Also known as catfolk or beast men, tabaxi are among some of the more unique species found in the New World. They are are commonly identified as humanoid creature with the fur, claws, face and tail of a cat, but unbeknownst to outsiders, there is a lot more to the race than meets the eye.   Tabaxi tend to be adventurous and impulsive, eager to chase after the next big thing that captures their attention and dropping it entirely at a moments notice. They tend to be quite secretive towards other non catfolk, but on quiet can be seen staring intently at the moon. They are native to the island of Heartis.  

Subspecies

  Tabaxi are among the most diverse species on the New World. So much so that many assume the various types of tabaxi are different species entirely, a fact which amuses many tabaxi.  

New Moon Tabaxi

At a glance, you might assume a New Moon Tabaxi is in fact, just a normal cat. Born with the least of the moon's influence, New Moon Tabaxi are the smallest and least bestial of the tabaxi races. There are only a scant few telltale signs that separate them from a normal housecat. The digits on their paws are slightly longer, not quite paws and yet not quite the full opposable hands of their larger counterparts. They are also slightly larger than a house cat on average, with the largest ones being the size of a retriever dog. And finally, the fact that they are fully capable of speech.   Despite their diminutive size, New Moon Tabaxi are well respected in tabaxi cultures. Their distance from the moon's influence grants them a clarity of thought not shared by other tabaxi. Such is the clarity that New Moon Tabaxi are sometimes able to see things that others can not - the past, the present, and sometimes the future. Since the New Moon is the shortest lunar phase, they are also among the rarer forms of tabaxi.  

Crescent Moon Tabaxi

  What most people think of when they hear 'tabaxi'. Ranging from 3 to 7 feet tall, Crescent Moon Tabaxi are lithe and thin, but also the most human looking of the tabaxi. Like the New Moon tabaxi, they embody the catlike curiosity and capriciousness of their cat ancestors. These are also the most common tabaxi and the most likely to leave their homeland, further leading to the confusion that they are the only form of tabaxi.  

Half Moon Tabaxi

  Sometimes referred to by outsiders as Leonin, Half Moon tabaxi are humanoid similar to the crescent moon, but with more of the moon's primal nature. They are larger, ranging from 6 to 8 feet tall, broader and more muscular. They less resemble normal housecats and more large predatory cats like tigers and lions.   Half-moon tabaxi share the curiosity and capriciousness of their Kin but tend to be more reserved and disciplined. The moon's influence on their blood drives them to crave to hunt, and as much many become foragers or defenders of their homeland. Many become paladins. Others embrace the bestial side of themselves and become assassins, or merely hobbyist murderers. Half-moon tabaxi that give into their darker temptations are shunned unless those temptations are directed only at their enemies.  

Full Moon Tabaxi

Similarly rare as the New Moon Tabaxi, many wouldn't realise a full moon tabaxi is even sentient, let alone a type of catfolk. Conceived with the full might of the moon in their veins, full moon tabaxi are too large, muscular and heavy to walk on two legs anymore. Instead, they are quadrupedal big cats the size of a large bear, their front legs too busy holding up their enormous bodies to use weapons, but their formidable fangs and claws take care of that for them.   Full moon tabaxi have the same primal urges that half moon do, but more extreme. They tend to come across and Feral and very dangerous to most folk, but when around those they recognise as a family they have much the same personality as a house cat. Despite their ferocious appearance, full moon tabaxi are still capable of speech and communication, and a rare few even become scholars.   On nights of the full moon, full moon tabaxi often take to hiding themselves away, as that is when their urges to hunt for sport are at their highest.  

Eclipse Tabaxi

On the rare occasion that the moon and sun overlap, the moon's influence on the world is at its peak. Any tabaxi conceived during this time adopts a form unlike any other, but that is said to be the original form of the tabaxi - the sphinx.   Sphinxes adopt a number of traits from all other kinds of tabaxi, embodying the clarity and wisdom of the new moon and the lunacy of the full moon. Their form most resembles that of a full moon tabaxi, that of a lithe, strong big cat, but with a face that resembles crescent moon tabaxi and in some cases can even look human. As they age, some sphinxes develop more unusual traits from other beasts, most commonly wings.   In addition to their unusual appearance, sphinxes develop all manner of unusual powers. The clarity of the new moon gives them a sight that exceeds even the new moon tabaxi, able to perceive illusions and pierce the blackest night, the ability to resist most mind-altering magics, and an aptitude for divine magic. In some rare cases, sphinxes have been known to hone their abilities to the point where they can not only see through time but even alter its course to a small degree, although this is taxing for them.   From the bestial nature of the full moon, sphinxes receive the remarkable strength of the full moon tabaxi, with claws comparable to damascened steel. Most devastating of all is their mighty roar, a sound that is audible for miles. It is said that the first roar of a full-grown sphinx can route an army, the second can freeze them in place, and the final roar can obliterate them and their castle along with them.   Given the brief nature of eclipses, sphinxes are exceedingly rare. Those that are born are venerated and given important roles in tabaxi society, often becoming priests, rulers and generals. Currently, only two sphinxes are known to exist and are the current rulers of the tabaxi homeland, Heartis.   The strange influence an eclipse has on tabaxi biology doesn't stop there, however. It is said that on nights of a solar eclipse, it is possible for tabaxi and other species to reproduce, producing half-tabaxi offspring. Said cross-breeds are likely to exhibit the physical characteristics one of their parents, but not both. If they resemble tabaxi, they will have the morphology of whatever phase the moon was in during said eclipse. From birth, they don't exhibit the extreme powers of a full-blooded sphinx, other than a resistance to temporal magic (such as effects that age) and a tendency to become more easily enraged during a full moon. Beyond that, not much more is known about them, as not a single one has been known to exist in recorded history.   That is, until approximately 19 years ago, when the infamous human pirate Godrick 'Cleaver' Gabranth deliberately sired a twin pair of eclipse tabaxi crossbreeds, hoping that one would grow up to surpass him and secure his legacy.  

Birth Cycle

The most unique thing about tabaxi is also the thing that the least people know about them: their unique means of reproduction. Tabaxi have a deep, almost primal connection to the moon and its phases. To an outsider, they may notice that tabaxi tend to be more docile on new moons and more energetic on full moons, but this extends far deeper than most people know. The reason why the subspecies of tabaxi are so diverse and strange.   Rather than subspecies existing as a separate ethnicity or culture or geographic location, a tabaxi's subspecies is determined by the phase of the moon during which they were conceived. Tabaxi conceived during the full moon embody the primal power the moon represents, whilst those conceived during a new moon are smaller and more docile, with all other tabaxi falling somewhere in between.   In truth, it would be more accurate to say that there is a subspecies of tabaxi for every day of the lunar calendar - a Crescent Moon Tabaxi conceived closer to the half moon will be much taller and broader than one conceived close to the new moon, for example. But the tabxi themselves tend not to differentiate all that much, happy to refer to the wide spectrum of catfolk simply as "tabaxi".   Depsite the wide diversity of the species, each tabaxi is born around the same size as the average kitten, and each subspecies is fully genetically compatible. It's not unusual for a pairing of seemingly to ordinary cats to birth a variety of the more human sized variations, or a human shaped Crescent Moon in a couple with the monstrous Full Moon tabaxi with a litter of seemingly normal kittens.