Fantasy Races: Purrlings

Purrlings are second of the hybrid races I submitted for Little Red Goblin contest and they too earned honorable mention. Following version expands description, alternate traits, racial feats and adds more favored class options.

Purrlings

Occasional monkey-folk and catfolk dalliances led to birth of reckless and mischievous children. Purrlings are usually curious and skittish with other people viewing them as lazy pests — mostly because of their tendency to waste energy in frantic bursts of frivolous activity instead of honest work.

Physical Description: Purrlings are smaller and lighter than humans and covered with soft fur, usually some combination of two or more of black, white, grey, yellow and brown, either spotted or striped. Their slim, elongated bodies  mix feline and primate traits resembling humanoid meerkat, fossa, civet or lemure.

Society: Purrling society, small as it is, is very malleable — its hierarchies shifting from moment to moment with individual purrlings declaring themselves leaders on a whim with remaining purrlings following or ignoring those self-proclaimed princes, kings, queens and emperors as the fancy strikes them. Still, despite their capriciousness, or maybe because of it, purrlings are very social beings, preferring companionship to loneliness.

Relations: Many people consider purrlings little more than talking pets at best and burdensome pests at worst — their reckless and mischievous ways might be appalling to other folks but their frolics have an air of innocence and cheerfulness that makes other races tolerate them grudgingly.

Alignment and Religion: Purrlings seemingly innate inability to show respect and treat the world seriously extends even to deities — their worship and religious obediences are capricious and often driven by immediate needs. To others’ surprise purrlings have predisposition towards engaging in convoluted, abstract and often contradicting philosophies, though. Purrling mischievousness is often linked to their aptitude toward chaos, but they rarely verge into serious malice of evil alignment.

Adventurers: Purrlings are born adventurers. As long as by adventurer you mean nosy, erratic, vain, cowardly, and gluttonous troublemakers. They do make surprisingly good thieves and archers, though and their inclination for havoc makes them decent alchemists… As long as blowing things up is involved.

Purrlings Racial Traits

Ability Scores: +4 Dexterity, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma. Purrlings have superb agility and reflexes but they combine catfolk recklessness and vanara mischievousness.

Type: Purrlings are humanoids with catfolk and vanara subtypes.

Size: Purlings are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Normal Speed: Purrlings have a base speed of 30 feet.

Climb: Purrlings are efficient climbers with a climb speed of 20 feet and +8 racial bonus to Climb checks.

Fleet-Footed: Purrlings are not only agile but also very fast gaining Run as a bonus racial feat and +2 racial bonus to initiative checks.

Low-light Vision: Purrling can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.

Prehensile Tail: Purrlings bushy tail is long and flexible enough to carry objects and perform simple manipulations. Purrlings can’t wield weapons with their tails but they can retrieve small, stowed objects carried on them as a swift action.

Languages: Purrlings begin play speaking Common. Purrlings with high Intelligence scores can choose from Catfolk, Ratfolk, Sylvan, Tengu, and Vanara as bonus languages.

Purrling Alternate Racial Traits

The following racial traits can be selected in place of existing purrling traits.

Big Eyed: Some purrlings have enormous eyes that allow them to see in darkness but are vulnerable to bright lights. The purrling gains darkvision with 60 feet range and light sensitivity making them dazzled in bright light. Big eyed replace low-light vision.

Small Frame: Some purrlings are smaller than others having Small size instead of Medium. They gain +1 size bonus to attack rolls and AC, -1 size penalty to CMB and CMD and +4 size bonus to Stealth checks. This feature replaces their normal size.

Purrling Racial Feats

Purrlings have access to following feats:

Erratic Tail

Bushy tail can be surprisingly effective distraction in combat.

Prerequisite: Prehensile tail.

Benefit: You gain +2 bonus to Bluff checks made to feint or create diversion, +2 bonus to Sleight Of Hand checks made to entertain and +2 bonus to CMB to perform dirty combat maneuvers.

Retractable Claws

The purrling’s claws were hardened enough to be used as a weapon.

Prerequisite: Purrling.

Benefit: You can extend or retract claws with a swift action. While the claws are extended you can make two claw natural attacks dealing 1d4 points of damage each.

Tree-runner

Purrlings living all their lives on trees can climb with even greater speed.

Prerequisites: Purrling, Run feat.

Benefit: You can move on tree branches very fast using a run action while climbing and count all falling distances as if they were 20 feet lower.

Favored Class Options

The following options are available to all purrlings who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time the favored class reward is selected.

Alchemist: Add +1 foot to bomb range. In combat this option has no effect unless the alchemist has selected it five times (or another increment of five).

Barbarian: Add +1 foot to climb speed while wearing medium or lighter armor and carrying medium or lighter load. In combat this option has no effect unless the barbarian has selected it five times (or another increment of five).

Bard: Add +1 foot to the range of all bardic performances. In combat this option has no effect unless the bard has selected it five times (or another increment of five).

Cavalier: Add +1 foot to the cavalier’s mount speed. In combat this option has no effect unless the cavalier has selected it five times (or another increment of five).

Cleric: Add +1 foot to channel energy radius. In combat this option has no effect unless the cleric has selected it five times (or another increment of five).

Commander: Add +⅓ to the number of daily speech uses.

Druid: Add +1 foot to the land speed while wildshaped. In combat this option has no effect unless the druid has selected it five times (or another increment of five).

Fighter: Add +1 foot to base land speed while taking charge, run or withdraw actions. In combat this option has no effect unless the fighter has selected it five times (or another increment of five).

Inquisitor: Add +1 foot to base land speed while judgment is active. In combat this option has no effect unless the inquisitor has selected it five times (or another increment of five).

Magus: Add +¼ to caster level of all spells that grant the magus a new movement speed or increase existing one.

Metamorph: Add +1 foot to any one movement mode speed. Purrling metamorph can apply this bonus to different movement mode each level. In combat this option has no effect unless the metamorph has selected it five times (or another increment of five).

Monk: Add +⅙ to the monk’s AC bonus.

Oracle: Add +¼ to caster level of oracle spells and spell-like abilities with chaotic descriptor.

Paladin: Add+⅙ to divine grace saving throw bonus.

Ranger: Add +1 foot to base land and climb speeds while in any of the ranger’s favored terrains. In combat this option has no effect unless the ranger has selected it five times (or another increment of five).

Rogue: Add +½ bonus to initiative checks.

Sorcerer: Add +¼ to DC of concentration checks required to cast a spell while damaged or distracted by the purrling’s spell.

Summoner: Add +1 foot to speed of one movement type of the summoner’s eidolon (maximum +10 feet to single movement speed). In combat this option has no effect unless the summoner has selected it five times (or another increment of five).

Witch: Add +1 foot to all of the witch’s familiar movement speeds. In combat this option has no effect unless the witch has selected it five times (or another increment of five).

Wizard: Add +1 point to hardness and +5 hit points to the purrlings bonded object.