Catgirl, Desert (3.5e Race)

Desert Catgirl

There is a exception to every rule, and desert catgirls would be the sole exception to their race tendency to put their young on foster homes. They claim to be the only type of catgirl with a true culture and their own racial identity.

Personality

Desert catgirls are quite fond of strangers; they travel in small troupes much like the Halflings in other lands, and constantly move from an outpost to the next. Unlike the catgirls of other regions, desert catgirls don’t put their daughters and sons in foster homes, but instead trade them amongst themselves whenever they cross paths in their ever constant movements over the sands. Despite being tightly organized around the sole male of each troupe (which only sometimes is a member of their own race, as these are exceedingly rare), many a handsome traveller has found himself magnificently welcome and embraced by the troupe as a whole, at least until one of them becomes pregnant and the whole group simply picks up and leaves in the middle of the night.

Because of the rigid social structure within a troupe, desert catgirls don’t become adventurers with any sort of frequency, but the ones that grew up on foster homes have a unmatched wanderlust and take to the adventurer’s life with incredible ease.

Physical Description

Desert catgirls have little to no fur on their bronze coloured bodies, with long, flowing manes of headfur in all sorts of colours. Their clothing tends to be loose and light, and they wear just enough to keep the heat off during the day and the chill off at night. Many of them wear headgear that both protects them from the sun during the day and gives some warmth during the night.

Relations

Because of their fondness of strangers, they have a easy time getting along with most humanoid races, if desert catgirls living in foster homes are rare, and usually sent away only into the homes of those who have performed a great service to a troupe.

Meaningful Gestures: Catgirls in-character typically exhibit a more cat-like attitude, and may sometimes include cat gestures or sounds in communications. Thus, appropriate use of such will enrich the characterization of a Catgirl.

• Vocalizations
  • Purr - An expression of pleasure or comfort.
  • Hiss - An expression of displeasure or anger.
  • Snarl - An expression of aggression.
  • Low-pitch Growl - An expression warning. "You don't want this."
  • Strong Sigh - An expression of frustration in the form of a strong sigh or an exhaled snort.
  • Meow - Comes in a variety of sounds, with meanings of broad variation. Commonly used for communication with outside creatures, or when body language is not viable. The following examples are the most commonly used, and can vary from one breed to another.
    • "Greeting" Meow - A low meow or chirp, possibly with simultaneous purring; a happy hello.
    • "Attention" Meow - An expression of desire for attention.
    • "Hunger" Meow - An expression of desire for food.
    • "Outside" Meow - An expression of desire for fresh air. Usually an extended meow accompanied by a nose point.
    • Chirping Meow - An expression of predatory anticipation.
    • Chattery Meow - An expression of frustration.
    • Wailing Meow - An expression of distress. In older Catgirls it is a panicky repeated meow.
    • Caterwaul - A vocal exclamation of sexual heat. Rarely used in standard campaigns, but some Adult campaigns might find this applicable.
    • Insistent Meowing - An meow in response to another creature's vocalizations. Borders on conversational, except it's usually just repeating the same line. Used as a form of self-entertainment (when bored) and also for expressing insistence when they want something.
• Eye Gestures
  • Staring - Asserting and threatening. If visual eye-to-eye contact is made, this is seen as a return of the assertion. Blinking during this is a reassurance that there is no dispute. Breaking eye contact and looking away is a sign of respect. Avoiding even making eye contact is an attempt to avoid the conflict.
  • Fluttering Eyes - Expressing complacence, or just being in a sleepy mood.
  • Partially Closed Eyes - Expressing contentedness and trust. Comfortable and trusting enough of their company to sleep. Only holds this intended meaning when they're not actually asleep.
  • Fully Closed Eyes - Expressing full trust and/or contentedness. Comfortable and trusting enough of their company to sleep. Only holds this intended meaning when they're not actually asleep.
  • Slow Wink - Expressing contentedness.
  • Wide Pupils - Panic, uncertainty. (This goes for most races, but is still worthy of note.)
  • Narrow Pupils - calmness, certainty. (This goes for most races, but is also still worthy of note.)
• Ears
  • "Relaxed" Casual Ears - Ears pointed forward and outward slightly, listening passively.
  • Tilting Both Ears Forward "Alert Ears" - Signals focus & interest, possibly also curiosity.
  • Tilting Both Ears Backward - Signals aggression or fear, can also signal possessiveness.
  • Flattening Both Ears - Signals aggression and defensiveness. Flattening the ears protects them for the impending fight.
  • Twitching Ears - Signals agitation or anxiousness.
  • Rotating Ears - Listening in an attempt to find the source of a sound.
  • One Ear Forward, One Ear Back - Ambivalence.
  • "Pointing" With An Ear - Detects a sound in that direction. Seldom if ever used as an intentional signal by the character.
• Head
  • Head Rub/Head Bump/Nuzzle - A cheerful greeting. The reason for the contact from the Catgirl's point of view is to mingle and share scents to create a family atmosphere and environment.
  • Chin Rub/Chin Bump/Chin Nuzzle - Body language expressing territorial marking. "I like this, and this is Mine!" being the message.
  • Nose-to-nose Touch - A kiss.
  • Head Held Low - Aggressive posture.
  • Head Held Back - Reaction in displeasure.
  • Self Nose or Upper lip Lick - Natural tic expressing uncertainty, or reconsidering.
  • Mouth-open Sniff - Analyzing and savoring scent signals in the air. Seldom used by truly Domestic Catgirls, but usable by all for tracking.
  • Lips Retracted Bared Teeth - Full aggression.
  • Yawn - Indicates stress, ambivalence, and sometimes preparedness for action.
  • Gently Nibbling A Sleeper's Ear - An affectionate way a Catgirl can say "Wake up". Generally used only for those they consider close family.
  • Purring Nip - An expression of playfulness.
  • Nose Point - Expressing the direction of one's attention in a specific direction by "pointing" with the nose in that direction with a head swivel.
• Body
  • Body Rub/Body Bump/Body Nuzzle - A cheerful greeting. The reason for the contact from the Catgirl's point of view is to mingle and share scents to create a family atmosphere and environment.
  • Arched Back - A defensive or panicked stance. This is pre-fight Catgirl body language or a way of avoiding a full blown fight. It can be used as a confident or fearful expression. A confident Catgirl tries to appear larger. The Catgirl stretches her back legs fully and her back becomes arched.
  • "Direct Attack" Approach - An aggressive offensive approach.
  • "Sideways Attack" Approach - A defensive approach used for "Fight or Flight" mode, often used in tandem with the arched back for maximum effect.
  • Falling on Side - Indicates submission, can also be indicative of being unwilling to put up a fight.
  • Sprawling Out - Relaxation.
  • Roll Over - An invitation to physical contact.
  • Kneading - An expression of pleasure, comfort, gratitude. The act itself is also quite pleasurable for a Catgirl.
  • Flick/Tap Another's Nose - A punishment for bad behavior or generally something the Catgirl does not like.
  • Grooming - A familial treatment, expressing care for the beneficiary's hygiene.
  • "Paw" Shake - Expression of disgust.
• Tail
  • Tail Bristled - Expressing rage, anger, and/or panic.
  • Tail Hooked - Expressing uncertainty, but not feeling threatened.
  • Upright Tail - Friendly posture.
  • Upright Tail Quivering - Very pleased, possibly expectant.
  • Flicking of the Tail Tip - Used when acknowledging of an individual presence, but being currently occupied and not wanting to be interrupted.
  • Twitching Tail - Expressing alertness and interest.
  • Thrashing Tail - Expressing excitement or potential aggression.
  • Tail Swish - Expressive of a mental conflict or indecisiveness.
  • Tail Between Legs - Submissive posture.

Alignment

When they grow up on foster homes, catgirls tend to adopt the dominant alignment of the region they inhabit; otherwise, they tend more towards chaos than law, but are not especially disposed towards good or evil.

Lands

Because they are organized in troupes (or harems as the other races refer to them with a smirk) constantly travelling between civilized settlements, they don’t have lands of their own, and instead each troupe controls a “route” which is theirs alone, but that crosses those of other troupes in fixated locations so they can meet and trade with each other.

Language

To most folks, the language of catgirls would seem like little more than mewls and purrs, but in fact is an extremely rich language that accompanies every sound with a signifying gesture of ears or tail to denounce subtle variations of meaning. Written language usually accompanies every word with several symbols to imply deep, rich meanings after every word. Catgirls are always literate in their own language, even in regions where most of the population is illiterate.

Religion

Desert Catgirls sent to a foster home usually adopt the same religion of her foster parents, if any. Within their own troupes, they tend to follow deities of travel and nature.

Names

Catgirl names tend to be short, usually one or two syllables long, and then accompanied by a score of body language gestures. To properly translate a name into another language would require a much longer sobriquet than that any other race is prepared to remember.

Male names: Kurl, Mino, Mita, Sapa, Shy, Tello

Female names: Alua, Miiyau, Nina, Nuku, Priss, Pink

Racial Traits

• -2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma: A desert catgirl is small and not as strong or resilient as medium characters, but she is nimble and athletic and has a sharp intellect mixed with an outgoing personality.
• Humanoid (Feline, Shapechanger)
• Small: As small creature, a catgirl gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but she uses smaller weapons than humans use, and her lifting and carrying limits are three quarters of those of a medium character.
• Desert catgirl base land speed is 20 feet when walking upright and 30 when walking on all four. She also has a climbing speed of 20.
• Low Light Vision: A desert catgirl can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Skills: A catgirl receives a +4 racial bonus on any Bluff, Diplomacy and Sense Motive skill check, and a +8 racial bonus on Jump checks. A desert catgirl can always take a 10 on these skills, even if stress or distractions would normally prevent her from doing so.
• Alternate Form (Sp): A catgirl can change form, assuming that of a normal domestic cat (page 270 Monster Manual). This supernatural ability functions like the polymorph spell, except that you can change only into a domestic cat. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 plus your character level. Thus a 1st level catgirl can change into a domestic cat and back again in a single day. Changing form is a full round action that provokes and attack of opportunity.
• Immunity to Transformation (Ex): If a effect such as petrification or polymorphing affects a catgirl, she can choose to turn back into her normal form as a full round action, that provokes an attack of opportunity, at the beginning of her next turn, as long as she still has daily uses available of her Alternate Form ability.
• Heat Endurance: Desert catgirls have a +4 racial bonus on Fortitude saves made to resist the effects of hot weather.
• Automatic Languages: Feline and Common. Catgirls have their own language of sounds and body language that is impossible to understand without the capacity to hear higher length waves of sound, and impossible to speak without a set of flexible tail and ears. Catgirls in some regions also add the sound of accessories such as kitty bells, just to further enrich the sound of the language. Bonus Languages: Any. Catgirls mix with all kinds of folk and as such can learn any language found in an area.
• Favored Class: Bard. A multiclass catgirl bard class levels does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing. Desert Catgirls are people oriented, and the profession of Bard comes naturally to them.
• Level Adjustment: +1

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