wanted to explore happening and go from there.  I read the Silverford and liked the serial killer that hasn't been found and that some spooky effects have gotten worse.  That is the key to my scene. 

I see tiny blue flames which sprout out of unholy ground.  I picture part of cats duty around this area is killing these balls.  The problem is with so much death these things have gotten worse.  Imagine pouncing one and proud of it as a cat strides back toward home.  Suddenly a twitch of the ear and a tilt of the head and she sees a cloud of twenty or so of those things attacking her.  She bounced one way and then another, actually banking off one tomb stone and to another before knocking off a wreath which dispearses the ghostlights.  She goes into a beserk frenzy killing almost ten of them herself before her burden walks around the corner and watches her cat jump around swatting at nothingness or at best motes of dust.  "Silly cat.  Best take you in," your burden says as she uses those trecherous thumbs of hers to carry her from her hunting grounds.  As she watches she sees a few ghostlights coaless and begin to follow her as shes being carried home.  Though she should be afraid for her burdern, the cat could only grin evilly to herself.  This promised to be a fun evening.

So what is happening to make things worse?  Who is the killer?  Are they related or stalking one of the character's burdens?  All of this bloodshed has made worst parts of the night even worse than before.

Ideally I would like the two of you to be semi-socialable cats.  I picture adjourning territories.  Both of you posing with each other... watching each other, etc. especially during the say.  Once night comes you accept begrudging help from the other.  I will have lots to do for you guys separately, but would like to overlap things often.  I will make a couple of other cats who will be friends or acquaintances.  You can make up a few names, descriptions and general qualites of what friends would be fun to have.  I will play other things other than cats.  So if one of you has a 'confidential informant' which is a rat or something, we can discuss that.

So for example we make up the burdens and territory of both cats.  As well as making out  a player character sheet with all your names and aspects, etc.  There should be some deffinite defferences between the two houses to heighthen differences.  Like one is an artist with kids who slings paint on easel... and everything else, and the other is a married older couple who never had kids and keeps a tidy house... well, except for the dog.  So a lot of the tension between you two will be the environments you two come from.  We can design a couple of other features of the yard and neighborhood and go from there.  Like a corner store.  An abandoned house.  Maybe a small creek concealed from the road by the trees.  Id like you two to lay out what you want around you two and we will work it out.  Then your cats have not only a familiar area to call home.  The main fixtures being the old, unkempt up cemetery which is probably hidden behind a bank of trees from the housing development and the name of the street being Mockingbird Lane.  Though if we don't like those we can find something else more fun.  Another fun feature would be that tar pit closed attraction in Sin City with the dinosaur statures.  Imagine what kind of villain could be lurking there?  Imagine the bodies which have been 'disappeared' there and what kind of ghostlight or other such I could generate there?

I am of course interested in whatever you want to explore in this unique take on the world.  Would breaking friends out of an animal shelter be fun?  What if the animal control officer is abusive?  What if a child like to torment animals?  What if there were weird scientists showing up and trying to trap strays in the areas?  What if someone knew about the secrets of cats?

I look forward to more discourse from both of you on we are going to play here.  I picture historic houses which are inhabited by medium to lower income families.  Its probably been spruced up recently... upping property values and maybe stirring up secrets.

What are both of your reactions to this so far?

[Sain]

Awesome. I'll start jolting down some ideas.

I want my character to have an owl friend or maybe a mentor. Maybe some nosy old owl that thinks its their responsibility to teach the fat cat whats up in the wilds. Lets say that there's the border of some really old forest next to my cat's backyard and that he has claimed some of it as his territory as well. You can then add some fun forestry intruders and such.

My cat will be a bit chubby. Probably greedy so he doesn't want to refuse treats and food that the kids keep giving him. He will have arrived here as a kitten and so has been very much influenced by the owl and believes every cat should be a proper hunter, though his thickening physique has been as of late been getting in the way. He'll probably want to try and teach Vex's cat what's what or at least try, because clearly every cat should be grateful to receive his tips and tricks.

Some young single dad might be fun yes. Maybe its his old family home which he inherited after his grandparents passed away. I suppose he'll indeed need some job that can be done from seclusion. You threw painting out there randomly but I think it might be fun. Splotches of paint are annoying for cats and can bring some small hurdles in their lives. The burden could be very easily invoked for example during stalking or hunting with just "Hey, spot of red on your fur that you missed. They spot you."

[Vex]

Sorry, the holiday has been difficult.  Someone in my store quit and its left everything in a tissy.  Weve had to reschedule around them.  Its been raining, which means my connection can be spotty too.  I apologize for the delay.

No worries! I kinda expect a return from a holiday weekend to be slow. It happens to everyone once in a while. After a major holiday, I usually don't expect much from the following week.

For Vex.
I do see what you are saying.  Writing such scenes would be challenging and interesting, actually.  I kind of dont want to focus too much on that.  I want a darker edge, but not one which would cause a not for children rating.  Especially in America.  Murder can happen by the bucketloads as long as no one is topless.

I'm not entirely sure to what you're referring to here, but if you're talking about the cat's mating tendencies, I'm not gonna argue with you. Like I said, I wasn't looking for anything explicit, nor certainly not to take over the game. It just might be a neat avenue to explore, should any relationships happen to head that way, just from the amateur psychologist or sociological standpoint. But I'm not gonna push for it as a major focus. It sounds like there will be bigger fish to fry.

And yeah, I double your sentiment about the silly puritan standards we have about nudity here. We seem to have a confusing fixation on sex in this country, so much that it often holds our focus far more than death and violence. It's very strange.

I agree with seeing what the players want first.  I was taking Waunder's advice and letting you guys in on some of my ideas.  I wanted to just hear the kind of cats and the kind of things you wanted to explore happening and go from there.  I read the Silverford and liked the serial killer that hasnt been found and that some spooky effects have gotten worse.  That is the key to my scene. 

I see tiny blue flames which sprout out of unholy ground.  I picture part of cats duty around this area is kiling these balls.  The problem is with so much death these things have gotten worse.  Imagine pouncing one and proud of it as a cat strides back toward home.  Suddenly a twitch of the ear and a tilt of the head and she sees a cloud of twenty or so of those things attacking her.  She bounced one way and then another, actually banking off one tomb stone and to another before knocking off a wreath which dispearses the ghostlights.  She goes into a beserk frenzy killing almost ten of them herself before her burden walks around the corner and watches her cat jump around swatting at nothingness or at best motes of dust.  "Silly cat.  Best take you in," your burden says as she uses those trecherous thumbs of hers to carry her from her hunting grounds.  As she watches she sees a few ghostlights coaless and begin to follow her as shes being carried home.  Though she should be afraid for her burdern, the cat could only grin evilly to herself.  This promised to be a fun evening.

So what is happening to make things worse?  Who is the killer?  Are they related or stalking one of the character's burdens?  All of this bloodshed has made worst parts of the night even worse than before.

I think I get what you're going for. I just wanted to make sure we weren't going to focus too much on the graveyard, when Silver Lake has much more going for it, like the aforementioned serial killer. There's a whole town with strong historical roots to play with, along with surrounding wilderness, and the issues like tourists and greater county area troubles. I certainly don't mind giving the graveyard spirits special focus, but I was just hoping we'd have a chance to explore further than that.

Ideally I would like the two of you to be semi-socialable cats.  I picture adjurning territories.  Both of oyou posing with each other... watching each other, etc. especially during the say.  Once night comes you accept begrudging help from the other.  I will have lots to do for you guys seperately, but would like to overlap things often.  I will make a couple of other cats who will be friends or aquaintences.  You can make up a few names, descriptions and general qualites of what friends would be fun to have.  I will play other things other than cats.  So if one of you has a 'confidential informant' which is a rat or something, we can discuss that.

I'm definitely angling towards a more social concept, so no worries there. I'm getting a pretty good idea of my character, and while I don't quite know what Sain has in mind, based on the initial response, I'm figuring they'll work out well enough together. Cooperation shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for being open to contacts and friends, though. I'll keep that in mind. Try to think of some unique personalities to pair them up with.

So for example we make up the burdens and territory of both cats.  As well as making out  a player character sheet with all your names and aspects, etc.  There should be some deffinite defferences between the two houses to heighthen differences.  Like one is an artist with kids who slings paint on easel... and everything else, and the other is a married older couple who never had kids and keeps a tidy house... well, except for the dog.  So a lot of the tension between you two will be the enviroments you two come from.  We can design a couple of other features of the yard and neighborhood and go from there.  Like a corner store.  An abandoned house.  Maybe a small creek concealed from the road by the trees.  Id like you two to lay out what you want around you two and we will work it out.  Then your cats have not only a familar area to call home.  The main fixtures being the old, unkept up cemetary which is probably hidden behind a bank of trees from the housing development and the name of the street being Mockingbird Lane.  Though if we dont like those we can find something else more fun.  Another fun feature would be that tar pit closed attraction in Sin City with the dinosaur statures.  Imagine what kind of villian could be lurking there?  Imagine the bodies which have been 'disappeared' there and what kind of ghostlight or other such I could generate there?

I'm all for establishing and playing up the difference between our characters, particularly with the burdens. Sain already indicated he wanted to be an ambitious fat cat dreamer who lives with young kids, so I'll be happy to go with an older couple, or something that doesn't involve the presence of children much (maybe the infamous crazy cat lady, even). I have some ideas. Territories, though, I'm a little less concrete about. I might call on a bit of assistance to pin those down, if you don't mind.

A tar pit could be neat. But, those are pretty rare, aren't they? I'd think, if we had one in Silver Lake, it would be pretty big deal, not just some side attraction. I'm not necessarily against it, I just think that would change the setting quite a bit. Heck, I'd argue that might actually be of a larger supernatural consequence than the graveyard you were expecting to feature would be. You're talking about souls of millennia old entities there. I'm not really sure why the graveyard would even compare. We should probably have one or the other.

I am of course interested in whatever you want to explore in this unique take on the world.  Would breaking friends out of an animal shelter be fun?  What if the animal control officer is abusive?  What if a child like to torment animals?  What if there were wierd scientists showing up and trying to trap strays in the areas?  What if someone knew about the secrets of cats?

I look forward to more discourse from both of you on we are going to play here.  I picture historic houses which are inhabited by medium to lower income families.  Its probably been spruced up recently... upping property values and maybe stirring up secrets.

What are both of your reactions to this so far?

I think all those ideas could be fun. We're playing cats, after all, much smaller creatures who have to make their way in a human-dominated world, especially when said dominant creature doesn't even see them as worthy of respect. There are lots of matters that could be considered mundane to humanity that would be of a great concern to cats. That could be fun to explore. Just as well, the misunderstandings between the two species cultures could be interesting to play out (how does a cat understand something like the iPhone or a computer? Are they able to discern the rules of how cars operate? Or why human young are all sent to a strange location, where cats are not allowed, and are left under the supervision of people their parents hardly even know?).

Thusfar, the setting sounds fine. I imagined Silver Lake as a relatively small, fairly rural town with some historical elements, so older homes and buildings make sense. It also gives you a lot of opportunity to play with the nearby woods, lake, and the town's past for sources of intrigue, so I'm for it. 

Anyway, it seems like, at the moment, it's just going to be the three of us. So, with that in mind, I have two cats I'm working on, and I can go with either. I don't normally do this, but I rather liked two concepts in particular, a Dutiful Warder, and the aforementioned Roguish Shaper, and I thought they might actually make an interesting contrast with one another. I might even be willing to play both, if you're up for it. I think that could be fun. If you prefer I stick with one, which is fine, I'll probably go with the former.

The first is a Warder who's a bit on the curious and astutely traditional side seems to fit this particular setting a little better. I'm thinking a white cat, maybe an Angora or something, but I could see a black cat working too. Tends to stick by the lessons taught to her by her elders and to the traditions of the Parliament rather firmly, as she holds wisdom from her elders important, and spends much of her time either playing a bit of local politics or being the dutiful guardian of her burdens and territory. Fancies herself a bit of a sophisticated cat and know-it-all, obsessively cleanly and definitely a bit on the uptight side about the rules, but does put her observation nature to use in collecting useful bits of lore and investigating curiosities that strike her as important. She can be charming at times, but can also rub other cats the wrong way at times with her insistence. She generally means well and takes her responsibilities seriously. Her burden is likely an older widow, but not the crazy cat lady, just a kindly old woman who adores her cats as companionship and treats them like her grandchildren. I see her living with an elderly cat, likely an experienced and well-recognized Warder or Seeker, who's on the last stages of their life. In fact, she was originally brought into the home as a kitten because the older couple expected their older cat to die soon, but it ended up living a fair bit longer than they expected.

As for the other, I see her as a stray, likely a tabby, or a calico, or maybe even a Chausie breed, like a bengal or a savannah, something more in touch with it's wild side. May even claim she's descendant from tigers, cheetahs and other great wild felines, but she's the sort who exaggerates, so who knows what the truth really is. She's a sneaky and playful sort, the type of cat who's always testing her boundaries and testing others to see what they'll allow her to get away with. In many ways, she's the opposite of the Warder, a feline who doesn't think much in terms of abstracts and theories and lives off of personal experience and practicality. A natural hunter, a conniving trickster, and a bit of a sneak-thief who sometimes cuts corners when it comes to others territories when she thinks she can get away with it, who often uses her Shaper talents to disguise herself and cause a bit of chaos for the Parliament, who don't see her very kindly. That said, although she can be a bit annoying in her assertive trickery and pranks, she generally knows when to put the games aside and be serious, and most who know her understand she's never going to do anything too harmful to her neighbors and comrades. She might have quite a bit friends in unlikely places, and is likely to have a few contacts outside her species, likely a wild rodent of some kind, but I can also see her having intelligent canine whom she has a bit of a frienemy relationship with, likely to taunt on the top of a fence while they chat. As for burdens, I imagine she has a few from different places, namely humans that have treated her kindly. I could see a young girl who gives her milk, or a teenage boy who slums with his friends at an abandoned place, a bit of a rebel himself, who has taken to her.

I could see Sain's chubby kitty working well with either, although the dynamics would be different depending on which one. The Warder would likely appreciate his hunting tips, for instance, as she does need to hunt to offer sacrifices for her barriers. That said, if he's as young as she is, she'd probably be a little annoyed be his arrogance. She'd definatelly be interested in meeting this owl companion for herself, and prying what knowledge she could out of him. The Shaper, however, likely won't be taking any tips she gets from him seriously. She might play along with it, however, if just to mess with him, and eventually show him up, though, unless he's a genuinely good hunter, in which case she might compete with him, or even occasionally take his prize. I could see them having a more playful relationship, although she'd likely keep teasing his weight.

Any thoughts? Preferences?

[Sain]

I like both. Guess I'll go with a seeker or namer. Seeker might fit the hunting theme, but yeah I'm not sure if I want him to be actually good at it anymore. He will probably have pretty sharp senses, but not so fast legs with the extra weight. If you go with the first one I would make mine at least as young as I have a soft spot for conflict and the pettier it is the better! Although, I suppose in cat logic some things that we see as really petty/meaningless would mean the world to them, such as proving who is better, who catches that one prey or who controls the post box. I can't quite decide if I want to go with stubborn denial or genuine dumbness/ignorance for my kitty's reasoning behind believing he is still as nimble as he used to be.

e. Just a heads up: Going to be traveling Fri-Mon so my participation in the discussion during that time will be quite minimal.

[Vex]

Cats definately operate on a much more personal basis for their world. They're rather individualistic creatures, after all, and renown as prideful sorts, so I imagine undo arrogance would rub them the wrong way. That said, I could also see them brushing off such matters, as they're just used to the whole posturing thing that most of their Parliament does. So, perhaps it might not be seen too seriously.

I didn't mean to impose many limits on your cat's particular choices for magic. I wouldn't necessarily mind if you chose a Warden or Shaper yourself, for instance. Characters are more than just their magical archetype, and two different specialists can still be rather different in this system. For instance, I see the Warden as something of a magical savant, who likely will pick up tricks amongst each of the schools. In fact, I wouldn't really mind making her a Namer instead, if you prefer the Warden role for yourself. Her schtick is more magical diversity than it is a particular school. I could kinda see her as a feline take on Hermine Granger or Twilight Sparkle, if you get those references. Expect her to focus a lot of Lore, Investigate, and the magical schools, with a minor investment in Rapport and Territory.

By contrast, my stray concept is pretty firmly established as a Shaper specialist. It's intricate to the concept, so I don't see that changing, but I honestly wouldn't be offended by having a second Shaper. For her, I think her magical prowess outside her school is probably minor. Instead, she'll be focusing more on non-magical skills, like Stealth, Athletics, Burglary, Deception and Fight. Maybe even a Rapport as well. I do see her as the loveable rogue type.

Anywho, thanks for the heads-up. I hope you have a good weekend!

[Modern Fairy Tale]

I agree with Vex about the tar pit attraction being out of place.  We will keep it the graveyard for now.  It will be fun to explore this setting.

As for Sain, there is an owl in the setting which I will probably use for your owl aquaintance you asked about.  Heironeous Screech or something.  Have to look it up again.

So if you two will figure out what cats and what roles and backgrounds you two will fullfill.  You two should work well with each other, yet have your own interesting story to play in.  One could be a  Warder tom cat whos fat and plays with kids.  The other can be a princess Shaper who is kept almost as part of a collection figurines kept on shelves all over their home.  You two should be almost an odd couple, except you are cats and have to deal with harsh RL stuff as well as creepy crawlies from our own primordial past.

Here is what a character sheet entry should look like.  Edit it a few times on this thread until we all agree we like it, then we can start fluffing up a few things around on your character's territories and go from there building Mockingbird Lane.  There should be 1) name, description, aspects, game stats, etc., 2) description of your burdens, family life inside the home, messyness, are there dogs or kids, etc., and finally 3) description of your territory including your home, places you frequent, other humans or animals you communicate with, and dont forget to mention how your territory abuts with the potter's field.  Think of these as concentric circles... you... your burdens/home... your territory.

After a few exchanges I will be onpening up the 'Mockingbird Lane' thread with some reference to the Secrets of Cats.  Maybe "The Secrets of Mockingbird Lane" unless something more cleaver presents itself.  This is going to be fun.  I look forward to spinning this story with both of you.

[Sain]

Oh I'm fine with whichever magic. Seeker is good, but I'll have to look up or cook up some fun stunts for it so that my cat won't be too focused on just having keen senses.

Will probably be something like Notice > Seeking, physique >Territory, contacts. Rest I can't quite figure out yet as this potato chip I've with me can't open any rulebooks without crashing :P Gonna be back at my own apartment tomorrow so shall finish my cat design and background then. We've enough things figured out for that already.

[Sain]

Ugh didn't really feel too productive today. Apologies for the delay on my part, should be more energetic tomorrow.

e. Ok chara sheet below. Still open to make any additions. Lemme know if any of the aspects need more explaining. Gonna make some additions later still.

Name: Bergins (Deft Paws)
High Concept: Ambitious Seeker
Trouble: Blind to the Consequences Of Obesity
Burdens: Abandoned Painter and Kids
True Name: Bright Eyes - represents Bergins' tendency to see the potential good in situations and people.
Other Aspects: Cultured in the Way of the Wilds

Skills
4 - Notice
3 - Physique, Seeking
2 - Rapport, Territory, Will
1 - Warding, Fight, Investigate, Stealth

Stunts
Magic: Invisbility, Psychometry, Prognostication
Normal: Not Skin and Bones, It's Not What You Know

Stress
Physical 4/4
Mental 3/3

Notes
Bergin is a big cat with striped fur and green eyes. He has been around in Silver Lake for a few years, ever since the Painter and moved to Mockingbird Lane with his thee young kids. Before that the family lived in a big city, but that's in the distant past so Bergins doesn't remember those times too well, nor does he really care. As a new arrival to the Silver Lake Bergins quickly established his identity among the town cats as an alert and sharp cat who noticed things others wouldn't and often insisted that action be taken right away according to his observations. However, the passion soon subsided as Bergins matured a little and realized that even here on the 'countryside' cats wouldn't give a rats ass about what others thought about things. He continues to pursue his own goals and ambitions, but now rather than imploring on others and the Parlament, Bergins mostly just acts alone or calls in the aid of those he knows share similar goals or else at least owe him a favor.

His life otherwise has been quite good at Silver Lake. Upon arriving Bergins realized that much of the grounds around his home were unclaimed and immediately assumed a sizeable territory which included not only the garden, but some of the woods behind backyard as well. His closest border neighbor in that direction is a wise old owl who, when they first met, saw it as his responsibility to train the city kitten into a proper hunter. Recently however, now that the painter's eldest daughter is old enough to visit shop with a moped on her own, Bergins has gained some considerable weight. He refuses to acknowledge the fact and claims to be just as nimble as before. Being unable to accomplish all of the things he used to be able to pull off alone just last year sometimes frustrates Bergins as he doesn't want to go back to the days when he used to whine the Parlament to take action.

Bergins prides himself as being wise (untrue) and observant (true). He believes firmly that other cats should be grateful for the tips and hints he has to share and may feel irked if 'due respect' is not given.

[Modern Fairy Tale]

I love him.  Hes awesome.  Great character lay out and pic.  I might have to steal those for other characters.

I cant wait to see what we get to do with him.  This is going to be a cool game.  I cant wait.

[Sain]

I can't really wait either :P Last time I wanted something as bad as to play Secrets of Cats was when waiting for Skyrim to launch lol. Hmm noticed I had an unfilled one saved in the drafts (Elliquiy Greasemonkey is friggin awesome!). Noticed I'm missing one normal stunt, just couldn't find one that I wanted so might make up a new one. I still want to elaborate a little bit how he treats other cats, especially he and Vex's cat get along.

Anyway, if you wanna copy sheet format, here you go.

Code Select Expand


[img height=300 padding=8]IMAGE URL HERE[/img]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]High Concept:[/b]
[b]Trouble:[/b]
[b]Burdens:[/b]
[b]True Name:[/b]
[b]Other Aspects:[/b]
[hr]
[b]Skills[/b]
4 -
3 -
2 -
1 -
[hr]
[b]Stunts[/b]
Magic:
Normal:
[hr]
[b]Stress[/b]
Physical
Mental
[hr]
[b]Notes[/b]


[Vex]

Nice job, Sain! It looks good! Certainly gives me some ideas to play with!  I hope you don't mind if I borrow the format myself, if just so we're working with the same baseline.  ;D

Sorry for the silence on my end, guys. I've had a rather busy week, and between the rigors of it all, along with the heat wave of late, I just haven't found a proper muse. But I've got a solid idea to work with. I'm going to stick with one character for now, the studious warder concept, if just because I think it'll help us start off easier if I just focus on one for now. If the opportunity presents itself, and I feel confident making another, I might just do so in the future.

With any luck, I will hope you have a character sheet for you guys up for you over the weekend. Maybe even in the next day or so. Keep an eye out!  ;)

[Vex]

Name: Felicia (Perch Watcher)
High Concept: Young Studious Warder
Trouble: Obsessively Perfectionist
Burdens: Elderly Couple
True Name: Shadow Chaser
Other Aspects: Neophyte Parliament Player
Refreshes: 1

Skills
4 - Will
3 - Lore, Warding
2 - Empathy, Investigate, Rapport
1 - Naming, Seeking, Shaping, Territory

Stunts
Magic: Cat Walk, Invisibility, Shadow Armor
Normal: I've Already Won, I've Read About That, I've Seen Your Moves Before, Literate

Stress
Physical: 1 2
Mental: 1 2 3 4

Notes
Felicia is a female long-haired cat, with a somewhat bushy white coat and bright blues eyes, one of the Angora breed, although likely more of a mixed heritage than a pure-breed. Brought into her home by an elderly couple as a kitten companion to their older feline, she has been a life-long resident of Silver Lake, but that isn't saying very much. At just shy of two years old, Perch Watcher still very much seen as a novice and neophyte in many ways, an idealistic youth who hasn't gained the wisdom to understand that the Parliament rules don't generally override practical experience and wisdom. As such, she hasn't acquired much influence as of yet, with her territory being amongst the smallest, and newly given at that, often with older cats pushing their boundaries onto hers, as they haven't yet come to respect her as a potential enforcer of her land.

However, though Felicia might be inexperienced, she isn't ignorant nor as naive as some make her out to be. Sharing her home and burdens with one of the most well-respected felines in the Parliament, an elderly tomcat Warden himself, she has studied and observed enough to show surprising tact and studied knowledge of the local history and procedures. Although humble and usually quite courteous, she has tenacious love of lore and learning, always looking out for new sources of insight, cozying up to wiser and more experienced cats and earning their favor to learn what she can from them. Silver Lake, as it turns out, is a place of unusual foundations and a far-reaching past full of mysterious elements, and she's taken to quite the hobby to try and piece it's recent history together, even learning a fair bit of the human's texts to learn more about it, an impressive accomplishment for any cat, let alone one who is so young. She is a strong-willed, dutiful cat, who takes her responsibilities and obligations very seriously, holding to her promises to the best of her abilities, and can often be charming in her own way, for her compassion, conviction, and purity of thought, even if she can come off as a bit unrealistic.

That said, her intelligence and studiousness has it's limits, and she relies on research a bit heavily, more so than most cats find reasonable, or frankly, healthy. Before tackling problems, she thoroughly investigates, studies, and reflects on as much as she possibly can over every possible related element before deciding to try and handle it, unless her paws are tied. She's obsessed with accomplishing goals the "right" way almost every time, and gets easily upset if she is prevented from doing so, or manages to fall short. As such, she can be rather panicky, even neurotic, when something doesn't go according to plan, and isn't so hot when she hasn't had time to research on a particular threat. That said, her focus does come in handy when she does have the time to study a situation, often making preparations for every possible contingency (which itself can come off a bit crazy to some). Some describe her as a bit of a perfectionist, which she denies, but there's certainly a truth for, when she gets upset when she can't accomplish a task on the first try, or just when her often well-groomed fur gets sullied.

She lives in a old home with a kindly, grey-haired lady, and a bald, bed-ridden man, in an old aboard just to the edge of the nearby graveyard Although she'd always treated her cats well, ever since her companion has died, she has been obsessively attentive to her cat, especially her "adorable Fifi", spending a lot of time grooming her coat and adoring her attentively, which at times is welcome, but at others, quite bothersome when she'd rather be studying or attending to her obligations. The male burden is more passive about his affections, which tends to agree with her a bit more, so she often ends up sleeping by his bed-side. A much younger attendant comes around to check on the old couple a couple of times a week, but Felicia is much more guarded about her. She isn't sure they have her burden's well-being at heart.

[Modern Fairy Tale]

Both of your cats are perfect.  I cant wait to see where we get to take all of this.  So Im thinking about starting the thread now in 'Non-Adult'.

I am currently reviewing Silver Ford, Maine and trying to select a good neighborhood and perhaps a landmark from the book to use as our main setting.



You know what, freak it.  Ill use the Rat King and the whole story.  So we all have the outline and know whats up and such OOC.  Now Fate points are earned by ignoring what your character doesnt know... going on red herrings, etc.  There is plenty of fun stuff to explore, I think it would be better than trying to come up with something of my own.  I will populate Silver Ford with more badguys from the other books, of course.

I want our setting to be on that Silver Ford map between the symbol for the Silver Mining Museum and East along the edge of town.  Past the edge of town about four blocks and then over the river is the Blue Moon Woods.  Thats where Hieronymous Screech is.  Sain wanted an owl, so we could have him as your contact, though he still makes rather odd requests for his aid.  Vex if you want to know someone.... someone in the Parliment or something, just let me know.  We will call this area 'Mockingbird Lane because that is the name of the street not along the upper North border betwixt museum and woods... but one street lower South so there are houses on both sides... but past the ones just North is the fields around the city.  Whachathink?  Ill call the thread 'Mockingbird Lane: the Secrets of Cats'.  We understand we have all of Silver Ford to waunder over but Mockingbird Lane, being the main home territory for our setting. 

I also need a child from both households to be one of the four children in the scenario.  For reasons of the story, one child will be killed by the Red Leaf Killer as a complication.  So all three kids could be represented by your homes, if you want.  One house has two kids involved, the other has the other one.  Then go from there.  Vex... maybe the elderly couple has a grandchild or niece or nephew visit for a couple of weeks or something.

Let me know your thoughts and reactions on this so far.



PS     Im thinking of playing Scarlet from the burned out mining museum.  Her highest skill is Fight.  One of you has a 1 and the other a 0 in fighting.  So someone will need to be the scrapper, so I think Ill have Scarlet waunder through at times.  You might be able to get her to help out from time to time.  Vex, if you want Scarlet as your contact, it would be easier to get her into the story... and have someone to easily get Scarlet to do whatever is needed.  Shes already part of the museum which makes this very convenient.  Whachathink?  Shes kind of lonely.... reminds me of the Adam Baldwin character in 'My Bodyguard'.  She resents intrusion into her territory unless one brings gifts.

[Modern Fairy Tale]

I think this is going to have to be a necessary rule.

Size is Power
An important characteristic is that there is a natural hierarchy basicly based on mass and relative strength.  Species of a lower rank on the hierarchy find it very difficult to actually inflict stress on creatures from a higher rank.  This goes in reverse, though, as those of a higher rank find it very difficult to directly attack creatures of a lower rank but do so for more damage.  There is a penalty of -1 for every rank of difference between species.  For example, Cats and are at -2 in any encounter with a Human when trying to inflict damage (though +2 to actual attack), and -3 in any encounter with Anything Bigger(and have a +3 bonus on attack).  A Human would conversely be at -2 to attack that same cat (though do +2 damage) and Anything Bitter would be at -3 on that same attack roll (and do +3 damage).

Hierarchy by Size Tier

3rd    Anything Bigger Than Human
2nd   Humans
1st    Most Dogs and Small Children
  0     Cats
-1st   Anything Smaller
-2nd  Insects

One of the 'Create an Advantage' actions should be to be able to remove this advantage temporarily.  For example one could remove these advantages while fighting a human by jumping on his head and then going to town.  Hurts... for real... but they have an easier chance attacking you because you have removed the defensive side of the size hierarchy as well so best do these kind of manuvers from behind or in darkness, etc.

[Sain]

I would advice against making an NPC solely for the purpose of solving PC's problems for them. It is fate so combat can be done pretty easily without the right skill set by stacking advantages. Making NPC do it all for us only makes combat scenes less meaningful as we can just 'get carried' through them which means less PC involvement and less responsibility. Or are you thinking of playing a PC yourself as well? Generally I think it's a very bad idea in Fate, but not against giving it a try either if you're confident you can do it.

[Vex]

I'm of a similar mind as Sain. I haven't found the FATE game yet that specializes so heavily on a particular role that you'd need a dedicated specialist. Our felines have their advantages even then. Bergins has a fairly strong physique, and with his Not Skin and Bones stunt, he can use to defend against attacks. And Felicia isn't so terrible in certain combat scenarios either. She's less durable, but she can use her high Lore to avoid attacks, thanks to her I've Seen Your Moves Before stunt, and with I've Already Won, she can use her respectable Investigation skill for attacks of her own, provided she's had a chance to study her target beforehand. And that's before considering their magical effects. It might not suit every combat scenario, but given the right scenario, I think Perch Watcher and Deft Paws can hold their own just fine.

That said, if you honestly believe that this story will be best off with a more straight-forward combatant, even despite what our characters are capable of, then I can extend my previous offer once more, and take on the role of a second cat. As I said before, I had an stray cat Shaper concept that I was toying around with. She would be more of a scrapper, albeit a tricky and underhanded one. I wouldn't really mind trying my hand at playing two characters in this game, provided you're interested and you'll give me a little time to work out her sheet.

[Modern Fairy Tale]

Yeah, if you dont mind playing a second cat, Vex.  It would fill in the team.  Ideally fighting wouldnt come up too much, but when it does its nice to have an ace.  Scarlet will still be in play around the museum.  She will guard her territory and such and it isnt far from your own.  Shes just an NPC taking care of her own responsibilities.

[Vex]

I wouldn't mind giving it a shot. It's not something I do often, but I rather like the other concept. And I can always scale it back, if my schedule gets too tight or I'm just not doing well with it.

I'm a little busy on Mondays, so I might not have anything for you today. But I think I can have a sheet for you tomorrow or Wednesday.

[Modern Fairy Tale]

To make it easier... you could have your other cat PC be from the same home and have the same burdens.

Nevermind.

You know what, this is the FATE system.  If you ever need someone with a high level of Fight, you can just spend a FATE point and make someone show up to help.  Since shes so close by and such Scarlet comes to mind, one of you could spend a FATE point and she will 'happen to be in the area and interested in whatever your doing'.  Thats just a facet of the FATE system.  I forget about that stuff... Im used to d20 where all your eggs have to be in the basket before anything happens well.  FATE will give us the dramatic flexibility that if needed, we can have a specialied scrapper there.... but if not maybe you can use your FATE point somewhere else.  I think this is the easiest solution.

Does this work for everyone?  If so we can start laying out the main thread and have you guys start the first posts.  In each of your posts I want you to cover a few things, we will call them 'props' which will be established in your first post should anything happen back on your home turf.

In the first post should be:
Description of your cat
Description of your burden, any family, other pets and such
Description of your domicile
Description of your favorite perches, rests, nooks, toys, shinies, whatever interests a cat
Description of your immediate territory... or your yard and outdoor perches, etc.
Description of your claimed territory... this might overlap with other cats percieved territories
Description of one bordering terrain which gives you trouble... abusive kid, dog, etc.
Description of any bordering terrain which might help coordinate everything... ie. 'That Big Old Oak Tree' which graces your yard

One more thing... remember you two border each other, so give a nod toward each other as to relationship of one territory to the other.  You dont have to be the best of friends.  Cats find it hard to get along... they arent pack animals.

Now all of this is just a quick in passing summation of a paragraph or two.  We dont have to have an outline or every even detail which will ever be mentioned ever listed.  This will just be kind of like 'stage notes' about your home territory so I can keep things straight.

Hope all of this works with everybody.  We are so close to opening up the thread and starting out.  Ill just let you guys set up the world first... within that area of the map.  As far as the story goes there are two tent poles you two will erect... everything else will hang off of that.

Peace.

[Sain]

Oh yes it does works :-) Sounds good. Its always fun to see how much plot exposition you can do in as little words as possible.