Reference · published weights · nothing hidden
The Eight Orders.
Every cat belongs to one of eight orders, decided by its number before any trait is drawn. Rarity is rendered as pigment: a Common cat is ink on paper; each order upward, colour claims more of the plate. You should be able to place a cat’s order from across the room. These are the exact weights the press uses.
The eight orders
Common
41%
0
Ink on paper. Nothing more, and proudly. Vellum, parchment, foxed kraft — the ground is bare.
Uncommon
20%
17
A first wash of colour in the ground: ash, tannin, a dust of verdigris. You could miss it.
Scarce
15%
23
The wash becomes a stain — bloodletting red, copperplate green, woad blue. Nothing subtle left.
Rare
10%
30
Cinnabar and amaranth. The ground is now louder than anything on the cat.
Arcane
7%
42
The pigment stops sitting still and starts to bleed, sulphur through to nightshade, top to bottom.
Occult
4%
55
Foxfire: the ground burns violet and throws sparks. The first sigils appear here.
Legendary
2%
80
A chromatic bloom, and the plate no longer holds one colour at all.
Cosmic
1%
137
The colour does not hold still. It eats the outline, the sigil ring burns, and it should not exist in a printed book.
Trait weights · drawn per cat from its number
Background
- Fresh Vellum
- 17.2%
- Aged Parchment
- 13.5%
- Foxed Kraft
- 10.3%
- Ash Wash
- 7.7%
- Tannin
- 6.5%
- Verdigris Dust
- 5.8%
- Bloodletting
- 6.3%
- Copperplate
- 4.8%
- Woad
- 3.9%
- Cinnabar
- 6%
- Amaranth
- 4%
- Sulphur Bleed
- 4.2%
- Nightshade Bleed
- 2.8%
- Foxfire
- 4%
- Chromatic Bloom
- 2%
- Impossible Ink
- 1%
Coat
- Grey Tabby
- 22%
- Brown Tabby
- 18%
- Ink Black
- 15%
- Chalk White
- 12%
- Ginger
- 11%
- Blue-Grey
- 8%
- Cream
- 6%
- Silver
- 4%
- Chocolate
- 2%
- Smoke
- 1.2%
- Prism
- 0.5%
- Starfield Pelt
- 0.2%
- Unwoven
- 0.1%
Ears
- Upright
- 30%
- Rounded
- 23%
- Tall
- 15%
- Wide-Set
- 13%
- Tufted
- 9%
- Folded
- 6%
- Battle-Torn
- 2.5%
- Four-Eared
- 1%
- Ember Ears
- 0.5%
Markings
- Solid
- 24%
- Classic Tabby
- 19%
- Mackerel
- 14%
- Tuxedo Bib
- 12%
- Locket
- 10%
- Van
- 7%
- Calico Patches
- 6%
- Eye Patch
- 4%
- Rosetted
- 2.5%
- Sigil-Marked
- 1%
- Constellation
- 0.4%
- Inverted
- 0.1%
Eyes
- Round
- 24%
- Half-Lid
- 17%
- Wide
- 13%
- Sleepy
- 11%
- Slit Pupil
- 10%
- Emberglow
- 8%
- Verdant Glow
- 6%
- Heterochromatic
- 5%
- Gilded Stare
- 3%
- Spiral
- 1.8%
- Starfield Eyes
- 0.8%
- Witchlight
- 0.4%
Muzzle
- Pink Nose
- 32%
- Grey Nose
- 22%
- Smirk
- 15%
- Open
- 12%
- Fanged
- 9%
- Whiskered
- 5%
- Blep
- 3%
- Smoking
- 1.3%
- Frost-Breath
- 0.5%
- Void Muzzle
- 0.2%
Headwear
- None
- 45%
- Tiny Bow
- 15%
- Knit Cap
- 12%
- Bandana
- 10%
- Pointed Cone
- 8%
- Star-Studded Cone
- 5%
- Moon-Tipped Cone
- 3%
- Antlered Cone
- 1.2%
- Lantern Cone
- 0.5%
- Living Flame
- 0.3%
- Void Cone
- 0.1%
Collar
- None
- 40%
- Plain Band
- 18%
- Bell
- 14%
- Studded
- 10%
- Tag
- 8%
- Rune Band
- 5%
- Chain
- 3%
- Amulet
- 1.5%
- Serpent Collar
- 0.4%
- Ring of Light
- 0.1%
Aura
- None
- 45%
- Faint Glow
- 22%
- Motes
- 15%
- Orbiting Runes
- 9%
- Flame Halo
- 5.5%
- Fracture
- 2.5%
- Double-Exposure
- 0.8%
- Ascendant
- 0.2%
The Background is the one trait that is not rolled. It is chosen from the band belonging to the piece’s own order after the other eight are summed, which is what makes the ground a truthful readout of rarity rather than a second lottery. Its weights above are still exact frequencies: each band sums to that order’s share of the collection.