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A feline humanoid, mostly human in appearance, with short fur, catlike eyes, fangs, small claws, and dramatically pointed ears, looking like elf ears.
Physiology: Felinari are basically humanoid felines, with some significant differences. They have deeper chests than humans do because they, having two sets of lungs, a smaller set, wrapped around the heart, for speaking, and a larger set, wrapped around the stomach, for roaring, need the extra space. The roars produced by the secondary lungs are just as loud as those produced by regular big cats, making them an effective, yet primitive, means of long-distance communication. The roaring lungs have only rudimentary vocal chords, making it possible to both roar and purr. They possess retractable claws and a short, thick coat of fur, at it's longest on the torso, shortening as it goes down their limbs, a fuzz on their heads, the backs of their hands, and the tops of their feet, no fur at all on the palms of their hands or the soles of their feet. You can easily tell what clan a Felinari belongs to by his or her coat pattern. The fur is the reason they can't swim, as it soaks up water and gets heavy at an amazing rate, and dislike being wet, as wet fur is smelly fur, so they polymorph to human or elf in order to bathe. They do have hair, both genders, and take a lot of pride in it, wearing it long and wild with various beads, feathers, and whatnot braided into it. Their ears are elf-like and very mobile, serving as an indicator of the Felinari's emotional state and, sometimes, the ears can be folded in on themselves to serve as impromptu earplugs. The only clans that tolerate (and, in fact, prefer) the cold are Snowcat, Snow Leopard, Clouded Leopard, and White Tiger, and they're considered rather demented by the heat-preferring clans, the opinion being mutual. They can, and do, eat plants, but they don't digest them as well as they do meat, and they don't get any nutrients from them. In short, a vegetarian Felinari is one self-sentenced to death by malnutrition, which is why the human and demi-human habit of vegetarianism is totally incomprehensible to them. You will not find an ugly, overweight (any Felinari with a big belly will be a pregnant female), or malformed Felinari (although throwbacks (enhanced feline traits, up to and including a wemic-like appearance) are common, none of them are 'malformed'), most non-magical diseases don't affect them, and their toughness, courage, and sheer stubbornness makes them very hard to kill, another point of pride. Felinari also have nearly 20/20 night vision and sometimes don't even realize it's dark.
Psychology They have a developed (but still free-spirited) code of honor, and no Felinari will ever lie unless it is the only way. They are a race of hunters, craftspeople, and warriors, and no Felinari will eat anything they can hold a conversation with. They love deeply, powerfully, much, and often. Love, in fact, radiates subtly (less subtly when around someone they care about) from them and motivates just about everything they do. Most of the reason they don't like the Drow (although any found in their lands will be given the benefit of the doubt until they prove their ill intentions, as Felinari don't believe in judging by race or skin color alone) is that the concepts of gender inequality, lovelessness, familial in-fighting, a cruel and capricious goddess that does not and never has acted for the greatest good, and a parent not only refusing to fight for their children but actively *slaying* them, while a real and solid part of Drow life, are totally alien, and completely anathema, to Felinari, and slavery, the backbone of Drow society is, in Felinari eyes, the greatest wrong. Any driders the Felinari find will be killed, mostly out of pity and a desire to put the wretched creatures out of their misery, 'mercy killing' being not unknown. No Felinari, with the exception of non-mage healers, bothers to learn more than basic anatomy, taking the viewpoint that 'As long as my body does what I need it to do, I need not ask how it does it'. They're un-diplomatic, being blunt, direct, often tempery, and having no truck with titles or 'all that political dancing about'. They're stubborn as mules, prefer barter over purchase, are strongly individualistic (feeling deeply sorry for races with no sense of self), and pretty all-around friendly, if short-tempered and somewhat feral. They are, however, trained to fight as soon as they can walk. There is only one way to get killed instantly around any Felinari, especially a female: threaten or hurt a child. That will immediately send any true Felinari berserk. They have a huge racial 'parental/ protective' instinct towards children, especially, but not limited to, their own, and none of them can bear seeing a child hurt. This protective instinct also encompasses lifemates and family, and they would cheerfully die to keep a family member or a bond, either soul- or heart-bond, from harm. Twins and triplets have an even stronger bond, and they would even defy their lifemates if their twin or triplet were in danger. They also *hate* slavery (as they, at the beginning of their history, were once a slave race and have a strong racial memory.. the worst thing you can call a Felinari, which will get you killed if it's found you knew what you were calling them, is 'mia'cova', or 'my owner') and magical gene-meddlers (as they were changed from regular big cats by a group of mad bio-mages). Three things they lack the mental 'wiring' for are jealousy, racism, and greed. ,Physiology: Felinari are basically humanoid felines, with some significant differences. They have deeper chests than humans do because they, having two sets of lungs, a smaller set, wrapped around the heart, for speaking, and a larger set, wrapped around the stomach, for roaring, need the extra space. The roars produced by the secondary lungs are just as loud as those produced by regular big cats, making them an effective, yet primitive, means of long-distance communication. The roaring lungs have only rudimentary vocal chords, making it possible to both roar and purr. They possess retractable claws and a short, thick coat of fur, at it's longest on the torso, shortening as it goes down their limbs, a fuzz on their heads, the backs of their hands, and the tops of their feet, no fur at all on the palms of their hands or the soles of their feet. You can easily tell what clan a Felinari belongs to by his or her coat pattern. The fur is the reason they can't swim, as it soaks up water and gets heavy at an amazing rate, and dislike being wet, as wet fur is smelly fur, so they polymorph to human or elf in order to bathe. They do have hair, both genders, and take a lot of pride in it, wearing it long and wild with various beads, feathers, and whatnot braided into it. Their ears are elf-like and very mobile, serving as an indicator of the Felinari's emotional state and, sometimes, the ears can be folded in on themselves to serve as impromptu earplugs. The only clans that tolerate (and, in fact, prefer) the cold are Snowcat, Snow Leopard, Clouded Leopard, and White Tiger, and they're considered rather demented by the heat-preferring clans, the opinion being mutual. They can, and do, eat plants, but they don't digest them as well as they do meat, and they don't get any nutrients from them. In short, a vegetarian Felinari is one self-sentenced to death by malnutrition, which is why the human and demi-human habit of vegetarianism is totally incomprehensible to them. You will not find an ugly, overweight (any Felinari with a big belly will be a pregnant female), or malformed Felinari (although throwbacks (enhanced feline traits, up to and including a wemic-like appearance) are common, none of them are 'malformed'), most non-magical diseases don't affect them, and their toughness, courage, and sheer stubbornness makes them very hard to kill, another point of pride. Felinari also have nearly 20/20 night vision and sometimes don't even realize it's dark.
Psychology They have a developed (but still free-spirited) code of honor, and no Felinari will ever lie unless it is the only way. They are a race of hunters, craftspeople, and warriors, and no Felinari will eat anything they can hold a conversation with. They love deeply, powerfully, much, and often. Love, in fact, radiates subtly (less subtly when around someone they care about) from them and motivates just about everything they do. Most of the reason they don't like the Drow (although any found in their lands will be given the benefit of the doubt until they prove their ill intentions, as Felinari don't believe in judging by race or skin color alone) is that the concepts of gender inequality, lovelessness, familial in-fighting, a cruel and capricious goddess that does not and never has acted for the greatest good, and a parent not only refusing to fight for their children but actively *slaying* them, while a real and solid part of Drow life, are totally alien, and completely anathema, to Felinari, and slavery, the backbone of Drow society is, in Felinari eyes, the greatest wrong. Any driders the Felinari find will be killed, mostly out of pity and a desire to put the wretched creatures out of their misery, 'mercy killing' being not unknown. No Felinari, with the exception of non-mage healers, bothers to learn more than basic anatomy, taking the viewpoint that 'As long as my body does what I need it to do, I need not ask how it does it'. They're un-diplomatic, being blunt, direct, often tempery, and having no truck with titles or 'all that political dancing about'. They're stubborn as mules, prefer barter over purchase, are strongly individualistic (feeling deeply sorry for races with no sense of self), and pretty all-around friendly, if short-tempered and somewhat feral. They are, however, trained to fight as soon as they can walk. There is only one way to get killed instantly around any Felinari, especially a female: threaten or hurt a child. That will immediately send any true Felinari berserk. They have a huge racial 'parental/ protective' instinct towards children, especially, but not limited to, their own, and none of them can bear seeing a child hurt. This protective instinct also encompasses lifemates and family, and they would cheerfully die to keep a family member or a bond, either soul- or heart-bond, from harm. Twins and triplets have an even stronger bond, and they would even defy their lifemates if their twin or triplet were in danger. They also *hate* slavery (as they, at the beginning of their history, were once a slave race and have a strong racial memory.. the worst thing you can call a Felinari, which will get you killed if it's found you knew what you were calling them, is 'mia'cova', or 'my owner') and magical gene-meddlers (as they were changed from regular big cats by a group of mad bio-mages). Three things they lack the mental 'wiring' for are jealousy, racism, and greed.
Combat
Felinari have a fighting style that meshes sword-swinging wrath with bare-hand acrobatics. The first thing they'll do in combat, especially if they're angry, is to roar and leap at their foe in an attempt to tear their throat out. Should that fail, they slash with their claws, then back up, pull whatever blade they happen to have on them, and charge anew, blade swinging. They're brilliant swordsbeings, but their tempers sometimes get the best of them. Archers will, if possible, attempt to get up in a tree to shoot, whereas the (rare) spell-casters will just attempt to get some distance. When caught weaponless, they employ teeth, claws, fists, kicks, and throws, preferring to grapple if at all possible.
Pounce (Ex): When a creature with this special attack makes a charge, it can follow with a full attack
including rake attacks if the creature also has the rake ability.
Rake (Ex): A creature with this special attack gains extra natural attacks when it grapples its foe. Normally, a monster can attack with only one of its natural weapons while grappling, but a monster with the rake ability usually gains two additional claw attacks that it can use only against a grappled foe. Rake attacks are not subject to the usual –4 penalty for attacking with a natural weapon in a grapple.A monster with the rake ability must begin its turn grappling to use its rakeit can’t begin a grapple and rake in the same turn.
Sonic Attacks (Su): Unless otherwise noted, a sonic attack follows the rules for spreads. The range of the spread is measured from the creature using the sonic attack. Once a sonic attack has taken effect, deafening the subject or stopping its ears does not end the effect. Stopping one’s ears ahead of time allows opponents to avoid having to make saving throws against mind-affecting sonic attacks, but not other kinds of sonic attacks (such as those that deal damage). Stopping one’s ears is a full-round action and requires wax or other soundproof material to stuff into the ears.
Alternate Form (Su): A creature with this special quality has the ability to assume one or more specific alternate forms. This ability works much like the polymorph spell, except that the creature is limited to the forms specified, and does not regain any hit points for changing its form. Assuming an alternate form results in the following changes to the creature: The creature retains the type and subtype of its original form. It gains the size of its new form. The creature loses the natural weapons, natural armor, movement modes, and extraordinary special attacks of its original form. The creature gains the natural weapons, natural armor, movement modes, and extraordinary special attacks of its new form. The creature retains the special qualities of its original form. It does not gain any special qualities of its new form. The creature retains the spell-like abilities and supernatural attacks of its old form (except for breath weapons and gaze attacks). It does not gain the spell-like abilities or supernatural attacks of its new form. The creature gains the physical ability scores (Str, Dex, Con) of its new form. It retains the mental ability scores (Int, Wis, Cha) of its original form. The creature retains its hit points and save bonuses, although its save modifiers may change due to a change in ability scores. The creature retains any spellcasting ability it had in its original form, although it must be able to speak intelligibly to cast spells with verbal components and it must have humanlike hands to cast spells with somatic components. The creature is effectively camouflaged as a creature of its new form, and it gains a +10 bonus on Disguise checks if it uses this ability to create a disguise.
Fast Healing (Ex): A creature with the fast healing special quality regains hit points at an exceptionally fast rate, usually 1 or more hit points per round, as given in the creature’s entry. Except where noted here, fast healing is just like natural healing. Fast healing does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation, and it does not allow a creature to regrow lost body parts. Unless otherwise stated, it does not allow lost body parts to be reattached.
Low-Light Vision (Ex): A creature with low-light vision can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of shadowy illumination. It retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
Scent (Ex): This special quality allows a creature to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights.The creature can detect opponents within 30 feet by sense of smell. If the opponent is upwind, the range increases to 60 feet; if downwind, it drops to 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at triple normal range.When a creature detects a scent, the exact location of the source is not revealedonly its presence somewhere within range. The creature can take a move action to note the direction of the scent.Whenever the creature comes within 5 feet of the source, the creature pinpoints the source’s location.A creature with the Track feat and the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Wisdom (or Survival) check to find or follow a track. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10 (no matter what kind of surface holds the scent). This DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry’s odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. The ability otherwise follows the rules for the Track feat. Creatures tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.
Society
With the exception of the nomadic Sandcat clan, Felinari will be found in villages of huts made from willow withes and pounded earth (they have a great respect for nature and will not cut down a tree unless they must). Their language (which they call Mawari) has three dialects: High Mawari, which sounds Elvish, Middle Mawari, their conversational speech, cheerful, slangy, and informal with plenty of r's, f's, s's, and th's, and Low Mawari, basically just guttural, hissed curses. Most of them speak accented Common, but a lot of Lower Mawari doesn't translate into Common, which most humans in contact with Felinari consider a blessing, but it's still obviously both vitriolic and obscene. They're a cheerful, energetic, exuberant people who love parties (and can find any excuse for one), festivals (they have a lot of organized festivals but will sometimes start one up just for fun), sword-dancing (just about all Felinari adults can do it at least fairly well), jokes, games, pranks, and laughter, are willing to share what they have(even their life- or love-mates, much to non-Felinari friends' surprise), have little patience for rote memorization or too many rules, and view music and dance as the 'universal language', but they can, and do, fight with berserk ferocity when necessary, although they're very accepting of strangers and hospitable, taking the 'friends until proven enemies' standpoint. The main concept that lies at the heart of what it means to be Felinari is 'Be who you are, do what you want, and say what you feel, because if it doesn't hurt anyone, even yourself, there's nothing wrong with it.' Unsurprisingly, they get along famously with elves. They're very physically affectionate, having very few taboos when it comes to sex (their teasing is *rife* with flirtation and innuendo), a love of giving and getting hugs, and very little in the way of physical modesty. They're also a race of blade-users.. a Felinari is to a sword or knife what an Elf is to a bow. They have a wide-ranging pantheon of gods, lead by an All-Father, whose name translates into Common as Father Universe, and an All-Mother, whose name translates into Common as Mother Flame. They wear very little, both genders wearing a loose, knee-length 'skirt' of hide strips held up with a broad belt, and the females adding a patterned cloth breast band, but they are hugely fond of jewelery, attaching no material value to it but liking it for its shine. When hunting or adventuring, they tend towards earth tones, but in their own villages, especially on feast days, they've never met a color they didn't like.
This creature has not yet been play tested.
This is not a kender type creature.
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