Mind Cats
Oct 1, 2013 5:20:20 GMT -5
Post by Northen Light36 on Oct 1, 2013 5:20:20 GMT -5
Mind Cats cost 100 brownie points
Origins
The Mind Cats are a relatively new species to Naruta and remain relatively rare. These telepathic felines of near-human intelligence all descend from a single cat, Faith, who was blessed by Etaf to be able to bond with her human owner. As a result of this, and the knowledge of who's responsible for their existence, most Mind Cats are somewhat Etafian and refer to the Force as “The Lady” or “Our/My lady, Etaf,” though they may also adopt their bonded human's faith as well.
Breed Characteristics
Like Faith, Mind Cat kittens are compelled to seek out and bond with a human within the first four months of their life, as are adult Mind Cats who lose their human companion. Mind Cats who go unbonded for more than four months rapidly lose their intelligence and telepathic abilities, with the only sign of their heritage remaining being the Mind sign pattern in their fur that all Mind Cats have.
Aside from their intelligence and the Mind sign in their fur, Mind Cats also have a tendency towards bright blue eyes, though this is not a true requirement of the breed.
Mind Cats are generally longer lived than regular cats, tending to reach the age of 20 to 22 if well-cared for by their Bonded. Unbonded Mind Cats rarely live longer than regular feral cats.
Reproducing
Mind Cats can and do breed with regular felines. Female Mind Cats have a 50% likelihood of passing on their sign to their offspring, though they have a very low fertility rate and only reproduce twice in their lifetime. Male Mind Cats are incapable of passing on their sign to any kitten they sire and as such, Mind Cats do not breed with each other.
Mind Cats never produce more than eight kittens per litter.
Relationships
Unlike normal felines, Mind Cats retain a close bond with their litter mates and mother, to the point where they will always know and grieve when one of their immediate family passes away. They also feel a sense of commitment and connection to other Mind Cats and will insist on helping any Mind Cat or Bonded human who requires it.
The only tie stronger than that of a Mind Cat to family is the bond between a Mind Cat and their chosen human, known as their Bonded. While the bond begins as something similar to that of a Beast and their companion, it deepens as time progresses. In its final stages, the connection between Cat and Bonded is such that the pair quite literally have a shared mind. By this point, even non-Minds who have bonded with a Mind Cat will have a quite well-formed Mindscape just as Minds do. Minds who try to read the thoughts of a Bonded will often find themselves bombarded with two sets of thoughts while the Mind Cat alerts their Bonded to the intrusion.
The time it takes to reach this shared mind stage of bonding depends on the age of the Bonded human. Children, with their still developing minds, adapt to the bond far more quickly than adults and will usually have reached this stage within six months. Adult Bonded have less flexible minds and usually take a year to eighteen months to reach this final stage of the bonding.
Minds always bond more quickly than average, usually in half the time as non-Mind Bonded humans of the same age.
The shared mind state does not grant any special powers to either half of the pair. At this stage, the following things happen;
- Bonded humans (if non-Minds) gain a fully formed mindscape.
- Mind Cats and Bonded humans no longer need to make an effort to think at each other to communicate. At this level, the pair are always aware of what the other is thinking.
- Minds who listen into the thoughts of a Bonded will find it difficult to separate the thoughts of the human and cat.
Bonding
Little is known about what draws a Mind Cat to their Bonded, even by the Mind Cats themselves. What is known is that they more commonly bond to children between the ages of 5 and 15, though it isn't unheard of for them to bond to an adult, and that they seem to bond to people with emotional or mental issues more often than they bond to stable, healthy personalities. Mind Cats do not bond to children under the age of five.
Perhaps the reason for this can be found in the Mind Cat's ability to soothe and influence the thoughts and emotions of their Bonded. While they are in no way mind healers, the Mind Cats do have an ability to dampen down overwhelming emotions and help their Bonded reason through a problem. They are excellent spies for their Bonded companion, being able to go almost anywhere unnoticed, but will never reveal their Bonded's secrets to anyone.
There is one known exception to the “must bond within four months” rule and it is only a partial exception. A Bonded Mind Cat's second litter is always born within a year or two of their death, and one kitten from that litter will form a partial bond with their mother's Bonded. This preserves the kitten's intelligence and abilities, but will not fully form until the death of the mother Mind Cat.
The bond between a Mind Cat and Bonded Human can be broken only by death, a second bonding, or the deliberate action of a Mind. In either of the latter causes, the breaking of a bond is extremely painful and in some cases may cause some level in mental instability in either of the pair. (Please note: This is only in the case of the bond being forcibly broken and is up to the player of the Mind cat or human.) Mind Cats who lose their human and survive are compelled to seek out another human to bond with. Bonded humans who are have a partial bond with their Mind Cat's offspring will often pass out and mentally reach for the weak bond.
Great distance will weaken the bond between Mind Cat and Bonded, but will never break it. It does however cause mild headaches and an almost irrational need to reunite.
Other Information of Note
The bond between Sprite and Feyling is powerful enough to shatter the bond between Mind Cat and Bonded Human. As a result, Mind Cats have an instinctive hatred for the Faeries and will react violently to Sprites that approach their Bonded.
Despite their size, Mind Cats will defend their Bonded to the death and will not hesitate to take on a foe many times their size if said foe presents a threat to their humans.
Mind Cats usually differ in personality from their Bonded. It is rare to find a shy human partnered with a shy Mind Cat, for example.
Though Mind Cats are extremely intelligent, they remain cats. They have little tolerance for human customs and rituals like courtship and marriage and are likely as not to voice their opinions of such things. They also like hunting mice and chasing strings and will often suggest their Bonded should join such activities.
Mind Cat Rules
Mind Cats cannot be created during character creation. If you wish to bond a character with a Mind Cat, you must wait until a kitten is posted for adoption and then contact the Player posting the kitten.
Mind Cats may be played by either the Player of the parent Mind Cat or the Player of the Bonded Human. This must be discussed prior to adoption.
Mind Cats are, and will remain, rare creatures in Naruta. When creating a Mind Cat litter, you must roll the following;
- One eight-sided dice to determine the size of the litter.
- A two-sided dice for each Mind Cat kitten to determine gender.
- Another two-sided dice for each Mind Cat kitten to determine if it carries its mother's sign or not.
Once litters are determined, the following information must be PMed to Northen Light36
- Total number of kittens with Mind signs.
- Gender of each Mind Cat
- Name and Player of Bonded Human or if the kitten is up for adoption.
You must have played for at least two months before acquiring a Mind Cat.
All Mind Cats up for adoption (that is, any Mind Cat not bonded to your own characters) must be placed in the Mind Cat Adoption thread in Behind The Curtain to allow monitoring of the population. The name, birth season, appearance and personality of the Mind Cat must be included in the listing.
All unclaimed Mind Cats at the end of their birth season will be declared to have reverted to normal cats and gone feral. There is no exception to this rule.
Mind Cats must bond on-screen with their human, within the season of adoption. If you can't justify your character meeting the kitten somehow, then you can't claim it. The Mind Cat will be played by its creator in the bonding thread, then afterwards be played as arranged at adoption.
Origins
The Mind Cats are a relatively new species to Naruta and remain relatively rare. These telepathic felines of near-human intelligence all descend from a single cat, Faith, who was blessed by Etaf to be able to bond with her human owner. As a result of this, and the knowledge of who's responsible for their existence, most Mind Cats are somewhat Etafian and refer to the Force as “The Lady” or “Our/My lady, Etaf,” though they may also adopt their bonded human's faith as well.
Breed Characteristics
Like Faith, Mind Cat kittens are compelled to seek out and bond with a human within the first four months of their life, as are adult Mind Cats who lose their human companion. Mind Cats who go unbonded for more than four months rapidly lose their intelligence and telepathic abilities, with the only sign of their heritage remaining being the Mind sign pattern in their fur that all Mind Cats have.
Aside from their intelligence and the Mind sign in their fur, Mind Cats also have a tendency towards bright blue eyes, though this is not a true requirement of the breed.
Mind Cats are generally longer lived than regular cats, tending to reach the age of 20 to 22 if well-cared for by their Bonded. Unbonded Mind Cats rarely live longer than regular feral cats.
Reproducing
Mind Cats can and do breed with regular felines. Female Mind Cats have a 50% likelihood of passing on their sign to their offspring, though they have a very low fertility rate and only reproduce twice in their lifetime. Male Mind Cats are incapable of passing on their sign to any kitten they sire and as such, Mind Cats do not breed with each other.
Mind Cats never produce more than eight kittens per litter.
Relationships
Unlike normal felines, Mind Cats retain a close bond with their litter mates and mother, to the point where they will always know and grieve when one of their immediate family passes away. They also feel a sense of commitment and connection to other Mind Cats and will insist on helping any Mind Cat or Bonded human who requires it.
The only tie stronger than that of a Mind Cat to family is the bond between a Mind Cat and their chosen human, known as their Bonded. While the bond begins as something similar to that of a Beast and their companion, it deepens as time progresses. In its final stages, the connection between Cat and Bonded is such that the pair quite literally have a shared mind. By this point, even non-Minds who have bonded with a Mind Cat will have a quite well-formed Mindscape just as Minds do. Minds who try to read the thoughts of a Bonded will often find themselves bombarded with two sets of thoughts while the Mind Cat alerts their Bonded to the intrusion.
The time it takes to reach this shared mind stage of bonding depends on the age of the Bonded human. Children, with their still developing minds, adapt to the bond far more quickly than adults and will usually have reached this stage within six months. Adult Bonded have less flexible minds and usually take a year to eighteen months to reach this final stage of the bonding.
Minds always bond more quickly than average, usually in half the time as non-Mind Bonded humans of the same age.
The shared mind state does not grant any special powers to either half of the pair. At this stage, the following things happen;
- Bonded humans (if non-Minds) gain a fully formed mindscape.
- Mind Cats and Bonded humans no longer need to make an effort to think at each other to communicate. At this level, the pair are always aware of what the other is thinking.
- Minds who listen into the thoughts of a Bonded will find it difficult to separate the thoughts of the human and cat.
Bonding
Little is known about what draws a Mind Cat to their Bonded, even by the Mind Cats themselves. What is known is that they more commonly bond to children between the ages of 5 and 15, though it isn't unheard of for them to bond to an adult, and that they seem to bond to people with emotional or mental issues more often than they bond to stable, healthy personalities. Mind Cats do not bond to children under the age of five.
Perhaps the reason for this can be found in the Mind Cat's ability to soothe and influence the thoughts and emotions of their Bonded. While they are in no way mind healers, the Mind Cats do have an ability to dampen down overwhelming emotions and help their Bonded reason through a problem. They are excellent spies for their Bonded companion, being able to go almost anywhere unnoticed, but will never reveal their Bonded's secrets to anyone.
There is one known exception to the “must bond within four months” rule and it is only a partial exception. A Bonded Mind Cat's second litter is always born within a year or two of their death, and one kitten from that litter will form a partial bond with their mother's Bonded. This preserves the kitten's intelligence and abilities, but will not fully form until the death of the mother Mind Cat.
The bond between a Mind Cat and Bonded Human can be broken only by death, a second bonding, or the deliberate action of a Mind. In either of the latter causes, the breaking of a bond is extremely painful and in some cases may cause some level in mental instability in either of the pair. (Please note: This is only in the case of the bond being forcibly broken and is up to the player of the Mind cat or human.) Mind Cats who lose their human and survive are compelled to seek out another human to bond with. Bonded humans who are have a partial bond with their Mind Cat's offspring will often pass out and mentally reach for the weak bond.
Great distance will weaken the bond between Mind Cat and Bonded, but will never break it. It does however cause mild headaches and an almost irrational need to reunite.
Other Information of Note
The bond between Sprite and Feyling is powerful enough to shatter the bond between Mind Cat and Bonded Human. As a result, Mind Cats have an instinctive hatred for the Faeries and will react violently to Sprites that approach their Bonded.
Despite their size, Mind Cats will defend their Bonded to the death and will not hesitate to take on a foe many times their size if said foe presents a threat to their humans.
Mind Cats usually differ in personality from their Bonded. It is rare to find a shy human partnered with a shy Mind Cat, for example.
Though Mind Cats are extremely intelligent, they remain cats. They have little tolerance for human customs and rituals like courtship and marriage and are likely as not to voice their opinions of such things. They also like hunting mice and chasing strings and will often suggest their Bonded should join such activities.
Mind Cat Rules
Mind Cats cannot be created during character creation. If you wish to bond a character with a Mind Cat, you must wait until a kitten is posted for adoption and then contact the Player posting the kitten.
Mind Cats may be played by either the Player of the parent Mind Cat or the Player of the Bonded Human. This must be discussed prior to adoption.
Mind Cats are, and will remain, rare creatures in Naruta. When creating a Mind Cat litter, you must roll the following;
- One eight-sided dice to determine the size of the litter.
- A two-sided dice for each Mind Cat kitten to determine gender.
- Another two-sided dice for each Mind Cat kitten to determine if it carries its mother's sign or not.
Once litters are determined, the following information must be PMed to Northen Light36
- Total number of kittens with Mind signs.
- Gender of each Mind Cat
- Name and Player of Bonded Human or if the kitten is up for adoption.
You must have played for at least two months before acquiring a Mind Cat.
All Mind Cats up for adoption (that is, any Mind Cat not bonded to your own characters) must be placed in the Mind Cat Adoption thread in Behind The Curtain to allow monitoring of the population. The name, birth season, appearance and personality of the Mind Cat must be included in the listing.
All unclaimed Mind Cats at the end of their birth season will be declared to have reverted to normal cats and gone feral. There is no exception to this rule.
Mind Cats must bond on-screen with their human, within the season of adoption. If you can't justify your character meeting the kitten somehow, then you can't claim it. The Mind Cat will be played by its creator in the bonding thread, then afterwards be played as arranged at adoption.
