Tabaxi (/tɑːˈbæksi/)

Created by the Cat Lord—a divine being of the Upper Planes—to blend the qualities of humanoids and cats, tabaxi are a varied people in both attitude and appearance. In some lands, tabaxi live like the cats they resemble, naturally curious and at home in playful environments. In other places, tabaxi live as other folk do, not exhibiting the feline behavior the Cat Lord intended. Tabaxi's appearance is as varied as their attitudes. Some tabaxi have features or patterning in their fur like tigers, jaguars, or other big cats, while others have appearances more like a house cat. Still others have unique patterns or might style their fur to their preferences—or might even be hairless!

Tabaxi (pronounced: /tɑːˈbæksi/ ta-BÆK-see or: /tɑːˈbɑːʃi/ ta-BAHSH-ee), also known as jaguar people or cat-men, were a race of feline humanoids native to the jungles of Maztica on Faerun. In Dierde, they are mostly located in Kampos. And in -1486 there was some event(s) which seemed to drive many of their species out of the Kampos jungles into the world, as seen in the event: .

Etymology

Depending on their region and fur coloration, tabaxi were known by different names. Tabaxi with solid spots were sometimes called leopard men and tabaxi with rosette spots were called jaguar men. The way the tabaxi pronounced their own name also varied; the "leopard men" pronounced it ta-BÆK-see, and the jaguar men tah-BAHSH-ee.

In Dierde the Leonin generally live on Kampos, like most Anthropomorphic Creatures, and they are very closely related to the Tabaxi of Dierde. Both species tend to have unique offspring that may or may not resemble their parents which is why a family could resemble different "species", when they are in fact familial. Long ago representatives of the goddess Sharess came to Kampos and spread how Bast may have a lot to do with their presence on Dierde, and in the least how she was the deity who had the most concern for their races. This is why many of these two races tend to worship or respect Bast over other deities.
Hailing from a strange and distant land, wandering tabaxi are catlike humanoids driven by curiosity to collect interesting artifacts, gather tales and stories, and lay eyes on all the world's wonders. Ultimate travelers, the inquisitive tabaxi rarely stay in one place for long. Their innate nature pushes them to leave no secrets uncovered, no treasures or legends lost. Wandering Outcasts. Most tabaxi remain in their distant homeland, content to dwell in small, tight clans. These tabaxi hunt for food, craft goods, and largely keep to themselves. However, not all tabaxi are satisfied with such a life. The Cat Lord, the divine figure responsible for the creation of the tabaxi, gifts each of his children with one specific feline trait. Those tabaxi gifted with curiosity are compelled to wander far and wide. They seek out stories, artifacts, and lore. Those who survive this period of wanderlust return home in their elder years to share news of the outside world. In this manner, the tabaxi remain isolated but never ignorant of the world beyond their home. Barterers of Lore. Tabaxi treasure knowledge rather than material things. A chest filled with gold coins might be useful to buy food or a coil of rope, but it's not intrinsically interesting. In the tabaxi's eyes, gathering wealth is like packing rations for a long trip. It's important to survive in the world, but not worth fussing over. Instead, tabaxi value knowledge and new experiences. Their ears perk up in a busy tavern, and they tease out stories with offers of food, drink, and coin. Tabaxi might walk away with empty purses, but they mull over the stories and rumors they collected like a miser counting coins. Although material wealth holds little attraction for the tabaxi, they have an insatiable desire to find and inspect ancient relics, magical items, and other rare objects. Aside from the power such items might confer, a tabaxi takes great joy in unraveling the stories behind their creation and the history of their use.

The Cat Lord

The deity of the tabaxi is a fickle entity, as befits the patron of cats. The tabaxi believe that the Cat Lord wanders the world, watching over them and intervening in their affairs as needed. Clerics of the Cat Lord are rare and typically access the Trickery domain. It is not uncommon for a tabaxi to side with The Cat Lord or Bast, or even both.

Fleeting Fancies. Wandering tabaxi are mercurial creatures, trading one obsession or passion for the next as the whim strikes. A tabaxi's desire burns bright, but once met it disappears to be replaced with a new obsession. Objects remain intriguing only as long as they still hold secrets. A tabaxi rogue could happily spend months plotting to steal a strange gem from a noble, only to trade it for passage on a ship or a week's lodging after stealing it. The tabaxi might take extensive notes or memorize every facet of the gem before passing it on, but the gem holds no more allure once its secrets and nature have been laid bare. Tinkers and Minstrels. Curiosity drives most of the tabaxi found outside their homeland, but not all of them become adventurers. Tabaxi who seek a safer path to satisfy their obsessions become wandering tinkers and minstrels. These tabaxi work in small troupes, usually consisting of an elder, more experienced tabaxi who guides up to four young ones learning their way in the world. They travel in small, colorful wagons, moving from settlement to settlement. When they arrive, they set up a small stage in a public square where they sing, play instruments, tell stories, and offer exotic goods in trade for items that spark their interest. Tabaxi reluctantly accept gold, but they much prefer interesting objects or pieces of lore as payment. These wanderers keep to civilized realms, preferring to bargain instead of pursuing more dangerous methods of sating their curiosity. However, they aren't above a little discreet theft to get their claws on a particularly interesting item when an owner refuses to sell or trade it. Tabaxi Personality. A tabaxi might have motivations and quirks much different from a dwarf or an elf with a similar background. You can use the following tables to customize your character in addition to the trait, ideal, bond, and flaw from your background. The Tabaxi Obsession table can help hone your character's goals. For extra fun, roll a new result every few days that pass in the campaign to reflect your ever-changing curiosity.

Tabaxi in the Forgotten Realms

In the Forgotten Realms, tabaxi hail from Maztica, a realm located far across the ocean west of the Sword Coast. The tabaxi of Maztica are known for their isolation, and until recently they never ventured from their homeland. The tabaxi say little of why that has changed, though rumors persist of strange happenings in that distant land.

Ability Scores: Dex +2; Cha +1 (Alt: Choose one of: (a) Choose any +2; choose any other +1 (b) Choose three different +1) Size: Medium (Alt: Small or Medium) Speed: 30 ft., climb 20 ft. (Alt: 30 ft., climb equal to your walking speed)

Traits

Age.

Tabaxi have lifespans equivalent to humans.

Size.

Tabaxi are taller on average than humans and relatively slender. Your size is Medium. (Alt: You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.)

Alt: Speed.

Your walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.

Darkvision.

You have a cat's keen senses, especially in the dark. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Feline Agility.

Your reflexes and agility allow you to move with a burst of speed. When you move on your turn in combat, you can double your speed until the end of the turn. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns.

Cat's Claws.

Because of your claws, you have a climbing speed of 20 feet. In addition, your claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 (Alt: 1d6) + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Cat's Talents.

You have proficiency in the Perception and Stealth skills.

Languages.

You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Alternate theory Created by the Cat Lord—a divine being of the Upper Planes—to blend the qualities of humanoids and cats, tabaxi are a varied people in both attitude and appearance. In some lands, tabaxi live like the cats they resemble, naturally curious and at home in playful environments. In other places, tabaxi live as other folk do, not exhibiting the feline behavior the Cat Lord intended. Tabaxi's appearance is as varied as their attitudes. Some tabaxi have features or patterning in their fur like tigers, jaguars, or other big cats, while others have appearances more like a house cat. Still others have unique patterns or might style their fur to their preferences—or might even be hairless!

Basic Information

Anatomy

Tabaxi were taller than most humans at six to seven feet. Their bodies were slender and covered in spotted or striped fur. Like most felines, Tabaxi had long tails and retractable claws. Tabaxi fur color ranged from light yellow to brownish red. Tabaxi eyes were slit-pupilled and usually green or yellow. Tabaxi were competent swimmers and climbers as well as speedy runners. They had a good sense of balance and an acute sense of smell.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Carnivorous

Behaviour

Personality

Tabaxi were a reclusive people who often avoided interaction with other intelligent races. However, as each tabaxi possessed a specific feline trait, some had an innate curiosity that compelled them to travel and seek out stories, artifacts, new experiences and knowledge, never remaining in the same place or obsessing over the same piece of lore for too long. In general, tabaxi did not care for wealth, but they had an almost obsessive interest in ancient artifacts, relics and magic items, but not for the items themselves, as much as the stories and secrets they held. Once an item had been thoroughly examined and studied, and its secrets revealed, it would lose its allure and the tabaxi would quickly lose interest and pass it on. Not all tabaxi were motivated by curiosity to leave their homeland, however. Some found safer ways to satisfy their fleeting obsessions by becoming traveling minstrels and tinkers, often accepting interesting objects and stories as payment for their services.

Combat

Tabaxi were exceptional hunters and utilized these skills in combat. Speed and stealth combined with their natural camouflage meant that tabaxi were particularity skilled at surprise attacks. Tabaxi were even known to disguise their scent with aromatic herbs. Their hunting skills and intelligence made them formidable tacticians. Groups would often drive prey into ambushes, sometime playing with their doomed foe before killing them. Tabaxi clans did have berserker warriors within them, these were known as blood-stalkers. For weapons, tabaxi favored bolas, slings, macas, and javelins with atlatl. These weapons would often be made from wood, bone or stone. Tabaxi were just as likely to use weapons as they were to use their claws and teeth.[2] Their preference of simple weapons was not due to a lack of capability. Tabaxi were quite capable of adapting to new technology or salvaged weapons. Due to their knowledge of hunting, intelligence and sense of smell, it was practically impossible to trap a tabaxi.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

A tabaxi typically has a single name, determined by his or her clan and based on a complex formula involving astrology, prophecy, clan history, and other factors. Male and female tabaxi use the same names, and most use nicknames derived from or inspired by their full names. Tabaxi clan names are usually based on a geographical feature located in or near a clan's territory. Sample tabaxi names include Nest of Eggs ("Eggs"), Dead Leaf ("Leaf"), Eyes of Onyx ("Onyx"), Lost Spear ("Lost"), and Daylight Moon ("Moon"). Clan names include Distant Rain, Hundred Feathers, Sleeping Creek, Bright Cliffs, and Snoring Mountain.

Tabaxi Names. Each tabaxi has a single name, determined by clan and based on a complex formula that involves astrology, prophecy, clan history, and other esoteric factors. Tabaxi names can apply to both males and females, and most use nicknames derived from or inspired by their full names. Clan names are usually based on a geographical feature located in or near the clan's territory. The following list of sample tabaxi names includes nicknames in parenthesis. Tabaxi Names: Cloud on the Mountaintop (Cloud), Five Timber (Timber), Jade Shoe (Jade), Left-Handed Hummingbird (Bird), Seven Thundercloud (Thunder), Skirt of Snakes (Snake), Smoking Mirror (Smoke) Tabaxi Clans: Bright Cliffs, Distant Rain, Mountain Tree, Rumbling River, Snoring Mountain

Major Language Groups and Dialects

The Tabaxi language was an ancient form of the Payit language. Those who spoke modern Payit and knew what to listen for could usually understand about half of the Tabaxi words they heard. It was completely unrelated to the Tabaxi language of the Tabaxi tribe of Chult.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Society

Tabaxi society was built around clans. Clans were split evenly between males and females with 3 to 12 young. Each clan had several Hunts each made up of two to eight individuals. The Hunts patrolled the area around the clan's lair. Although tabaxi lairs were sometimes just temporary, they were more often small villages of ramadas. Each ramada was built from wooden poles with grass roofs. Clans were led by elders. About half of the time, leaders were aided by shamans. Clans tended to avoid each other and did not engage in trade. Tabaxi considered trade to be demeaning but in rare instances would use third party agents to trade for them. When the tabaxi started wandering out of their homeland of Maztica, rumors followed about strange happenings there, but the tabaxi themselves said little about them.

Common Taboos

Threats

Tabaxi were sometimes hunted for their pelts. Each pelt could be sold for up to 50 gp. Hishna shapers could use tabaxi skin and claws to enhance their strength. Young tabaxi could be sold on the black market for around 225 gp.

History

Toril History

Because of the black market and slave trade that brought them to Faerûn, some tabaxi made the jungles of Chult their home after escaping captivity. Tabaxi minstrels primarily lived in and around Port Nyanzaru, but hunters roamed the entire peninsula.

Common Myths and Legends

Religion

Most clans worshiped Tezca, Nula, or (rarely) Azul. A minority of clans owed their allegiance to a jaguar lord. In this instance, Zaltec was the dominant deity of the tribe. The creator figure in the tabaxi pantheon was the Cat Lord, a fickle and tricky entity who bestowed each tabaxi with a specific feline trait and was believed to wander the world, watching over them.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Tabaxi had few enemies and only the most degenerate clans would attack members of other intelligent species without good reason.

Sources

Source(s):

Forgotten Realms Wiki, 07/28/2921, https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Tabaxi
Mike Mearls, et al. (November 2016). Volo's Guide to Monsters. Edited by Jeremy Crawford, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 113–115. ISBN 978-0786966011.
Jeff Grubb and Tim Beach (September 1991). Fires of Zatal. (TSR, Inc), p. 62. ISBN 1-5607-6139-3.
Don Turnbull (1981). Fiend Folio. (TSR Hobbies), p. 86. ISBN 0-9356-9621-0.
Ed Greenwood (1993). The Code of the Harpers. (TSR, Inc), p. 54. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
Kim Mohan ed. (November 1984). Dragon #91 (TSR, Inc.), p. 10.
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Sean Holland (November 1987). “In the Heat of the Fight”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Dragon #127 (TSR, Inc.), p. 47.
James Lowder, Jean Rabe (1993). The Jungles of Chult. (TSR, Inc), p. 3. ISBN 1-5607-6605-0.
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Jeff Grubb and Tim Beach (September 1991). Fires of Zatal. (TSR, Inc), p. 55. ISBN 1-5607-6139-3.
Christopher Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter (September 19, 2017). Tomb of Annihilation. Edited by Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 35. ISBN 978-0-7869-6610-3.
Jason Bradley Thompson (2017-02-27). The Barber of Silverymoon (PDF). In John Houlihan, Adam Lee eds. Dragon+ #12. Wizards of the Coast. p. 10. Archived from the original on 2017-06-17. Retrieved on 2017-06-17.
Ed Greenwood (January 1996). Volo's Guide to the Dalelands. (TSR, Inc), p. 186. ISBN 0-7869-0406-2.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

Genetic Descendants

Leonin

Scientific Name

Animalia, Materia, humanoidus, Bipedia, Chrodata, Mammalia, humanoid Feline (Tabaxi)

Origin/Ancestry

Humanoid (Anthropormorphic Catfolk | Tabaxi)

Lifespan

Less than a century (Same as humans)

Conservation Status

Not technically a "Demi-human" class, but still granted all the same rights and responsibilities as such.

Average Height

6'-7'

Average Weight

200-250 lbs.

Geographic Distribution

Related Organizations

Related Ethnicities

5E Statistics
Tabaxi

5E Statistics

Size	Medium
Type	Humanoid
Tag(s)	Tabaxi

General Information

Patron Deity	Bast, Cat Lord, Tezca, Nula
Vision	Darkvision
Activity Cycle	Any
Diet	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	Same as humans
Homeland(s)	Faerun: Nexal, Maztica; Dierde: Kampos
Language(s)	Common, Tabaxi
Favored Climate	Warm
Favored Terrain	Jungles