Socializing

*This article is about social interactions between characters. For information on stranger cat encounters during exploration, see Encounters*

Every NPC—with the exception of the First Stars—can be interacted with in the same way. Social situations will be directly affected by the Personalities, Moods, and Relationship values of the cats involved. The primary way to begin a social interaction is via the **Talk to Clanmates** option the player is given while inside their own Clan Camp. Often, another cat may initiate an interaction with the player themselves if they have something they want to talk about with their leader, or if they simply enjoy the Playercat's company.

If an NPC initiates dialogue, they will start the conversation with whatever is on their mind, and provided it is not part of a Quest, normal dialogue options will follow the initial interaction. When the player initiates dialogue, NPCs will occasionally greet them as if the NPC had started the conversation themselves if they had something on their mind. Or, if they are already socializing, they may not be too happy that the player interrupted them. In either greeting scenario, normal dialogue options follow.

## NPC Management

* Sniff
* Mateship Options
* Naming Ceremonies
* Make Deputy / Demote
* Exile

Sniffing an NPC will tell the player what scents linger on their fur. For the most part, there won't be anything noteworthy, but if a cat has, for example, eaten out of turn or spent time with a cat they shouldn't have, evidence of these transgressions will stick to an NPC's pelt; provided they don't think to wash before seeing the player, that is.

If the Playercat feels strongly enough romantically about the NPC in question, the **Ask to Be Mates** option will appear. If the NPC feels the same way, they will accept the Playercat's proposal. If they don't feel as strongly, they may tell the Playercat to ask again later. If they don't feel the same way at *all*, they will reject the Playercat. Both the player and an NPC can approach the other with a proposal while already mated. Accepting such an offer will break off the previous mateship/s, with *huge* negative effects to the relationships in question.

If a Romantic relationship decays too much, it may be better to **Break Up** instead of trying to salvage it. This ends the mateship, allowing both parties to openly choose a new mate if they desire.

At present, it is not possible to participate in a ployamorous relationship with multiple mates at once. A declaration of mateship represents monogamy: no mated cat will take kindly to being cheated on, and taking a new mate while already mated breaks off the old one. Polyamory can, however, be achieved by refusing to become officially mates with any romantic partners. That said, any NPCs involved may also freely flirt with other cats.

Selecting **Give Clan Name** or **Give Mentor** will prompt the Playercat to begin a warrior or apprentice naming ceremony respectively. Initiating a naming ceremony this way, by approaching the individual being named, will **only** name the individual. Mass naming ceremonies are initiated from the Clan Camp menu.

If an apprentice already has a mentor, **Give Mentor** will be replaced by **Give New Mentor**. An apprentice can be given a new mentor at any time if the player determines that their current mentor is, for whatever reason, unsuitable.

A cat can also be renamed at any time if their current name no longer suits them. This will initiate a renaming ceremony and will be added to a cat's Memories just as any other naming ceremony. If a cat likes their name the way it is or otherwise does not wish to be renamed, they can refuse the ceremony. Because of this, it should not be used to fix typos; if a player is worried about making mistakes, it's better to save before a naming ceremony and reload that save if a mistake is made. Cats won't take kindly to being renamed over and over.

Choosing **Make Deputy** will initiate a deputy naming ceremony. This can be done whether or not the cat in question has accepted or rejected the role, or has even been spoken to about it at all. It is advisable for the player to have a second choice in mind when choosing a deputy without discussing it with them first, or intentionally choosing a deputy against their own wishes. A cat who does not desire the position can choose to reject it during the ceremony, and the player will be forced to choose someone else.

A deputy or medicine cat can be demoted as punishment for serious transgressions. As with any other instance of a loss of deputy, the Playercat must choose a new one by moonhigh. If a medicine cat is forcibly demoted, and they have no apprentice or their apprentice is not yet ready to take on the role, they will take on an apprentice (if one does not exist) and continue to do their duties until their apprentice is ready to take over.
If a cat has transgressed beyond forgiveness, the player can **Exile** them from the Clan, at which point they become a rogue. This is a major decision, and depending on how it's handled, can affect the Playercat's relationships with their entire Clan. A rogue cat may decide to stick around, hovering within their former Clan's territory, they may join a rival Clan, or they could decide to leave the map altogether.

## Social Interactions

* Gifting
* Express Love
* Share Tongues
* Compliment / Flirt / Insult

Gift-giving can offer a huge boost in relationship values; which value is affected will depend on the NPC and the gift being given to them.

Offering a cat their favorite food will boost Platonic relationship by 10 points. Other prey items will only boost by 5, and a cat's least-liked food will either decay Platonic or boost Antagonistic, depending on their Temper. Similarly, although less drastically, NPCs can also be offered bedding as gifts. To this end, moss is always safe to give another cat, though the reward for doing so isn't usually high. For best results, it's best to gift bedding when a cat specifically mentions needing a new nest.

Attempting to give a cat a gift without knowing them very well on the player's part can prove catastrophic. An NPC's personality determines in part how they react to a gift, and giving the wrong gift to the wrong cat can ruin a relationship, *especially* if the NPC expects the Playercat to know their likes and dislikes.
Once mated, the player can choose to **Express Love** to their mate. Telling your mate you love them will stave off Romantic decay, but is only effective in moderation. Doing so too often makes it seem cheap and meaningless, while not doing so at *all* can allow the relationship to decay over time.

If the Platonic or Romantic relationship values between player and NPC are high enough, they can settle down to groom each other. This interaction doesn't boost any values, but will remove some decay from the Platonic, Romantic, and Trust values, and will add decay to the Antagonistic and Fear values. Both cats will gain 5 points of stamina due to the relaxing nature of the activity, and 1 hour will pass.

**Compliments**, **Flirts**, and **Insults** are the most basic ways to influence an NPC's respective Platonic, Romantic, and Antagonistic feelings towards the Playercat. How much or how little these interactions have an effect depends on the personality traits of the parties involved, as well as the current values of their relationship. For example, insulting your best friend (provided they are not also a frenemy) is going hurt them much more than insulting a stranger.

Much like expressing love to one's mate, compliments, flirts, and insults, are only effective in moderation. Complimenting a cat too many times in short succession does not offer the same boost as the first compliment. Likewise, too many flirts can become annoying and even add to *decay* instead of positive value, and a cat that is bombarded with insults will numb themselves to it.
## Discovery

As cats get to know each other, they learn things about each other. Their personality traits, thoughts and opinions, and their life story. Even knowledge of a cat's current name is stored in the "Discovery" list of each relationship. This list cannot be accessed in full without the activation of cheats, but its influence is felt throughout the game in how information is presented to the player. A cat's traits will appear as "Unknown" in their personality panel until the playercat discovers these traits for certain. Cats may even become friends without ever learning each other's names!

Traits are added to discoveries when cats display behaviors related to their traits to other cats. For example, if a Flirty playercat flirts enough, eventually word will get around that they have the Flirty trait. In tight-knit setting like a Clan, eventually cats' defining traits will be common knowledge, so long as they aren't secretive about it.

Memories are also part of discoveries. Birthday memories are automatically known by all cats (it's pretty clear how old a cat is by their look and scent), but a cat's memory can only be added to another cat's discovery of them if:

* The second cat bore witness or was otherwise involved in the memory.
* A third party with knowledge of the first cat's memory told the second cat about it.
* The memory's owner has spoken to the other cat about it themselves.

Depending on a cat's Personality, they may not be comfortable being open about themselves with cats they don't trust. As such, learning about NPCs with private personalities will be more difficult than learning about cats who are very open to sharing.