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theresattrpgforthat · 5 months

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I'm a TTRPG designer, and also a big fan of the video game Terraria. I'm stuck on fun ways to handle material gathering and crafting. Send me some inspiration! Thanks!

THEME: Gathering and Crafting

Hello friend! Putting this one together was very fun. I hope you enjoy it!

Stoneburner, by Fari RPGs.

Stoneburner is a sci-fantasy solo-friendly demon-hunting community-building tabletop role-playing game.Inspired by the new school revolution movement, players take on the role of a group of dwarves who must assume control of a demon haunted mine, along with its accompanying settlement, which they inherited after the death of their distant relative.The game focuses on the dwarves' journey as they navigate the challenges of their new responsibilities, rebuild a new thriving community, and clear the mine of its fire spitting monsters.

A techno-fantasy game of exploration and survival. You’ll be delving into a mine to extract resources and attempting to maintain and protect your community not just from magical beasts, but also greedy and plotting rivals. The system is built on Breathless, which is pretty rules-lite on the face but has a lot of possibility to expand, borrowing quite a bit from the NSR but giving the GM specific cues where they have a license to complicate the story. You’ll find a lot of familiar pieces here, with character classes, special abilities, and loot tables. Stoneburner isn’t fully ready to be published quite yet, but in the meantime you can check out the free preview!

Hostile (Rules and Setting), by Zozer Games.

Welcome to the gritty, retro-future universe of HOSTILE. Based on the Cepheus Engine, these rules add in realistic combat rules as well as setting-specific rules from some of the eighteen HOSTILE supplements. When combined with its companion book, the HOSTILE Setting, you will have a complete, stand-alone, retro-future sci-fi game. HOSTILE is a gritty, near future roleplaying setting that is inspired by movies like Outland, Bladerunner and Alien. It is a universe of mining installations, harsh moons, industrial facilities, hostile planets and brutal, utilitarian spacecraft.

When I looked up info about this game, HOSTILE was described as not an ALIEN RPG, but rather an RPG that you could plug Alien into. It’s a space horror setting, but what kind of space horror is up to you. The Rulebook has rules on trade, salvaging, and other pieces of resource management, while the setting book contains construction rules for your own mega-ton spaceship. There’s also plenty of colonies, survival rules, campaign advice and encounter tables. If this is interesting to you, I’d recommend checking out the Double Shift Bundle, which offers both the Rulebook and the Setting Book for 20% off.

Forbidden Lands, by Free League Publishing.

Forbidden Lands is a new take on classic fantasy roleplaying. In this open-world survival roleplaying game, you’re not heroes sent on missions dictated by others - instead, you are raiders and rogues bent on making your own mark on a cursed world. You will discover lost tombs, fight terrible monsters, wander the wild lands and, if you live long enough, build your own stronghold to defend.

As raiders and rogues, in Forbidden Lands you will need to scavenge to survive. Built on Free League’s Year Zero Engine, this game uses an abstract resource called consumables which your characters will have to find regularly, because food goes bad and you can only carry so many things. The game focuses on the dangers of the road, although not all dangers are terrifying - you’re not fighting orcs all the time - sometimes you’re just battling mosquitoes and cold weather. There’s also rules about building, maintaining, and defending a stronghold, which sounds kind of similar to building and defending your house in Terraria. There’s a lot to keep track of in Forbidden Lands, and as long as you don’t mind playing characters with a somewhat loose moral compass, this game might be for you!

A Fistful of Darkness, by monkeyEcho.

A Fistful of Darkness is a Weird West Fantasy hack of Blades in the Dark with heavy emphasis on the fantasy part. It’s not intended to be an accurate history lesson or a simulation of past times. It is designed to be a cinematic game which lets you play all those Weird West tropes towards the end of the world.

Imagine a world with the magic and mystery of the frontier: wide open plains of the Old Wild West in all its beauty and madness, where violence and sacrifice dominate every single day. Now add the Hellstone rush, underground mayhem in mines and brand new sciences & machines. Don’t forget immigration, injustice, vigilante justice, outlaws, gunslingers, slick talkers and setting suns. This all in the face of an impending doom: Demons and the four riders bringing the end of the world as you know it. How do you make it to the top of this powder keg, which side will you take in the impending war and how much will your soul suffer? Let’s play to find out!

Forged in the Dark games abstract your resources a bit, but the Hellstone of A Fistful of Darkness is so important to the setting that you’ll find yourselves doing whatever you can to get your hands on it. It’s a crafting material, it’s currency, and it’s the bringer of mutations and curses, what with it being a demonic material and all. Because you’ll be running a group playbook alongside your own characters, you’ll be working together to improve your tools, allies, abilities and home base, especially if you choose the Scavengers Posse. If you like action and suspense as much as you like inventory and communal goals, then this game is for you.

LOOT, by Gila RPGs.

Do you love loot? Then you're in the right place.

Go on quests, find loot, do it all over again. Your character is entirely defined by the loot they wear and carry. Loot is generated and passed out at the end of each quest with a dynamic loot pool system.

This is an application of the LUMEN system that eschews dice. Players have a number of uses for each of their approaches, which can be spent to overcome obstacles. Complications arise when you have to cobble together a solution using a different approach, or when you avoid marking an approach at all. This is a game still in a free playtest, so the designer is happy to hear feedback if you decide to give it a whirl!

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #game recommendations #asks #gathering #crafting #resource management

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clangenrising · 5 months

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Month 9 - November Gathering

The night was cold and crisp. Snow had fallen for the first time the day before, blanketing the world in a thin, cold sheet. The snow had been mostly gone by the afternoon, but that hadn’t stopped Sparrowpaw and his littermates from tumbling around in it for at least an hour, although Barleypaw had much less of a taste for it than he and Floodpaw did. Even Floodpaw had eventually cut their games short, complaining he was freezing to death, but Sparrowpaw could have kept going. He loved the snow.

Now though, the full moon hung in a clear, dark sky and the wind bit at his ears and nose harshly. Beside him, Barleypaw shivered, and he pressed closer to her to try and share his thicker coat. Floodpaw shuddered next to him but pulled away when Sparrowpaw tried to curl his tail over his brother’s back. Sparrowpaw huffed indignantly at that. He reasoned that Floodpaw must have gotten it in his head somehow that real warriors froze their tails off or something. His brother could be such a meathead.

Or maybe he just wanted to look brave when they arrived at the Gathering. That morning Goldenstar had told them that if they got all of their chores done and helped stock the prey pile before nightfall that they would be allowed to attend and the three of them had eagerly rushed about the camp trying to get the dens clean in time.

Their mentors had all been chosen to come too. Obviously, Goldenstar had to go, and Nightfrost and Sagetooth had tagged along as well. Sparrowpaw had asked his Papa why he wasn’t coming and Oddstripe had told him that Branchbark’s cold needed to be monitored by someone, but he hadn’t believed him.

“He’s staying behind in case there’s an attack,” Floodpaw had whispered to him when he’d shared his concerns at dinner. “The warriors will need someone to patch their wounds if the rogues come looking for trouble.”

“They wouldn’t,” Sparrowpaw had huffed and Floodpaw had just shrugged in response.

“Maybe, but he’s staying just in case. I heard him talking about it with Goldenstar.”

That thought made Sparrowpaw’s tail twitch, even now. He didn’t like the idea of his Papa getting attacked by that terrible rogue while the Clan’s strongest fighters were out at the gathering. He could still taste the tangy stench of the city cats on his tongue, hear the tom’s jeering laughter at their fear. Sparrowpaw thought it was senseless how eager Floodpaw was to fight the rogues, but if he ever saw that tom again he thought he might just lose his sense too.

He looked up to the front of the little group to study the final member attending the gathering: Scorchplume. She walked close to Goldenstar’s side, speaking softly and with a serious expression. She had been one of the city cats, hadn’t she? It was strange to think about. She was so different from the cruel tom he had encountered or the frightened Aldertail. She was calm and charming and when they talked she seemed kind enough. She wasn’t as friendly as someone like Smokyrose, but she had never been mean to him or his siblings. Russetfrond insisted she was just pretending, and Sparrowpaw had to wonder if she was one of those ‘Pretender’ cats he had heard Aldertail talking about.

He glanced at Russetfrond and found him scowling at Goldenstar and Scorchplume’s conversation. Was he wondering what they were talking about? Now that he had thought about it, Sparrowpaw was pretty curious himself. Subtly shifting his pace to urge Barleypaw closer to the pair, he strained his ears forward to try and catch a glimpse of their conversation.

Scorchplume was in the middle of a sentence. “-vulnerable, but not too vulnerable. You could handle this by yourself, but it would be an inconvenience. You would see it as a favor if they lent you their aid. You have to convince them that they want your approval and this is how they get it.”

“You’re starting to sound like a real schemer, Scorch,” Goldenstar said with a smirk.

Scorchplume’s tail lashed. “This is serious!”

“Right, sorry,” Goldenstar said. “I’m just… not sure how I feel about lying to the other Clans like that.”

“It’s not lying,” Scorchplume said authoritatively. “It’s called speechcraft. You’re presenting your arguments in the most favorable manner possible in order to protect your Clan. Isn’t that what you want?”

“Yes,” Goldenstar admitted.

“And see?” Scorchplume lifted her head, “I knew what you wanted and I told you I had it. You made the choice I wanted you to make and felt like it was entirely your decision. Speechcraft.”

Goldenstar frowned. “You are the worst.” Sparrowpaw heard Russetfrond huff a laugh under his breath.

“Perhaps,” replied Scorchplume, one ear flicking briefly backwards. “But I’m alive. Trust me, Goldie, this is how you survive.” Goldenstar worked her jaw for a second, as if she regretted her choice of words.

She opened her mouth to speak but Sagetooth beat her to it. “SkyClan’s already here.”

“Are we there?” Floodpaw perked up, his ears flicking forward despite the chill. “Are we at the Cornerstones?”

“We are,” Sagetooth smiled, but added sternly, “Now be on your best behavior. You’re representing RisingClan.”

Sparrowpaw straightened his posture and nodded. “We will, Sagetooth. Don’t worry.”

She smiled again and said, “Good lad.”

The group emerged from the sparse trees they had been walking through, into a clearing that smelled of more cats than Sparrowpaw had ever smelled in one place. The scents were fresh too, not like the fading border markers, and he opened his mouth to drink in the smell of living, breathing SkyClan cats. It was like stone and water, all minerals and musk. He felt Barleypaw press closer to him and smiled back at her.

“Don’t worry,” he said, “I’m sure they’ll be plenty friendly.”

“Go on and mingle,” Yarrowshade said. “So long as you don’t start any fights and you sit quietly once the Gathering starts, you should be fine to wander around.”

“Mm.” Grunted Russetfrond. “Remember, be polite but not too friendly. You may face these cats in battle someday.” He had given Sparrowpaw a lecture about that earlier that morning, about making sure he always knew where his allegiances really lay. Sparrowpaw nodded again, dutifully. He wouldn’t let his mentor down.

“Come on, man,” Yarrowshade frowned. “Let the kids have some fun for once.”

Russetfrond flicked his ear dismissively. “You mentor your apprentice and I’ll mentor mine, alright?”

“Cut it out, you guys,” Goldenstar tilted her head with a pained smile, “you’ll put clouds over the moon.” Both of the toms grunted and looked away in opposite directions. Scorchplume kept her back turned to all of them. Sparrowpaw couldn’t block out the feeling worming through his head that there was something grown-up going on that his kid brain couldn’t grasp. He didn’t like it.

“Come on!” Floodpaw said, getting Sparrowpaw’s attention with a swipe of his paw. “Let’s go!”

“Okay,” Sparrowpaw said slowly. Tearing his mind from the complexities of the grown-ups’ dynamics, he bounded after his brother, leaving Barleypaw behind. He glanced over his shoulder, to see if she was coming, but saw her slinking over to slide under Yarrowshade’s belly. Oh, well, he thought. If that’s what makes her happy then that’s fine.

As they approached the SkyClan cats, one young tom spotted them and moved to intercept. He was a moon or two older than them at most, with a silvery, spotted pelt and cool green eyes that flashed with interest.

He raised his tail in greeting and smiled widely as he spoke. “Hey! I’m Fernpaw! What’s your names?”

Sparrowpaw puffed up his chest, surprised at how much bigger the other apprentice was up close. “I’m Sparrowpaw,” he said. “This is Floodpaw.”

“We’re from RisingClan,” said Floodpaw proudly.

“Yeah,” nodded Fernpaw, “I know. You must be the Healer’s kits.”

“How did you know that?” Sparrowpaw asked, amazed.

“Everybody heard about it,” Fernpaw said. “Healers don’t usually have kits, so your mom is kind of special. Tangletooth says she’s nice though.”

“He’s our dad,” Floodpaw growled, a bit more aggressively than Sparrowpaw thought was necessary.

“Oh,” Fernpaw’s ears slipped backward for a split second. “Sorry, I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay,” said Sparrowpaw, offering a smile. “Is this your first gathering too?”

“Yeah,” Fernpaw nodded enthusiastically, all tension slipping from his posture. “I was sick for a while so I had to miss the last one.”

“That sucks!” Floodpaw groaned sympathetically.

“Right?” laughed Fernpaw. “It’s my own fault though. I ate a deathberry.”

Sparrowpaw gasped. “And you survived?!”

“Of course he survived,” Floodpaw rolled his eyes and Sparrowpaw scowled at him.

Fernpaw just nodded, smiling without a touch of embarrassment. “Coyotechaser was totally freaking out! I passed out and woke up back in camp with everyone hovering about, it was crazy.”

“Who’s Coyotechaser?” asked Sparrowpaw, looking around the gathered cats.

“My mentor,” said Fernpaw, “She’s the deputy. Right over there?” He pointed with his muzzle to the pile of rubble at the bottom of the Cornerstones where Nightfrost had joined a brown and white tabby cat.

“My mentor is Goldenstar,” Floodpaw boasted, pointing to her as if he needed to. It was Sparrowpaw’s turn to roll his eyes.

Fernpaw on the other hand seemed impressed. “Woah! That’s awesome! Snowstar is my mom.”

“Oh,” Floodpaw said, looking at the snowy white cat sitting at the top of the stones.

Quickly, Sparrowpaw tried to cover for his brother’s rudeness. “That’s amazing! What’s it like being the leader’s kit?”

“Uh… I dunno,” Fernpaw shrugged. “I don’t think I get any special treatment or anything. Mom’s really good to everybody.” Sparrowpaw looked at Snowstar again and tried to size her up. She was a lot older than Goldenstar, that was for sure. He wondered how hard it would be for Goldenstar to convince her to help them.

A rustle at the far edge of camp announced the arrival of the third Clan of the night. At the head of them was a fierce looking blue spotted tabby and his much meeker looking deputy. Floodpaw gawked excitedly at them.

“Who is that?” he asked.

Fernpaw opened his jaws to scent them and said, “FallenClan. That must be Flightstar.”

“He’s so cool,” Floodpaw said, bouncing from paw to paw.

“He’s not that cool,” Sparrowpaw huffed. Remember, he thought, these cats could be our enemies one day. Casting a sideways glance, he regarded Fernpaw again. Would he have to face the other apprentice in battle someday? He hadn’t known him long, but already that broke Sparrowpaw’s heart. No wonder Russetfrond had drilled that teaching into him, he was going to have to be extremely vigilant to avoid forming inappropriate bonds with enemy warriors.

“No apprentices,” Floodpaw frowned, as the FallenClan cats finished filing in.

“Maybe EarthClan will have some,” Fernpaw shrugged.

“I hope they show up soon,” Floodpaw shivered. “I’m freezing out here.”

“We can move closer to the Cornerstones if you want,” suggested Fernpaw. “It’s warmer over there - less wind chill.”

“Oh, that would be great,” Floodpaw laughed and the three of them moved closer to the crumbling stone structure. True enough, as they stepped into the corner, the wind died suddenly. Floodpaw sighed in relief and huddled down next to Sparrowpaw. Sparrowpaw looked up at the top of the Cornerstones as Flightstar joined Snowstar and Goldenstar atop it. He had a feeling Flightstar was going to be difficult to convince, even with Scorchplume’s advice.

It wasn’t long until EarthClan arrived. Sparrowpaw spotted an apprentice padding near the front of the group, one nearly grown and wearing a pair of moth wings, one behind each ear. Sparrowpaw reared up on his hind legs to wave at him and the apprentice tilted his head at them and approached, his sleek, russet brown fur shining in the moonlight.

“Someone’s enthusiastic,” he said, raising one brow at them.

“You should come sit with us!” Sparrowpaw said, “It’s less cold here.”

“So it is,” the apprentice hummed, settling down with his tail around his paws.

Floodpaw puffed out his chest and said, “I’m Floodpaw of RisingClan. This is my brother, Sparrowpaw.”

“Fernpaw,” said Fernpaw casually.

“Boldpaw,” said the newcomer.

“Boldpaw,” Floodpaw repeated, nodding to himself. “That’s a great name.”

“I know,” said Boldpaw with a smile. Floodpaw pursed his lips and swallowed, looking away. Sparrowpaw tilted his head in confusion but shook it off. Floodpaw was such a weirdo.

“Alright! Let’s get started!” Snowstar’s voice rang out over the clearing and the apprentices all fell quiet. Sparrowpaw was vibrating with excitement. Above him sat the most powerful cats alive, the leaders and deputies of the four Clans. He felt honored to be sitting so close to them.

Snowstar continued, “We are blessed to have a clear sky tonight after the snow yesterday. As we prepare for leafbare, we in SkyClan thank the stars for the bountiful prey we have been blessed with.” Turning to look at Goldenstar, she added, “However, we recently drove a fox from its den and while we tried to chase it east, it may present a problem in the future. RisingClan especially should keep an eye out for any signs of foxes.”

“Great,” Floodpaw grumbled. “First rogues, now foxes?”

“Rogues?” Fernpaw whispered, but Coyotechaser shot him a look from her perch nearby and he fell silent again.

“Thank you for the warning,” Goldenstar said, dipping her head. “If there isn’t any more news from SkyClan, I actually have a warning of my own.” Snowstar shook her head invitingly and Goldenstar stepped to the front of the Cornerstones.

“It has come to my attention,” she said, “that we have all been living next to a serious threat that has until recently been unaware of our existence.” Cats shifted curiously and Sparrowpaw looked over his shoulder, suddenly wishing he were in the back and not the front. “The twoleg city, just over the thunderpath, is home to a ruthless gang of rogues led by a cat named Razor. A few weeks ago, we took in a young cat who was fleeing his wrath who has since taken the name Aldertail and become one of our warriors. Shortly after, Razor’s scouts came looking for her and harassed our new apprentices. It is our belief that Razor will stop at nothing to kill Aldertail and that he may even try to claim our territory for his own.”

Flightstar scoffed. “It sounds to me like you brought this on yourself by taking in a stray kittypet, Goldenstar.”

“What were we supposed to do?” Goldenstar frowned. “Let him slaughter her for a crime she didn’t even commit?”

“How do you know she’s innocent?” Flightstar shot back. “These are kittypet problems and we should let the kittypets sort them out. This doesn’t concern us.”

“Yes, it does,” Goldenstar said firmly. “Now that Razor is aware of the Clans, he is a threat to all of us. His cats are not kittypets, they are as strong as any of our warriors and they will only get bolder.”

“What would you like us to do?” said Orangestar. Sparrowpaw had barely even noticed her, she was hunched in such a solemn, dejected way that she seemed nearly invisible beside the rest of the leaders. She shrugged and shook her head, “I mean, Razor sounds like bad news but how are we even supposed to help? It’s not like we could launch an attack on the city.” Beside him, Boldpaw sighed bitterly and shook his head.

“I propose we present a united front,” Goldenstar said. “All the Clans will send warriors to defend our southern border from intrusion.”

“And leave our own borders vulnerable?” Flightstar asked. “No, absolutely not. This is your mess, Goldenstar. You can deal with it on your own.”

“If we don’t handle it together now, it will be harder to handle later,” countered Goldenstar. “All of us are weakened by the Red Gut, but together we could stand a chance.”

“I am… inclined to agree with Flightstar,” Snowstar said, and Sparrowpaw felt his stomach drop. “It’s not that I don’t think this is important but I can’t spare warriors to defend a border so far from my camp. Maybe if there were a more specific instance, a battle you were preparing for, but to lose a chunk of our warriors indefinitely does not seem wise.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Goldenstar, but my first duty is to my Clan and I have mouths to feed.”

Goldenstar looked lost. “Orangestar?” she asked, “RisingClan would see any aid as a favor to be repaid.”

Orangestar considered it for a moment, looking sullenly at her paws, then lifted her head and said, “EarthClan will stand with you. We can hash out the details later.”

“Thank you,” Goldenstar sighed, smiling.

“And if you have a more actionable request,” Snowstar said, “send word and SkyClan will come to your aid.”

“I will,” said Goldenstar.

Sparrowpaw frowned. That definitely wasn’t what they had wanted. He looked over his shoulder, searching the crowd for Scorchplume, and found her sitting alone near the back of the group. She was shaking her head in disappointment. Sparrowpaw wondered if things would have been different if Goldenstar had tried her ‘speechcraft’ thing. He hoped that EarthClan’s help would be enough. Because if not, things were about to get very bad.

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kojiarakiartworks · 2 months

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June 2012 KTM Kathmandu Nepal Bhaktapur

Daily life and every small thing is the gate to the universe ：）

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toyastales · 1 year

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Turning an old greenhouse into a lush and comfortable indoor/outdoor gathering space is a creative idea.

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oldfarmhouse · 2 months

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𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫

https://pin.it/1WSpOdYAf

#sundays supper #table setting #gathering

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jimhenson-themuppetmaster · 7 months

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Fraggle Rock

#jim henson #the muppets #rare pics #fraggle rock #fraggles #gathering

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wronghands1 · 1 year

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#oxymoron #wordplay #teaching #language #english #words #sayings #gathering #wrong hands #john atkinson #webcomic #humor

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trav-l · 1 year

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Fairy inkcap

Did you know that the fairy inkcap is edible? However, it’s pretty insubstantial in both flavour and sustenance.

#mushrooms #identification #gathering #naturecore #cottagecore #witchblr #foraging #funghi #fungi #mine

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bonefall · 1 year

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How do gatherings look like in your rewrite? I always found it a bit silly that the cats only really talked to members of other clans briefly while waiting for the leaders to start, and then after the speeches everyone leaves immediately. Guess it makes for better drama that way but......i just want these cats to befriend more people outside their own clan

I think they do it to keep scenes focused on the information they wanna impart, but, come on. Let the cats live a little.

In my rewrite, here's how an average Lake Gathering goes! Forest Gatherings were a bit different.

Shellfur arrives with ThunderClan, just after sunset, when the full moon is faint in the sky. Today, they are the first to arrive. Usually WindClan is first, so Shellfur is antsy and worried that maybe Fernstripe won't show up.

So he decides to help Sorreltail and the kitchen crew set up, just to keep his paws busy. They uncover the pot from its fern hiding place and start gathering bowls of lakewater to fill it. Finchpaw is excited to have her last gathering as an apprentice and so is helping enthusiastically, which is tradition.

Flamepaw on the other hand is bellyaching as always. Just before Shellfur snaps at him to remind him this isn't mandatory, WindClan streams in. Now there's plenty of apprentices and kitchen patrollers to help, so Shellfur slips away before he says something mean.

He's been trying to be nicer these days, else Spotfur won't let him see his nespring.

Old friends are brushing up, sharing smalltalk, talking about the weather and how the kits are doing. See, the gathering isn't OFFICIAL until the leaders announce it when all four are present, so Shellfur is trying soooo hard to not immediately split off to hang out with Fernstripe.

That's because Clan leaders want all their warriors on display when each Clan arrives. Some kind of political display. Shellfur can be patient, though, because soon he won't have to hold back his affection for Fernstripe.

SkyClan is next today. They tend to enter in a very disorganized way, the most eager warriors arriving before Leafstar herself. They have a much looser hierarchy than the Forest Four clans.

ShadowClan is usually last, but today they're fourth. Heartstar LOVES her dramatic entrances, so she bursts into the clearing with a running start, bounds up the tree, and orders her warriors forth with a yowl. They charge in a straight line, some of them doing little tricks as they enter. Show-offs.

And last is... RiverClan. No one says, but everyone knows, that this will be Mistystar's last. They typically swim towards the island, allowing the moonlight to shine on their pelts like liquid starlight. But today they have taken the bridge, and the warriors walk gracefully behind their aging leader.

When the leaders call for the Gathering to begin, you must listen to the speeches before breaking off. Shellfur believes this is because it would look bad if no one cheered for their own Clan's announcements.

Once this is done, the Gathering begins in earnest.

Shellfur and Fernstripe listen to a story from Elder Mosspelt of RiverClan, of how she helped Mistystar escape TigerClan so long ago.

Later, Shellfur watches with ardor as Fernstripe is beaten by Rootspring at a game played with little stones and a grid scratched in the dust. It's the first time Rootspring has smiled in a while, but he doesn't know how good Fernstripe really is at Scratchstone. She let him win.

He needs to impress her, so he whispers to Sorreltail to set aside a crayfish from the Paw Soup for her. Sorrel gives him a wink and a coo. Fernstripe loves trying new things... Shellfur does not, but for her, he will have soup with a mud bug.

Time passes. The moon is hanging low. Any leader can call for their Clan to leave whenever they please, but any cat can say the magic words.

"I'll catch up with you later."

That's what he says when ThunderClan leaves the clearing. A few stay behind. Duststripe is one of them, Dewnose is another.

When the leaders are all gone, there's a second Gathering. This is when cats discuss other things, harmless, but codebreaking nonetheless. Honor-siring, goods-trading, sharing forbidden foods like kittypet kibble.

They usually make a second version of Paw Soup together. Someone called it Foot Soup and it stuck. Whatever was left over, plus some extra spices, this one usually has fish and kibble. It's a lot stronger than regular Paw Soup so Shellfur didn't think he'd like it, but he was surprised when he did.

And most importantly, he gets to be with Fernstripe. REALLY be with her, brushing, snuggling, getting actual relationship advice. It's like a safe haven.

But he's truly over the moon today, because tomorrow, he will wake up next to her and they will go home together. This is their last night at the Aftergathering, from now on, they won't be regulars anymore.

Before the moon is gone, so is everyone else. Gone back to their own Clans, where divisions are deeper than chasms. Fernstripe asks him if he's ready. He says yes, of course.

#Gathering #Warrior cats #Bonefall Rewrite #Shellfur #Fernstripe #Clan culture

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