by Erin Hunter
“I would gladly kill you,” Hollyleaf told him. “But the warrior code tells us to show mercy to a defeated enemy. I will let you escape once and for all, if you promise never to come back and trouble the Clans again.”
Sol was silent as Hollyleaf stood back and allowed him to stand up. He stood over her, his eyes gleaming in the darkness. “I cannot make that promise,” he hissed.
Hollyleaf didn’t flinch. “Then I will kill you, if you return and threaten my Clanmates.”
“I’ll be ready.” Sol’s voice was soft and menacing. Then he slipped past Hollyleaf and was lost in the darkness.
“Why did you let him go?” Dovewing demanded, every hair on her pelt quivering. “He was at your mercy!”
“We have to let the warrior code rule our hearts,” Hollyleaf answered. Her voice was blurred with exhaustion. “The death of a warrior does not mean victory.”
Dovewing took a pace forward and pressed her muzzle into Hollyleaf’s shoulder. Sending out her special senses, she could hear WindClan retreating to their camp, and her own Clanmates heading back through the tunnels, bleeding and battered, but triumphant. Later, there would be time to think about Sol’s strange threat, about this mysterious Clan that had wronged him so long ago. For now, the battle had been won. A much greater battle lay ahead, one that would be lost unless the four Clans by the lake could unite and fight side by side. Every moment that the Clans were at war with one another, they were at the mercy of the Dark Forest. They had to find a way to settle their quarrels, to join together against their greatest enemy. Was that what the prophecy meant, that Dovewing, Jayfeather, and Lionblaze would be able to unite the cats around the lake?
Dovewing felt bone-weary from her ears to the tip of her tail. Just because she had better hearing, sharper senses than any other cat didn’t seem to give her more strength. She needed to rest, eat, talk with Jayfeather and Lionblaze about the challenge that Sol had left them with, of hostile Clans that would be crushed by the Dark Forest if they tried to fight alone. StarClan, light my path, please.
“Come on,” she meowed to Hollyleaf. “It’s time we went home. Our Clanmates are waiting for us.”
KEEP WATCH FOR
OMEN OF THE STARS
WARRIORS
BOOK 6:
THE LAST HOPE
The battle between the Dark Forest and the warrior Clans has come. As the cats seek out their allies and enemies, Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovewing wait desperately for the fourth cat who is prophesied to help them lead the Clans to victory—and who may be their only hope for survival.
Training Day
Whatever the previous adventure you played, consider that one moon has passed since then. Determine what age that makes all of the cat characters (including the one belonging to the person who will take the first turn as Narrator) and use the information found in the “Improving Your Cat” section of Chapter Four in the game rules to make the necessary improvements.
Unless you are the first person who will act as Narrator in this adventure, you should stop reading here. The information beginning in the next paragraph is for the Narrator only.
The Adventure Begins
Hello, Narrator! It’s time to begin playing “Training Day.” Make sure all the players have their character sheets, the correct number of chips, a piece of paper, and a pencil. For this adventure, you will also need a six-sided die (like those you find in most standard board games). Remember that the point of the game is to have fun, so don’t be afraid to go slow, keep the players involved, and refer to the rules if you aren’t sure exactly what should happen next.
When you’re ready, begin with 1 below.
1. A Time to Teach
Special Note: Over the course of the previously published adventures, your cat characters have grown and improved—going from newly promoted apprentices to experienced warriors. The Clans are tight-knit groups that depend on older members to pass their knowledge down to the younger ones. Just as the players’ cats had mentors and teachers who taught them the basics of life in the forests around the lake, in the opening scenes of “Training Day” the players’ cats take their turn sharing the knowledge they’ve gained with a new generation of apprentices.
Read Aloud: “Usually, the training of apprentices is handled completely within their own Clans. However, in an effort to reduce suspicion and tension between Clans, the Clan leaders have decided to try an experiment. They want a group of warriors to spend a day working with apprentices from Clans other than their own, and your cats have been chosen to take part in this experiment.”
Narrator Tips: Tell the players that their cats are each approached by the leaders of their individual Clans and told about this. The leaders feel that it is an important task and that the players’ cats have been chosen because they seem to be good at working side by side with cats of varying backgrounds (as may happen every time you play the game, if the players’ cats come from different Clans). Their job will be to teach basic warrior skills—patrolling a border, stalking an enemy, and hunting for freshkill—to show these apprentices that all cats are alike no matter what Clan they belong to.
Each cat will get a specific apprentice to work with. Have the players (including the Narrator) each roll the six-sided die and use the chart below to discover what Clan the apprentice comes from. If the result is the same Clan that the player’s cat belongs to, reroll. Remember that what Clan a cat is from gives that cat an added boost in one skill (see Chapter Two of the game rules).
Die Result
Clan
1
ShadowClan
2–3
RiverClan
4–5
WindClan
6
ThunderClan
Then have the players (including the Narrator) each roll the six-sided die again, using the chart below to see what personality and skills their apprentice has. Have the players write down the game details for their new apprentices, listed below the chart. They’ll need this information as the adventure progresses.
Die Result
Personality
1-2
Clever
3–4
Tough
5–6
Insightful
Clever Apprentice: A clever apprentice has the following Ability scores—Strength 1, Intelligence 3, Spirit 1. The apprentice has the following Skill levels—Jump 1, Ponder 1, Sneak 1.
Tough Apprentice: A tough apprentice has the following Ability scores—Strength 3, Intelligence 1, Spirit 1. The apprentice has the following Skill levels—Pounce 1, See 1, Swat 1.
Insightful Apprentice: An insightful apprentice has the following Ability scores—Strength 1, Intelligence 1, Spirit 3. The apprentice has the following Skill levels—Focus 1, Listen 1, Smell 1.
Finally, have the players (including the Narrator) each roll the six-sided die one more time. If the result is even, their apprentice is female. If it’s odd, the apprentice is male. Once that is known, the apprentices need names. Rather than have the players choose the names themselves, have each player select the name for the apprentice belonging to the person on her or his right (keeping the apprentice’s personality and Clan in mind).
With all the apprentices fully developed, the players’ cats must decide in what order they want to teach the skills. Will they start with border patrol, stalking, or hunting practice?
Once that is decided, it is time to reveal the final surprise—during this adventure they will sometimes be playing as their regular cats and sometimes be playing as the apprentices. Have each player set aside his or her cat’s character sheets and focus on the game details of the new apprentices.
The big challenge will be that, when playing an apprentice, the players need to remember that the young cat does not know everything that the more advanced cat does. The Narrator may find it helpful to remind the players of what perspective and knowledge they are supposed to be using—the apprentice’s or the mentor’s—as that shifts during play.
/> What Happens Next: If the players’ cats want to begin with border patrol practice, continue with 5.
If the players’ cats want to begin with stalking practice, continue with 7.
If the players’ cats want to begin with hunting practice, continue with 10.
2. Hey, You!
Read Aloud: “That tall tree in the distance marks the border, you’re sure of it. As you approach, though, you can tell that this isn’t the tree you thought it was. In fact, you’ve never seen this tree before in your life because it’s deep within ShadowClan territory.”
Narrator Tips: The apprentices are more lost than ever. They’ve made a terrible error and wandered deep into ShadowClan territory. Ask the players what the apprentices want to do about it, but tell them to make a quick call—you never know who might have seen, heard, or smelled them.
In fact, a pair of ShadowClan warriors has caught scent of the apprentices and is padding over to find them. The apprentices must act quickly or they will be discovered. The Narrator should give the group a fair warning that danger could arrive at any moment. If the group continues to dawdle or is unable to decide on a plan of action, the aggressive older cats arrive.
If the apprentices try to make their way back to ThunderClan territory, ask whether they want to do so quickly or quietly (they can’t do both). If the answer is quickly, have all the apprentices make a Strength Check and tell them that any total lower than a 4 will be a failure. Before attempting that test, tell the group that any player whose regular cat has the Dash Knack may spend three Strength Chips to add them to the bonus pool. If any of the apprentices fails this Check, the ShadowClan cats catch the group.
If the apprentices try to escape quietly, tell the players that all the apprentices must make two separate Sneak Checks and that any total lower than 3 will count as a failure. Also tell them that any player whose regular cat has the Hide or Stalk Knack may add three Spirit Chips to the bonus pool. If any of the apprentices fails either of the Checks, the ShadowClan cats catch the group.
If the ShadowClan warriors catch the group, they will start a fight. (This fight uses all the usual rules as described in Chapter Five of the game.) They know that the apprentices are here by accident, but they believe swatting a young cat whenever it makes a mistake is the best way to encourage better behavior in the future. These cats each have Strength 5, Intelligence 3, and Spirit 3. Each round, each one of them will attack one of the apprentices. The Narrator can determine which one by any method she likes, or one of the apprentices can volunteer to receive the attack by throwing him- or herself in front of the attack. (A single apprentice can only jump in front of one attack per round.)
The ShadowClan warriors’ plan is to make a show of force and frighten the apprentices. They expect that the young cats will run from a fight, proving that the cross-Clan training is a failure and will only weaken ShadowClan. These warriors will fight for three rounds. If all of the apprentices are still standing their ground and ready to continue the fight at the end of the third round, they have proven their strength and bravery to the ShadowClan warriors, who will leave them alone from now on.
Although the ShadowClan warriors only want to scare the apprentices, it is possible that one or more of the younger cats will be Knocked Out. The older cats will be ashamed of themselves but, after making sure that no permanent damage has been done, they will still use this turn of events as “proof” that the current training is making the apprentices weak.
What Happens Next: If the apprentices manage to sneak safely back to ThunderClan territory, or to beat the ShadowClan warriors in battle, the apprentices can try the test again. Go to 5.
If the apprentices are seen running away from ShadowClan territory (and do not face down the ShadowClan warriors in battle) or if any of the apprentices is Knocked Out during the battle, continue with 13.
3. Who’s Stalking Who?
Read Aloud: “The scent of your foe is getting stronger. You can hear his movements nearby. You know—hey . . . wait . . . that’s coming from the wrong direction!”
Narrator Tips: The apprentice has made such a mess of this attempt to stalk a pretend foe that the quarry was able to turn things around and stalk the apprentice instead.
Describe the end of the “hunt,” where the apprentice thinks he or she is about to catch the target, but suddenly the pretend foe comes charging at the apprentice from an unexpected location and pounces on him or her instead. It should be a little embarrassing, but not actually painful.
Ask the players what suggestions their regular cat characters have for the apprentice. Where did things go wrong? How could he or she do better next time? What should a warrior do when he or she realizes that the situation has been reversed like that? Could the apprentice have done the same thing to turn the situation around again?
As Narrator, you should be keeping track of how many failures the apprentices get. This result was so bad that it counts as two failures instead of just one.
What Happens Next: If the apprentices have amassed a total of four or more failures in the stalking test, continue with 13.
If the apprentices have not yet amassed four failures, return to scene 7 and let them try again. Note, though, that once an individual apprentice succeeds at this test, he or she does not have to perform it again.
4. Is It Dinner Yet?
Read Aloud: “None of the Clans is particularly large in number. You all easily know every member of your own Clan, and a good many of the cats in other Clans, too. But the size of a Clan suddenly seems much bigger when you look at your newly caught freshkill and realize that the hunters do not get any food until all the other Clan cats eat first.”
Narrator Tips: If the adventure has reached this scene, the apprentices have not yet gathered enough freshkill. The Narrator should keep track of how many times the apprentices’ efforts return them to this scene—it will determine what happens next.
Ask the players to discuss what they think went wrong. What advice would their cats offer to the apprentices to help them gather freshkill more quickly? Is it better to hunt small prey or large? Would things be better if the apprentices worked together in pairs or trios?
The Narrator should tell the players that the apprentices can work in teams using special rules. If a group of apprentices hunt the same creature, all of the apprentices may try each of the required Skill Checks, but only one apprentice needs to succeed in that Check in order to overcome the prey. In other words, no matter how many cats are hunting together, they only need a single success by any one of the apprentices for the whole team to succeed.
What Happens Next: If there is not enough freshkill and this was the fourth time that the adventure has reached this scene, continue with 13.
If there was not enough freshkill but the adventure has reached this scene fewer than four times, the apprentices may continue hunting. Return to 10.
5. On Patrol
Read Aloud: “Patrolling the borders of the Clan’s territory is one of the most important jobs a warrior has. It’s the best way for the Clan to keep an eye out for any new threats, and to find out if anything unusual is happening in a neighboring Clan’s territory.”
Narrator Tips: In this section, the older cats are teaching their new apprentices how to behave on border patrols. As a group, they’ve gone to an area where there is a complicated border separating ThunderClan territory, ShadowClan territory, and non-Clan forest territory.
Begin by asking the players what advice their cats would give to the apprentices. What should a cat do on patrol? How should they behave? Are there any particular tricks or dangers to look out for? Lead this as a discussion among the players to get them to roleplay what their cats might say.
When the instructional part is over, it is time for the players to take control of the apprentices again. Let the apprentices refresh their chips, if they need to. Then have them try to walk the border without crossing into the other Clan’s territory. To do this successfully, each appre
ntice must make one of the following Checks: Focus Check, Intelligence Check, Ponder Check, or See Check. Add together the results of these Checks to create a Group Total. If the Group Total is 12 or higher, the apprentices have successfully walked the patrol route. If the Group Total is lower than 12, the cats have crossed the border.
What Happens Next: If the apprentices have successfully walked the patrol route, continue with 11.
If this is the first or second time the apprentices crossed the border, continue with 8.
If this is the third time the apprentices crossed the border, continue with 2.
6. Waiting for Supper
Read Aloud: “It seemed certain that the apprentices were about to complete their task. You were sure they’d bring back enough freshkill to meet their goal, but you were wrong.”
Narrator Tips: The Narrator should begin by telling the players to set aside the information about their apprentices and focus on the character sheets for their usual cat characters—the apprentices have failed to return from their hunting expeditions.
One of the interesting things about roleplaying games like this is that the players will sometimes have access to different perspectives of the story and levels of ability. Over the last few scenes, the players have been able to see the actions both through the eyes of their regular cat characters and through the eyes of the apprentice cats. The more experienced cats could easily have succeeded on any and all of the tests being performed, but the apprentices often struggled to do so.
In this instance, the players know everything that happened to the apprentices up to a certain point, but not beyond. Now they must use the skills and abilities of their experienced cat characters to find the missing information and (hopefully) find the missing apprentices, too.