Catfolk
The catfolk are a humanoid people native to the western stretches of the Sekumea Desert. Their ancestral home is the Kingdom of Babylonia, and most catfolk hail from there.
Catfolk, or grimalkin in their native tongue, are natural-born wanderers and never seem to stay put for very long. They have a passion for learning and collecting trinkets from their various travels. The word grimalkin, or sometimes greymaulkin, hails from the catfolk tongue and roughly translates to "fae cat"--a possible explanation for the origins of the clever race.
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, they 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. Catfolk typically live in male-dominated clans, but in general females of the species are more common.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Catfolk Traits
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Hit Points | 8 |
| Size | Medium |
| Ability Boosts | Dexterity, Charisma |
| Free Ability Flaw | Wisdom |
| Languages | Catfolk, Common. Additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive). |
| Traits | Catfolk, Humanoid |
| Low-light Vision | You have Low-light Vision. You can see in dim light as though it were bright light, so you ignore the concealed condition due to dim light. |
| Land On Your Feet | When you fall, you take only half the normal damage and don’t land prone. |
Physical Description
Catfolk are of middling height and lean. They resemble humans in all forms except for their feline ears and tails, and as such have assimilated very cleanly into human settlements. Most catfolk take great pride in maintaining their appearance and would never suffer the injustice of being wet or dirty. There is little sexual dimorphism in catfolk, as both genders reach the same heights and weights. Despite this, female catfolk far outnumber males in both population and clans. Catfolk mature quickly 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. The ears and tails of catfolk are their primary medium of expression. While their ears and faces convey whatever emotion they want to, their tails are dead giveaways for their true feelings. Once you know to look for the tail of a catfolk and learn its language, you can spot their lies from a mile away.Random Height and Weight
| Gender | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
| Male | 4 ft. 6in. | + 2d12 in. | 80 lb. | + (2d6x5) lb. |
| Female | 4 ft. 6in. | + 2d12 in. | 80 lb | + (2d6x5) lb. |
Society
Catfolk live in patriarchal societies called clans. Each clan is led by the chief, a male of breeding age who is responsible for his females. While it is societally expected that each female will bear his children, it is in no way mandatory. Females take up hunting duties while the chief cares for his children. Chiefs are usually spellcasters. Catfolk prefer to deal with interpersonal 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.Catfolk 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.Example Given Names
- Alyara
- Hoya
- Ruun
- Zathra
Example Epithets
- Quick Buck
- Bladessinger
- Thunderclaws
- Nine Lives
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
Trait(s) Catfolk, FortuneFrequency 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
Trait(s) 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
Trait(s) 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
Trait(s) 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
Trait(s) CatfolkPrerequisite(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
Trait(s) Catfolk You can extend your claws to aid you in climbing. You gain a climb Speed of 10 feet.Expanded Luck
Trait(s) CatfolkPrerequisite(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
Trait(s) 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
Trait(s) CatfolkPrerequisite(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
Traits(s) Catfolk, DiseasePrerequisite(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
Trait(s) CatfolkPrerequisite(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
Trait(s) 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
Trait(s) Catfolk You are fastidious about keeping yourself clean, whether grooming yourself 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
Trait(s) Catfolk, Divination, Misfortune, OccultFrequency 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
Traits(s) Auditory, Catfolk, Concentrate, Emotion, MentalFrequency 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
Trait(s) CatfolkPrerequisite(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
Trait(s) CatfolkPrerequisite(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.
Other Names
Grimalkin, Greymaulkin
Grimalkin, Greymaulkin
Scientific Name
Humania sapiens feliformia
Lifespan
60 years
Average Height
5'4" - 6'0"
