The great tribes of the catfolk roam where they will, putting passion into every day of their varied lives.
Catfolk nomads roam the grassy plains, living in tribes segregated by their visual differences. Catfolk tribes range from friendly to hostile; encounters with catfolk depend more on an individual catfolk’s mood and the circumstance more than any tribal mind-set. Quick in movement and thought, the catfolk rely on short bursts of energy to accomplish nearly every task, making the other races seem plodding and dedicated in comparison.
Personality: Catfolk respond to the varied experiences of life with passion and emotional intensity. They accomplish as much in their quick but short-lived bursts of activity or emotion as other races do at their relatively plodding pace. Catfolk relish both the heated ferocity of battle and the warmth of a quiet meal with trusted companions.
Catfolk share a quick and engaging confidence that makes them seem always ready for the next challenge. Quick to anger and just as quick to forgive, catfolk live a life filled with emotion. Members of most races find catfolk pleasant company despite their mercurial temperament, finding their free-flowing emotion and enjoyment of life refreshing and captivating. The emotional catfolk have a darker, dangerous side as well, and they are as likely to meet an insult with a drawn weapon as they are to shrug it off with a jest.
Catfolk move in quick bursts of speed rather than in one steady gait. Even when covering long distances, they intersperse short dashes with short periods of rest. Members of other races find this style of movement almost impossible to emulate, but to catfolk it’s much less tiring than simply trudging on at a steady pace.
Catfolk also place great importance on small tokens that serve as physical connections to their memories, and they view these special tokens as having physiological importance if not true magical power. Adult catfolk carry several such tokens with them at all times, ranging from objects as large as weapons and armour that served well in past battles to items as subtle as a small brooch that the character wore on an important day in the past. For catfolk, this tradition is a deeply personal experience, and the highest compliment a catfolk can pay someone is to present one of his tokens as a gift and explain its significance.
Physical Description: Catfolk resemble a cross between a large predatory cat and a human, with a sleekly muscled humanoid body and the head and mane of a feline. Most male catfolk wear their thick hair in braids, while females keep theirs short and sleek. The most common catfolk have feline characteristics reminiscent of lions, including thick manes for the males. Other groups have the characteristic markings and appearance of leopards, tigers or cheetahs. Catfolk have thicker nails than other humanoids, but not the powerful claws of their feline counterparts, and they make unarmed attacks just like humans. Many catfolk favour the use of charms and totems that they braid into their hair for luck in battle, success on the hunt, and good fortune in other such endeavours.
Relations: Catfolk get along well with members of just about every other race. They admire those who live in the wild more than city dwellers. Because of this, they seek out the company of halflings, wood elves and gnolls. Catfolk have a hard time understanding the slow, steady approach that dwarves take to life, and the two races have little in common. Because they are such opposites in both temperament and physical abilities, catfolk and dwarves rarely enjoy the other’s company, although no real animosity exists between the races.
Catfolk Lands: Catfolk roam the open grasslands in temperate and tropical regions, shunning the colder lands even in the heights of summer. Wandering tribes of catfolk rarely come close to the large cities of other races, but they occasionally camp within sight of a smaller town or village in order to trade. Catfolk roam great distances in their travels and do not become attached to a specific range or territory the way that nomadic tribes of humans sometimes do.
Catfolk encampments balance defensibility with ease of escape from a dangerous area. Generally circular in nature, catfolk encampments centre on a communal area where children play and the elders care for them and practice their crafts. The tents and lean-tos of individual families range out from this centre, with the most able warriors occupying tents on the perimeter of the encampment.
With no large nations or powerful alliance of tribes to bind them together, catfolk experience little of the politics and power struggles that define the societies of other races. Instead, most tribes receive guidance from three sources: the outriders, the druids and the chieftain. The outriders are the most skilled scouts of the tribe, and they govern the direction that the tribe hunts and travels, unless the chieftain overrules their choice. The druids, the primary source of healing and magical power within the society, hold a great deal of influence over most aspects of catfolk life and often advise the chieftain on important matters. The chieftain makes decisions on everything that affects the tribe as a whole.
Religion: A deeply spiritual people, cat folk usually worship one deity to the exclusion of others. Most catfolk follow the precepts of Obad-Hai, and their most prominent religious figures are druids devoted to the service of the god of nature. Catfolk revere Obad-Hai more for his connection to nature’s power and his governance of plants and animals than for his connection to the primary elemental forces such as fire or water.
Other catfolk, particularly adventurers and travellers, pay homage to Fharlanghn. While most tribes of catfolk move around in a nomadic fashion, a few travel much more than others and keep Fharlanghn as their primary deity.
Language: Catfolk have their own language, which they use primarily for conversation with other members of their race. Regardless of whether they communicate in Feline, Common or some other language, catfolk express their opinions quickly and expect others to do the same. Catfolk can listen to others patiently enough, but once they have expressed a clear opinion, they expect the conversation to come to a conclusion quickly. They have little time for those who attempt to persuade or debate by simply restating their opinion. They grow bored when others take a long time to reach a point or who view an exchange of opinions as a trial of endurance.
Names: Catfolk favour names that begin with “D”, “M” or “N” and contain multiple “s” and “r” sounds. A catfolk clan name translates into Common as a participle (a verb made into an adjective by adding “-ing”) followed by a noun.
Male Names: Densharr, Mersharr, Nermissar, Therrass.
Female Names: Dessirris, Mianissa, Morasha, Nera, Thessana.
Clan Names: Flying Eagle, Hunting Tiger, Running Brook, Screaming Arrow.
Adventurers: Adventuring catfolk feel the restlessness common to their people more acutely than most. The thrill of discovery and a great sense of curiosity drive these adventurers to break from their tribes and wander other lands. Beyond simple wanderlust, some catfolk find the heat of combat exhilarating, and the rush of danger draws the catfolk adventurer ever onward.
Catfolk admire adventurers and see accomplished adventurers as great assets to the tribe. The nomadic life of the catfolk is fraught with danger and unexpected encounters, and the life of the typical catfolk is more akin to that of an adventurer than the life of a typical human or elf.
Source: Races of the Wild (Page 92)
Your character can be either male or female.
Every player character starts as an adult. You can choose or randomly generate your character’s age. If you choose it, it must be at least the minimum age for the character’s race and class (see Table: Starting Ages). Your character’s minimum starting age is the adulthood age of his or her race plus the number of dice indicated in the entry corresponding to the character’s race and class on Table: Starting Ages.
Alternatively, refer to Table: Starting Ages and roll dice to determine how old your character is.
| Adulthood | Intuitive1 | Self-Taught2 | Trained3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 years | +1d4 (15—18) years | +1d6 (15—20) years | +2d6 (16—26) years |
1 This category includes barbarians, rogues and sorcerers.
2 This category includes bards, fighters, paladins and rangers.
3 This category includes clerics, druids, monks and wizards.
With age, a character’s physical ability scores decrease and his or her mental ability scores increase (see Table: Aging Effects). The effects of each aging step are cumulative. However, none of a character’s ability scores can be reduced below 1 in this way.
| Middle Age1 | Old Age2 | Venerable3 | Maximum Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 years | 53 years | 70 years | +2d10 years |
1 -1 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
2 -2 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
3 -3 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
When a character reaches venerable age, the DM secretly rolls his or her maximum age, which is the number from the Venerable column on Table: Aging Effects plus the result of the dice roll indicated on the Maximum Age column on that table, and records the result, which the player does not know. A character who reaches his or her maximum age dies of old age at some time during the following year, as determined by the DM.
The maximum ages are for player characters. Most people in the world at large die from pestilence, accidents, infections or violence before getting to venerable age.
Note: The Races of the Wild appears to have a misprint for the bonus to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma for Old Age and Venerable. The Player’s Handbook has these at +1, rather than +2 and +3.
Choose your character’s height and weight from the ranges mentioned in the appropriate race description or from the ranges found on Table: Height and Weight. Think about what your character’s abilities might say about his or her height and weight. A weak but agile character may be thin. A strong and tough character may be tall or just heavy.
Alternatively, roll randomly for your character’s height and weight on Table: Height and Weight. The dice roll given in the Height Modifier column determines the character’s extra height beyond the base height. That same number multiplied by the dice roll or quantity given in the Weight Modifier column determines the character’s extra weight beyond the base weight.
| Gender | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 4’ 10" | +2d10 (5’ 0"—6’ 6") | 120 lbs. | ×2d4 (124—280 lbs.) |
| Female | 4’ 5" | +2d10 (4’ 7"—6’ 1") | 85 lbs. | ×2d4 (89—245 lbs.) |
Source: Races of the Wild (Page 106)