Originally published on 14/09/2015

I was watching My Cat From Hell last night (such a good source of inspiration for all things cat-related) and Jackson introduced the scared daughter of a hell-cat owner to a therapy cat.

And that got me thinking about a potential character for a Secrets of Cats game.

Artemis, The Therapy Cat

Artemis is a cat who’s brought in by social workers to soothe and help children who have been having a hard time at home for whatever reason. She has an extremely even temper and a wide protective streak. She’s very empathetic and hates to see people suffering, so she feels driven to do what she can to alleviate that suffering.

During the day she lets the children pet and hug her, then at night she uses her Mirror Walk power to visit them and help protect them from whatever dares threaten them.

Artemis isn’t equipped with powerful magic to fight her foes, but she’s great at ferreting out problems and making friends with the cats of the neighbourhoods she visits to get them to help her with a problem.

This makes her ideally suited to the role of an significant NPC who visits your players to ask them for help with a threat that isn’t currently on the radar.

High Concept: Therapy Cat Seeker
Trouble: Not On My Watch
True Name: She Who Understands
Burden: The Children I Work With
Other:  Always Calm and Collected

Skills

Great (+4): Empathy
Good (+3): Seeking, Will
Fair (+2): Fight, Investigate, Rapport
Average (+1):Physique, Notice, Naming, Stealth

Stunts

Mirrorwalk (Seeking, Exclusive): If you know a living target’s True Name you can step into a mirror and then walk out of a mirror near your target. This is a Seeking roll with opposition based on distance to the target, from Average (+1) if they’re a block away to Fantastic (+6) if they’re halfway around the world. You come out of the nearest mirror to the target, but this isn’t always the most convenient one. You have to use an actual mirror for this, not just shiny metal.
Dreamwalking (Seeking): See The Secrets of Cats page 23.
Psychometry (Seeking, Exclusive): See The Secrets of Cats page 25.
I Feel Your Pain (Empathy): See The Secrets of Cats page 27.
Iron Will (Will): See The Secrets of Cats page 29.
Reconstruction (Investigate): See The Secrets of Cats page 27.

Stress & Consequences

• Physical Stress: OOOO
• Mental Stress: OOOOO
• Mild, Moderate and Severe consequences and an extra Mild mental consequence.