[DF] The House Cat, 62 point template

[Tymathee]

Part 1 of 2

This template lets you play as a larger-than-life house cat, an infamous creature of the dungeon crawling genre. It is suitable for making PCs for DF campaigns that start them off at 62 points, or as a “bargain henchman”. 62 points seems like the perfect range for "joke" templates like this!

House Cat, 62 point template

You are a sapient, talking cat! Maybe you are a familiar or animal companion, or maybe you have the ambition to rise above that. You are not just any kitty; you are the top cat and know it. The peasantry crowding the streets in Town will part before you. Your natural knack for stealth and reconnaissance makes you a valuable member of any fresh-faced adventuring party.

Attributes: ST 4 [-60]; DX 14 (No Fine Manipulators, -40%) [48]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 12 [20].
Secondary Characteristics: Damage 1d-5/1d-4; BL 3.2 lbs.; HP 4 [0]; Will 11 [5]; Per 12 [10]; FP 12 [0]; Speed 6.0 [-10]; Move 10 [20]; SM -3.
Advantages: Catfall [10]; Claws (Sharp) [5]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Extra Option (Paper-thin Peasantry)ꜝ [1]; Flexibility [5]; Fur [1]; Night Vision 9 [9]; Perfect Balance [15]; Teeth (Sharp) [1]; and Vibration Sense (Air) [10]. • Another 15 points chosen from among Basic Move +1 to +3 [5/level], Danger Sense [15], Luck [15], Per +1 to +3 [5/level], Serendipity 1 [15], Silence 1-3 [5/level], or improve Flexibility to Double-Jointed [15] for 10 points.
Disadvantages: Quadruped [-35] and Wealth (Dead Broke) [-25]. • Another -15 points chosen from among Callous [-5], Curious [-5*], Impulsiveness [-10*], Laziness [-10], Loner [-5*], Odious Personal Habit (“Filthy feral”) [-5], Phobia (Entering Water) [-5*], Sense of Duty (Adventuring companions) [-5], Skinny [-5], or Stubbornness [-5]. • Five Quirks chosen from among Chatty [-1], Dislikes Water [-1], Eavesdropper [-1], Impatient [-1], Insensitive [-1], Layabout [-1], Likes Catnip [-1], Nosy [-1], Offers Unpalatable [-1], Proud [-1], Secretive [-1], Sleepyhead [-1], or Uncongenial [-1].
Primary Skills: Observation (A) Per [2]-12; Stealth (A) DX+1 [4]-15; and Urban Survival (A) Per [2]-12.
Secondary Skills: Acrobatics (H) DX [2]-14†; Brawling (E) DX+2 [4]-16; Climbing (A) DX+3 [1]-17†‡; Escape (H) DX+1 [1]-15‡; and Jumping (E) DX+1 [2]-15.
Background Skills: 4 points in improved primary or secondary skills, or Hiking or Running, both (A) HT-1 [1]-11; Scrounging or Tracking (Mousing), both (E) Per [1]-12; or Traps (Detect Traps) (E) IQ [1]-10.

ꜝ Anyone considered peasantry (GM’s discretion) are treated as Fodder with 1 HP and die at 0 HP when dealt damage by an attack from you.
† Includes +1 from Perfect Balance.
‡ Includes +3 from Flexibility.

[Tymathee]

Part 2 of 2

Designer’s Notes

This is where I will divulge some of my thought process as to why I made some decisions, etc. It is also useful for jogging the memory for as to why made certain choices when I look back at this in the future.

Extra Option (Paper-thin Peasantry) enables the “Cat vs. Commoner” meme. “Peasantry” refers to what are usually the commoners the GM uses to color the scenery with that are likely nameless and without characterization until the PCs interact with them. “Peasantry” could also be read as meaning “inconsequential NPC”, so they do not necessarily have to be (but usually are) commonfolk. I was wondering how I ought to incorporate the meme into the template, and while browsing the Dungeons supplement of DF I found the Fodder rules which seemed perfect to adapt for this.

I considered giving the template Cannot Speak and the Gesture skill but opted against it. I have no experience playing such characters but from what I have gleaned from reading on the web is that these kinds of PCs are not as fun to play as and get quickly retired in favor of playing as a speaking PC instead. Talking cats are a common trope of fantasy fiction, so players can use this template to emulate that. I have left it open ended as to how the cat came to be as it is so the player can define that fluff as they see fit.

Yes, you read right, there is required Quirks. All five. You do not get the usual optional up-to-five Quirks on top of this. This is not very RAW but I like the idea of mandatory Quirks. They are very good at really fine-tuning a character just so. It is especially appropriate because house cats are very quirky by nature in my opinion. You can end the lives of plebs with just a swipe of your paw, so do not complain!

Tracking (Mousing) is not RAW, as optional specialties are limited to IQ based skills, but its application in play is totally inoffensive. You are just skilled at finding small furry vermin such as mice. This could be used to help feed other party members too if they are comfortable with the rat-on-a-stick diet.

I am sure it is just semantics… but Traps (Detect Traps) is IQ based, but all rolls with it will always be Per based, so why not have the notation in the skills list reflect that? Hmm. *shrugs* I wanted to include more bite-sized bits of utility to the template so this seemed appropriate. House Cat PCs will not be contributing much to combat (besides assassinating the peasantry) so expanding the options available to contribute to the dungeon crawling experience can only be beneficial.

I am not going to bother with a thoroughly defined “power-ups” list. The sky may not be the limit here as many fantastic abilities have been attributed to cats… incredible luck, extra lives, the ability to teleport only when no one is looking but only to places that could be plausibly traveled to on foot… etc. Magical or psionic abilities are a possibility. Investing points into Leadership, Strategy, and Tactics are both flavorful and useful.

[Tymathee]

I often struggle to find the creativity to make good templates, but the concept for this one really fueled my writing.

How does the formatting of the template look? Pleasing to the eye I hope. Any suggestions on how to improve this template? What might be missing?

The concept seems well suited for the 62 point DF campaign. This template, among others built for the 62 point game, could be used for a low level "From The Bottom Up" style game. Maybe the other PCs could be a young goblin or kobold, small slime, a giant rat, etc. Maybe there could be a full House Cat adventuring party, exploring Town; buildings could be dungeons, to be ransacked of their snacks, catnip, etc. The sewer system could be the mega dungeon! If a House Cat is part of a more regular adventuring party for a more normal campaign, maybe the GM could consider having kitty-friendly spotlight moments interspersed throughout the game: sections of the dungeon only suitable for someone house cat sized or smaller to explore, and enemies appropriately scaled down...

[martinl]

Originally Posted by Tymathee

Extra Option (Paper-thin Peasantry) enables the “Cat vs. Commoner” meme.

I just gave the cat "Higher Purpose 3 - Slay wizards" - you could expand that to commoners.

[Tymathee]

Originally Posted by martinl

I just gave the cat "Higher Purpose 3 - Slay wizards" - you could expand that to commoners.

That might be too good(?). I'd be inclined to make that two separate types of Higher Purpose... I can see though how they might be grouped together, as historically within that other game they are both equally vulnerable to the house cat. Very tropey. Higher Purpose (Slay Wizards) seems better suited for a comical NPC encounter intended to terrorize the party's Wizard though. Might make a good "power-up" option maybe, in addition to the Extra Option perk? :)

[Emerald Cat]

Originally Posted by Tymathee

Tracking (Mousing) is not RAW, as optional specialties are limited to IQ based skills, but its application in play is totally inoffensive.

This is narrow enough that I would be tempted to use a Hyperspecialization Perk to represent this.

Originally Posted by Tymathee

This could be used to help feed other party members too if they are comfortable with the rat-on-a-stick diet.

My feral cat that we adopted would consistently bring back rodents for us. Even though he never saw us eating them. While he was alive, the kids next door supplemented their allowance removing rodents from our front porch for my mom. Their record haul was 10 to 15 mice! It took years after his death for the moles to bounce back.

I'm torn on how to represent this kind of pushiness on your cat template. Odious Personal Habit (Offers Unpalatable) [-5 to -10] is the simplest representation. But that would only make sense of post-hygiene and food-safety societies exist.

Reputation is more complicated but might work better. You could give positive reaction modifiers to those who would respect such survival instincts and negative ones to those would be disgusted by the offer of mice.

[ericthered]

A generic tracking would work just fine. Cats are not picky killers, though some specialize in different targets. The whole "Catches Mice" thing is about targets of opportunity. They'll just as happily go after insects, birds, moles, shrews, squirrels, small rabbits, frogs, and reptiles. Though they generally don't track their prey.

Move 10 feels excessive, speed 6 feels low, and you're missing clinging (wood).

[Tymathee]

Originally Posted by Emerald Cat

This is narrow enough that I would be tempted to use a Hyperspecialization Perk to represent this.

I'm torn on how to represent this kind of pushiness on your cat template. Odious Personal Habit (Offers Unpalatable) [-5 to -10] is the simplest representation. But that would only make sense of post-hygiene and food-safety societies exist.

Reputation is more complicated but might work better. You could give positive reaction modifiers to those who would respect such survival instincts and negative ones to those would be disgusted by the offer of mice.

Originally Posted by ericthered

A generic tracking would work just fine. Cats are not picky killers, though some specialize in different targets. The whole "Catches Mice" thing is about targets of opportunity. They'll just as happily go after insects, birds, moles, shrews, squirrels, small rabbits, frogs, and reptiles. Though they generally don't track their prey.

Move 10 feels excessive, speed 6 feels low, and you're missing clinging (wood).

Odious Personal Habit might be a bit much, it seems like it would work better as another Quirk option:

Offers Unpalatable
You have a habit of wanting to return with "gifts" from successful hunts. Those who would appreciate your hunting skill will react at +1, while those not so accustomed to this eccentric feline behavior will react at -1.

The reaction modifiers come to a net wash for 0, but nets as a Quirk for being inclined to hunt for the fun of it which house cats are known for.

If it matters, "Mousing" could be read as "Small Game". There seems to be a precedent within GURPS that skills have uses beyond what is outlined in their descriptions, e.g. Tactics being used in place of Gesture. If Mousing seems too hyperspecialized I can make the change to Small Game, which I think would remove the need to reallocate a point for the Hyperspecialization Perk. It's my fault for not using better wording perhaps and expecting people to read between the lines though.

As for the stats, I pulled most of it from the Allies supplement, which in turn was probably based on the stats given in Basic. They looked fine to me at a glance, so I did not bother reality checking them. The traits and customization options I've picked for the template are meant to reflect what I think would both fun and gameable for DF (which I assume is the intended philosophy for how templates in DF are made), rather than adhering to what might be more strictly realistic. An ordinary, not very intelligent, non-talking house cat might not think to invest time into learning skilled tracking of their prey but a highly intelligent, talking cat just might.

Wouldn't Clinging (Wood) be better suited for a more arboreal animal? The fact that their claws happen to give a better grip might better be described as a Feature of being both SM-3 and having Claws (Sharp).

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by Tymathee

Wouldn't Clinging (Wood) be better suited for a more arboreal animal? The fact that their claws happen to give a better grip might better be described as a Feature of being both SM-3 and having Claws (Sharp).

It's also Clinging (anything softer than the claws), as anyone who has had kittens decide they're a good thing to play on knows.

[Tymathee]

Originally Posted by Rupert

It's also Clinging (anything softer than the claws), as anyone who has had kittens decide they're a good thing to play on knows.

While they're skilled climbers, they don't have the same level of Clinging as, say, squirrels. Their claws are not optimized for descending trees, and it doesn't help that they can't descend head-first either. The fact that their claws are sized to grab onto very porous surfaces like the bark of a tree or fabric is just a feature of having little paws with little sharp claws. It might warrant what amounts to a Accessory Perk that aids climbing.