Catfolk

Curious and gregarious wanderers, catfolk combine features of felines and humanoids in both appearance and temperament. They enjoy learning new things, collecting new tales and trinkets, and ensuring their loved ones are safe and happy. Catfolk view themselves as chosen guardians of natural places in the world and are often recklessly brave, even in the face of overwhelming opposition.

Catfolk are outgoing, active humanoids who delight in discovery, whether of hidden ruins or a comfortable place to nap. They are exceptionally social, both within their tight-knit communities and with other creatures they meet.

Remarkably brave, catfolk see themselves as guardians of the world against forces that would assail it, and they believe that strong communities, breadth of experience, and continual self-improvement aid them in this fight.

Catfolk have fast reflexes and are even able to twist themselves in the air while falling to land on their feet. As quick as these reflexes are, catfolk have quicker tempers, shifting from effusive glee to aggrieved fury in an instant.

Like mundane felines, catfolk involuntarily purr when pleased and growl when surprised or angry.

If you want a character who is curious, brave, friendly, and nimble in body and mind, you should play a catfolk.

You might…

• Demonstrate genuine interest by asking a lot of enthusiastic questions.
• Avoid interpersonal conflict by giving someone a cold shoulder or by simply leaving the area.
• Carefully scout a target or problem before striking at it quickly.

Others Probably…

• Think you monopolize conversations with your incessant queries or opinions.
• Consider you haughty or prideful.
• Ascribe more emotion than you feel to your involuntary purrs or growling.

Physical Description

Although all catfolk walk upright and have soft fur, a long tail, large ears, and vertical pupils, they show at least as much variety as ordinary felines. Catfolk have nimble fingers with short claws that are usually retractable. Most catfolk take great pride in maintaining their appearance and rarely suffer the indignity of being wet or dirty if they can avoid it.

Catfolk mature quickly and are able to walk at only a few months old, but they otherwise start their careers at roughly the same age as humans do and live to be 60 or 70 years of age. Catfolk are rarely taller than the average human and, because of their lean builds, almost never weigh as much as a human of similar height.

Society

Catfolk call themselves amurruns, although many consider this name to be private. They raise their children in large extended families, where they are given what many other humanoids see as a distressing latitude to explore and get into trouble from a remarkably young age. Catfolk learn a trade in a loose apprenticeship, and the majority learn several trades over their lives.

Catfolk societies are often led by an appointed leader who speaks on behalf of the community and mediates disputes. A catfolk leader is most often a spellcaster and usually female. Catfolk prefer to deal with grievances by making an elaborate showing of disinterest, or even leaving a community for a time so the problem can die away or work itself out.

Alignment and Religion

Catfolk aren’t a particularly religious people, but most do believe they were uplifted from great primeval cats to confront the evil abominations despoiling natural places and laboring to unmake reality. The gods blessed catfolk with language, the use of tools and weapons, and a strong sense of community.

Most catfolk are good. They enjoy the freedom to travel and like to set their own paths in life, so more catfolk are chaotic than lawful. Religious catfolk most often practice a nebulous form of animism, appeasing the spirits of the land and the creatures they hunt to preserve the natural order.

Names

Catfolk are given short names in their youth. Adolescent catfolk are free to choose a different name when they first leave home, though some simply keep the name they’ve gotten used to. Catfolk love to add titles and honorifics to their names. Some catfolk use their titles exclusively among non-catfolk, and so become known by epithets like Six Fates, Fiend Killer, or Mistcloak.

Sample Names Alyara, Crinto, Drewan, Espes, Ferrus, Gerran, Halhat, Hoya, Ruun, Sevastin, Tespa, Yonsol, Zakkar, Zathra

Adventurers

Catfolk delight in venturing into unexplored areas, whether untrammeled wildernesses or ancient dungeons.

They like finding treasures and baubles, but for most catfolk, the experience of the journey itself is the true reward.

Typical catfolk backgrounds include acrobat, artist, bandit, courier, gambler, hunter, insurgent, nomad, outrider, root worker or scout. Catfolk’s inherent curiosity and agility mean they excel as swashbucklers, bards, fighters, and rogues. Their love of the natural world and drive to puzzle out secrets of all types leads many to become investigators, druids, or sorcerers.

Catfolk Heritages

Catfolk have ancestors as varied as any felines. Choose one of the following catfolk heritages at 1st level.

Clawed Catfolk

Your family has particularly long, sharp claws capable of delivering bleeding wounds with a wicked swipe. You gain a claw unarmed attack that deals 1d6 slashing damage. Your claws are in the brawling group and have the agile, finesse, and unarmed traits.

Hunting Catfolk

You come from a long line of skilled hunters and trackers and have a particularly keen sense of smell. You gain imprecise scent with a range of 30 feet. This means you can use your sense of smell to determine a creature’s location, as explained in the base rules. The GM will usually double the range if you’re downwind from the creature or halve the range if you’re upwind.

In addition, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Track a creature or object if you’ve smelled it before.

Jungle Catfolk

You’re descended from jungle stalkers and can move swiftly through scrub and underbrush. You ignore difficult terrain from undergrowth, and greater difficult terrain from undergrowth is only difficult terrain for you.

Nine Lives Catfolk

Your family has always seemed to bounce back from disaster, not through physical hardiness or specialized skill, but from sheer luck. Other catfolk whisper that you have nine lives. If you are reduced to 0 Hit Points by a critical hit on an attack roll, you become dying 1 instead of dying 2.

Winter Catfolk

You have a thick coat of fur that protects you from the cold. You gain cold resistance equal to half your level (minimum 1). You treat environmental cold effects as if they were one step less extreme (incredible cold becomes extreme, extreme cold becomes severe, and so on).

Catfolk Ancestry Feats

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level). As a catfolk, you select from among the following ancestry feats.

1st Level

Cat’s Luck [free-action] Feat 1

Catfolk Fortune

Frequency once per day

Trigger You fail a Reflex saving throw.

You instinctively twist away from danger. You can reroll the triggering saving throw and use the better result.

Catfolk Lore Feat 1

Catfolk

Growing up among catfolk has taught you the traditional values of freedom to travel, stewardship of the land, and quick reactions when your curiosity lands you in trouble. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Acrobatics and Survival. If you would automatically become trained in one of those skills (from your background or class, for example), you instead become trained in a skill of your choice. You also become trained in Catfolk Lore.

Catfolk Weapon Familiarity Feat 1

Catfolk

You favor weapons that you can use with quick, darting slashes like a cat’s claws. You are trained with the hatchet, kama, kukri, scimitar, and sickle. In addition, you gain access to kama, kukris, and all uncommon catfolk weapons. For you, martial catfolk weapons are simple weapons and advanced catfolk weapons are martial weapons.

Well-Met Traveler Feat 1

Catfolk

You have seen people from so many walks of life in your travels that you naturally adopt a pleasant and affable demeanor when meeting others. You are trained in Diplomacy.

If you would automatically become trained in Diplomacy (from your background or class, for example), you instead become trained in a skill of your choice.

In addition, you gain the Hobnobber skill feat.

5th Level

Catfolk Weapon Rake Feat 5

Catfolk

Prerequisite(s) Catfolk Weapon Familiarity

You know how to efficiently use weapons that rake across your enemies. Whenever you critically hit using a catfolk weapon or one of the weapons listed in Catfolk Weapon Familiarity, you apply the weapon’s critical specialization effect.

Climbing Claws Feat 5

Catfolk

You can extend your claws to aid you in climbing. You gain a climb Speed of 10 feet.

Expanded Luck Feat 5

Catfolk

Prerequisite(s) Cat’s Luck

You are luckier even than most catfolk. You can trigger Cat’s Luck when you fail or critically fail a Fortitude or Will saving throw in addition to Reflex saving throws. You still can use Cat’s Luck only once per day.

Light Paws [two-actions] Feat 5

Catfolk

You can balance on your toes to step carefully over obstructions.

You Stride and then Step, or Step and then Stride, ignoring difficult terrain during this movement.

Springing Leaper Feat 5

Catfolk

Prerequisite(s) expert in Athletics

Your powerful legs allow you to make sudden and dramatic leaps. You can Leap as a 2-action activity to double the distance you can Leap vertically, or Leap as a 3-action activity to triple the distance you can Leap vertically. You don’t automatically fail Long Jumps for jumping in a different direction than your Stride.

9th Level

Aggravating Scratch Feat 9

Catfolk Disease

Prerequisite(s) claw unarmed attack

Your claws carry an irritant that is harmless to you but can be damaging to others. Your claw Strikes deal an additional 1d4 10 persistent poison damage on a critical hit.

Shared Luck Feat 9

Catfolk

Prerequisite(s) Cat’s Luck

When you use Cat’s Luck to reroll a Reflex saving throw, any creatures you choose within 10 feet who also just failed a Reflex saving throw against the same effect (such as a single spell) can also reroll their saving throws and use the better result.

Wary Skulker Feat 9

Catfolk

Ever alert, you scout for danger even when you are trying to stay hidden. You can perform the Scout exploration activity at the same time as the Avoid Notice exploration activity.

Well-Groomed Feat 9

Catfolk

You are fastidious about keeping yourself clean, whether licking your fur or carefully using traditional catfolk hygiene products, to salubrious effect. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws against diseases. If you roll a success on a saving throw against a disease, you get a critical success instead.

13th Level

Black Cat Curse [reaction] Feat 13

Catfolk Divination Misfortune Occult

Frequency once per day

Trigger a creature within 30 feet you can see would succeed at a save.

You hiss a spiteful curse at the creature. The target must reroll the triggering saving throw and use the worse result.

Caterwaul [reaction] Feat 13

Auditory Catfolk Concentrate Emotion Mental

Frequency once per day

Trigger An ally within 30 feet would be reduced to 0 HP but not immediately killed.

You give a daring yowl in the face of adversity, calling your companion back from the brink of unconsciousness. Your ally isn’t knocked out and remains at 1 Hit Point. Your ally’s wounded condition still increases by 1 as though they had been dying and recovered.

Catfolk Weapon Expertise Feat 13

Catfolk

Prerequisite(s) Catfolk Weapon Familiarity

Whenever you gain a class feature that grants you expert or greater proficiency in certain weapons, you also gain that proficiency rank in all weapons you are trained in from Catfolk Weapon Familiarity.

17th Level

Reliable Luck Feat 17

Catfolk

Prerequisite(s) Cat’s Luck

You have gone well past nine lives to survive danger with surprising regularity. You can use Cat’s Luck once per hour, rather than once per day.