Catfolk

Aptly named for their physical features, which blend humanoid traits with those of proud feline animals, catfolk are an inquisitive and curious race with a storied history and shared cultural tradition. Curious and filled with wanderlust, catfolk frequently leave their small communities behind to experience the larger world before finally settling down to raise a family of their own.

As a result, catfolk tend to be common sights in places of important historical or cultural renowned, though never so much so that their kind can be considered widespread anywhere save for several traditional haunts.

Ability Adjustments: +2 Dex, +2 Cha, –2 Wis

Hit Points: 4

Racial Traits

Size and Type

Catfolk are humanoids with the catfolk subtype and are Medium. They have a base speed of 30 feet.

Cat’s Luck (Ex)

Catfolk gain a +2 racial bonus on Reflex saves. In addition, catfolk can choose to roll their saving throw twice when making a Reflex save and use the better result. Catfolk can use this ability once per day. They must decide to use this ability before the saving throw is tried.

Low-Light Vision

Catfolk can see in dim light as if it were normal light. For more details, see low-light vision.

Natural Hunter

Catfolk gain a +2 racial bonus on Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks.

Sprinter

Catfolk gain a 10-foot racial bonus to their base walking and running speed when using the charge, run, or withdraw actions.

Physical Description

Before the Nova Age, catfolk largely resembled humans in appearance, save for downy fur that blanketed their bodies and catlike ears and tails. In the wake of the regicide and the subsequent creation of Blood Space, however, many catfolk underwent radical changes in which their physical bodies twisted and deformed, causing many to resemble actual felines. Subsequently, catfolk possess greater physical dimorphism than any other known species within the Azan-Ra System, save for the deoxyians. Catfolk variance is strong even among catfolk kin, and can possess catlike or humanlike eyes, ears, claws, teeth, skeletal structures (digitigrade or plantigrade), and facial features in virtually any combination. Even paired limbs or organs can be split between humanlike or catlike traits, such as a catfolk with one soft, humanlike arm and one catlike arm tipped with wicked claws. Despite this variance, compatible catfolk remain capable of siring children with one another, regardless of how different their physical bodies seem.

Home World

Catfolk, called bantosiai in their racial tongue, call their homeworld, the feral moon of Ulo, their ancestral homeland. Large by lunar scale, Bantosian provided generously to its feline children, who lived harmoniously in balance with nature before the arrival of the Azan-Ra Empire. A civil war erupted when the Azan-Ra, egged on by their deoxyian allies, began numerous strip mining operations on Bantosian for precious bantic crystals that lay buried within the planet’s crust. By employing hit-and-run tactics to avoid imperial pursuit, the bantosiai managed to gridlock the Azan-Ra Empire in an unpopular war of attrition until a treaty was established between the bantosiai and the empire.

In the treaty’s wake, the bantosiai joined the Azan-Ra Empire proper and established their home (as well as several other inhabited worlds) as a sanctuary world.

In the wake of Regicide, Bantosian was bathed in mutative blood space, and the result forever changed both the bantosiai and their home world. Many of the fauna and botanic inhabitants of Bontosian were granted sentience while many catfolk became mutated with a conglomeration of feline and humanoid traits. Worse of all, however, was the fate that became off-worlders. Those not native to Bantosian rapidly devolved mentally and physically into brutish states all but incapable of sentient thought. Worse still, the blood space that caused these mutations lingers in Bantosian’s atmosphere today, making it impossible for all but a handful of the Azan-Ra System’s peoples from traveling on Bantosian’s surface without space suits. Despite the inconvenience, most catfolk enjoy this development, as they see it as an appropriate deterrent for the many vagrants who roam the Azan-Ra System following the collapse of the Azan-Ra Empire.

Society and Alignment

Catfolk are apt at adapting to other societies, as they’ve have centuries of experience with other races both before and during the Nova Age. Despite being part of the Azan-Ra Empire for untold centuries, catfolk culture hasn’t changed much from their early days as a primitive tribal society. Catfolk tend to live in small communities that consist of several family units, each with their own ancestral lands. During troubled times, these tribes would gather together to pool their support and voice their concerns and opinions on matter. Today, the tribes are many and the council is near always in session, as their role has evolved over generations so that they are Bantosian’s voice within the Azan-Ra System, and the closest thing to an acting government that the catfolk allow.

Catfolk have good-natured curiosity and are willing to adapt themselves and their customs. They are accepting of visitors and relish the chance to share their ancient culture. They adamantly oppose wanton bloodshed and destruction, including that of nature, and have advocated for the establishment of sanctuaries where corporations have limited rights to gather resources and conduct business. They also advocate strongly for individual rights and tend to prefer smaller governments that are better swayed by local needs as opposed to the large, soulless empire that has previously spanned the entire system.

Relations

Catfolk are quirky and eccentric, as they bounce back and forth between moments of playfulness and seriousness. They get along well with those who appreciate the good they try to bring to the Azan- Ra Empire, and they tend to be viewed as activists fighting for rights and liberties of both the common man and nature. This often gets catfolk in trouble with the manifold corporations of the Azan-Ra System, especially those with dubious morality. They make fast friends with elves, gnomes, and vanaras, finding common ground in their shared values. They are puzzled by the vesks’ aggressiveness and the kathasas’ devotion to strict traditions and customs. Relations between catfolk and the ysoki tend to start sour, with each rubbing the other the wrong way for reasons neither can identify, but their similar personalities can sometimes allow them to overcome these hurdles and become fast friends. Perhaps the only race that catfolk see few redeeming qualities in are the deoxyians—the two races have had a rivalry dating back before the former’s induction into the Azan-Ra Empire, and their conflicting worldviews surrounding society and the meaning of life leaves little common ground between these races.

Adventurers

Wistful and curious, nearly all catfolk have an adventurer’s heart and leave their home world of Bantosian as young adults to explore parts of the star system they call home. Being able to defend one’s self by claw, spell, or steel is a cultural requirement for such journeys, and as a result few catfolk ever leave Bantosian unprepared for conflict.

Although traditional catfolk weaponry focuses on melee confrontations, catfolk are adaptable and their reflexes quick, leading many to become soldiers. This agility, combined with their skill at moving quietly, also lends itself well to life as an operative. Catfolk are deeply attuned with nature, this manifests as the wondrous powers of solarions.

Names

Catfolk names tend to derive from one of two places— ancient catfolk traditions by way of warrior chieftains, folk heroes, or favored ancestors, or pleasant-sounding names that a catfolk’s parents heard somewhere and liked during their time off-world during their youth. As a result, catfolk can pull their names from those of almost any other races, though using deoxyian names is largely frowned upon. Traditional catfolk names tend to emphasize softer sounds in a way that sounds like the guttural vocalizations of felines—purrs, meows, and roars especially. Some examples of catfolk names are Ahnanje, Arwewo, Biwuro, Caeim, Carrow, Druwea, Efrie, Gerran, Geraw, Jirey-rae, Kiteri, Miriri, Misru, Misruvi, Murur, Nyktan, Nya-Nyo, Rouqar, Seshmi, Umeri, Yri, and Zirawro