Tabaxi

Hailing from a strange and distant land, wandering Tabaxi are catlike humanoids. These tall, feline humanoids tend to remain with their clans in their homeland, but some of been known to travel far and wide to uncover the world’s mysteries and find treasure. Tabaxi are strong athletes with heightened senses, making them powerful and proficient hunters. Their innate nature pushes them to protect and conserve the nature they see around them. It is fabled that they revere their own, trade freely, but are also ruthless hunters and killers.
Living exclusively in The Feared Forest , these bands rove around the rain forest as hunter-gatherer packs, and will often trade with other species such as the Lizard-Folk when near the edges of the rain forest. Once a year each pack sends one representative to the central Taji. Here they have their annual communications with the other tribes where they sort out supplies, who gets what hunting grounds next year, and what to look for in trades with other species. Once every 5 years they elect a new Hunt-head, and when needed they will elect a species-wide spokes person for when negotiating with species outside of the forest.
This species are friendly and kind, but tend to be private people. They will offer you a hand if needed, but will guard their secrets and forest jealously. Non-tabaxi are not trusted, and that is for their own survival. They keep to themselves, while traveling to nearly every settlement around the forest at least once a year. They are fierce hunters, but rarely if ever use their immense power on a sapient species. As a species they have not gone to war in living memory, but have fables of fighting against evil in the First Era. Even as individual packs they don't go to war. Though they will occasionally kill poachers from other sapient species that are hunting against the wishes of the Highest Council.
Each pack has somewhere between 10-20 members at any given time, with a council of three of the wiser members serving to mediate disputes, guide the young ones, and care for the elders. From this council the pack elects a member of the council to go to the Taji once a year and speak on as a part of The Highest Council. As some packs merge, and others split into two or three packs, the number of packs in the forest is ever changing. The Highest Council meets for two full weeks to discuss the last year, and prepare for the coming year. During this time, it is customary for each of the packs to make it back to the tree for a couple of days, and many packs will stay a week or more. This is the yearly celebration that all Tabaxi attend at some point or another, and being a species of only a few thousand at best, most Tabaxi know a few people in other packs, and plan to spend time with them at this great gathering.
Once every five years, the Highest Council elects a new hunt-head. This is the time that almost every pack comes and stays for the entirety of the two weeks, because afterwards there are two days of competition. Then bargaining and deliberation to determine who the Highest Council will elect as the hunt-head. This can be very quick, or it can last for days or even a week. Rarely has it lasted more then two days in recent memory though.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Much like the Khajiit of the Elder Scrolls, these are anthropomorphic humanoid beings of cat decent. Standing on two or four legs and having the rounded cat-like ears, and a long snout. Their fur is short with two layers. The overcoat is very dense, but thin, the undercoat is very short, but thick and very fluffy, allowing them to moderate their body temperature regardless of being soaking wet at night, or being in a hot humid day. Generally they have black spots and rosettes across the body on a coat ranging in color from white, to amber, to dark orange, to black.
Tabaxi stand between 6 foot and 7 and a half feet, ranging in weight between 300-450 pounds. They are incredibly muscular, with a large barreled chest. They tend to stand on two legs, but will stalk and hunt on four.

Genetics and Reproduction

Tabaxi reproduce sexually in litters of 2-4 kittens. The gestation period of eleven months only really impacts the woman's ability to hunt and care for the pack in the last month, until then it can be difficult to tell if they are pregnant or not.

Growth Rate & Stages

Tabaxi are born more mature than that of other humanoid species. Very quickly they are able to walk and run, and within a few weeks they are learning to pounce and stalk. Within a year they are able to speak and start to be trusted with certain chores, and by 5 years they are determined to be grown, mature, and a part of the pack, though they are not particularly wise. Despite this, Tabaxi don't deem themselves to be wise enough to sit on the pack council, let alone the higher councils, until they are about 40-45 generally.

Ecology and Habitats

Living deep in the rain forest, the Tabaxi live in small packs of roaming hunter-gatherers and traders. They have temporary and permanent hunting-cabin-type settlements throughout The Feared Forest, with a few permanent, settlements on the edges of the forest for trading. Other than this they live in The Feared Forest , with a very diverse flora and fauna.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Tabaxi are technically omnivorous, but tend to eat meat. They will scavenge berries and herbs, but tend to eat primarily fish and meat from the hunts. Generally only having food for a week or so at a time, and almost constantly on the move so as to manage their forest carefully, they travel light and frequently. Caring for each other, the Tabaxi deliberately keep small stashes of food in the trees in case another pack needs supplies desperately, and leave notes to other packs at these drop points as well.

Biological Cycle

They are feline, and thus are born very near the ability to walk. Within a few years they are deemed mature enough to pull their own weight, and be assigned a job in the pack. It takes decades of serving the pack after this for them to be deemed wise and knowledgeable enough to sit on the pack council, and rarely are you elected to the higher councils for your pack until you have been on the pack council for quite some time as well. However, the hunt-head is often elected while they are younger than this.

Behaviour

They generally are crepuscular, taking long naps during the day, and lazily fishing in the rivers and streams. During the night, they will occasionally hunt, but generally this is when they will move throughout the forest. Their prime hunting times are during twilight hours, the two hours around dusk and dawn. While they are at their trading posts, they will trade during dusk and dawn, when the local farmers and workers are finishing their jobs for the day. While they have very tightly knit nuclear packs of 10-20, they also have a deep caring to anyone of their species. Only being a species of a few thousand, all births, deaths, and large events are celebrated throughout the species when news is heard.
Being a hunting focused species that is sapient, they care deeply for the forest through which their entire lives are made. Keeping very strict ideas on how to manage the forest, and holding these ideals incredibly high, they have deliberately terrified and killed the hunters of other species who do not have good relations with the Tabaxi. The Lizard-folk, Grippli, and a few others have good relations with the Tabaxi and know not to hunt too deep into the forest without the explicit permission of the Tabaxi. But not all other species listen.
The Tabaxi hold the life of the forest on a whole significantly higher than the life of any given individual. They will not hesitate to defend the life of the forest from anyone, including a member of their own species. Generally as a species they are not particularly religious, though the occasional Tabaxi will still believe, and their spirituality is based around relying on each other in a pack, and packs relying on other packs to keep the forest ecosystem happy and healthy.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

They have 60 ft of darkvision, and get advantage on perception-checks to do with hearing, but disadvantage on perception checks to do with color.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Each Tabaxi has a sing name determined by the pack. It is derived from a large formula based around the mother's name, ancestry, accomplishments of the pack, and ending with the father's name. Names do not have gender to the Tabaxi, as each full name it unique. They tend to go by a shortened version their name however, often keeping the mother's name, and some syllables they desire to create their own nickname.

Major Organizations

The Highest Council is the only governance of this species.

Beauty Ideals

Being golden under color with stark black coloring is seen as the most beautiful coloring possible. Having very sharp features and golden eyes are also very attractive.

Gender Ideals

Men and women are both expected to pull the weight, and often women for the head of the hunting parties. While pregnant, women are allowed to continue to hunt, fight, and exist as normal until the ninth month. When she starts to show a women is put on leave from the pack and mainly gathers, or fishes in streams. For the first month when the kittens are born, the mother is in charge of keeping them, and weening them. Once they have been weened the mother takes whatever place she had previously and the kittens are raised as part of the pack under their parents.

Courtship Ideals

It is generally not seen as desire-able for someone to court a person in their pack. Inter-pack relationships are seen as the best, and in this vein, if the Tabaxi has not caught the eye of someone, or someone has naught caught their eye, it is expected that when the Tabaxi feels ready they will jump from pack to pack searching for a mate. Together they will choose which pack they will be a part of together, though there is a tradition that is be the woman's due to a matriarchal culture, but that is not always adhered to.

Average Technological Level

Stone-age to Bronze-age through trade

Common Etiquette Rules

It is always polite to slightly bow, and growl the deepest you can when meeting someone of higher rank than you.

Common Dress Code

They wear nothing, but will decorate themselves with straps and tattoos when they desire. Piercings are just coming into fashion.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Generally, beyond the council, the eldest woman in the pack is seen as the host honored, and often will be on the council. As the first syllable in your name is derived from your mother's name, it is common to trace one's lineage back through mothers. It is a slightly matriarchal society, and there is no observable difference between men and women to most outsiders.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

The most important tradition is that of the Highest Council and the election of the Hunt-head.

Common Taboos

It is very taboo to artificially darken your spots .It is also taboo to hunt not directed by the highest council, and you can be summarily put to death by any pack council for doing so.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

They have good relations with the Lizard-folk and the Grippli. They have passable and trading relations with whomever they trade with on the edges of the forest, but while deep inside the forest, they do not like to see poachers or evidence of hunting.

Lifespan

73

Average Height

6'0" to 7'6"

Average Weight

300-450 lbs.

Related Organizations

• The Highest Council