Kitjar (5e Race)

Kitjar

Physical Description

The kitjar are a race of anthropomorphic bipedal felines with broad shoulders, thin hips as well as oversized hands and feet. With most ranging between 7 to 9 feet, the kitjar are quite lean, but also extraordinarily nimble. Their sleek fur comes in varying shades of brown, orange and tawny and is noteworthy due to the strange markings along their arms, legs, and body. Their cat-like features include pointed ears and a long, fluffy tail. kitjar make great hunters due to their sharp claws, long teeth, and powerful legs. Their silted blue, yellow, green or amber eyes are accompanied to the dark. Their hair tends to be rather thick and appears in the colors brown, blond or ginger. kitjar are very spiritual and praise The Hunt’s Guidance, who is the oldest spirit of the kitjar. At the end of their 210 year lifespan, they serve their descendants as spirits until they are eventually reincarnated.

History

The origins of the kitjar begin with the tale of The Hunt’s Guidance and Sevrinfen. The Hunt’s Guidance is depicted as a female kitjar clad in hide armor and wielding a spear. The story details her encounter at Sevrinfen, which is a giant, lava filled crater said to be hundreds of feet deep that would erupt and destroy the entire world. The story comes to a close with The Hunt’s Guidance making the ultimate sacrifice by jumping down the hole to seal off the lava with her own body. Her sacrifice satisfied Sevrinfen, and so the lava at the bottom of the well was sealed off, thus protecting the world from presumed destruction. The Hunt’s Guidance still existed as a spirit and communicated with the living, offering them wisdom and advice. In return, the kitjar turned Sevrinfen into a grand monument honoring The Hunt’s Guidance and other fallen kitjar. The Hunt’s Guidance also became responsible for the creation of new life as well as reincarnating honorable spirits as young kitjar. They began to set up peaceful tribes in sunny, temperate environments. Many tribes began to hunt in forests, but lived by a certain code in terms of hunting in order to maintain a proper population among the forests. The Kitjar began to develop communication skills with animals, and so they began to pass on their teachings to other natural predators. As a result, many animals recognize kitjar as friends. Hunting is a rite of passage among kitjar. By the age of 100, many young kitjar have experienced their first hunt. Kitjar learn hunting from their mother or father as well as one of their deceased ancestors, who aids the hunt as a spirit providing wisdom and advice to the young hunter. Many kitjar are innately epic hunters. Among the kitjar, music and dance became popular, with traditional music utilizing horns and drums as well as chanting. Dance primarily focused on the beat of music, as stomping to the rhythm of a drum is one of the most noticeable elements in traditional dance. Traditional clothing for kitjar is mostly composed of the colors red, green, blue and purple with brown and black being used and background colors. Most clothing is made from tanned leather lined with fur. Unlike most races, kitjar don’t mourn death. Death is considered to be sacred among kitjar, as it marks the beginning of a new cycle. It is regarded as disrespectful to attempt to resuscitate a kitjar over the age of 2000.

Society

The kitjar are known to invest their trust in The Hunt’s Guidance and allow her to make laws and decisions on behalf of them. Some of the small tribes have chief shamans that aid the community as well as advocate on behalf of The Hunt’s Guidance. Chief shamans, as well as other shamans, are also the enforcers of the laws made by The Hunt’s Guidance. Sevrinfen, which means “Spirit’s Gateway” in Kiti, is a traditional resting place of deceased kitjar, and during nighttime, the spirits of fallen kitjar are visible. Righteous kitjar are cremated in order to release their spirits while the evil are buried, trapping their spirits for all of eternity. Barely any kitjar are buried. The kitjar respect many of the races that they meet and are quite respectful of their culture. As a result, many other races have come to respect the kitjar. Part of the reason is the kindness and hospitability the kitjar provide for travelers passing through their villages and tribes in addition to their efforts to stabilize the populations of various habitats. Kitjar do not have the strongest family orientation due to their spirituality and belief of everyone being brothers and sisters. Some kitjar are known to express themselves in different ways than the typical norms of other races. Theier choice of mates can be different as they will sometimes prefer a mate of the same gender or even from a different race. Famously, The Hunt’s Guidance is known to have had a female mate. One of the most famous festivals in kitjar culture is Fensoftur, which translates to “Spirits Gift” in Kiti. This holiday is celebrated by taking an item and giving it to Sevrinfen as a gift to the Spirits. In return, The Hunt’s Guidance offers a small blessing to young kitjar. Twins and triplets are very common making kitjar families quite large. Parents do not usually raise children on their own, but rather have a family friend aid in the nurturing of their young. One of the most noticeable qualities is their fierce protectiveness towards their companions. Most kitjar are willing to risk life and limb for those who are important to them. In addition, kitjar are also quite affectionate towards their companions. Kitjar are often encouraged to leave home so they can spread wisdom and kindness to the world around them. Most will find a group of travellers they come to like. Kitjar who have developed a bond with travelers will allow them to give them a nickname.

Kitjar Names

Kitjar have a given name as well as a surname. Given names can be masculine, feminine, or neutral. Male names tend to end in “-ar” or be monosyllabic, but never both. Male names never end in a vowel. Female kitjar names are always dissyllabic, meaning to have two syllables, and end in either “-ur”, “-ir” or “-a”. Female names tend to roll off the tongue a little more smoothly than male names. Neutral names end in either “-g” or a double consonant blend followed by the letter “i”. In addition, neutral names can be either monosyllabic or dissyllabic. Neutral names are used males and females as well as those who don’t feel as either gender.

Male: Agnar, Bard, Kitjar, Sven, Bier, Fur, Jorn, Skylar

Female: Svana, Beldir, Ignur, Thara, Eldir, Hildur, Myra

Neutral: Jarri, Kanig, Ming, Jormag, Svani, Ginni

Surnames differ between children and parents because of the way they are set up. The rule goes that one takes the name of their parent of the same gender and then attaches the corresponding suffix to the end. The suffixes are “-sokt”, meaning son, “-dornir”, meaning daughter, and “-kitn”, meaning child or kin. “-kitn” is used for any kitjar who are non-conforming. For example, a father could be named Sven Fursokt, but his son would take the surname Svensokt, since he would be the son of Sven. Married kitjar keep their own surnames.

Surnames: Furkitn, Kitjarsokt, Ignurdornir, Jarridornir, Biersokt, Ginnikitn, Myrakitn

Kitjar Traits

These fierce feline hunters make great enemies, but even greater allies.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2 and your Dexterity increases by 1.
Age. Kitjar live for a long time. Most are fully mature by the time they are 18 and then live until the age of 210. As kitjar get older, their fur naturally starts to whiten around the chin and the tip of their tail.
Alignment. Kitjar are naturally good, but some exceptions do exist. Many also tend towards being chaotic while others shift towards neutral.
Size. The kitjar are known to tower above most other races as most stand in at just under 7 feet to 9 and a half feet. In terms of weight, most fall in the range of 300 to 900 lb. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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.
Animal Tongue. You have the ability to communicate with animals. What the animals can say and understand is limited by their Intelligence. In addition, you have proficiency with Animal Handling.
Hunter's Weapon. You have a set of claws that deal 1d6 slashing damage in place of an unarmed strike. These claws also have the finesse property.
Cat's Athletics. With the inherent grace and speed of a feline, you are innately athletic. Your jump height and jump distance is doubled. In addition, if you spend one turn without moving, you can double your base speed for the next turn.
Languages. You are able to read, speak and write Common and Kiti. Kiti is a hard language to learn due to a large number of exceptions and letter blends. When Kiti is spoken by a kitjar, it sounds almost mesmerizing due to their naturally deep and cool voice. Kiti utilizes the Elvish script.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
6′ 6''	+3d12	300 lb.	× (2d8) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

Suggested Characteristics

When creating a kitjar character, you can use the following table of traits, ideals, bonds and flaws to help flesh out your character. Use these tables in addition to or in place of your background's characteristics.

d8	Personality Trait
1	I am extraordinarily empathetic, even towards those who are not worthy of it.
2	I’ll get stuck in a daydream for hours.
3	Everyone is always welcome into my home.
4	My friends know they can rely on me, no matter what.
5	I ask a lot of questions, especially pointless ones.
6	Nothing can shake me of my optimistic attitude.
7	Lightening the mood in tense situations is my specialty.
8	I have a bad habit of accidentally breaking things.

d6	Ideal
1	Honour. I live by my word, whatever it is. (Any)
2	Friendship. Material things come and go, break and rust. The friendships made last forever. (Good)
3	Purpose. All of us were put on this plane for a reason. (Any)
4	Determination. When I set my mind to something, it gets done, no matter what. (Lawful)
5	Diversity. It would be so boring if everyone was exactly the same. (Chaotic)
6	Respect. Everything deserves to be treated kindly and given the right to grow. (Good)

d6	Bond
1	I trust The Hunt’s Guidance to never lead me astray.
2	A traveler once gave me sage advice. I’d be traveling a very different path had I ignored it.
3	I wouldn’t have gotten through some tough times if not for my animal companion.
4	Nothing matters more than my twin.
5	A spirit once taught me one of my extraordinary talents.
6	I make it my duty to provide for those who cannot provide for themselves.

d6	Flaw
1	I give my trust too easily.
2	The small things always get to me quickly.
3	Sometimes I get too shy and can’t say what needs to be said.
4	I’m overly empathetic and always looking to solve everyone’s problems but my own.
5	I’m only able to think in the moment.
6	I’d rather surround myself with animals than with people.

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