Catfolk

Description

Catlike humanoids (Catfolk) are driven by curiosity to collect interesting artifacts, gather tales and stories, and lay eyes on all the world's wonders. They are particularly sneaky, light on their feet, and observant. Anashta the water goddess created Catfolk as a means of making mischief, and her love of cats in general. As a result, Catfolk do not fear or dislike water. Several nomadic catfolk can be found all over the land, but the bulk of their population lives in Kandarith: the only Catfolk city.

Catfolk tend to have a selfish streak and always look out for their own interests. Generally, other races view them favorably because catfolk love making deals and are inquisitive, friendly people. However, their society is built to reward thievery, cunning, and stealth. They make excellent thieves and merchants, and they enjoy collecting shiny trinkets. They are known for their strange cultural values and the worship of their own cat demi-god, Balaji.

Racial Passive — Feline Grace: +1 Dexterity

History

Not long after the gods populated Hellan, Anashta created catfolk and other animaloid creatures for Isandor. Birdfolk took to the mountains, centaurs to the plains, and catfolk to the deserts; but Vandun and Arth quickly made orcs and goblins who took to conquering Isandor.

As time went on, catfolk and their animaloid kin were killed or enslaved by the orcs. Only the most cunning and stealthy of catfolk survived the mass genocide of their race by hiding or fleeing the continent. Around the 300th year, when catfolk were near-extinct, the folk hero Balaji challenged the orcs’ finest champion to hand-to-hand combat. Legends tell that Balaji was able to take down the larger foe and secure safety for his people through his wit and dexterity alone. This earned him safety for his small clan of catfolk — as orcs respect those who can defeat them in battle.

Balaji’s clan of homeless catfolk went on to found Kandarith in a secluded corner of Isandor. Balaji was hailed as a hero and immortalized as the patron protector of catfolk, giving him the status of demigod amongst catkind.

In the years since, orcs have widely left catfolk alone. Some orcs trade with catfolk, because catfolk trade with Hellan and can acquire “exotic” goods from Hellan. They are a neutral faction and swear allegiance to none but themselves. Because Kandarith is surrounded by miles of hot, scorching desert and rests right on the coast, it has largely been left alone by the goblin hordes.

Personality

Catfolk are all curious in one way or another. They enjoy telling stories, exploring, and keeping secrets. Most desire the knowledge and intrigue that accompanies magical artifacts. Others are more driven by coin, and have wares to sell for it.

Although catfolk are as intelligent as any other advanced humanoid race, their animal instincts are urges that cannot be ignored. Shiny things are very attractive to catfolk, as are hiding places, and soft things to sink their claws into. However, unlike animals, they feel the entire range of human emotions. When they are happy, they might let out a purr. When angry or threatened, they may hiss.

Appearance and Physical Nature

Catfolk are much larger than humans, standing nearly seven feet tall. They have broad, muscular shoulders and lithe bodies with long tails. Female catfolk tend to be a bit smaller than their male counterparts, but it is otherwise difficult to tell the difference between them. Catfolk are surprisingly light for their size, weighing between 150 to 250 pounds.

Catfolk have varying colors of fur. They are often spotted. Those with rosette spots are fond of climbing like their jaguar ancestors, while those with solid spots are excellent sprinters like the cheetahs they were fashioned after. Tigers, lions, and other big cats are also represented in catfolk, and when they mix they create calico or oddly-colored kittens. All catfolk are compatible with each other, and fur color has no bearing on the treatment of catfolk in society. Some catfolk have extra hair on their heads and around their neck, forming a mane. Others have long tufts of fur on their tail.

Grooming is particularly important to catfolk, and so is keeping clean. When they travel abroad, many catfolk wear protective robes that prevent them from dirtying their fur. In Kandarith, clothing is not viewed as a necessity. Females may wear a sash around their waist, males a loincloth; but these are fashion statements rather than a need to cover themselves. Collars are popular accessories, as are masks of silk, flowing fabric draped comfortably over the body, and piercings. Most garments are only one long piece of cloth.

Catfolk age very quickly. They are young adults by four to five years of age, and fully-fledged adults by ten years old. Catfolk do not normally live past forty. When they reach their mid-thirties, catfolk quickly decline physically. Their fur grays and their joints begin to ache of old age. Most catfolk have sharp minds until the very end. Aging has little effect on their mental faculties.

Combat and Professions

Catfolk are exceptional hunters and utilize these skills in combat. Speed and stealth combined with their natural camouflage mean that they are particularity skilled at surprise attacks. Catfolk are even known to disguise their scent with aromatic herbs.

The hunting skills and intelligence of catfolk make them formidable tacticians. Groups often drive prey into ambushes, sometime playing with their doomed foe before killing them. In ancient times, cat clans had berserker warriors within them known as blood-stalkers. Blood stalkers ingested desert plants that heightened their inner animal senses, allowing them to strike with primal fury.

For weapons, catfolk favor bolas, slings, and javelins. Some use curved swords and daggers. These weapons are often made from wood, bone or stone. Catfolk are just as likely to use weapons as they are to use their claws and teeth.

Society

Catfolk as a race are united in their beliefs and customs owing to their small population size focussed entirely within the city of Kandarith. Only a few rogue catfolk might have different ideologies.

In general, catfolk society prizes values of individual accomplishment, rest and relaxation (particularly sunning themselves and lazing about), and finding clever ways to solve problems. Clean and tidy appearances are important. Their society glorifies those who possess ancient artifacts, stories, and exotic goods rather than raw gold, as gold mines are prevalent in Isandor. In order to obtain artifacts and lay claim to the glorious stories that go with them, catfolk raid ancient tombs and strange abandoned structures in the Dread Waste. They also frequently steal from each other. Both practices are encouraged.

Catfolk have no familial ties. They do not have last names. Cats simply live within their clan, a collection of like-minded individuals, and that is loosely translated as a family unit or home. They need not have any blood relationship. However, the ties between clan members can become very deep over time. Clans tend to consist of five to twenty catfolk.

Marriage does not exist in catfolk culture, and romantic relationships are flighty and short-lived. Catfolk are a laissez-faire, playfully detached people. Their lives are too short to concern themselves with ties to a single mate. Reproducing tends to be a loveless affair, practiced by females who like to do it, and avoided by those who do not. Catfolk produce entire litters from a single pregnancy, so there are no pressures on females to pursue a mate; the catfolk population grows more than it shrinks.

To catfolk, there is simply “us” and “them” — catfolk versus the world. This does not mean they are unfriendly to outsiders; quite the contrary. Catfolk are fascinated by the other people who inhabit the world. Kandarith does not see many sun elves, dwarves, humans, or others from Hellan, so outsiders tend to be given preferential treatment (if only so that catfolk may hear their stories). Kateran Dawnwalker’s novels are extremely popular and valuable in Kandarith. Adventurers who spend years with catfolk quickly lose their status because they are no longer “new” and interesting.

Catfolk believe in reincarnation and thus are not afraid of death. Catfolk believe every cat has nine lives — a life is spent when they die, and they will live eight more times before ascending to the Afterlife. Some cats blame their lot in life on their previous soul’s incarnation.

Children

Kittenfolk litters are raised by the entire community. In Kandarith, there are several large warrens where kittenfolk live, go to school, and are provided for. They are taken care of by matron mothers who are compensated handsomely for their work by the Lord who governs their area. Lords encourage the raising of kittenfolk because it contributes to their population, and thus their potential allies.

Kittenfolk are always matched to a sponsor, or mentor, who guides and teaches them. Sponsoring a kitten for one year is mandatory for all citizens to ensure that the next generation receives all of the knowledge from the previous one, but citizens must only do it once. Many voluntarily sponsor several kittenfolk. The notion of a mother wanting to raise her own children is strange and foreign; catfolk who are particularly attached to young ones simply work in the warrens or serve as mentors to one or many kittenfolk.

Language

All catfolk know a gutteral, bestial language that can only be understood by other felines. It is not a very precise language. Over the last several hundred years, merchants have learned Common and Orcish in order to better facilitate trade. These languages slowly permeated Kandarith. At present time, all kittenfolk are pressed to learn Orcish and Common at a young age. It would be strange to find an individual who was not bilingual or trilingual in catfolk society.

Catfolk names tend to sound eastern in origin. Balaji, Naran, Chen, Pridya, Yue, Mahi, Kashi, and Sathek are all common catfolk names.

Cuisine

Because catfolk live in the east in a very hot climate, their diet features grilled meat, fish, and many types of desert-vegetables. They hunt antelope for meaty dishes that taste like beef, and fish swordfish from the ocean. Some ambitious clans have penned herds of antelope that they harvest when necessary.

Catfolk cuisine has many sweet and heavily spiced flavors. Cinnamon, cumin, ginger, peppers, peppercorns, herbs, plant oils, and more all feature in their food. (Imagine Thai, Malaysian, Indian cuisine).

Religion

Catfolk are aware of the godly pantheon, but choose to place their trust and adoration in their own race as they can be vain, and even selfish at times. Their ancient hero Balaji is worshipped as a demigod. Balaji was a thief and a skilled fighter. Many aspire to have his wisdom and cunning. Still more try and claim they are descended from Balaji, but as there are scarce records of parentage or lineage in catfolk society, these claims cannot be proven.

Tiny golden status of Balaji are placed in shop windows and in homes to bring luck to the clan who owns it.

Interracial Relations

Catfolk have no enemies. The Orcish Warlords are neutral towards them, and a tentative peace is kept because the catfolk trade goods from Hellan to them. The various nations of Hellan do very little trade with catfolk because of the long journey involved to reach Kandarith. Only the wealthy in Hellan can afford to buy from and sell to catfolk. Some catfolk serve as fences in Hellan’s black market because they can so easily escape from humanoid police and prisons.

Other races know catfolk are thieves, but the exoticism of catfolk tends to offset any negativity. Many people in Hellan have never seen a cat-person, let alone interacted with them. Catfolk are naturally friendly and curious. It is hard not to trust them upon hearing their purring voice and seeing their easy-going body language and expressions.

Catfolk cannot produce offspring with any other race except their own, except in very rare circumstances. Half-animaloid, half-humanoid children tend to be shunned by every race except orcs — where personal merit is more important than heritage.

Threats

Catfolk have no threats aside from the dangerous wildlife that inhabits Isandor. They are too small of a nation to be dangerous to anyone, and do not cause much trouble to the world; they are also very isolated and thus tend to be beneath notice.

Government and Politics

Politicians are nothing more than thieves and crooks, as everyone knows. Nowhere is this statement truer than in Kandarith. In Kandarith, there are several Lords who each own a section of land in the city. Lords are the leaders of particularly powerful clans who have amassed riches and artifacts. Their reputation is everything. The clans who live in Kandarith’s various sections pay tithes to their Lords for protection.

Each Lord is a thief in his own right — if any possessions from his personal coffers (or from the clans under his protection) go missing, it is his job to steal them back. Knowing that a Lord is weak enough to lose his possessions will lead to a loss of power. This is expected and encouraged; the entire point of Lordship is to demonstrate the ability to control one’s own environment, execute elegant plans, and utilize talent and skill as a schemer, manager of people, and as a thief.

Stealing valuables from rival Lords in the dead of night is more about political intrigue than monetary gain. The thieving of artifacts (and thus stories) from others can bring an unknown clan into power and topple Lordships. There is one cat who oversees these acts of cunning: the Prince of Thieves.

All Lords are managed by the Prince of Thieves. The Prince is the greatest, most-skilled thief in Kandarith who has earned the respect of other Lords and has a powerful clan to back him. The Prince is responsible for managing who owns what, formalizing the expansion of territory or re-drawing territorial lines, overseeing territorial wars, and negotiating agreements for property exchange between Lords.

The Prince expands territory for those competent enough to handle more, and carves pieces away from those lacking the ability to govern. The lines are redrawn yearly at a ceremony that all Lords are required to attend. The Prince’s clan rose to power many years ago, and has kept its place as the strongest, most-well-guarded clan ever since; new Princes simply rise from its stock without bloodline or election being considered.

Assassination is a valid means to replace old Lords and Princes with new ones, but the Prince attempts to settle most bids for power diplomatically.

Above the Prince lies the King: a figure so stealthy and mysterious that no one knows his true identity. Whether the King is a real person or a fairy tale is unclear. Rumor tells that the King is Balaji himself in a reincarnated form. The King keeps the Prince and Lords in check; sometimes, their possessions go missing and never return. Any crimes in Kandarith that are committed against Lords with no proof of a perpetrator are blamed on the King. Catfolk tell fanciful tales of the King’s vault, a place where all missing things can be found.

Notable Catfolk

“Our hearts beat together ... and they stop together as well.” — Balaji, folk hero and demigod of catfolk

“There are two things paramount to staying a Lord. First is knowing what you are doing, and what’s going on around you. The other half is looking like you know what you’re doing, and giving others the impression that you are in complete control and everything is going smoothly. Cats do not steal from cats who are alert to their surroundings.” — Kasha, Prince of Thieves