Playercat

The **Playercat** is the character controlled by the player of the game, and the main character of *From the Ground Up.* The Playercat is always the leader of the Player Clan, which may change during the course of the game. This article refers specifically to the player character. For information on other characters, see Cats.

## New Game

> ....It certainly wasn't where you just went to sleep. Where was that exactly?
>
> Narrator, beginning of the game

During the course of character creation, the player may choose which background their founding leader comes from. The Playercat may be a **wanderer**, a **homebody**, a **fighter**, a **kittypet**, an **abandoned kittypet**, or an **amnesiac**. The player will be asked where they fell asleep before being transported in their dreams. While in StarClan, the Playercat gazes into the Pool of Reflection, where the player designs their appearance. After doing so, the Playercat is greeted by the First Stars.

The First Stars explain that the Playercat has come to StarClan, where Clan cats go when they die. The Playercat is briefed about Clan life and the duties of a leader, before being given the choice of whom to receive their nine lives from. These choices will determine the Playercat's starting stats and skills, as well as the skills their Clan will be known for (i.e. RiverClan and swimming, SkyClan and climbing, etc).

After receiving their nine lives and leader name, the Playercat is returned to the waking world with their new identity and task.

* If the player chose to be a wanderer, they will have gone to sleep in a place they've never been. The Playercat will not be familiar with the area and they will wake to the sound of another cat trying to rouse them.
* If the player chose to be a homebody, they will have gone to sleep in their den. The Playercat will be very familiar with the area, and this den will become the leader's den of the Player Clan's Camp. They will awaken to the sound of something rustling outside their den.
* If the player chose to be a fighter, they will have been killed in the fight they were in. They will be able to choose if they are familiar with the area or not, and will be awakened by a cat who claims to have watched their body all night and witnessed the Playercat receiving their lives. They will only have eight lives, as the Playercat was already once dead when the lives were received.
* If the player chose to be a kittypet, they will wake up in a cat bed inside a human home. They will be unfamiliar with the wild, and must escape their twoleg nest before being able to begin their journey.
* If the player chose to be an abandoned kittypet, they will wake up by a thunderpath. They will be familiar with Twolegplace, if there is one, but nowhere else, and will awaken to a cat nearly being run over by a monster trying to cross the thunderpath.
* If the player chose to be an amnesiac, they will awaken in an unfamiliar place with a great deal of head pain. They will not know the area at all, nor even know how they got there. A cat will be tending to their head wound.

No matter what the player chooses, the first cat they meet will be their Clan's medicine cat. This cat will ask the Playercat questions that will further determine their personality. After this, unless the player chose the homebody origin, they will be tasked with finding a place to call home and begin marking their territory. Once this is finished, the player is released, and the rest of the story is procedurally generated over the course of the game through Memories.

### Appearance

*See Appearances & Genetics*

By default, the original playercat is a black tom with orange eyes, however this can be changed during character creation. The player will have the full range of genetic possibilities available to them to create the perfect founding cat of their choosing. This includes choosing to be a male tortoiseshell, however as in reality, they will be genetically sterile and unable to father kits.

Depending on the player's choice of origin story at the start of a new game, the founding leader may or may not have an assortment of scars or accessories on their body from the beginning, though they may gain more as their story progresses. This includes lost eyes, lost ears, or a halved / completely missing tail. A founding cat with a kittypet origin may also choose if they have been declawed or sterilized during their time with their housefolk, and any kittypet accessories such as collars, scarves, or sweaters.

### Personality

*See Personalities*

Upon meeting the first founding member, the medicine cat in a Clan-based playthrough, the playercat will have a probing conversation with them which will decide their personality traits. All but one trait is decided during this sequence; the **Bravery** trait is decided much earlier with the First Stars, when choosing the founding leader's reaction to being told they are the Chosen One. Depending on how much of this initial personality matches up with the medicine cat's, the player may get a head start on a good relationship with them.

## Death & Succession

When the Playercat loses all of their lives or retires due to injury or old age, the mantle is passed onto their deputy or other successor, and the player then controls the new cat. Information displayed to the player will then depend on the new cat's knowledge of the world around them; things the previous leader knew may not be known by the new leader, and will no longer be visible. Because of this, it is advisable for leaders to have close relationships with their successors, and to share as much information as possible before being succeeded.