Create-a-Culture Entry - Felinians

Felinians are furred, catlike humanoids. They have four-fingered (three fingers with an opposable thumb) hands at the ends of their long arms, and their digits end in sharp, retractable claws. Surrounded by a thick mane, their faces are catlike, their eyes a mixture of human and feline with slit pupils set above feline muzzles. They have narrow mouths filled with small, sharply pointed teeth and two extended canines. They are about equal in height to humans, but tend to average about 35 pounds lighter. Their ears sit atop their heads, like those of a cat, and this gives them the ability to detect sounds that others may miss. Most often, only the uppermost portion of the ears can be seen above the mane. Their legs are those of a human, though they have only four toes (also equipped with retractable claws). The average life span of a felinian is about 25-30 years.

Eye color varies, but most felinians have green, blue, or gray eyes. Their bodies are covered in a soft, downy fur, the coloring of which varies widely and with breed. It is very unusual for a felinian to have a coat of only a single hue. The fur on their heads and necks tends to be thicker and longer, and usually begins to form a mane of sorts as the felinian reaches adulthood (about age 5). Felinian fur is also slightly thicker in the pubic region. Felinians have little modesty and seldom wear clothing.

Most felinians are born with a tail, but many are not. If present, this appendage is not prehensile and is not strong enough to be used in combat. The loss of the tail has little effect on the felinian, and some prides bob the tails of their young in a religious rite as a mark of passage. For those who have them, the tail is a great source of pride and is usually lavishly cared for, often braided and well brushed.

Felinians are quiet and peaceful and tend to keep largely to themselves. They do not necessarily shun contact with other races, but their natural shyness is difficult to overcome. Once befriended, however, a felinian is fiercely loyal, ready to give his or her life for a companion. In battle, they are very nearly fearless, often willingly giving in to what they term the "blood fever," a sort of berserk rage that overwhelms them in times of emotional trauma. As a whole, the race is a peace-loving folk, but they can fiercely and viciously defend themselves or those in their care.

Felinian tribes (called "prides") tend to live in areas with little human habitation. In fact, they prefer to live separate from other races, though they regularly establish trade with other cultures. The reasoning behind this is not that they consider themselves superior, but rather that their shyness makes it difficult for them to interact and associate with other beings. Among some humans, they have developed an undeserved reputation as dangerous monsters or beast-men.

Humans speculate that the felinians are descended from the great cats, perhaps through a whim of the gods or through magical intervention. The felinians themselves scoff at these theories and often become very offended by the merest suggestion that this might be true. The surest way to anger a felinian is to call him or her a "felinoid," a term that makes a reference to this theory.

Felinians generally think of themselves as an offshoot of the elven race adapted to living in a variety of environments. The fur of a felinian provides some protection from excessively cold temperatures, and they suffers no ill effects from natural temperatures down to -20 degrees F. The fur is also designed to provide natural cooling, so they do not suffer in extremes of heat any more than a normal human does. They lack sweat glands, and a felinian in regions of extreme heat will pant to cool off. Contrary to human opinion, felinians have no objections to water and many are proficient swimmers. They bathe as most humanoids do, not in the manner of cats.

As noted above, felinian society includes no taboos against nudity. Felinians view nudity as a natural state of being, and the only reason an individual might wear clothing is for protection or for the convenience of pockets. Nudity in felinian society is not automatically connected with sex, and, in fact, an individual would likely be shocked to learn his state of nakedness was causing a reaction or embarrassment among other people. Felinians who spend a lot of time in other societies usually adapt to cultural standards regarding the wearing of clothes. Even so, they typically modify such to provide for their tails and clawed feet (most often cutting the toes out of any footwear).

Felinians are an omnivorous race, existing primarily as carnivores, but supplementing their diets with fruits and vegetables. Though uncommon, it is not unheard of for a felinian to become strictly herbivorous. In any case, they view cannibalism as grotesque, and find the thought of eating the flesh of a sentient being repulsive. They generally cook their food, though they can and do also eat it raw. Herbs are often used to add flavor and spice to meals.

Felinians are a tree-dwelling race, often building lavish tree houses. A felinian village usually consists of buildings built on raised platforms between 25 and several hundred feet off the ground. Branches thick enough to support the weight of several large humans span the gaps between platforms, though sometimes rope and plank bridges are built to serve the same purpose. As all felinians are proficient climbers and jumpers, most villages do not have ladders or methods of access for ground-dwellers, though those towns located on trade routes often provide ground-level buildings and rope ladders for such purposes.

Because they have limited contact with other cultures, most felinians speak only their native tongue. Those that come from a trading village may also know key words in local languages used by nearby cultures. Seldom, however, does a felinian take the time to learn a new language completely. Felinians do not have a written language, and all history is maintained through oral tradition. Every pride has one felinian whose responsibility is to keep the history of the pride and teach it to apprentices.

All felinians are excellent climbers and jumpers, scaling trees (thanks to their retractable claws) as easily as any squirrel and making great leaps from branch to branch. They have excellent directional hearing and can rotate their ears to better pinpoint where a sound comes from (just as cats do). The design of the felinian ear also makes it easy for them to detect sounds that would be inaudible to other species. Conversely, they find loud noises bothersome and even painful.

All felinians possess the ability to see twice as far as a human under conditions of low-light. In complete darkness, a felinian is just as blind as a human (though their heightened hearing helps considerably). Like cats, they also have nictitating membranes to protect their eyes from excessively bright light or foreign substances such as dirt or moisture. Felinians do not like bright light (such as strong sunlight), but they are not hampered by it. Their pupils contract to shut out excessive light just as do humans.

Felinians are susceptible to a condition they call the “blood fever,” a rage which builds in them when they become angered or enraged. They have little control over this state, though it can be supressed with a supreme act of willpower. While in the fever, a felinian has little control over his actions and may attack friends or allies if they get too close. When the rage begins, the character's eyes begin to glow a deep green, his fangs lengthen, and a low growl issues forth from his throat.

Every few generations, a female felinian is born with unblemished, snow-white fur, the sign of a healer. Always female, healers are rare and are always the descendents of established healers. Felinian healers are well respected by the rest of their race, and the birth of a potential healer is seen as a good omen for the pride.

The power of a healer is empathic in nature. By touching a victim’s wounds, a healer can take those wounds onto herself and then heal the damage at an accelerated rate. The wounds of the victim heal over, even as wounds appear on the body of the healer in the exact same location. This ability is not limited in scope, and can even be used on animals or other races. Once transferred, the wounds must be permitted to heal naturally. No form of magical healing can affect the process.

A healer can also exchange her life force for another, though this is rarely done. Even among members of the same pride, a healer will rarely sacrifice herself for another, and it is almost unheard of for an outsider to be revived in this manner. The process requires a lengthy ritual, and there is no guarantee that it will be successful (the victim may reject the healer’s life force). The subject cannot have been dead for more than 24 hours, and even if they recover, they can still be affected by poisons or diseases that remain within their body. If the ritual is a success, the subject gains some of the healer’s memories (though none of her powers) and is restored to life, while the healer dies, having sacrificed her own life for that of the subject. If it fails, the healer’s life force returns to her body, leaving her weak, but otherwise unharmed.

Felinians are not an overtly religious culture, and do not revere a supreme being or beings. They tend to be very practical and down-to-earth, which sometimes comes across as unintentionally insulting. Where a human might say, “The gods have granted us a fine feast,” a felinian is likely to counter with the comment that nature provided the feast, not the gods. On occasion, a felinian living among other cultures may adopt the religious attitudes of that culture, but this is rare.