The felinar are a race of intelligent tigers, found only on the remote island of Gyra in the continental region of Lotarus. They are primarily bipedal, but they often go down on all fours to stalk prey. While moving on all fours they are all but indistinguishable from a normal tiger (only a 10% chance of noticing the difference, and then only if the character has seen live tigers for him/herself). They are huge animals, towering over eight feet in some cases (84 + 3D6 inches, male and female). The average felinar will weigh well over five hundred pounds (550 + 1D6 x 10 lbs.). They rarely live to see 80 (60 + 2D8 years maximum).

PERSONALITY:

Felinar share most of the tiger's personality traits. They prefer to hunt alone, and will find adapting to a PC group difficult. A felinar will never share his or her territory with another predator. They are also quite fierce, willing to fight over what others would deem trivial matters. They prefer ambush to head-on attack, though they are rather good at both. Strategy is instinctive to the felinar. They are also highly individualistic and are difficult, if not impossible, to stereotype. Most are highly curious about the outside world but are not really willing to set foot off of their island.

LIFESTYLE:

Felinar spend their lives hunting dinosaurs and other large game in the jungles of their home. They come together only to mate, and to raise the children. A felinar has little interest in what transpired before their birth and so their history is largely unknown. Their primitive nature is deceiving, for they have mastered the art of forging steel. For them, there is no society, there is only the day-to-day concerns of hunting and defending one's territory.

TOOLS & TECHNOLOGY:

A few felinar (mostly the weak or elderly) make their living by trading goods and services for food and other goods. In this way, steel weapons are slowly distributed throughout their non-society. They favor weapons which can kill or maim with a single blow, but are just as likely to use claws and teeth as any weapon. Felinar are unable to use bows because their claws will cut the bowstrings.

When selecting armor, felinar favor leather or nothing. They do not like to use shields, as it prevents them from using the claws in their off hand. Felinar have a base AC of 7.

Gar'ukhh: (Damage 2D6/4D6, Speed 8, Type S) This broad, heavy sword has a single curved blade. It is too heavy and large to be properly wielded by anyone with a strength of less than 16. If the damage roll is 12 (small or medium) or 24 (large), or if the weapon lands a critical blow (double damage), then the victim must save vs. death or immediately die from the massive wounds. However, the weapon is so heavy it halves the character's normal attacks per melee (3/2 becomes 3/4, 2 becomes 1, etc.).

Carukkuh: (Damage 1D6/1D6, Speed 3, Type S) These are small metal claws which snap on over the felinar's normal claws. They can inflict more damage but require one melee to put them on. If the claws are retracted with carukkuh on, the carukkuh will fall off. It is impossible to grasp a weapon with these on.

Garruhh: (Damage 1D10/1D10, Speed 9, Type S, Range 1/2/3) This is a heavy axe with an inverted blade on both ends. They cannot be wielded by anyone with a strength of less than 16. Those with a strength of 18 or more can throw the garruhh up to 90 feet.

GAMING NOTES:

Attribute Adjustments: +2 Str and Con, +1 Dex, -2 Int and Cha, -1 Wis.

Special Abilities: Claws inflict 1D4 damage plus strength bonus, teeth inflict 1D10 damage (no bonus), hearing is twice as good as a human's, can track prey by scent 50% of the time, 120' nightvision (see below), regardless of class can Move Silently at 30% +3% per additional level (see below), get Hunting and Tracking proficiencies for free.

Special Disadvantages: Take damage as large creatures, too large to use most mounts, must spend all starting money or it is lost, must sleep for 10 hours per day instead of 8, must eat large quantities of food (see below).

A few things need to be clarified:

Nightvision: This is not infravision. It is not a magical ability by any means. It merely allows the felinar's eyes to amplify existing light to let them see in the dark, like a cat. The most important difference is that total darkness, such as what is found deep underground, renders the felinar just as blind as a human.

Move Silently: If I ever get the classes section up and running, you'll see that felinar get a +20% bonus to the Move Silently skill. If this bonus were added in to the base of 30%, then a first-level felinar fighter would have a 50% skill level. Instead, they have 30%, as listed; bonuses for a high dexterity are still applicable, but the racial bonus is not. Also, felinar thieves do not get the 30% base, but they are entitled to the racial bonus for this skill.

Feeding: Felinar must consume their weight in food every month just to stay alive. Assuming a 550 pound felinar (which is the base), that comes out to 18 pounds of meat per day, or 6 pounds of meat per meal. Which is a lot. Needless to say, keeping a felinar fed is a full-time job. Fortunately, they are capable of gorging themselves one day and then fasting up to a week.

Proficiencies: Animal Lore, Armorer, Blacksmithing, Carpentry, Fishing, Leatherworking, Mountaineering, Set Snares, Survival (Jungle), Swimming, Weaponsmithing.

Class Options: Fighter (No limit), Ranger (No limit), Cleric (Limit 8), Mage (Limit 8), Thief (Limit 10).

Note: As felinar are extremely rare, I suggest no more than 1 per group. If there are more than one, they should be connected in some way (i.e., both are escaped slaves owned by the same person, they are blood relatives, etc.). The DM is well within his rights to rule that there is no way a felinar could have made it to wherever the campaign is based.