Monthly Monster - Dimensional Cat

We're starting a new feature her in the Hero's Tale Blog - the Monthly Monster! Every so often, we'll publish the stats of a new creature to use to scare, vex, harass, attack, or otherwise annoy your players! These will, of course, be shown in details native to The Hero's Tale, but can easily be adapted to any other game system. If you think of a monster you want to share, post it in the comments, or email us at theherostaletht (at) gmail.com

Name:  Dimensional Cat
Description: The Dimensional cat appears as a typical, small, gray tabby house cat. As kittens, in fact, they are indistinguishable from their normal, non-magical counterparts. As they mature, however, their tails get a bit longer, and a bit furrier toward the tip, and a knot of bone grows at the top of the head. This is just a small bump and is often hidden by the animal’s fur. The bump becomes the locus of the cat’s dimensional powers.

They are very rare, and there are few who even know they exist. Those who know of them believe that a few normal housecats who were pets of a dimensional mage may have gotten infused with powers, and then bred among themselves. They are often found as pets of unaware humans/humanoids, or by dimensional wizards who know full well what they are.

They are also sometimes found in cities or forests as feral breeding groups of as many as a dozen individuals.

Good, Bad, etc. : Freewill. Most who know of them believe them to be evil. In fact, if a dimensional cat is content living with a particular person, they will likely not do much to change their comfortable status quo. However, some believe that they actively manipulate those they live with or near. Most dimensional cats will predominantly act in their own self-interest.

Intelligence: Slightly higher than animal level. Not quite rising to communicative sentience.
Hearts: 1
Difficulty: Challenging

Attributes:
Str:   -2    Dex:   +2    Frt:    +1   Awr:   +1   Soc:   0 

Attacks\Combat Skills: They can attack with their claws and bite, and these successful attacks will be quite vicious and painful, but they will only cause pain, not loss of hearts. If they fight, they will prefer to use dimensional powers.

Armor/Protections: None

Powers (including WP): Basic Dimensional powers between +1 and +4. Those with a +3 or +4 may well even specialize. If they attack, it will most likely be reality shaping rather than their physical claws. An individual will have anywhere from 3-5 DimDWP. Cats in feral groups or living as pairs in a home are able to draw on each other’s will.

Other possible skills: They move silently, and their size makes it easy for them to conceal themselves.

Special Rules:  If they are socialized to live with humanoids, they will not be afraid, but will sometimes like to be petted. They may be particularly drawn to mages or magic items, particularly with a dimensional power base. Some will be playful and easily distracted by shiny objects, which they will collect in their residence, but not hoard in a stash. Feral dimensional cats will often be fearful and will hide or portal away from people who stumble on them.

Possibility of treasure: The trinkets they gather may at some times be valuable, but the “treasure” they have will typically be whatever is in the home where they live. If a dimensional cat is the pet of a wealthy merchant, there will likely be gold in the home. Feral cats will not likely have significant treasure. They may have acquired an oculus in their stash.