Tabaxi

"'Sandy, dusty paws. He hated sand. Rough, course, irritating; and of course, it got everywhere. It had been a long time since he had returned home, since he had left away from the coastal oases of his homeland and wandered; searching for whatever answers he could to the questions that swam around his head so carelessly. Now, as his fur went gray and many of his old adventuring friends departed from this life, he began to feel wistful and sentimental. He would return to his homeland for the first time since he had left to die in the place he was born.""Walking the colorful streets, past loud and adamant salespersons of all shapes and sizes manning exotic booths filled with strange foods, jewelries, alcohols, and toys. Some children ran past his knees, towards a booth selling spinning tops that floated in the air. The children stared in awe as they floated slowly to the ground and when they did picked them up and repeated the phenomena, trying to figure out how it could be happening. As he passed this, Do'Kazari grinned. Maybe he thought, even if he died, his spirit; and the spirits of all tabaxi before him; could live on, in the curiosity of these children. ' That would be nice.' He thought, as he slowly walked down the paths to his old and final home.'""- Jo'Baadbaari, The Spirit of the Tabaxi""Hailing from a strange and distant land, wandering tabaxi are catlike humanoids driven by curiosity to collect interesting artifacts, gather tales and stories, and lay eyes on all the world’s wonders. Ultimate travelers, the inquisitive tabaxi rarely stay in one place for long. Their innate nature pushes them to leave no secrets uncovered, no treasures or legends lost."

Wandering Outcasts
Most tabaxi remain in their distant homeland, content to dwell in tight clans, under the rule of their Sultan. These tabaxi hunt for food, craft goods, and largely keep to themselves.

However, not all tabaxi are satisfied with such a life. The Sun-Cat, the divine figure responsible for the creation of the tabaxi, gifts each of his children with one specific feline trait. Those tabaxi gifted with curiosity are compelled to wander far and wide. They seek out stories, artifacts, and lore. Those who survive this period of wanderlust return home in their elder years to share news of the outside world. In this manner, the tabaxi remain isolated but never ignorant of the world beyond their home.

Barterers of Lore
Tabaxi treasure knowledge rather than material things. A chest filled with gold coins might be useful to buy food or a coil of rope, but it’s not intrinsically interesting. In the tabaxi’s eyes, gathering wealth is like packing rations for a long trip. It’s important to survive in the world, but not worth fussing over.

Instead, tabaxi value knowledge and new experiences. Their ears perk up in a busy tavern, and they tease out stories with offers of food, drink, and coin. Tabaxi might walk away with empty purses, but they mull over the stories and rumors they collected like a miser counting coins.

Although material wealth holds little attraction for the tabaxi, they have an insatiable desire to find and inspect ancient relics, magical items, and other rare objects. Aside from the power such items might confer, a tabaxi takes great joy in unraveling the stories behind their creation and the history of their use.

Tabaxi of Maruxx are renowned for their mathematical skill, having created the first systemized study of algebra, development of the decimal place-value system to include fractions, and considerable advancements in geometry and trigonometry.

Fleeting Fancies
Wandering tabaxi are mercurial creatures, trading one obsession or passion for the next as the whim strikes. A tabaxi’s desire burns bright, but once met it disappears to be replaced with a new obsession. Objects remain intriguing only as long as they still hold secrets.

A tabaxi rogue could happily spend months plotting to steal a strange gem from a noble, only to trade it for passage on a ship or a week’s lodging after stealing it. The tabaxi might take extensive notes or memorize every facet of the gem before passing it on, but the gem holds no more allure once its secrets and nature have been laid bare.

Tinkers and Minstrels
Curiosity drives most of the tabaxi found outside their homeland, but not all of them become adventurers. Tabaxi who seek a safer path to satisfy their obsessions become wandering tinkers and minstrels.

These tabaxi work in small troupes, usually consisting of an elder, more experienced tabaxi who guides up to four young ones learning their way in the world. They travel in small, colorful wagons, moving from settlement to settlement. When they arrive, they set up a small stage in a public square where they sing, play instruments, tell stories, and offer exotic goods in trade for items that spark their interest. Tabaxi reluctantly accept gold, but they much prefer interesting objects or pieces of lore as payment.

These wanderers keep to civilized realms, preferring to bargain instead of pursuing more dangerous methods of sating their curiosity. However, they aren’t above a little discreet theft to get their claws on a particularly interesting item when an owner refuses to sell or trade it.

The Sun Cat
The deity of the tabaxi is a fickle entity, as befits the patron of cats. The tabaxi believe that the Sun Cat wanders over the world, watching over them and intervening in their affairs as needed. Clerics of the Sun Cat are rare and typically access the Trickery domain.

Tabaxi Names
The Tabaxi often, but not always, have either a prefix or a suffix, or sometimes both, as part of their name, usually separated by an apostrophe. The titles are typically meant to represent a part of their personality or traits. Some Tabaxi believe having both a prefix and suffix is a sign of arrogance and pride.

Titles: Dar (Thief), Do (Warrior), Dra (Wise), Dro (Grandparent), J / Ja / Ji (Youth), Jo / Ko (Wizard), La / Lo (Promiscuous), M / Ma (Child or Apprentice), Ra / Ri (Leader), S (Adult)

Male Names: Dato, Jhad, Shintah, Baadargo, Vashai, Minal, Sarba, Laknar, Bizalar, Rava

Female Names: Vahara, Matani, Fayna, Aza, Oonama, Zunala, Punabi, Tsanji, Shandi, Udarra

Commonized Names: Dusy-Claw, Fish-Smell, Moon-Seeker, Silver-Paws, Lowtail, Tender-Paws, Eats Spiders,  Sugar-Dancer, Ashen Fur, Twice Lucky

Tabaxi Personality
A tabaxi might have motivations and quirks much different from a dwarf or an elf with a similar background. You can use the following tables to customize your character in addition to the trait, ideal, bond, and flaw from your background.

The Tabaxi Obsession table can help hone your character’s goals. For extra fun, roll a new result every few days that pass in the campaign to reflect your ever-changing curiosity.

Tabaxi Obsessions Tabaxi Quirks

Tabaxi in Agutaris
Tabaxi hail from the desert land of Maruxx, living primarily on coastal oases. These Tabaxi are known for their trade and commerce as well as mathematical advancement; currently Maruxx is under the rule of the Serreveti Empire which unites the small coastal hamlets and villages with the bigger metropolitan trade cities. The consolidation of power in these previously solitary tribes is a result of Khemkan humans to the west declaring they have divine providence over the land and pushing eastward into Tabaxi lands.

Tabaxi Traits
Your tabaxi character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Age. Tabaxi have lifespans equivalent to humans.

Alignment. Tabaxi tend toward chaotic alignments, as they let impulse and fancy guide their decisions. They are rarely evil, with most of them driven by curiosity rather than greed or other dark impulses.

Size. Tabaxi are taller on average than humans and relatively slender. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You have a cat’s keen senses, especially in the dark. 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. Because of your claws, you have a climbing speed of 20 feet. In addition, 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.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.