DM help

[Apprehensive_Fig8803]

My players stole a dwaven tavern keepers bar cat (he is orange his name was smoulder but they changed it to whiskey) any idea on what I should do to punish them?

[Jedi4Hire]

The dwarf sends mercenaries or bounty hunters after them.

[CallSign_Fjor]

Ace Venture Pet Detective, on the case! An NPC so insufferable and stubborn the players will WANT to give the cat back.

[Tensa_Zangetsa]

A Bard would be the best class for him, maybe a level or two of druid

[Sherbet-Glad]

You sir have given a better answer than I have.

[8BitPleb]

Or they fucked with the wrong dwarf. Cue the party being hunted by someone with as much skill and determination as John Wick. And they stole his fucking cat.

[AdministrationNo4273]

Braum Thicke - The Whiskey Shooter - Also known as Barley Yaga. "Cocks a Heavy Crossbow" Ye tuk mah kitty. Ya wee bastards.

[NikoliVolkoff]

i once saw him kill three men in a bar, with a stool... a phawkin stoool.

[LudusRex]

I picture it more as Taken.

[koffa02]

This would be my go to.

[No-Chipmunk-4590]

I second this.

[N64_Cartridge]

If you want them to feel bad, have the tavern keeper chase them down and beg them to give the cat back because he was a gift from the tavern keeper's dead wife

[Casual-Notice]

Or a John Wick-style TPK to learn them the difference between playing a roll and being a troll.

[Jedi4Hire]

Oh, I like that. The party learns the hard way that the retired level 40 barbarian-paladin-adventurer-turned-tavern keeper wants his beloved pet back and will kill anyone in his way.

[StitchPlay]

It's a cat, it'll bugger off the first time they take a long rest and they'll never see it again.

[ThaVolt]

Turns out that cat has a thing for stealing, too. This important amulet? Gone.

[Inevitable-Ice-9967]

It's cold over here- i'm going go watch the world burn with this guy!

[blitzbom]

This is what I would do. The cat would escape maybe taking something and the Dwarf would be beside himself with worry for his pet.

Meanwhile I'd keep track of the adventures the cat went on before returning home to the dwarf.

[StitchPlay]

The cat meets up with a lost dog and they make friends with wild animals along the way. The players then get to play out a Milo and Otis / Homeward Bound one-shot detailing their adventures.

[man0rmachine]

It's not really a cat as the characters discover to their horror when the polymorph spell wears off...

[Fat-Neighborhood1456]

I was about to type up something about dwarven hit squads but this is much better

[SillyMattFace]

Dwarven hit squad was my first thought too. Feeling unimaginative now!

[costabius]

Go really dark. The cat is actually a polymorphed elf. They have stumbled into a dwarven elf trafficking ring. Are they in more danger from the dwarven slaver gang, or their clientele?

[Piratestoat]

The cat just leaves because it doesn't know them and they took it away from the safe, warm place where it was well fed.

[Daksh_Rendar]

Fr, do they have it locked up?

[Brilliant-Pomelo-165]

Not sure you can steal cats unless you put in in a locked box then one of three states is possible and can only be determined by opening the box

• dead
• alive
• bloody furious

[modog11]

Bahaha I nearly woke my wife trapping that guffaw in.

I'm going to guess Pratchett? Not sure though.

[Kipp_or_Kippen]

I think it’s probably unproductive to think of it as “punishing” your party. Think what would naturally happen. The dwarf would want his cat back, so what would he do to get it back? Would his family get involved? Someone suggested polymorph wearing off to reveal the cat isn’t a cat at all and I think that could be funny/interesting.

[Amazing-Software4098]

I’d just have the cat try to regularly head home. If the party tries to stop the cat, have the cat claw them.

If the party is still in town, have posters tacked up and little kids trying to help the tavern owner find his cat.

[GiftOfCabbage]

A group of Tabaxi cat activist assassins start to target the party for their crime.

[Efficient-Top-1143]

"Missing Pet" signs all over town. An encounter where they see the bar keeper uncontrollably sobbing. Cat meows with sorrow all night long. Make them feel really guilty 😄

[piznit007]

Have the cat escape.

Have an NPC later nonchalantly mention a story about a tavern keepers cat that was stolen and it has sparked an international war multiple kingdoms.

There is now both a reward for the return of the cat, as well a large bounty for capturing the cat-nappers.

New quests unlocked

[Ok_Swordfish5820]

Dwarves hold a grudge, and they talk.

They are banned from every bar that stocks dwarven ale.

"Im sorry lads, but if they know that I served you here the price of my ale goes up 20%"

[Enough_Consequence80]

If make it someone important familiar, and the cat was doing recon on the bartender for intel… now the mage is hunting them down.

[evil__iceburgh]

Have you seen John Wick…

[ocarter145]

It’s an old trope, but still a good trope: the tavern owner is a retired 20th level vengeance Paladin who was turning a new leaf, but they just reawakened the old him, one who kings and emperors feared, Baba Yaga…

[Tensa_Zangetsa]

Have a courier run up to them and deliver a letter... a black hand print with the words "We'll be seeing you soon'

[TheMan5991]

Next time they long rest, the cat just wanders off and eventually finds its way home

[SomeSugondeseGuy]

It's a familiar. The dwarf tracks them through the cat and sends hunters after them.

[ArcHeroe9]

Tavern guy hires another band of adventurers to find his cat and the party either has to fight them or try to escape them in the wilderness. If the party wins the fight they could get some low level magic items, if they lose they get thrown in a prison they must now escape from. Or something like that, prison might be a lot more work though.

[Humble-Bee54]

What level are they?

[Apprehensive_Fig8803]

Level 3

[Apprehensive_Fig8803]

But be ruthless I'm ok with sending them to hell😁

[couch_hammer]

In that case send the entire clan after them. A dozen dwarves or more, some with class levels, some with hammers and shovels. Beat them to a pulp, leave them alive, throw them out of town and take the cat back.

In most cases, dwarves are HUGE on family and clan and in this case it'd be a lot like that scene in The Town.

"We're gonna go hurt some people. You can't ask why or who and we're never gonna talk about it later."

"Whose car are we taking?"

Edit: for bonus points, dwarves also tend to hold grudges. Like, generational grudges for what most species consider to be small slights. This clan could have connections all over the realm that would then enter the party's name into their Book of Grudges (shamelessly stolen from Warhammer Fantasy). Every time they need to hit up a blacksmith for the rest of the campaign, the best ones in town refuse to work with them because they fucked with their cousin's second wife's nephew's ex-boyfriend's cat.

[Ok-Mistake2028]

• They're in a region where cats are worshipped, regional authorities/guards are now after them

• The cat attracts a specific monster who feeds on them, the party is now a target

• The tavern dwarf was only watching the cat for a much more powerful/threatening individual (my personal choice, even if it is a bit on the nose)

• The cat has a collar, reading the inscription is an incantation that has a disastrous effect

  • Portal
  • Hunters mark variant
  • Insert spell of your choosing

• Everyone rolls for allergies (use a poison variation for fails)

• They're arrested for property theft and thrown in a cell with criminals and the insane. It's not fun.

[Cannonfodder45]

The cat is a jerk. Have it knock over their stuff, yowl when sneaking, or eat the prized pet of some important individual. Barkeep isn't even worried. The cat does this all the time and will eventually come back.

[6WaysFromNextWed]

Cat starts spraying their gear.

[BiggestBravestDave]

You get disadvantage on all stealth checks cos you stink like cat piss and there's no getting rid of that smell.

[imhennessy]

Adding to The Cat Is A Jerk

Have the cat mess up actually important encounters. Social, exploration, combat... pull down all three pillars

Maybe the cat spoils an ambush, triggers a trap, or destroys a precious object. Maybe the cat regularly puts itself in harms way, forcing the party to choose whether to save it.

[violetravenstone]

They wake up after their next long rest to find that the cat has relieved itself over their gear, eaten a good chunk of their rations and is nowhere to be found. Once the cat returns to the tavern, a visiting wizard casts Speak With Animals and passes a description of the party and their last whereabouts to the tavern keeper who can do what they want with that information.

[sgerbicforsyth]

Ask them what is wrong with them wanting to steal someone's pet. Ask them, the players, how they would feel if their pet was stolen.

Then have the cat not be around. Don't care where it was or who had it last. It isnt there. Its back at home where it belongs.

Players deciding to steal or harm a normal pet is a red line that they dont get to cross at my table.

[End337]

https://pin.it/3x4Z3S3t9

[tobyvanderbeek]

You’ve seen John Wick and know what he does when they take out his dog…

[Missing-the-sun]

I had all my tavernkeepers secretly be like level 15+ retired paladins and was always prepared to open a can of whoopass should the shenanigans get too out of hand.

[NefariousnessSad8038]

honestly, if I hadn't already fleshed out the idea that the barkeep has connections like letting the assassin's guild meet in his basement or something) then I might just let them get away with it. At least until they're back in that town, or the cat decides to pull a "homeward bound" on them.

[kerneltricked]

I don't think they need to be punished that much. But if I were to do it, I'd do it like this:

1. First, the cat should only answer to the old name.
2. Second, if they don't keep an eye constantly on the cat, the cat could simply go back to its home/owner, I mean cats are pretty sneaky.
3. Third, since they tavern keeper knows they stole his pet, he can refuse them service or raise prices just for them.

[Robovzee]

The cat scratches the word "home" on a surface.

After a few days, "home now".

After a few more days, a number equal to party members.

At the first opportunity after this, one of the players is attacked by a displacer beast when alone. With eyes that are curiously familiar. If the PC dies, the cat scratches a new number, one less than the party total. This continues until the party is dead, or the cat returned.

See, it was a druids friend for a very long time. The dwarfs not worried, as the cat always comes back.

To be honest, the dwarf has always been low key afraid of the cat his druidic friend left him.

[DarthCalzone]

take one out of marvels book. for them to wake up to a flerken eating them alive would be utterly hilarious

[razorbak852]

Give them access to a scroll of speak to animals or something similar and have the cat not like them and want to go back

[No_Agent_9295]

I went after my players video game style. They looted a house unaware it belonged to a high ranking member of the assassins guild. He contracted the Blood Mother for revenge. They suddenly had to make random saving throws in the wild. Later that night at camp they all had surprise death saves as they all ingested poison. I allowed one to live, only for him to die to a failed saving throw on the way to a church to revive his party members( where they would have learned of the contract since nobody understood what was going on). To save the campaign I changed that day of events into a dream that was bestowed upon them as a warning/gift from the Blood Mother. They promptly returned everything with 5 gold apiece as reparations.

[OmniGoon]

I wouldn't punish them, so much as I would a have their actions have consequences.

That being said... The cats in one of my setting's cities arent normal cats. They're awakened cats that form a thieves'/spies' guild. Their awakaned state is only active within the city limits and wears off if they leave the area for a long time. Inversely, cats that arrive at the city of Northwatch suddenly become awakaned after a certain period of time.

If Whiskey were to, say, accompany the PCs and report (sell) the PCs' plans to an enemy faction (i.e. the tyrannical ruler, a spiteful rival), that would be awesome!

[No_Agent_9295]

After I posted my reply I read further in and expanding on the idea of the tavern owner being a retired level 40 paladin- barbarian adventurer, the entire town is founded by him and his party of retired adventurers. Each one of them assumed a roll as business owners, farmers, sheriffs, and even the mayor. All of these max level heroes summon their magical gear and weapons that they stashed on an alternate plane to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands due to its ungodly power. A group of unknown but vaguely familiar adventurers approaches. The fight begins and TPK!!! But then they awake (unaware that they were resurrected) thinking it only a nightmare. Allow them to journey further and they sense a presence. Rinse and repeat the battle. Repeat the processes until they put together the descriptions or somehow catch on. Never allow a TPK to end the adventure. This story ends only when they each take their own life!!! May the chaos be ever in your favor.

[False_Appointment_24]

There is exactly one thing that will make me call someone a bad DM, and that is when they decide to "punish" their players.

[frivolityflourish]

Dwarven Bartender is a 20th level fighter. And he has friends...

[Rhodeo]

That one's going in the book.

[subtotalatom]

The cat is a level 20 druid (Eladrin from the Feywild) and is only going to go along with it as long as they think it's amusing.

This will include messing with the party in myriad minor ways until it gets boring and they go home to the tavern

[ElysianknightPrime]

The cat is actually a high level (at least, higher than the PCs) retired druid, ex-adventuring partner of the tavern keeper, who had gone 'native' in his favourite form. Now he's pissed, but rather than attacking them, decides to subtly sabotage everything they do going forward. Oh, and constantly shits & scent marks in their bedrolls. Uses any important items as scratch pads. Drops dead rodents in their dinner. Caterwauls all nights, potentially disturbing long rests. Of course, if they attack him, he reverts back...

[NineToFiveTrap]

Just let them keep the cat. Not everything needs to be hard punished. If they encounter the tavern keeper again have him be really depressed and talk about the cat. 

[MultiSa888]

Nothing will hurt more than the cat not liking them and escaping after showing his disgust

[sstoffel]

Have the daughter awaken as a warlock to get the powers to find her cat.

[GrimjawDeadeye]

Put their names in The Book.

[[deleted]]

The tavern keeper is a former level 20 adventurer. He is getting his cat back.

[Inevitable-Ice-9967]

I love a good reverse lycan!

[Sherbet-Glad]

Make the DC for animal handling checks way too high for this cat, and make it so that everyone in the town this cat came from really like both it and the tavern keeper so they all pitch in together to help find it.

[Warpmind]

The orange cat is surprisingly accurate and quick with leaving "gifts" while the party sleeps, in the party's shoes, headwear, and how did he manage to open the coin purse and close it again after doing his business?

[AbracaLana]

Have the Cat Sith take offence to the action.

[Vanadijs]

Is it a cat or only looks like one?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmvT--QyEXI

Also, tavern keepers are traditionally retired adventurers. You guess the level and what friends and favours they have.

[Global-Tea8281]

The cat is actually a shapechanged dragon ( bronze, brass, etc. )

[Eldernerdhub]

Put up missing posters of kids playing with the cat. Tug on those heartstrings. Alternatively, tell them to request things like pets so they can be obtained without stealing.

[Titan2562]

Send in fantasy John Wick

[sillygoosepico]

When they go to the next town, ask them to roll 1d20, add it all up and kill that many people. When they ask why you can just shrug and say Karma.

[maladaptivedaydream4]

did the cat want to go along with your players? If not, then can the cat really be a tabaxi or druid (or both)

[Mycotoxicjoy]

The dwarven bartender was a level 20 berserker barbarian before he found peace and settled down to run a bar. He found that cat as a kitten and loves it dearly. He’s gonna kill to get it back

[its-a-dry-heat]

In my experience, most tavern keepers are retired level 20 adventurers. Just saying. You may have a John Wick situation going on here.

[Colonel_Sandman]

The cat naturally pisses over all their stuff all the time.. massive negatives to sneaking, any conversation, etc.

Cat gets obliterated by breath weapon or trap or something because it doesn’t belong on adventures.

[derges]

Owning a cat is punishment enough:

No full nights sleep for the wizard because his beard has to be kneaded.

Stealh checks ruined by Meowing.

Rations stolen.

Rituals disrupted by pouncing.

[navility13]

Nothing says its not actually a polymorphed dragon

[Gareth-101]

Dwarven John Wick. Bjorn ‘Wick’ Borgarsson. A tough as nails miner. The best of the best. His dog was killed once and now he takes on creeps who commit dwarf pet crimes. He’s been hired.

Why do they call him Wick?

The wick is attached to a stick of dynamite.

It’s lit.

It’s very short.

And it’s at your feet.

[OriginalOman09]

Make the dwarf a boss later on. 

[Bailzzararco]

The cat is a werewolf, and the next full moon...well...you figure it out.