A Kitten, or a plot line?

[defendi]

Hi. Tonight at my Echoes of Heaven game, I did a quick side issue where I let the barbarian rescue a kitten trapped in a hole. I did it because I wanted to see what he'd do and let's face, the image of a big, burly barbarian walking up to the cleric and meekly asking for a Cure Minor for the tiny kitten in his hands was just too good to pass up.

But now I'm thinking that since he kept the kitten, I might want to do something with it. I want kitten plot lines. This could be anything from the mundane (the cat who saves the mayor by panicking at an assassin) to the fantastic (great scaled dragon wyrmling transformed into a cat by its mother to protect it from a dragon slayer who had mortally wounded her).

Anyway, I'm looking for clever ideas.

 

[Wik]

Don't go for the fantastic. It'd cheapen the moment, I'd say.

I like the first one - have the cat screech out when an assassin approaches the camp.

In an old dark sun game, our half-giant gladiator adopted a kitten, and had it as a pet. The Player loved that kitten, and it became a regular thing - the player used the kitten as an NPC under his control, and it worked out well.

 

[MarkB]

Sometimes a kitten is just a kitten.

 

[Relique du Madde]

The kitten ends up being a reincarnated form of a tyrant king who has been replaced by benevolent doppleganger.

 

[hong]

What?

 

[Dioltach]

Speaking from experience, you could set up an epic battle by having the kitten need a pill.

Alternatively, it could be a powerful wizard's familiar -- preferably an evil wizard, and the kitten doesn't want to go back, but is bound by magic. Call it Gobbolino, and have it shoot sparks from its whiskers.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I like the first one - have the cat screech out when an assassin approaches the camp.

In the movie It Waits, there is an African Grey Parrot that can sense the demonic evil creature before any of the humans, and it routinely goes "Uh-Oh!" when it does so.

A pity- the poor humans never quite figure out that this is an advantage they can use, and one actually tries to set the bird free so it can save itself...

 

[roguerouge]

Repeat after me: "There is no such thing as a problem-free kitten."

For me, the adventure is the kitten itself. Training the kitten will be a full-time chore for a while, especially if the kitten is traveling with the party. Go through the skill list and figure out a way to have the kitten do something that a skill would resolve.

Rescuing kitten from the tree it climbed. Finding the narrow crawlspace that the kitten is exploring.

RP the Handle Animal skill's training applications.

Have the barbarian character figure out what ways to reward good behavior and punish bad behavior.

Have interactions between the kitten and the various familiars and animal companions.

Make the barbarian cry through description when it's time to get the kitten "fixed".

Have the barbarian show the kitten how to hunt mice.

Preventing the kitten from waking the wizard before 8 hours are up. Kittens are nocturnal. You aren't.

 

[roguerouge]

I kind of think of the kitten evil alarm as shoe-horning it into plot lines. Think of the kitten as a character-building exercise instead of having it a part of major plots, which would be lame after its second use.

 

[Merkuri]

It's probably a little corny, but I'd keep the kitten as a kitten for a long time, so much so that the characters kinda forget about it and take it for granted (but don't let them actually forget about it... describe what the kitten is doing every once and a while to remind them it's there).

Then there will come a time when the characters find themselves face-to-face with some potentially hostile force, like a dragon or a fey army, only to see the kitten transform into one of the creatures they are faced with and plead for your lives, since you've been so good to the kitten.

If you want something a little less corny and less magical you could have the kitten run away from them in a dungeon and lead them to extra treasure or to a solution to a puzzle they found elsewhere.

Or the players could find out that somebody wants this kitten. Maybe they find a wanted poster, and if they show up to return it they could realize something isn't quite right (maybe the person answering the door is a poorly disguised undead of some sort) and suddenly decide they don't want to give the kitten back. Maybe the little innocent-looking kitten was destined for some ritual that would summon a powerful demon lord, and it's too late in the ritual to change - it NEEDS to be THAT kitten. Or maybe (Men in Black style) the kitten has a collar the characters didn't notice earlier, and something on that collar that looks innocent is actually a powerful magic item or necessary component for a spell or doomsday device. They could go a whole campaign with this kitten that grows into a cat before they realize the thing they've been looking for has been with them all along.