Tabaxi tribes of Orrm
The tabaxi tribes are inhabitants of the Jungle of Orrm. Contrary to popular believe, it's not several tribes but one tribe that has several clans banded together under it, which is an unusual fact considering information about other tabaxi clans who largely live for themselves and only trade or otherwise interact with other clans. They are somewhat reclusive, with recent events in the last decades causing them to tend to themselves even more. They mostly tend to avoid other intelligent races. Despite that, they still are willing to trade with good-intended strangers, such as offering them goods they produced for other goods that are rare in their jungle or offering to act as guides to get through the jungle safer. Those that come with the intend of harm, either to them or the jungle will meet their very capable warriors.
Some villages can be hidden somewhere in the understory of the jungle trees, probably a bit higher up to the canopy as to no disturb or interfere with animals living in the understory closer to the ground.
According to some reports, some villages are even hidden inside old, dead or sick trees after a sickness has befallen them. Usually that means that the Tabaxi got rid of the infection, but couldn't save those trees. In result, their druids turned them into housing for them, so they would serve another purpose. Another place where they could hide is underground, hidden under the roots of trees. Since those roots are not going very deep, since the jungle ground is not very fertile beyond a couple of feet, and it is said that under there is hard stone. That makes it likely that Tabaxi have underground villages with various entrances and exits. That would also that they have some knowledge of special form of architecture, given the wet environment. Other hiding spaces might be in plain sight, such as near rivers or on lakes. The foliage near those are usually dense enough so that entire villages covered with plants and fungi and various other methods applied by the Tabaxi. Over the years, the tabaxi have chosen three to four "open clans". Those clans, usually consisting of a very high amount of hunts, act as a gathering point for those who want to employ the tabaxi for various tasks, such as guiding adventurers, merchants or others safely through the jungle, or even in rare instances trading rare goods. But especially the latter has become a rare up to non-existing event, considering the various factors of lumbering, poaching, hunter and, by the tabaxi considered, destructive plant gathering. Some of those clans locations have disappeared, seemingly overnight, suggesting that the tabaxi have some sort of quick relocation method or protective method should those clans be in danger. Currently there are only two known tabaxi villages which are within a days travel. One is on the east side of the jungle, reachable either by land(approx. 1.5 days travel) or by ship (approx. 1 day travel from the shores), the other is near the Brine Dunes. It is hard to say how many Tabaxi there are exactly in the Jungle of Orrm. Given the size of it and the fact that there are also other creature living in it, but it is said that there are anywhere between 40 to 80 individual clans with their respective territories. It is assumed that there are between 40 to 60 individuals in a single clan, sometimes larger. These clans usually consist of 6 to 15 kittens, several hunts consisting of 4 to 10 tabaxi (average of 4 hunts) patrolling the territory and roughly 12 to 20 tabaxi residing in the clans village at any time. The tabaxi of the Jungle of Orrm live very secluded. They usually try to tend to themselves, not wishing to be disturbed or disturb others. There are rare occurrences they interacted with other humanoid folks. In recent years this behavior has changed, as some clans seem to act more to the aggression that has been enacted towards them, for example from Drossmoor. The tabaxi also seem to have a non-aggressive relationship with the lizardfolk tribes living in the jungle. No bigger altercation is known. They also send out caravans every once in a while to trade wares and more importantly, share and listen to stories of anyone willing to tell them. They also use this opportunity to teach their young warriors about the trade and tradition of other humanoid societies, such as the value of coin(as the tabaxi do mostly trade with wares), fighting traditions, contacting other druids or their rules and regulations.
Those Tabaxi lords usually appear as a huge jaguar or leopard humanoid and are very intelligent, malicious and cunning. It is said that dark powers have bestowed a magical strength into them, either innate or fueled by the curiousity of said tabaxi. That is why those Tabaxi Lords are often sorcerer, warlock or cleric of some sort combined with some form of wizardry.
Combat
The tabaxi in Orrm are known to consist mostly of fighters, rangers, druids and barbarians. Although rogues, monks, bards, and wizards have been sighted as well. Barbarians within the tribe are known as "blood-stalkers". The reason for that seems to be the given feline traits of nimbleness and stealth, but once they fight a creature they tend to go into a rage, leaving nothing but the blood of their victims behind. For that reason, those who know the jungle also know that if they ever encounter a tabaxi barbarian that their live is in serious danger. Their weapons are mostly build out of wood, bone or stones, often enchanted to give them more durability or additional sharpness. Those weapons range from short swords, daggers, or scimitars, to clubs and hammers, to javelins, spears, bolas, slings, and short bows. They also tend to make use of blowguns. They fill their darts with powerful poison, both lethal and non-lethal alike. It often is difficult to treat those poisons without magical means, as they are often only known to knowledgeable alchemists. Occasionally, those poisons have been also magically enhanced as well, making the poisons a reliable weapon. Tabaxi employ various amount of battle tactics, which is partly due to the fact that each clan can have their own unique strategies to deal with outsiders. Some clans employ scare tactics, imitating dangerous wild and plant life to persuade or guide outsiders away from them or their holy places. Others choose what is known as guerrilla warfare - ambushes, hit-and-run tactics, raids and petty warfare - to ensure they stay unknown and disrupt the outsiders supplies and lower their moral. Some clans are seeking direct contact with their enemies, attacking them directly and even seek, often hostile nowadays, communications with outsiders to ensure they know the dangers they find themselves in. Most of those combat tactics are considered primitiv. But regardless of that, they proof extremely effective in the environment they are used in. It should also be noted that, because of the lack of more enhanced weaponry such as (magically enhanced) metal weapons, clans do trade their wares for those technologies. It is also rumored that, in their own jungle, and due to their prowess in hunting, their intelligence and they sense of smell, it is impossible to trap a tabaxi in their own territory. This of course seems to be contradicted at least somewhat and appears only to be a well known legend.Society
The tabaxi of the Jungle of Orrm have a bit of a unique society to them. While most tabaxi tend to work in their clans individually, rarely trading even with other tabaxi clans, these tabaxi, at least partially, tried to band together into a loose decentralized "single tribe", in which each clan still keeps their autonomy to themselves and their territory, but freely share information and resources source with one another. Most tabaxi clans follow an egalitarian approach to their clan 'politics'. That means that what good is considered good for many tabaxi, is considered good for the clan in general. Whether that action is considered good or bad often does not play a big role. One common misconception, which often comes up due to their naming conventions, is about clans being attributed to families. This is only partially true. Clans are more akin to villages or cities that house various tabaxi families but every tabaxi in that clan adds that clans name to themselves, akin to a sir name for other races. The actual families are the various hunts within that clan. Each of those hunts leaders can be chosen as an Elder, the head of the clan, which tends to consist of two tabaxi, most often male and female, who do not have to be part of the same hunt. Each clan has its own little village. These villages are usually well hidden, both with magic and with natural hiding techniques and also serve as protection from wild animals. They hide their villages in various ways, which makes it difficult to list all methods they use.Some villages can be hidden somewhere in the understory of the jungle trees, probably a bit higher up to the canopy as to no disturb or interfere with animals living in the understory closer to the ground.
According to some reports, some villages are even hidden inside old, dead or sick trees after a sickness has befallen them. Usually that means that the Tabaxi got rid of the infection, but couldn't save those trees. In result, their druids turned them into housing for them, so they would serve another purpose. Another place where they could hide is underground, hidden under the roots of trees. Since those roots are not going very deep, since the jungle ground is not very fertile beyond a couple of feet, and it is said that under there is hard stone. That makes it likely that Tabaxi have underground villages with various entrances and exits. That would also that they have some knowledge of special form of architecture, given the wet environment. Other hiding spaces might be in plain sight, such as near rivers or on lakes. The foliage near those are usually dense enough so that entire villages covered with plants and fungi and various other methods applied by the Tabaxi. Over the years, the tabaxi have chosen three to four "open clans". Those clans, usually consisting of a very high amount of hunts, act as a gathering point for those who want to employ the tabaxi for various tasks, such as guiding adventurers, merchants or others safely through the jungle, or even in rare instances trading rare goods. But especially the latter has become a rare up to non-existing event, considering the various factors of lumbering, poaching, hunter and, by the tabaxi considered, destructive plant gathering. Some of those clans locations have disappeared, seemingly overnight, suggesting that the tabaxi have some sort of quick relocation method or protective method should those clans be in danger. Currently there are only two known tabaxi villages which are within a days travel. One is on the east side of the jungle, reachable either by land(approx. 1.5 days travel) or by ship (approx. 1 day travel from the shores), the other is near the Brine Dunes. It is hard to say how many Tabaxi there are exactly in the Jungle of Orrm. Given the size of it and the fact that there are also other creature living in it, but it is said that there are anywhere between 40 to 80 individual clans with their respective territories. It is assumed that there are between 40 to 60 individuals in a single clan, sometimes larger. These clans usually consist of 6 to 15 kittens, several hunts consisting of 4 to 10 tabaxi (average of 4 hunts) patrolling the territory and roughly 12 to 20 tabaxi residing in the clans village at any time. The tabaxi of the Jungle of Orrm live very secluded. They usually try to tend to themselves, not wishing to be disturbed or disturb others. There are rare occurrences they interacted with other humanoid folks. In recent years this behavior has changed, as some clans seem to act more to the aggression that has been enacted towards them, for example from Drossmoor. The tabaxi also seem to have a non-aggressive relationship with the lizardfolk tribes living in the jungle. No bigger altercation is known. They also send out caravans every once in a while to trade wares and more importantly, share and listen to stories of anyone willing to tell them. They also use this opportunity to teach their young warriors about the trade and tradition of other humanoid societies, such as the value of coin(as the tabaxi do mostly trade with wares), fighting traditions, contacting other druids or their rules and regulations.
Hierarchy
The hierarchy of the tabaxi of Orrm is flat. At the top is the Order of Ancient, after which follow the Elders with their clans, hunts and clan members.Order of the Ancient
The "Order of the Ancient" is a group of elders that convene about all matter concerning all clans wishing to be a part of this order as part of the "tribe". The Order is often split up between territory borders of individual clans, which is so that Elders only discuss information that affects their clans directly. It is rare that all elders convene together. Outside of that they hold not much power over any individual clan. They also discuss the overall well being of the clans, and any events that might have happened in the territory of the various tribes, discussing any actions that might have ramifications on the "tribe" as a whole or how the general food supply for the clans looks like.Clans
The clan consists of three groups: elders, the hunts, and any other clan members that the clan accepted to raise a hunt. Clans most often have equal numbers of males and females. They usually consist of [25 to 35 members, one third of that consisting of kittens of varying ages.] There are generally two types of clans: Warrior clans and Druid Clans. Warrior Clans are protecting the clans in a case of an attack or similar event. While all clan members of any clan can generally defend themselves and are average fighters, these clans train all their members in their arts of fight, tactics and strategy. They produce exceptionally well combatants that excel at fighting foes directly. They also can act as hunters and gatherers if the need arises. These clans mostly consist of fighters, rangers, barbarians, as well as a few monks and wizards. Inside of the clans, barbarians are usually called "Blood-Stalkers". This is because of their ability to hide in the jungle and sneak upon their enemies and once they have gone into rage leave nothing behind but blood and bits and pieces of them. Druid Clans protecting the nature of the Jungle of Orrm. They are in deep connection with it and help it as it calls out to them. They are, as most of the tribe, are believers of Nylea and represent the hunters and gatherers of the tribe. Due to their Druid Magic they are also very capable fighters, should the need arise, but usually so in a more defensive matter. They are also the clans that provide and maintain the magic and scents that keep the clans save from wild animals and other intelligent humanoids alike. In addition to that, they also provide assistance in nursing young and, should there be a year with a rather big amount of kittens, turn into a "Nursery Clan" until the kittens are big enough and the clans can parent them alone again. These clans usually consist of druids, rangers, rogues, as well as a few fighters and wizards.Elders
Elders are the chieftain or leaders of an individual clan. They are usually the oldest, though not always, clan members to gain the most of their experience. In some cases, like in the case of the Clan of the Prowling Forest, the elders represent the second eldest pair as the oldest pair leads the caravans and trains young warriors in the trades and tradition of the outside world. Elders generally decide over things inside of the clan and have the last word in discussions. They also send one of them to the meeting of the Order of Ancient.Hunts
Hunts are the "families" of the clans, and are a group of warrior, or hunter and gatherers, that are out and about in the territory of the tribe. They consist of any number between [8 and 12] tabaxi. Their tasks often involve anything from hunting, guarding the border of their territory or defending the clans and jungle from outsiders and are usually the first thing travelers encounter of any clan.Clan members
Clan members are generally every member of a clan, but most often used for those who are not part of a hunt themselves - whether because they want to establish one themselves or because they have been orphaned at some point - but part of a clan.Language
The tribe mostly speaks common, as it has been more effective with communicating with other intelligent races. [It is rumored that the tabaxi also can speak their own language which would be referred to as tabaxi. It is not confirmed whether or not this is true, as not many tabaxi have been heard speaking that language, if at all.]Religion
The tabaxi of Orrm believe in Nylea, as they are consisting of hunters and gatherers. Her domain is nature, and is considered the god of hunt, controller of seasons and protector of forests. Aside from that, they also believe that their creator was the Cat Lord, or Master Cat. It's a volatile and tricky entity who bestows each tabaxi with a specific feline trait and is believed to watch over all tabaxi of the world. This deity is not to be confused with Tabaxi lords, which is a rumoured sub-races of tabaxi.Those Tabaxi lords usually appear as a huge jaguar or leopard humanoid and are very intelligent, malicious and cunning. It is said that dark powers have bestowed a magical strength into them, either innate or fueled by the curiousity of said tabaxi. That is why those Tabaxi Lords are often sorcerer, warlock or cleric of some sort combined with some form of wizardry.
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