What to do with a cat?

[Breakstone]

One of the characters in the campaign I DM found an old, sick, hungry cat in a closet in a locked room that had a bed blocking its entrance.

He's convinced the cat isn't truly a cat.

Then again, I did have the cat stare at him as he slept.

Anyways, I was thinking of funny things I could do with this cat, such as having it be an ancient uber-villain punished through polymorphing, or it could be, quite simply, immortal and impossible to kill.

Any other ideas?

 

[Oni]

Think it might be interesting if it really was just a cat. Just keeps showing up, like that darned feline from Trigun.


Though an awakened cat might be interesting too...

 

[starwolf]

Maybe it is the living phylactory of an arch-lich......however the cat himself/herself is actually good and the eons of holding the essence of the arch-lich has imbued the cat with enough power that it realizes that it holds the secret to destroying the lich. But due to the enchanments upon the cat it can't destroy itself....

 

[Alzrius]

I'm reminded of one of the NPC's from 2E Ravenloft's Children of the Night: Ghosts.

The cat is a spirit of maliciousness (or vengeance) that only the character can see. It starts out helping him, pointing out small but needed objects and secret rooms until he trusts it...then it turns against him, leading him into traps, meowing to attract enemies...it can't be injured or sent away, it haunts his dreams...that cat is a demon out to ruin him. Fun.

 

[WayneLigon]

He's convinced the cat isn't truly a cat....Then again, I did have the cat stare at him as he slept.

So it did something all cats do and he's suspicious?

Have it...
...suddenly run at top speed around the room/inn/house they are in, for no apparent reason.
...stare at a spot on the wall for hours without moving.
...show up at th exact time they normally eat dinner, even though it's been unfindable all day.
...sit on his chest as he sleeps, usually parking it's big fat cat butt right over his nose and mouth so he wakes up in short order, suffocating.

He'll be climbing the walls.

The polymorphed creature/mage/whatever idea is pretty good because it can always get caught in a Dispel Magic effect or equiviant antimagic effect.

"Dang, she tried some kind of spell, what..."

"Um, Raven, does your cat normally turn into a six-foot guy in robes, with fire where his eyes should be? I don't think you should have been using the cat as a boot polisher..."

 

[Breakstone]

Hyuk hyuk hyuk.

This is great stuff! Keep it coming!

 

[Heretic Apostate]

In Ravenloft (I think it was Ravenloft...), there was a Figurine of Wondrous Power that automatically (without a command word) turned itself into a cat every night. If you fed it (it preferred pork), it would be happy with you.

If you didn't feed it, it would go hunt and eat. Next night, it would show up as a lynx. Next night, as a cougar. Next night, as a tiger. And, finally, if you STILL haven't fed it, it showed up as a saber-toothed cat, and tried to eat YOU.

Otherwise, it was a perfectly normal FoWP that turned into a saber-toothed cat.

I liked it when I read it. (Methinks I'll go watch that episode of Walking with Prehistoric Animals now....)

 

[Alzrius]

In Ravenloft (I think it was Ravenloft...), there was a Figurine of Wondrous Power that automatically (without a command word) turned itself into a cat every night. If you fed it (it preferred pork), it would be happy with you.

If you didn't feed it, it would go hunt and eat. Next night, it would show up as a lynx. Next night, as a cougar. Next night, as a tiger. And, finally, if you STILL haven't fed it, it showed up as a saber-toothed cat, and tried to eat YOU.

Otherwise, it was a perfectly normal FoWP that turned into a saber-toothed cat.

I liked it when I read it.

You're referring to the Cat of Felkovic, which was in a Ravenloft boxed set or two, but got its best-ever exposure in the Ravenloft adventure Felkovic's Cat in a not-so-recent issue of Dungeon (I want to say around 40 or so). It was indeed a good adventure.

 

[Enceladus]

Guardian Familiar.....

 

[Hygric]

I like the completely normal, except for being imortal, idea. Give it a personality like Pratchett's Greebo and you could be on to a winner for comic relief moments in your sessions.