The Fourth Apprentice

They won’t be completely healed, but they will feel a little bit better right away. (They get 1 chip of immediate bonus healing.)

The adventure is over, but let the players describe what their cats are doing and how they will get the feverfew back to the Clan territory. Then skip ahead over the two days of travel, and describe the scene when the cats return.

At first, the medicine cats will simply grab the herbs and get to work, perhaps leaving the characters to feel unappreciated. But later, the medicine cats and the Clan leaders and all the other healthy members of the Clans will come and thank them, telling them that they are real heroes. And it’s true.

What Happens Next: The adventure is over. Well done!

20. One Special Pool

Special Note: The cats may come to this scene more than once. After the first time, there is no need to reread the Read Aloud section; just get to the meat of the scene.

Read Aloud: “The other pools are certainly beautiful, there’s no doubt about it. But there is something special about this pool. And there is a fresh, hopeful scent in the air.“

Narrator Tips: The cats are absolutely certain that this is the right pool. The scent of feverfew fills the area. Unfortunately, that makes it more difficult to determine where exactly the patch is. It will take a group effort to find it.

Each cat must make either a See or a Smell Check. Add their totals together to get a group total. Write that number down; you may need to remember it later. If the group total is equal to or greater than the number of cats x6, they have succeeded in finding the feverfew. If the group total is less than that number they have failed to find the herb.

It is possible that the cats will fail to find the feverfew on their first attempt. If so, they will have to visit this scene a second and possibly a third time. Each time they do, they build on the same group total. So, for example, if there are six cats, the group total must be 36 in order for them to succeed (6 x 6 = 36). If the first group total is only 15 points, then the next time the cats try they add their new group total to the old one. So if the second group total is 12, the overall group total is now 27 (15 + 12 = 27). That’s still not enough to succeed, but it’s getting close. They’ll almost certainly succeed on the third try.

What Happens Next: No matter what the results of the search are, the cats must first face the ravages of the fever. Continue with 5, but then come back here to see the final resolution.

If the cats succeed in finding the feverfew, continue with 19.

If the cats fail to find the feverfew, continue with 17.

21. Fight!

Read Aloud: “The badger launches itself straight at you, snorting and growling and baring its teeth. But as sharp and dangerous as those teeth look, you know that the real danger is the badger’s claws!“

Narrator Tips: This is the big fight. Either the cats will win, or the adventure will end in tragedy for them and all the cats suffering through the fever back in the Clan territory.

The thing that makes the badger especially dangerous is that it’s a vicious fighter with incredible speed. In each Round of this fight, the badger may be able to attack twice. It always attacks first; then all of the cats attack. If any of the cats try to Swat or Wrestle with the badger and fail on their attack Checks, the badger gets to make a second attack at the end of the Round.

When the badger makes a Swat Check, the total is 7. If the badger hits, its Strength Check has a total of 8 when determining damage. When the cats attack, the badger’s Jump Check total is 7. Its Strength score, for determining how much damage the cats do, is 5. Once a fight starts, the badger will not quit until it is Knocked Out-it has a total of 15 chips that must be lost before this happens.

In most scenes, if one cat is Knocked Out, the whole team loses-even if they beat the enemy. Since this is the climax of the adventure, though, the group can still win even if one or two of their members are beaten. If half or more of the cats in the group are Knocked Out, though, then the whole team loses-there aren’t enough cats left to bring back sufficient amounts of feverfew. If, however, the badger is beaten and more than half the cats are still standing, the team wins.

What Happens Next: If the cats Knock Out the badger and less than half the cats are Knocked Out, continue with 20.

If half or more of the cats are Knocked Out, continue with 12.

22. Dog Fight

Read Aloud: “With a roaring bark, a large brown dog leaps from the back of one of the monsters.“

Narrator Tips: The cats have very few choices at this point. They can try to run up the hill and hope the dog doesn’t follow them, they can fight the dog, they can climb a tree, or they can retreat down the hill and hope the dog doesn’t follow them.

Up the Hill: This is the worst choice the cats can make. The dog will catch them and start a fight, but in the first Round, the target cat cannot make a Jump Check to avoid the dog’s bite-he or she is automatically hit-and none of the cats may make attacks. It is basically just a free bite for the dog.

Fight: Fighting the dog works the same as any fight (see Chapter Five of the game rules). In each Round, the dog goes first and will attack one cat. It is probably best to use a random method (like Evens Odds or Rock, Paper, Scissors) to pick exactly which cat gets attacked, though a particularly brave cat can volunteer to get the dog’s attention. After that, all the cats get to go.

The dog does not Swat; it only Bites (and remember that Bites do extra damage). Its Bite Check has a total of 8. When the cats are attacking, the dog has a Jump Check total of 5. When it comes to inflicting or taking damage, the dog has a Strength score of 6.

The dog is really just a big bully. It’s happy to pick on the cats as a mean kind of game, but if the cats actually hurt it too much, the dog will run away. If the cats manage to do 6 chips worth of damage to the dog, it will give a loud yelp and run away to hide in the back of the truck. The cats can then safely get away.

Climb: There are plenty of trees around to climb. If the cats just want to get away from the dog’s teeth, they only have to succeed at a Climb Check with a total of 4. Of course, once they’re up in the trees, there’s nowhere to go, and they have to make another Climb Check to stay balanced-if the Check fails, they have to come down out of the tree. If they have to or choose to come down, the cats will have to fight the dog.

Describe the situation like a scene in a scary movie. The dog is at the bottom of the tree, barking and howling. The cats are stuck in trees that are swaying dangerously in the breeze. Make the cats all attempt a total of 3 extra Climb Checks to see if they can keep from falling off their perches. If they do, the dog gets bored and goes back to the truck. Then the cats can come safely out of the trees and hopefully get away from the dog. They still have to make Sneak Checks (as described in scene 10) to get safely across the yard.

Down the Hill: The dog will not chase the cats down the hill. They can choose which alternate route they want to take.

What Happens Next: If the cats get away from the dog, continue with 5.

If any of the cats are Knocked Out, continue with 12.

If the cats retreat and prefer to go directly into the deep part of the woods, continue with 7.

If the cats retreat and prefer to take the route by the river instead, continue with 6.

If the cats retreat and prefer to go into the woods where the monster noises are coming from, continue with 4.

AFTER THE A DVENTURE