The sharp and quick feline folk, tabaxi stand out among the other common mortal species of the world for their fur and claws. Tabaxi are often considered one of the most common mortalfolk the world over, next to their neighbors the humans and the dragonborn.
Tabaxi people are very similar in appearance to large cats. They bear sharp, sensitive ears, slitted pupils, a snout lined in sharp teeth and whiskers. Most tabaxi have spotted or striped brown or yellow fur. All tabaxi have long pseudo-prehensile tails and digitigrade feet. Some folk who have never met a tabaxi think that these catfolk have paws like a cat, but this is a misconception; they have five-fingered hands similar to most mortal species, with the addition of large, naturally-sharp, non-retractable claws.
Tabaxi people grow and live similarly to humans, but are almost always born as twins or triplets. For this reason a tabaxi family unit is usually made of very tight-knit siblings, and in places where tabaxi congregate large families of cousins all living together is fairly common.
Thanks to their lithe biology and unique claws on their hands and feet, tabaxi make excellent climbers. However, some tabaxi trim their claws for various purposes; to use particular tools safely or prevent accidents.
Tabaxi are obligate carnivores. Due to this need for hunting, it tends to be difficult for tabaxi settlements to grow as large as humans' or others, who can thrive using wide belts of farmland as the basis of their diet. Most tabaxi get by in smaller clusters, living where wildlife is abundant or fishing is a viable industry.
Tabaxi in the World
Tabaxi have no singular home in Des Forabis, much like humans; they tend to spread wherever they can live and travel freely. One particular archipelago in the southern reaches of the Prism Sea is said to be home to a few bustling mainly-tabaxi cities, and some believe these islands to be where the species originated altogether.
Thanks to their dietary needs, tabaxi tend to congregate around coastlines and many make their livings as fishermen. In some parts of the world, tabaxi are known to cultivate and include large insects as part of their diet instead.
Tabaxi Player Characters
As a tabaxi, you are a versatile and agile sort of person. Tabaxi culture is as varied as the places they live, so your outlook on life will be determined by where you come from and how you grew up. The most notable thing you should consider is the fact that unlike many other mortal species, nearly all tabaxi have at least one twin. Tabaxi siblings tend to be very close, and in many places will live together or as neighbors for their entire lives.
When deciding what made you leave home and risk your life on adventuresome tasks, consider not just how your parents would feel about this but also your siblings. Alternatively, you may be unusual in that you have no siblings at all, making you a sort of out-of-place person in the standard tabaxi family structure.
Tabaxi Traits
Ability Score Bonus. You gain a +2 to Dexterity and a +1 to Charisma.
Age. Tabaxi reach maturity around 18 years and normally live till about 80 years.
Size. Your size is Medium. Most tabaxi stand between 5 and a half to 6 feet tall, and weigh about 110 pounds.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Additionally, you have a climbing speed of 20 feet thanks to your sharp claws.
Darkvision. 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. 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 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Cat's Talent. You have proficiency in the Perception and Stealth skills.
Carnivorous. You are an obligate carnivore and cannot survive without eating meat; vegetarian food does not provide sufficient nutrition and can make you sick if eaten regularly. Magical nourishment, such as that produced by the spell goodberry, can satisfy your daily needs.
