Simply put, I will be starting a campaign with a group of players around level 1 or 2. One of my players would like to have a pet cat, which I would be totally fine with. However, he doesn't want some mundane cat, but one that could talk and that's it.
I told him about the Find Familiar spell, which would allow him to have a cat that he could do some cool things with and he wouldn't have to be afraid if it died. However, he doesn't want to be restricted to the Wizard class just to have a pet.
He isn't trying to force this upon me, he is just really interested in the idea of having a cat that could talk and I don't really mind it, but I'm afraid by doing this it would create problems that I, a DM that I wouldn't call experienced yet, haven't seen. I understand that this would immediately give the players a scouting/spy tool for free without many drawbacks. I also feel like this might be stepping on the toes of other spells such as Speak with Animals and Find Familiar. However, because the cat would be at the risk of actually dying and he couldn't do anything more with it besides talk to it, I wonder if it would be more balanced than I am assuming.
Let me know what you guys think if you have any input!
I say there's no problem as long as you ensure and explain that there is no inbuilt mechanical benefit. You control the cat. It can talk, doesn't mean it is a very helpful creature. The player sends it to scout the next room - the cat comes back 4 hours later with a mouse it caught. The PC asks the cat to help with anything and it answers in a vague catlike manner then starts licking itself. You can use the cat to present plot points, or plot complications, but only when you want to.
The cat never dies. Why? Because it never happens. A battle starts and suddenly the cat is nowhere to be seen. An explosive trap goes off, there is the cat on the far side of the room investigating a ball of fluff. Some other catastrophe, as the smoke clears the cat pops out of someone's backpack unharmed. Is it a magic cat? Maybe, save that for later plot.
Let the characters have fun interacting with this thing, but make sure they know it isn't a familiar under their control, just a colourful friend that hangs about.
Right, similar to what RegentCorreon said, let them have it, but there aren't mechanical benefits. I have my players roll for trinkets, one got the clockwork goldfish in a glass orb and asked if it could be sentient. I allowed it, with the condition that it couldn't be brought out during social interactions, or if it was it basically wouldn't respond (i.e. the character would pull out the fish and start talking to it, but it wouldn't respond and everyone would think he's nuts).
It was super fun when it was just the party walking around doing things, traveling, debating among themselves, etc. but when it came to interacting with NPC's and such, the fish was no benefit or detriment, but created some particularly funny moments. I ended up actually writing a bit of backstory for the fish (and how it was actually a humanoid trapped in the fish's body by some arcane magic, and doesn't remember it's previous life, the idea being the party would eventually uncover that as it was linked to some other magical things happening in the world with a big bad), but unfortunately our campaign ended before that story ever came to be.
If your guy would like it to be a familiar and doesn't want it to limit his class options, keep in mind he can take either the Ritual Caster or Magic Initiate feats to gain the find familiar spell. That will give him his friend, a benefit, AND all be in the rules. Maybe suggest a Pact of Chain Warlock while you're at it, if it seems style that is.
Otherwise, I agree with everyone else. Treat the cat as an NPC, not a party member. Make him caprious, fickle, cat like as possible. If they want him to spy or scout, make them have to bribe it with food and such.
More than anything, whatever you allow, figure out why this talking cat is with this adventurer. What's their history? How'd they meet? Does the player have an idea for what this cat is about in the long run of his character's story or does he just want it because it's neat? If he has some story element behind this cat in regard to the campaign or his character, it'd be a lot easier to say yes to then an answer like "cause talking cats are cool". Figure out why the player really wants this and cater to that for best results.
I'd ask the player what they hope to gain from having it. They may well be doing this hoping it gives them a mechanical benefit in which case I'd say no, you can have a cat, but it has no functional benefit to gameplay.
If however they want it for fun roleplaying reasons then by all means run with it. You RP the cat and it may have no interest in helping the party, but only stays with them for its own benefit.
Thanks for the advice everyone. Yeah he was never expecting a mechanical benefit from it, just something neat to add something unique to his character that could have fun role-playing opportunities. I definitely took all this into consideration and plan to use it when I speak with him next.
This reminds me of Salem from Sabrina, so here's the mandatory: how about the car is some powerful creature that has been trapped into the form of the cat?
It could even be an evil entity, which is accompanying the party in the hope of getting free of it's furry cage, unknown to the party, ofc. Once it reveals itself for what it is, it might break your playersp heart, but it would be extremely interesting on a Roleplay level. Also, the *cat-cage" could still be there, and due to the time spent with this thing inside him making him talk and all, might now have higher intelligence and have retained the ability to speak.
Well obviously it is some powerful entity trapped in the form of a cat. I don't believe a talking cat has ever existed that is not that...
It could have also "just" been a cat given speech from some weird magical experiment, not necessarily a different entity in the form of a cat (or inhabiting it).
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Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
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Well obviously it is some powerful entity trapped in the form of a cat. I don't believe a talking cat has ever existed that is not that...
If you ask a cat, aren't all cats just powerful entities trapped in a little body with no thumbs?
I'm more inclined to think they believe we are big dumb kittens trapped inside hairless meat blobs. "You want some food, human? I've got some mice for you. You big stupid ham-fist with no claws. What wicked sorcery left you cursed with such a round-toothed, stub-fingered, dull-eyed frame with the reflexes and agility of a bowl of pudding? I'm sorry you can't lick your own back or jump from the couch to the coffee table without breaking every bone in your body. Oh great... real smart. Now he's throwing the mice away. Sigh... he won't last a day without me."
I say there's no problem as long as you ensure and explain that there is no inbuilt mechanical benefit. You control the cat. It can talk, doesn't mean it is a very helpful creature. The player sends it to scout the next room - the cat comes back 4 hours later with a mouse it caught. The PC asks the cat to help with anything and it answers in a vague catlike manner then starts licking itself. You can use the cat to present plot points, or plot complications, but only when you want to.
The cat never dies. Why? Because it never happens. A battle starts and suddenly the cat is nowhere to be seen. An explosive trap goes off, there is the cat on the far side of the room investigating a ball of fluff. Some other catastrophe, as the smoke clears the cat pops out of someone's backpack unharmed. Is it a magic cat? Maybe, save that for later plot.
Let the characters have fun interacting with this thing, but make sure they know it isn't a familiar under their control, just a colourful friend that hangs about.
Well obviously it is some powerful entity trapped in the form of a cat. I don't believe a talking cat has ever existed that is not that...
If you ask a cat, aren't all cats just powerful entities trapped in a little body with no thumbs?
I'm more inclined to think they believe we are big dumb kittens trapped inside hairless meat blobs. "You want some food, human? I've got some mice for you. You big stupid ham-fist with no claws. What wicked sorcery left you cursed with such a round-toothed, stub-fingered, dull-eyed frame with the reflexes and agility of a bowl of pudding? I'm sorry you can't lick your own back or jump from the couch to the coffee table without breaking every bone in your body. Oh great... real smart. Now he's throwing the mice away. Sigh... he won't last a day without me."
Precisely. Cats have us beat on everything but size, strength, and opposable thumbs, and they know it. Read Andre Norton's Catfantastic anthologies for more.
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
I say there's no problem as long as you ensure and explain that there is no inbuilt mechanical benefit. You control the cat. It can talk, doesn't mean it is a very helpful creature. The player sends it to scout the next room - the cat comes back 4 hours later with a mouse it caught. The PC asks the cat to help with anything and it answers in a vague catlike manner then starts licking itself. You can use the cat to present plot points, or plot complications, but only when you want to.
The cat never dies. Why? Because it never happens. A battle starts and suddenly the cat is nowhere to be seen. An explosive trap goes off, there is the cat on the far side of the room investigating a ball of fluff. Some other catastrophe, as the smoke clears the cat pops out of someone's backpack unharmed. Is it a magic cat? Maybe, save that for later plot.
Let the characters have fun interacting with this thing, but make sure they know it isn't a familiar under their control, just a colourful friend that hangs about.
Well obviously it is some powerful entity trapped in the form of a cat. I don't believe a talking cat has ever existed that is not that...
If you ask a cat, aren't all cats just powerful entities trapped in a little body with no thumbs?
I'm more inclined to think they believe we are big dumb kittens trapped inside hairless meat blobs. "You want some food, human? I've got some mice for you. You big stupid ham-fist with no claws. What wicked sorcery left you cursed with such a round-toothed, stub-fingered, dull-eyed frame with the reflexes and agility of a bowl of pudding? I'm sorry you can't lick your own back or jump from the couch to the coffee table without breaking every bone in your body. Oh great... real smart. Now he's throwing the mice away. Sigh... he won't last a day without me."
Precisely. Cats have us beat on everything but size, strength, and opposable thumbs, and they know it. Read Andre Norton's Catfantastic anthologies for more.
I mean, they are, pound for pound, the most efficient predators in existence. Even with us big dumb hairless cretins putting bells on them... (but one of our cats is obsessed with bread and would trade all his hunting skills in for the ability to obtain carbs, or open cans-- food from a can is almost as good as bread, in his opinion. He doesn't seem to care if the food from the can is tuna, cat food, or canned vegetables, he wants it whatever it is)
Simply put, I will be starting a campaign with a group of players around level 1 or 2. One of my players would like to have a pet cat, which I would be totally fine with. However, he doesn't want some mundane cat, but one that could talk and that's it.
I told him about the Find Familiar spell, which would allow him to have a cat that he could do some cool things with and he wouldn't have to be afraid if it died. However, he doesn't want to be restricted to the Wizard class just to have a pet.
He isn't trying to force this upon me, he is just really interested in the idea of having a cat that could talk and I don't really mind it, but I'm afraid by doing this it would create problems that I, a DM that I wouldn't call experienced yet, haven't seen. I understand that this would immediately give the players a scouting/spy tool for free without many drawbacks. I also feel like this might be stepping on the toes of other spells such as Speak with Animals and Find Familiar. However, because the cat would be at the risk of actually dying and he couldn't do anything more with it besides talk to it, I wonder if it would be more balanced than I am assuming.
Let me know what you guys think if you have any input!
I say there's no problem as long as you ensure and explain that there is no inbuilt mechanical benefit. You control the cat. It can talk, doesn't mean it is a very helpful creature. The player sends it to scout the next room - the cat comes back 4 hours later with a mouse it caught. The PC asks the cat to help with anything and it answers in a vague catlike manner then starts licking itself. You can use the cat to present plot points, or plot complications, but only when you want to.
The cat never dies. Why? Because it never happens. A battle starts and suddenly the cat is nowhere to be seen. An explosive trap goes off, there is the cat on the far side of the room investigating a ball of fluff. Some other catastrophe, as the smoke clears the cat pops out of someone's backpack unharmed. Is it a magic cat? Maybe, save that for later plot.
Let the characters have fun interacting with this thing, but make sure they know it isn't a familiar under their control, just a colourful friend that hangs about.
That actually was a lot of great advice I hadn't even considered. Thanks for that!
Right, similar to what RegentCorreon said, let them have it, but there aren't mechanical benefits. I have my players roll for trinkets, one got the clockwork goldfish in a glass orb and asked if it could be sentient. I allowed it, with the condition that it couldn't be brought out during social interactions, or if it was it basically wouldn't respond (i.e. the character would pull out the fish and start talking to it, but it wouldn't respond and everyone would think he's nuts).
It was super fun when it was just the party walking around doing things, traveling, debating among themselves, etc. but when it came to interacting with NPC's and such, the fish was no benefit or detriment, but created some particularly funny moments. I ended up actually writing a bit of backstory for the fish (and how it was actually a humanoid trapped in the fish's body by some arcane magic, and doesn't remember it's previous life, the idea being the party would eventually uncover that as it was linked to some other magical things happening in the world with a big bad), but unfortunately our campaign ended before that story ever came to be.
How do you get a one-armed goblin out of a tree?
Wave!
In order to avoid stepping on the toes of spells and classes which already do this, consider the following.
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My Characters:
Archibald Thwipp, Human/Male/Blood Hunter/L3 posting in The Tavern, DnDBeyond
Sergeant Sylvia, Half Orc/Female/Barbarian/L3 posting in A Beginner's Guide, Myth Weavers
Carric Holimion, Wood Elf/Male/Ranger/L1 posting in Lost Mines of Phandelver, Giant in the Playground
If your guy would like it to be a familiar and doesn't want it to limit his class options, keep in mind he can take either the Ritual Caster or Magic Initiate feats to gain the find familiar spell. That will give him his friend, a benefit, AND all be in the rules. Maybe suggest a Pact of Chain Warlock while you're at it, if it seems style that is.
Otherwise, I agree with everyone else. Treat the cat as an NPC, not a party member. Make him caprious, fickle, cat like as possible. If they want him to spy or scout, make them have to bribe it with food and such.
More than anything, whatever you allow, figure out why this talking cat is with this adventurer. What's their history? How'd they meet? Does the player have an idea for what this cat is about in the long run of his character's story or does he just want it because it's neat? If he has some story element behind this cat in regard to the campaign or his character, it'd be a lot easier to say yes to then an answer like "cause talking cats are cool". Figure out why the player really wants this and cater to that for best results.
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I'd ask the player what they hope to gain from having it. They may well be doing this hoping it gives them a mechanical benefit in which case I'd say no, you can have a cat, but it has no functional benefit to gameplay.
If however they want it for fun roleplaying reasons then by all means run with it. You RP the cat and it may have no interest in helping the party, but only stays with them for its own benefit.
Thanks for the advice everyone. Yeah he was never expecting a mechanical benefit from it, just something neat to add something unique to his character that could have fun role-playing opportunities. I definitely took all this into consideration and plan to use it when I speak with him next.
This reminds me of Salem from Sabrina, so here's the mandatory: how about the car is some powerful creature that has been trapped into the form of the cat?
It could even be an evil entity, which is accompanying the party in the hope of getting free of it's furry cage, unknown to the party, ofc. Once it reveals itself for what it is, it might break your playersp heart, but it would be extremely interesting on a Roleplay level. Also, the *cat-cage" could still be there, and due to the time spent with this thing inside him making him talk and all, might now have higher intelligence and have retained the ability to speak.
Just throwing ideas around ^^
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Well obviously it is some powerful entity trapped in the form of a cat. I don't believe a talking cat has ever existed that is not that...
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
And don't forget - all talking cats have a thick Russian accent.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
My DM Registry
My Characters:
Archibald Thwipp, Human/Male/Blood Hunter/L3 posting in The Tavern, DnDBeyond
Sergeant Sylvia, Half Orc/Female/Barbarian/L3 posting in A Beginner's Guide, Myth Weavers
Carric Holimion, Wood Elf/Male/Ranger/L1 posting in Lost Mines of Phandelver, Giant in the Playground
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
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An "awakened" cat. Via the Awaken spell.
Dungeonmastering since 1992!
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Dungeonmastering since 1992!