Ubatsi

                                                       - Cumea Ground Soldier

Some narrative text about this race. Maybe lore. Maybe fluff. Maybe a little of both. Suspendisse quam sem, molestie at porta vel, consequat vitae arcu. Curabitur laoreet imperdiet dui euismod luctus. Cras tristique rhoncus nulla nec commodo. Praesent turpis erat, maximus at cursus ac, posuere ac metus. Sed ipsum nulla, lacinia eu pulvinar ut, tincidunt iaculis magna.

The Children of Ubatsi are creatures of magic and mystery resembling common house cats with the most noticable difference being their multiple tails and intelligent eyes. Some say they originate from the Feywild while others insist they are a spawn of the Shadowfell. They are regarded as little more than spies and manipulators.

The Ubasti themselves remain inscrutable on the subject of their origin; a fact which causes most people to regard them with suspicion at best and open hostility in some parts of the world. In truth, the ubatsi are among the oldest intelligent species in the multiverse. While they can be found in any plane of reality, finding permanent settlements of these mercurial beings is rare. The ubatsi seldom interact with other intelligent species or their gods. They prefer to observe and record the actions of those around them.

Uncommon Cats

Ubatsi are almost indistinguishable from the numerous varieties of common house cats. All ubatsi can be identified by the presence of multiple tails. They regard their tails as a blessing of the goddess Ubatsi, the creator of their kind. The number of tails is often but not always an indicator of an individual cat's talents or an omen about their fate. Some Poet's have remarked that the more tails a cat has the closer they are to the Goddess who possessed nine grand tails.

These unique creatures have several noteworthy physical characteristics beyond their tails. They have a primitive, though functional, opposable thumb. As such, they can manipulate objects with great precision and finesse. Unlike common cats, ubatsi are gifted with the ability to walk upright on their hind legs. It is uncommon for ubatsi to move as such on a regular basis. Most often, it is to facilitate the use of tools, weapons or other mundane objects.

These cats seldom wear clothing or armor as doing so would make them even more conspicuous to others. Since they make every effort to remain unseen or at least blend in to the regular world, they may choose to adorn themselves with a single article of clothing or accessory, seeing an Ubatsi dressed in the full outfit of another race is exceedingly rare.

Inscrutable Outsiders

Individual ubatsi personalities and attitudes are as diverse as those found among any of the other intelligent species in the multiverse. They are as likely to be aloof as they are excitable. Ubatsi have within them the same capacity for good as for evil. It is uncommon to find one of these cats wholly committed to extremes of alignment. The vast number of them are neutral towards most things. Much like their mundane counterparts, ubatsi are a mix of contrasts. They simply are.

Their attitude towards mundane house cats is that of both pity and shame. Ubatsi regard their common, single tailed cousins as the result of rituals enacted by enemies of the Goddess to subjugate and "tame" their kind. They see these poor souls as living ghosts. A painful reminder of countless attempts at genocide. Ubatsi can speak to cats using a series of gestures and sounds but only when absolutely necessary. To them it is a taboo akin to communicating with the dead - a task strictly reserved for the Nekomancers.

Their predisposition towards non-interference with others not of their kind to act as silent observers of the world has created an attitude of bemused detachment from other mortals. Ubatsi chronicle the events of the multiverse and return this information to their home world, known to them as The Welcoming Dark. It is here that ubatsi scholars analyze, hypothesize and scrutinize the motives of the outside world.

Between Shadow & Fae

How they slip between worlds. Arbiters of the conflict between the Faewild and the Shadowfell. Can move across the multiple worlds of 'Unknown Shores' with ease. (easier than sea elves) Here, we talk about how the ubatsi are creatures that are not entirely fae (or sylvan) nor are they beings of the Shadowfell. They come from a plane of eternal twilight that borders both of these reflective planes and how they are easily able to move between those planar borders. This section will also suggest why many people are distrustful of these cats, particularly after the Sylvan Plague and the appearance of the Corrupted. Here we will talk about their secretive nature and their normal avoidance with races other than their own.

Ut in purus sit amet nunc tincidunt condimentum. Curabitur felis enim, vulputate sed metus non, gravida tempus diam. Nullam in magna aliquet, suscipit diam in, fringilla magna. Nunc auctor lacinia pulvinar. Fusce imperdiet vitae turpis vestibulum volutpat. Sed a metus sit amet dolor tempus tristique. Donec auctor condimentum nunc eu malesuada. Nam hendrerit sollicitudin risus semper mollis. Quisque non felis lacus. Nullam semper risus sem, cursus viverra odio porttitor ornare.

Nam in ultrices tortor. Ut ac enim quis magna semper placerat feugiat sagittis enim. Cras non metus eget lectus tempor auctor. Suspendisse blandit in felis a tristique. Vivamus lacinia turpis nibh, eget elementum velit luctus a. Aliquam dignissim mollis elit, in molestie nulla molestie ut. In hac habitasse platea dictumst.

Feared & Revered

People of Unknown Shores don't like/trust them because they appeared at the same time the Sylvans and the Corrupted did. (Because those two are always in conflict.) They were always there but for whatever reason they no longer hid their presence.

Here we will discuss their ongoing dealings and subtle manipulation of the powers of the Faewild and the Shadowfell. Here we will also talk about how some races will hire ubatsi out as mercenaries, spies and courtiers. Since there is such an overwhelming sense of taboo regarding the art of necromancy in the known world, those people who wish to commune with or command the dead will often seek out the services of unscrupulous nekomancers so as not to dirty their hands with magic of the dead.

Ut in purus sit amet nunc tincidunt condimentum. Curabitur felis enim, vulputate sed metus non, gravida tempus diam. Nullam in magna aliquet, suscipit diam in, fringilla magna. Nunc auctor lacinia pulvinar. Fusce imperdiet vitae turpis vestibulum volutpat. Sed a metus sit amet dolor tempus tristique. Donec auctor condimentum nunc eu malesuada. Nam hendrerit sollicitudin risus semper mollis. Quisque non felis lacus. Nullam semper risus sem, cursus viverra odio porttitor ornare.

Nam in ultrices tortor. Ut ac enim quis magna semper placerat feugiat sagittis enim. Cras non metus eget lectus tempor auctor. Suspendisse blandit in felis a tristique. Vivamus lacinia turpis nibh, eget elementum velit luctus a. Aliquam dignissim mollis elit, in molestie nulla molestie ut. In hac habitasse platea dictumst.

The Spirit World

Here we will talk about the relationship these creatures have over the dead. Ghosts, spirits, etc. Their abilities are limited to the dead NOT the undead. Some ubatsi have the ability to practice a unique form of necromancy type magic. These cats are highly revered, outranking even the Poets in the social orders of the Ubatsi.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Duis in orci massa. Aenean consectetur, metus eu laoreet auctor, urna ex tincidunt metus, nec pulvinar ligula ligula et dolor. Sed malesuada ex dignissim, feugiat elit vel, cursus ante. Sed varius justo sed elit feugiat ornare. Nulla non volutpat quam. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nulla ac molestie magna, nec consectetur dui. Donec elementum quam quis consequat vulputate. Nam ac lobortis odio, eu dictum mi. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Curabitur ultricies, enim ac malesuada accumsan, tortor velit vestibulum nibh, eu luctus neque quam venenatis enim.

Death & Undeath

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Nekomancers

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Suspendisse potenti. Morbi euismod, odio a pulvinar malesuada, quam ante sagittis ipsum, vitae aliquet odio justo ac diam. Donec eleifend erat eget lectus auctor aliquam. Vivamus mollis sit amet erat ac egestas. Nulla egestas purus dui, eget lobortis lectus consectetur a. Nunc blandit ex a quam pretium efficitur in molestie tellus. Suspendisse vitae mi et lorem feugiat faucibus non quis mi. Cras ut nulla accumsan, tincidunt massa porta, posuere mauris. Aliquam nec magna mi. Duis dignissim euismod sapien. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Curabitur nisl ligula, venenatis sit amet risus non, facilisis rutrum odio. Nullam quis diam ligula.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Duis in orci massa. Aenean consectetur, metus eu laoreet auctor, urna ex tincidunt metus, nec pulvinar ligula ligula et dolor. Sed malesuada ex dignissim, feugiat elit vel, cursus ante. Sed varius justo sed elit feugiat ornare. Nulla non volutpat quam. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nulla ac molestie magna, nec consectetur dui. Donec elementum quam quis consequat vulputate. Nam ac lobortis odio, eu dictum mi. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Curabitur ultricies, enim ac malesuada accumsan, tortor velit vestibulum nibh, eu luctus neque quam venenatis enim.

Spirit Mediums

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The Welcoming Dark

Ever wondered how it is that cats can seem to be there one minute and gone the next? How it is that they can disappear for hours at a time in a room with nowhere to hide? Between worlds, outside of time, beyond the wit of any mortal species save other cats, lies the Welcoming Dark. Its presence is felt by all cats at all times, an ancestral home, a place of respite from the harshness of a world which treats animals so cruelly. The Welcoming Dark manifests itself differently for each cat who visits, swaddling them in the contents of their dreams and nourishing them in the fashion each cat requires. All cats are conscious of the presence of their brothers and sisters in the Welcoming Dark, but only as a vague ephemeral presence; a comforting reminder of the link they all share.

The Welcoming Dark functions in the same way as a Long Rest, restoring all lost hit points, and spent Hit Dice (up to a number of dice equal to half of the character’s total number of them).The cat must spend at least 8 hours in the Welcoming Dark, not undertaking any strenuous activities. A cat also cannot visit the Welcoming Dark more than once per 24-hour period and must possess at least 1 hit point at the start of its rest to gain its benefits. However, the Welcoming Dark is a physical space, a place apart. When a cat enters the Welcoming Dark, they are gone from the game world and cannot be attacked by any monsters or creatures near to where they previously were. They have entirely vanished and only return when the individual cat chooses. However, while the Welcoming Dark is safe from terrestrial threats, curious and dangerous things do lurk there. Each time a cat enters the Welcoming Dark, roll a d20.

Feline Abilities

How Did He Get Up There?: Moving with preternatural speed and grace, you scramble up sheer surfaces with ease. Reduce the difficulty of all climb tests by 2.

Gone!: No thanks, you're not sticking around to be smashed with a mace. You know how to stay safe and stay alive. When fleeing or escaping from combat, double your Base Speed.

Attention must be paid!: Are they ignoring you? Have they seen what you look like? Well, you'll soon put a stop to that. Add Proficiency bonus to all charisma checks

Skilled Hunter: You can follow your prey through any terrain, no one is getting away from you! Add +2 to all Tracking rolls

Like smoke: The enemy flails about them, trying to hit you. But you've already gone, like mist in a strong breeze. Whenever attempting to move past an enemy, or disengage from combat, you may avoid the first Attack Of Opportunity made by an enemy.

Flower Marked: Your distinctive patterned fur is actually highly effective camouflage, making you difficult to spot in the wilderness. You have advantage on all stealth rolls made in natural terrain, like a forest or a jungle.

Lands on Feet: You are incredibly agile, so much so that even falling from a great height seems to scarcely affect you. Whenever you take fall damage, it is halved.

Good Luck Cat: You're just lucky. You don't know why, but you are. Once per session, you may reroll one failed test.

Life in the Shadows: Twilight is your element, your colouring and lithe form making you almost impossible to track as the light dims. Whenever you are in partial or reduced light, you gain a +2 to all stealth roles.

Like a Wolf: As you shed your fur, you begin to resemble a vicious wolf, teeth bared and hungry for blood. You know how to use this appearance to your own ends! Whenever making an Intimidate check, you may use your proficiency bonus on top of any other modifiers.

Adaptation: You were born in freezing cold conditions, you're used to them, capable of putting up with anything. You are Resistant to Cold Damage.

Go Limp: You've spent a lot of time going limp and playing dead. You're eerily good at it, in fact, but you've learned something more while lying there, unmoving. When knocked Prone, you suffer no disadvantages to avoiding or evading attacks.

And... Push: Things need pushing! That’s what they're there for! Just give them a little nudge and see what happens! Whenever attempting to move a stationary object, you may add your Proficiency bonus to the roll.

Stubborn: You don't go down. You've been in a lot of fights and you don't like losing. You don't like doing anything unless you want to do it. When you're reduced to 0 hit points in combat, make a Constitution save. If you succeed, you are not knocked unconscious but remain standing, on 1 hit point. This ability can only be used once per combat.

Light Sleeper: You don't need much in the way of recovery time. You can get by in a way others can’t. When Short Resting, determine the number of hit points regained in the normal fashion (roll a Hit Dice and add the Constitution modifier), then add an additional +1d4 hit points to the total.

Slippery Customer: Someone with your dignity is, most assuredly, not going to be manhandled! Whenever an enemy attempts to grapple you, you make your opposing Dexterity roll at Advantage.

Nive Lives: Everyone knows that cats are too fast for death to catch. You make all death saves at advantage.

Ubasti Names

Grimalkins are given their names by their companions or adopted families. A grimalkin won't name another of their race because cats have no use for them. They may pick their own for the sake of convenience, but this is rare. A grimalkin's given name is a source of pride, a token of affection. It will keep it close to its heart for as long as it lives, with few exceptions. If the one who named it abandons, betrays, or abuses the grimalkin, it may discard it when it flees the relationship and take on whatever new one its next companion gives it.

Male and female names are only as distinct from each other as the one naming the grimalkin believes them to be, according to their own culture.

Male Names: Arsenio, Brutus, Don, Emrik, Kawan, Kano, Mako, Minos, Nado, Rex, Ryker, Squall, Thresh, Wade, Zale

Female Names: Adira, Brighid, Ebba, Gesa, Gilly, Lana, Maajida, Mako, Mazu, Nahla, Nakhti, Sedna, Velda, Zarya

Fleet Names: The Jaws of Sekolah, The Apex Armada,
The Briny Boomers, The Feeding Frenzy, The Great Gam, The Hunting Party, The Locker Jocks, The Shiverfins,
The Red Wake, The Reef Raiders, The Rising Tide

Language

Ubatsi is a tonal language of meowing, chattering, mrmering and purring that non-Ubatsi can learn to understand but find difficult, if not impossible to speak. Ubatsi may sound like cat vocalization to the untrained ear but it is a structured language and cannot be understood or spoken using spells or magical abilities that allow communication with beasts.

Alignment

To many a Felinian, achieving a greater sense of balance in one’s self as well as their world is the key to prosperity. To them, a sense of neutrality is the key to survival. In worlds that favor factions and feuding, they tend to not get involved. Any involvement is either in self defense or eradicating faction influence within their lands. That is not to say they won’t fight vigorously to uphold what they believe in. Ironically, they value exploring almost anything. While some would view their willing to indulge in something as hedonistic, Felinians typically view it as exploration. Upon gaining greater awareness, it’s common to form group meetings in response to their discovery. They are willing to trade in all sorts of sources of knowledge and many delights. To them, balance can be recognized when all senses are properly “awakened.” However, some view their philosophy as distasteful and self-serving.

Class Options

The following gives a brief overview of how the cat versions of the individual classes manifest themselves and provides a unique class feat. A player may elect to take this feat instead of one of the standard first level class feats.

Druid

The natural world flows through the Druid, awakening them to the ways in which the earth and the beings on it are a single organism, all one and inextricably connected. Cats, as predators, know this intimately; they know how deeply they rely on the creatures beneath them in the food chain for survival. Cat Druids are determined to protect the balance of nature, never letting their brethren take too much, preserving the precious equilibrium of the world that birthed them which they recognize as their duty to protect.

At 1st level, you may take the following ability as a bonus:

Wild Cat: You gain Nature as a starting skill, for free. This does not replace any of the other two skills you may take at first level.

At 6th level, you may take the following ability in place of the corresponding ability from your Druid Circle:

Cat Nap: You have drawn the essence of nature into yourself. Whenever you are in a natural environment, you gain the benefits of a long rest in half the normal time (that is, 4 hours, rather than 8).

At 14th level, you may take the following ability in place of the corresponding ability from your Druid Circle:

Nature’s Child: You move through the natural world with absolute ease; nothing obstructs you. You may cast the Freedom of Movement spell
at will.

Fighter

Resilience and discipline aren't always the characteristics expected of a cat, but they possess them along with courage and skill. These are the attributes a Fighter requires and must be prepared to bring to bear in the most ferocious of battles. Cat Fighters are renowned for their willingness to fling themselves into the most desperate conflicts, laying about them with deadly speed and accuracy, deflecting blows with ease, and withdrawing before being overwhelmed.

At 1st level, you may take the following Fighting Style, in place of the standard styles:

Artful: You are perfectly poised and exactly balanced when wielding a blade. Whenever using a weapon with the finesse quality, you gain a +2 to damage rolls with that weapon.

At 3rd level, you may take the following Martial Archetype in place of the standard Martial Archetypes:

Monk

Precision, grace, speed, flair... these are the traits commonly attributed to all cats, but only a few elevate them to something resembling a divine gift. Such is the Monk. A Cat Monk is agile in a way that leaves any witnesses to such celerity and nimbleness awed; gravity seems to relax its hold on the monk, allowing them to move faster than should be possible. Cat Monks form a deep bond with their mentors, learning much from them before their natural wanderlust takes hold and forces them to venture into the world. Such is the path they must follow.

At 1st level, in addition to the standard Monk abilities, you may also take the following ability:

Nothing in the Laws of Physics: When making a Dexterity test to overcome any difficult terrain or jump over a gap, you make the test at advantage.

At 5th level, you may take the following ability, in addition to your other abilities:

Between the Rain: You gain advantage on all Dexterity saves.

At 13th level, you may take the following Ki- empowered ability in place of Tongue of the Sun & Moon:

Paw Flurry: You can dash as a single action. Rather than have to move, and then move again as your second action, you can travel up to your full move as a single action.

Wizard

Even before Awakening, some cats appear to be deeply wise and sagacious; they watch the events of the world going on around them with the cynicism of those who have seen it all before. Such traits remain behind after Awakening and many who possess such characteristics become Wizards, learning to write the Feline tongue with paw and claw and nose, translating spells and grasping the basics of casting them until they become as competent and powerful as any spell casters of any species. Of course, Cat Wizards are still cats and are susceptible to the same foibles as any of their kin, like an affinity for bright lights and swatting them. Many Cat Wizards, however, have learned to use this to their advantage...

At 1st level, you may take the following ability along with your other starting abilities:

Hit the Lights!: A Cat Wizard may take Dancing Lights as an additional Cantrip.

At 10th level, you may take the following ability, replacing the ability of corresponding level from your School features:

Animal Friendship: You immediately add the spell Faithful Hound to your spell book, if it isn’t there already. You may cast this spell without expending a spell slot.

Divine Domain: Subtle

Religion is new amongst cats and still undefined. Amongst those who have devoted themselves to the worship of the recently discovered feline deities, many choose to embrace the path of the Ailurokin, the trio of gods called Urbaste, Tom O’Th’ Alley and the Old Striped Cat (amongst their many, many other names... what god only has the one?), believing this is the truest and most natural form of belief for their kind. The Subtle Domain emphasises the use of stealth, speed and wit to evade attacks and protect cats from danger. It is a domain of game playing, teasing, and highlights the mercurial nature of cats; loving one moment, suddenly distant and aloof the next. For the followers of the Ailurokin, this is all part of the game. Enemies are there to be played with, friends to be defended.

Credits

While this homebrew is meant to recreate the races of 'Monstress' there is also a fair amount of non-comic sources lore for the race(s) which has been filled in with lore from my own homebrew campaign setting. The character creation rules are a reshuffle of the ones recently released for Cats & Catacombs by Steamforge Games. There has also been a great deal of inspiration from the innumerable attempts to create a cat or cat like race from across the desolate wastes of the internet. Specific citations will be included here in the off chance I intentionally or unintentionally release a finished product to the world.

Yes, there is also a fair bit of Lorem Ipsum. Sorry.

Oh, also. If you're not already reading 'Monstress' you need to get to the nearest comic book store and get to it. It's amazing.