Leonine
Leonine are the ancestors of a sub-race of Guardianal - Leonal, a species of animalistic celestials once native to the The Beastlands. They typically stand 6 feet tall and can average a weight ranging from 185-275 pounds, with females being shorter by no more than a few inches and falling in the lighter weight category. The average Leonine has an elegant yet wild body style, with their bodies ranging widely, some (usually males) exhibit a very short coat of fur covering 80% of their body and typically having a head and face that closely resembles that of their kin. Females tend be more human in appearance with almost no fur with the exception of very brilliant blond hair. Eye colour is generally a very bright shades of blue or green, and over all Leonine have very toned builds with little to no fat present at all which makes them more uncomfortable in cold temperatures than most humans even.
A small number of leonine arrived on Toril during the convergence from the Beastlands, and, over time, they mixed with human tribal societies in the deserts and savannas of Auxis and have become the modern, Toril native variant. As their ancestors were generally raised in the temples of good aligned deities (because a Leonal would never willingly consort with an evil human) they tend to have strong morals and a very high degree of commitment to any cause they deem worthy of their time. A Leonine raised on Auxis grows up being told of his/her heritage and the potential they have within them, and as such they hate seeing injustice and often become violent when unable to do anything to help a victim of such offenses. Leonine can come across and dominating and aggressive, but generally experience a degree of discomfort whenever they witness great acts of evil regardless of their upbringing and because of this they tend to lean towards non-evil alignments.
Leonine have the ability to get along with nearly all types of intelligent creatures as long the behaviour of their company does not stray too far from their own self perceived code of conduct. Generally, Leonine bond well Clerics of good deities and paladins that don't try to use them for their celestial ties. Rogues have difficulty getting along with them as a Leonine's personal code often depicts them as cowards or sly. Because of their human parents, Leonine have tolerance of varying degrees but ultimately tend to blend the best with others of strong moral code and try to bring out such conviction in those they travel with.
Most Leonine do not stray far from their ancestors' beliefs and as such generally have either Lawful Good or Chaotic Good alignments, however because of their human blood they often develop a more passive Neutral Good outlook towards defending innocence. Some Leonine develop very strong self motivated senses of duty and tend to see themselves as judges that keep corruption and greed at bay. Rarely are Leonine greedy or oppressive in nature and seldom are Evil or Chaotic Neutral but because their blood is mixed with that of humans, even they are susceptible to temptation.
Leonine have no native lands but tend to live in largely populated areas where they can hunt and protect the weak against those who might hurt them. Leonine typically worship good aligned deities and take on their dogma as their personal code of conduct. Leonine have a naturally strong tie to the celestial planes and may not worship any deity in particular and may instead simply try to live a righteous and honourable life, hoping to join their Guardinal parent in the heavens one day.
Leonine speak Common as they are raised by their (usually committed) human parents, they sometimes can spontaneously develop the ability to speak some of the languages of their Guardinal parent as they grow through puberty but are perfectly capable of learning any non-secret languages they exposed to for long enough time.
by Aaron Miller
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