Tabaxi

Living in the hot jungle east of Newhope, Tabaxi would be difficult to have contacts with, if it wasn't for their curiosity. Many Tabaxi want to leave their homeland and visit other places, never stopping in one for more than the time necessary to acquire knowledge and, who knows, maybe even some ancient artifact. They are not interested in wealth or goods of any kind, since those are just things that will rot away and not yield anything on the long distance, whereas knowledge can always remain and an ancient artifact might hide secrets about its creators. Even though they are hellbent on following their curiosity, their obsessions never last long: as soon as they have satisfied it, they are ready for something new, and so it's not rare for a Tabaxi to spend many days after a rumour only to dismiss it on a whim, already focusing on something else.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Tabaxi are feline humanoids. They sport many features typical of cats, lions and the sort, and their fur shows many different patterns.

Biological Traits

Tabaxi are taller than humans and relatively slender. They possess retractable claws and thanks to them can easily climb many surfaces.

Ecology and Habitats

Though almost all Tabaxi live in the jungle east of Newhope, they don't have an optimal environment and many of them like to conduct a nomadic life.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Most Tabaxi live in the jungles east of Newhope, though many others like to travel Kontonyus in spite of their inherent dangers. They were the first race to meet the pathfinders and to settle in a special area for indigenous races in Newhope.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

All Tabaxi possess Darkvision.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Tabaxi names are decided at their birth through complex calculations based on astrology. They usually bear some would-be prophetic message. Since they can be long, usually just a word from them is used as a nickname. Examples: Cloud on the Mountaintop (Cloud), Five Timber (Timber), Jade Shoe (Jade), Left-Handed Hummingbird (Bird), Seven Thundercloud (Thunder), Skirt of Snakes (Snake), Smoking Mirror (Smoke).

Major Organizations

Tabaxi are organized as a proto-democracy: every few years three Tabaxi are nominated tribe leaders and take all of the decisions, usually listening to their own kind. Leaders are usually chosen among the ones that traveled outside the Capital and met other cultures, as they are usually best suited for the role. Tabaxi laws are not very strict, and punishment is never too harsh. Nonetheless, there have been mass banishments, which prompted the birth of at least two other Tabaxi tribes. One of them is currently at war with the main tribe.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Tabaxi language is particularly difficult to learn. Fortunately, most of them are willing to learn Common, but other tribes of exiled are more reclusive and maintain their language proudly.

Common Etiquette Rules

Tabaxi are very curious. As such, they may appear as rude and impolite, assailing others with pressing questions about the most different things and skipping greetings or other forms of etiquette, or suddenly losing all interest in a conversation and turning away without even saying a word.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Because of their desire to acquire and store knowledge, Tabaxi act unwittingly as historians and lorekeepers for themselves and for other races. They tend to amass any kind of information and once back in their homeland write it down to preserve it. Most notions about the other races were taught by Tabaxi nomads to the pathfinders.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

For a Tabaxi, tricking and lying are not grave crimes, just a means to obtain more knowledge or some ancient artifact. Because of that, they are sometimes looked upon as not reliable by other races.

Common Taboos

Not all Tabaxi are driven by curiosity, most of them stay in their Capital, but when a Tabaxi comes back after a long journey and does not bring anything new to his tribe, he is severely judged, sometimes even punished. In fact, to pass knowledge over is regarded as a crime.

Common Myths and Legends

Tabaxi believe in their own god, the Cat Lord. Being it the deity of cats, it acts as expected and so only momentarily cares about its people and sometimes disappears for prolonged periods of time, according to Tabaxi. Other than that, they preserve many myths and legends about other races, such as the myth of the downfall of the Kenku, but not much is known about their own legends.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Tabaxi and Kenku are both curious, but Kenkus have no creativity and as such don't know how to produce anything new, so they rarely interest Tabaxi, even though the feline humanoids would gladly discover and explore their secret city. Goliaths don't like Tabaxi, they find them annoying and their likeness to the evil Tiger of their legends makes them all the more hated. Firbolgs don't spark much a Tabaxi's curiosity, but they both protect nature so they could be considered as allies. Finally, Tabaxi find particularly interesting Tritons and Lizardfolk, for their odd behaviours and cultures. Of course, since their arrival, the pathfinders from the main continent are the most interesting thing on the whole island, for a Tabaxi.

The marvelous traveling feline brothers

Soon after the foundation of Newhope, a group of Tabaxi made its appearance. They travelled with a cart and set up some shows on the streets of the city, performing stunts and tricks and never asking money or goods, but only secrets and legends coming from the main continent. This is the Tabaxi way of discovering things about a new people, and is something that Newhope's dwellers like, even though some noticed how since their arrival the number of petty thefts increased.

Lifespan

They have a lifespan similar to that of humans.