Freebie: PURRfectly Playable (Character Option)

Outer World adventurers come in many shapes and sizes. All manner of folk wander about in search of meaning, riches, or purpose. Beasts of all stripes accompany these travelers as well, from the loyal growl to the lumbering and lovable bumpo.

Of course, sometimes these lines cross. Occasionally a pet won't be just a companion to an adventurer - they happen to be one themselves as well. This blog entry provides an option for one such circumstance, presenting rules on how to play a Purr in BREAK!!

With the intro out of the way, I did want to set some expectations: I tried to make the playable Purr is as close to a normal cat as possible with just a bit of potential magic thrown in. This is why it's relatively streamlined and mostly draws from the Sneak Calling. As a result this option is not quite as robust as a normal BREAK!! character, but I figured people would forgive me since this is a blog entry AND they get to play a cat!

These rules will suit players who don't mind more passive or subtle roles in a tabletop rpg, or ones who like to scheme and tinker in the background. If they are delighted by cats, that will also help. It's also a good option for players who can't make every session, or for ones whose normal character is out of commission for a bit.

GM Tip!: This also gives a pretty loose but workable system of coming up with other playable pets too. Take a pet, an appropriate Calling, cut out the stuff that doesn't work for any particular reason and you've got your base. The Growl and Raider are a good match, for example.

Purr Player Characters

Purr Characters use the Sneak's progression table for Attack, Hearts, Aptitudes, XP required to level up, and so forth. 

They are able to do all the things an ordinary purr can do: bat at things with their paws, move around with ease, big stretches, etc. Per the pet rules, they cannot attack directly without taking a certain elective Ability, but they can perform Combat Tricks. While they can't carry or manipulate things, they can carry small things (usually sized at 1 slot or less) in their mouths.

They are also able to Negotiate, though it's limited to things like winning over someone's affection or trying to get an extra snack. They do this via meowing, rubbing against the targets leg, etc. The GM may decide the Purr gets a bonus if the target of the negotiation is fond of animals.

They are able to "talk" with other bestial mammals (like growls, snarls, other purrs, etc) and Negotiate with them normally.

Purr Player characters begin a Defense of 12, rather than a Purr's normal Defense of 11 (due to their small size) - they are just a bit faster and more nimble than other, non adventurous purrs.

Purr Characters begin Play with the following Abilities:

• Light Footed (Starting Sneak Ability)
• Furtive (Starting Sneak Ability)
• Don't Mind Me (Starting Factotum Ability)
• In the middle of a dangerous situation, most people are going to ignore a kitty moving around.
• Slinky (Purr Ability)
• While light footed covers a lot of things this grants Edges to, it's still good to take note of this for falling and other situations you might still need to roll for.

Purr Characters can also take the following Sneak Elective Abilities as they progress in Rank. These are all Sneak Abilities:

Standard

• Meticulous Dungeoneer
• Twitchy
• Sudden Strike 
• This allows the Purr character to attack normally.
• Legerdemain
• While you really can't do things like card tricks and so forth, this still provides you an Edge on Deftness rolls involving taking things or cat related mischief.

Advanced

• Inner Dramatics
• Hide in Plain Sight
• Cat's Eyes 
• Seems like a no brainer admittedly. 
• Desperate Scurry

Normal character histories don't quite work for Purrs either, so here are a handful of custom ones along with purviews for each.

(1-7) Stray

You were all alone in the world, but you made do. 

• Quickly getting out of sight
• Seizing an opportunity
• Keeping track of the good ones 

(8-14) Farm Purr

You lived mostly outdoors, but had someone to take care of you and a place to go when it was cold.

• Feline Acrobatics
• Keeping an eye out for pests
• Acting like you are much bigger than you are

(15-20) Beloved Companion

You had a good, comfortable life with a dear friend.

• Getting attention
• Finding all the nooks and crannies
• Spirited Play

Player Tip!: If the idea of your purr being separated from their owner is a bit too sad for you, that owner could be another player in the game or reoccurring Game Master Character.

While Traits are generated normally, Purrs don't have access to every Quirk, instead rolling or choosing from this list during character creation rather than the standard one:

• 1-2: Curious (Spirit Quirk)
• 3-4: Soul Link (Spirit Quirk)
• 5-6: Adorable (Physiology Quirk)
• 7-8: Big Eater (Physiology Quirk)
• 9-10: Mage Breaker (Fate Quirk)
• 11-12: Past Injury (Fate Quirk)
• 13-14: Beast Tongue (Fate Quirk)
• You can already speak to other animalistic mammals, but you can use this to acquire another bestial language.
• 15-16: Guardian (Fate Quirk)
• 17-18: Dreamer (Eldritch Quirk)
• 19-20: Sneezles (Eldritch Quirk)

Finishing touches on your Purr character are also a little different form ordinary ones. You don't have any starting money, nor do you begin play with a functional outfit or standard weapon - though you may have a collar, if you like. Instead, concern yourself with the quality and color of your fur, whether you are chonky or not, and so forth.