Cats

Cats are the characters that populate the world of *From the Ground Up.* Each one is randomly generated and thus unique. All cats that the current Playercat has met or heard of can be reviewed from the Allegiances menu.

## Appearance

*See Appearances & Genetics*

Each and every cat in *From the Ground Up* is randomly generated almost in its entirety. Although heavily based on real-life cat genetics, many things have been simplified for the game's sake, and there are a handful of real-world genetic factors that do not play a part in *From the Ground Up.* However, there is still a very wide range of variety in NPC appearances. No two cats will ever be truly identical, thanks to a robust appearance system that randomizes every detail down to the unique hue, saturation, and value of a cat's coat and eye colors.

*Examples of NPCs*

## Personality

*See Personalities*

Like with appearances, every cat comes with their own set of personality traits. These personality traits determine what a cat will or won't do, and how they will react to certain situations. All traits can be discovered by interacting with an NPC. The more the player talks to and spends time with an NPC, the higher their relationship will be, and the more comfortable an NPC will be sharing their opinions. Having an idea of how an NPC will behave is beneficial to making leadership decisions, such as choosing a mentor for apprentices, or choosing a deputy.

## Moods

A cat's mood will have an effect on how they react to certain situations and other cats.

## Memories (History)

Depending on what is known by the player, an NPC's "Memories" panel will display events that have happened to them. All cats have a Birthday "memory" that documents their age. After their birthday, a newly generated cat's memories are randomly populated to form their lifetime of experiences up to the moment of that cat's creation; the number of life experiences they possess will naturally vary by age. Cats that are born on the map, however, naturally start only with their birthday. All cats will accrue new memories as they live life. Due to the nature of Discovery and a cat's personal willingness to open up, there may be things in a cat's past that affect their decisions, that the player may never know about.

Memories come in two categories, simple **Memories** and **Core Memories**. Each memory has a strength, which determines how well a cat remembers it. Over time, normal Memories can and will fade (though they will never disappear completely as they are how the game itself remembers events) and cats may forget about things eventually. Core Memories are key moments in a cat's life that will never fade, due to the momentous nature of them. This includes joining or leaving a Clan, naming ceremonies, and promotions to deputy, leader, or full medicine cat respectively. The only way for a Core Memory to be forgotten is through Amnesia; these Memories are usually the first (and sometimes the only) Memories that return after a traumatic event as such.

## Stats

*See Stats & Skills*

Every cat has a statblock. Stats are determined once, and very rarely change during the course of a game. They are mostly used to buff or debuff a cat's chances of success during an event or encounter. Skills, on the other hand, are built up and lost over time, depending on how often they're used. How well a cat does in a skill, and how easy it is to build it, are also often helped or hindered by a cat's stats.

## Relationships

All cats have five relationship values towards each other: **Platonic** (friendly) feelings, **Romantic** feelings, **Antagonistic** (unfriendly) feelings, **Trust**, and **Fear**. These values are independent of one another, but may conflict and conspire in interesting ways. Cats who feel both highly platonic and antagonistic towards each other will behave like "frenemies", for example.

Each relationship value also comes with a separate value of **decay**. Though the base values only increase as a relationship evolves, they can be damaged by their value of decay. Cats with a high relationship value in any category have history with the player; but if any of these categories also has high decay, this relationship, though remembered by both parties, is no longer as strong as it used to be. For example, if the player breaks up with their mate, they will both remember how much they used to love each other, but if neither has shown the other affection for some time, their romantic feelings will have dwindled and potentially died completely.

Both the positive value and decay value are influenced by the interactions between characters. Interactions can both increase the base relationship value, as well as decrease the amount of relationship decay. Such interactions include complimenting, flirting with, and insulting another cat to influence their feelings. A cat may also feel differently towards another than the other feels towards them; an individual's relationship with another is entirely their own, and a cat that likes or dislikes another cat may not have their feelings reciprocated and vice versa.

Because all standard NPCs are generated the same way, each and every one of them will have unique and evolving opinions of the Playercat. All NPCs (Aside from the First Stars) can be made friends, enemies, or mates; a cat's sex, appearance, or other physical trait has no bearing on these values. A cat's personality traits, however, *will* affect how they feel and react to the player and others, and influence their relationships. For more on this, see Socializing.