A cat RPG?

Anyone play one of the cat RPGs that are out there?  I've got PDF copies of the CAT RPG by John Wick, Call of Catthulhu, and I'd count the Strays RPG in there too (which allows for all types of pets).  There is also The Secrets of Cats RPG for Fate Core, which I don't have a copy of. 

As I mentioned, I was curious about any experiences with pet type RPGs and how it went.  As a change of pace, I think it would be fun to have a group of trouble shooting cats.  Plus I can buy a couple nice sets of little plastic cats for use as miniatures. 

I'm not inspired by the game system in the CAT RPG, but the basic premise of house cats protecting humanity from unseen monsters called 'boggins' is a neat way to explain the typical actions of most cats.  I've modified the character sheet (calling it 'Cat Tales RPG' and decided to use a basic D4/D6/D8/D10/D12 rating for their Traits/Skills.  Each cat has nine lives of course.  Reputations are things the cats are known to be good at (I created a list of Reputations that add a bonus to their Traits roll).  So, I pretty much took the characters sheet from the CAT RPG and created my own cat RPG. 

It has been plenty of fun creating cat characters; a mix of fictional and actual pets I've had over the years. 

One example:

Reminds me a bit like "The General" sequence in the movie Cat's Eye, 1985.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_Eye_(1985_film)#"General"

Only it's a troll the cat fights, not a boggin. I've played Strays and have The Secrets of Cats, which a friend of mine runs at Big Bad Con, only you're cats of the British Empire led by Queen Victoria's cat. I'd love to be in one of those games.

Yeah, I have to think "The General" was an influence on the CAT RPG.  Seems like the perfect type of adventure for that game.

Odds are I will end up running a mini-campaign (2-3 adventures) with elements of all the animal RPGs I have on hand included.  I think an adventure where you're playing as cats is going to get a positive reaction from 90% of the people you pitch it to.

GM: "So, in this adventure, you are playing as cats who are-"

Player: "I'm in." 


Only slightly less effective would be this pitch:

GM: "So, in this adventure, you play a samurai who-"

Player: "I'm in."

Ah, but the one that would be universally positive:

GM: So, in this adventure, you are playing as samurai cats...

Player: Where's the character sheet!

About 5% would insist on being a Ninja cat, a Pirate cat, or a Zombie cat. 

My old group played Cat a few years ago and really enjoyed it; a shame we didn't do more. Recordings still lurk on the internet:

Whartson Hall Cat session one
Whartson Hall Cat session two

Thanks, I'll have to take a listen when time permits.  I want to get a feel for how to run a cats adventure, or at least how I think I want to do so. 

I picked up PDF copies of The Secrets of Cats (very similar to the CAT RPG) and The Cat Hack to mine for ideas. The Secrets of Cats is more adult with serial killers and dead kids as part of the provided setting/adventure. 

I was digging through my boxed set of Worlds of Wonder (the old Chaosium BRP set) and rediscovered the City of Wonder map/guide that was included.  This is a city that combines the Magic/Future/Super settings with a portal to each of those worlds.  A group of dimension jumping cats seems like a fun basis for a mini-campaign. 

So, there is yet another cat RPG; Cathulhu.  It uses the BRP game system and is a darker take compared to the parody of Call of Catthulhu.  It is on sale at the moment over on DrivethruRPG. 

I ordered two sets of Koplow animal dice (six D6 dice per set) that have a cat in place of the '1' and a raven in place of the '1' respectively.  I'm sure I can find a way to use these dice with whatever version of a cat RPG I end up running.

So, there is yet another cat RPG; Cathulhu.  It uses the BRP game system and is a darker take compared to the parody of Call of Catthulhu.  It is on sale at the moment over on DrivethruRPG. 

I ordered two sets of Koplow animal dice (six D6 dice per set) that have a cat in place of the '1' and a raven in place of the '1' respectively.  I'm sure I can find a way to use these dice with whatever version of a cat RPG I end up running.

I assume one of the cat or the raven is in place of the 6. If so those are very similar to the dice used for Mutant: Year Zero (symbols are different but substitutions for numbers on dice)

Quote from: ORtrail on July 11, 2018, 02:28:50 PM

So, there is yet another cat RPG; Cathulhu.  It uses the BRP game system and is a darker take compared to the parody of Call of Catthulhu.  It is on sale at the moment over on DrivethruRPG. 

I ordered two sets of Koplow animal dice (six D6 dice per set) that have a cat in place of the '1' and a raven in place of the '1' respectively.  I'm sure I can find a way to use these dice with whatever version of a cat RPG I end up running.

I assume one of the cat or the raven is in place of the 6. If so those are very similar to the dice used for Mutant: Year Zero (symbols are different but substitutions for numbers on dice)

No, these dice use the animal symbol in place of the '1' spot on the dice.  At first, I was "Oh, no why not replace the six?" but the dice would work perfectly fine for games like Tales From the Loop (just roll for the symbol and not the '6'). 

Even for another RPG called, Tiny Supers, they would work.  For that game success is on a roll of '5' or '6' on a 1D6.  Using the cat or raven dice, just make a success roll a symbol or a '6'.  Same odds as using '5' or '6'.

Of course, as I mentioned above, I was going to use D4/D6/D8/D10 dice to play and this would mean only using D6 dice.  I could just add the cat D6 as a special dice roll, like how the Genesis or Star Wars dice add complications or advantages to the dice rolls.  Not that I understand how exactly those special dice work since I've yet to play those games.

I am literally making some of this up as I go, so who knows at this point. 

My print copy of Cathulhu was all messed up (I was sent some book on Sudoku instead) but it finally got resolved and I have been reading through my print copy. 

I have an admitted bias toward Chaosium RPGs, but Cathulhu is a really solid supplement.  Some of the highlights include:
 -A nice section on cat breeds with an emphasis on those available in the 1920's. 
 -Four pages of 'Tricks' which are mostly stat/skill bonuses some of which are based on breed ('Cat Burglar' adds to Sneak roll, 'Water Lover' adds to Swim roll, but only for Turkish Van cats).
 -You have backgrounds of House cat, Farm cat, Stray/Feral, and Show cat (only for a Purebred of course) all give a bonus of some kind.
 -A short but cool 'Bestiary of Feline Foes' section and which ones make for good eating is covered.
 -An included adventure called, 'The Black Cat' which is NOT the adventure to play if your group expects a fun and silly night of gaming with cats as player characters. 

I'll be stealing a fair amount (or unfair amount if you will) from Cathulhu though it certainly is playable using the standard CoC rules.  BTW, cats do not lose Sanity, but rather lose Sentience and go feral in the end.  A neat touch.  You do have to think differently about how adventures will play out though, not like the cats can book a flight or steamer ship to Europe for example.  Even a locked door can be a major obstacle. 

That is also a positive though, as both GM and players learn to take different approaches to standard RPG situations.  That sounds like a fun time to me. 

If you want to try cat/pet gaming?  You have a LOT of RPG options.