Cat's Cradle (2019)

Publisher's blurb:

Cat’s Cradle is the first in a series of short and mid-length sourcebooks detailing a particular piece of the Psi-Watch Campaign Setting. Cat’s Cradle represents one of the major points of divergence between the Psi-Watch version of Earth and our reality – it is an alternate vision of the urban American Mid-West, populated by a diverse array of Anthro denizens. Cat’s Cradle is a furry metropolis that used to be Omaha, Nebraska, in an alternate 1993 desperately in need of heroes.

Cat’s Cradle makes extensive use of concepts introduced in Fursona Unleashed, in particular detailing a variety of worshippers, both good and evil, for many of the various Anthro deities introduced in that book. This sourcebook takes the character creation ideas in Fursona Unleashed and makes them concrete. It grounds Anthro adventurers in a distorted, but recognizable version of modern America. Many of the plot hooks and threats introduced in this book make use of various monsters described in Secret Soldiers, giving gamemasters a good idea of how to use the diverse array of comic-inspired threats therein. Finally, some concepts introduced in Action Features and Cosmic Toybox are followed up on here, including the rebirth of the legendary Brightstar Order.

In 1971, a beam of blinding white light lanced out of Saturn’s moon, Ganymede, and bathed the Western Hemisphere in supernal radiance. When the light receded, roughly three percent of homo sapiens in the Americas, chosen seemingly at random, were no longer quite human. After long minutes of painful spasms and unnaturally rapid cellular mutation, the transformed rose on shaky legs as Anthros – furred, animalistic hybrids of man and beast. The survivors of the White Dawn picked up their lives as best they could, waiting for a staunchly anti-Mutant Congress to restore their full civil rights. Even when the legalities were settled, in late ’72, the newborn Anthro race faced the discrimination and fear that had nearly driven the Mutant subset of humanity into extinction.

Omaha, Nebraska was one of the few places in North America that offered a welcoming climate for those with fur and fangs. Gutted by the race riots of a decade prior, Omaha offered cheap land, cheaper rent and a desperation for civic resurrection. Over the next few years, Anthros from around the globe migrated into Omaha to rent apartments, buy homes, start businesses and live their lives with a level of equality offered by few other American cities. Their presence revitalized the city and its economy, as a host of Anthro-specialized businesses were born. In 1978, Omaha officially changed its name to Cat’s Cradle, Nebraska, celebrating its proud Anthro-majority populace (which was more than 60% felinoid).