Catcher-of-Feasts

Description

Catcher-of-Feasts manifests most often as a towering male Felarid, broad-shouldered and powerfully built, with rippling muscle beneath a pelt of thick, golden-blond fur that glows faintly in firelight. His mane is a cascade of coarser, sun-bleached gold that spills down his back and shoulders like a cloak of dry savanna grass. His eyes are deep amber, flecked with scarlet—neither cruel nor soft, but keen, reflecting the flickering intensity of a predator who sees the world not in shades of good or evil, but in necessity and balance.   When taking his primal form, Catcher-of-Feasts appears as a massive lion of impossible size, his fur almost indistinguishable from sunlight. His claws glint like obsidian, and his breath rises in visible huffs of warm air even in summer heat. His roar echoes across the planes, carrying not only sound but the scent of cooked meat, blood, and smoke—heralding the coming of feast or famine.   Avatars sent into the mortal world typically appear more subdued. These divine agents resemble older Felarid hunters: broad of frame, claw-scarred, often with salt in their manes. Their eyes are always golden, their claws never dulled. They bear no weapons save their natural ones, and their presence brings a subtle tension in the air, like the moment before a chase. When seen on holy days or sacred hunts, their fur may shimmer faintly as if catching unseen firelight, and their steps leave behind faint pawprints that smolder for a moment before vanishing.   Though he may shift between forms—a lion, a Felarid, or even something in-between—Catcher-of-Feasts never appears thin, weak, or sickly. Even in times of famine, he remains the embodiment of physical sufficiency and the power to provide, no matter the cost.

Personality

Catcher-of-Feasts embodies the twin truths of necessity and joy. He is at once the exuberant host who throws his head back in laughter as meat sizzles over flame and the silent stalker who moves like smoke through grass when the prey is scarce. He understands hunger as both a physical ache and a spiritual challenge—and guides his followers to endure or celebrate as the seasons demand. In times of bounty, he is loud and warm, welcoming all into the circle of firelight; in lean times, he speaks rarely, his voice like the wind brushing low grass, reminding the pride to endure together.   He is a god of responsibility, not charity. Providing for others is sacred, but always through strength and skill—never through pity. He honors those who hunt for their kin and share from their own portion, but never those who give without sacrifice. Catcher-of-Feasts despises waste in any form—whether it be rotting meat, squandered strength, or forgotten potential. Among his faithful, excess is meant to be enjoyed openly, but never hoarded. Hunger, when it comes, must be faced with dignity, and never allowed to break the bonds of pride.   Catcher-of-Feasts does not revel in cruelty. Though a predator, he bears no hatred for prey. He teaches respect for all living things, even those taken in the hunt, for life and death are part of the same cycle. He encourages his worshipers to kill only what is needed, to eat all that they can, and to share the rest. To gorge alone while another starves is, to him, a betrayal of divine instinct.

Abilities

Powers

Catcher-of-Feasts holds dominion over the sacred act of sustenance—the giving and receiving of nourishment through strength, instinct, and community. He blesses hunters with sharpened senses, keen instincts, and moments of silent clarity in the stillness of a chase. His divine presence can stir a sleeping stomach to awaken, causing food to taste richer, fires to burn longer, and shared meals to nourish body and spirit alike. In places where his name is praised, meat keeps longer, predators steer clear of younglings, and the wind seems to favor the stalker over the prey. His priests are known to call small prey animals from the brush, calm snarling beasts with a glance, or invoke blessings that heighten agility and muscle memory.   Catcher-of-Feasts is also the subtle hand that balances ecosystems, keeping predator and prey in harmony. He can call down lean times as trial and reminder, thinning prey numbers to test the pride’s endurance. At his most divine, he may manifest in a meal that feeds a hundred from a single beast or in a sudden abundance of game after weeks of hunger. Spirits of the hunt—phantom felines with eyes like coals—sometimes appear before particularly blessed Felarids, guiding them silently toward prey worth the pursuit. These manifestations often vanish with the wind, leaving only pawprints and the lingering scent of roasted meat.  

Combat

Though Catcher-of-Feasts is not a war deity, he is a hunter god, and his ferocity when roused is that of the primal predator—measured, unstoppable, and deeply physical. In battle, he fights as a lion would: without wasted movement, overwhelming with speed, power, and technique. When in his Felarid form, he strikes with extended claws that glow faintly with divine heat, leaving wounds that burn as though seared. When fully manifested as the great lion, his pounce can shatter stone, and his roar can deafen armies and scatter even the bravest of foes. His breath carries divine terror to those who hoard, waste, or starve others for personal gain.   Unlike war gods who revel in destruction, Catcher-of-Feasts ends conflict swiftly and directly, striking down threats to the pride and ensuring no harm comes to the providers or the vulnerable. He does not toy with his enemies, nor does he kill for sport—only for necessity. In divine duels, he favors tactics born of terrain and instinct, appearing from behind, atop, or beneath his prey. His claws are symbols of divine judgment, not just violence. Those who waste food, betray their kin, or consume what was meant to be shared may find their flesh turned to ash beneath his touch, their senses overwhelmed by phantom hunger as punishment. In all things, even in combat, Catcher-of-Feasts fights not for conquest, but to restore and protect the sacred balance between predator and pride.

Possessions

The Maw without Waste

The Maw Without Waste is Catcher-of-Feasts’ sacred eating bowl, a massive vessel carved from obsidian-black stone veined with gleaming amber. When in his Felarid form, he cradles it in one arm while he tears into meat with the other, its rim etched with the runes of every Felarid pride that has offered to him in feast. Despite its immense size, the Maw is never full, nor does it ever empty—it represents the ideal balance between provision and appetite. When presented at holy feasts, the Maw Without Waste can manifest in a smaller, symbolic form, used by clerics to sanctify food or receive offerings. It is said that any meat placed within the bowl is never wasted: it either nourishes those present or vanishes, carried by divine will to the starving. In times of great famine, the bowl has been known to appear before a dying hunter, filled with enough to let them stagger home and feed their kin.

The Ember-Tusk

A curved tusk of immense size, blackened with soot and ever-warm to the touch. Said to be pulled from the mouth of a divine predator slain by Catcher-of-Feasts to feed the first Pride. The Ember-Tusk is carried slung across his back or driven into the ground beside him as a ceremonial standard. When planted, it causes cooking fires within its presence to never extinguish, and food prepared nearby never spoils. In times of judgment, the tusk flares to life and brands the ground with divine markings, pointing toward those who hoard or betray the starving. Priests may bear replicas of the tusk as staffs during sacred rites.

Realm

Catcher-of-Feasts dwells in Velah'pride, or The Endless Hearth, a sacred territory nestled within Bytopia. It is a realm shaped not by divine edict but by ancestral instinct, communal tradition, and the sacred duty to provide. Here, broad savannahs and thorn-brush hills roll endlessly beneath a golden sky, and every breeze favors the hunter’s nose. Game moves with intent, neither too scarce nor too plentiful, and the hunt is always worthy of respect. There is no waste in Velah'pride—only cycles of giving and receiving, of hunger and fulfillment.   At the realm’s heart lies the First Hearth, a massive den-like hall built into the side of a sun-warmed bluff. Flames never falter here, and the smell of roasted meat lingers like memory. Spirits of great hunters, proud providers, and those who fed others before themselves gather in this place to celebrate eternal communion. Feasts are frequent but earned, laughter echoes off stone walls, and the pride is never alone. Every spirit is both guest and provider, fulfilling the same sacred rhythm they followed in life.   Velah'pride spans both layers of Bytopia. Its Dothion-bound fields house quiet camps and shared rituals, the spaces of tradition, balance, and teaching. But during times of need, its boundary with Shurrock opens—the wild and toothsome half of the realm—where the hunt grows fierce and the lessons of instinct are tested. Catcher-of-Feasts moves easily between both layers, teaching his followers when to rest and when to run, when to feast and when to fast.

Relationships

Enemies and Allies

Catcher-of-Feasts is deeply entwined with the other Felarid gods, functioning as a central figure in the sacred rhythm of pride life. His closest bond is with Slices-and-Dices. Theirs is a sacred partnership of provision and presentation: Catcher-of-Feasts provides the kill, while Slices-and-Dices transforms it into nourishment. In stories and rituals, they are often invoked together, particularly at holy feasts, where both hunt and hearth are celebrated as one.   He shares a similarly strong but more protective bond with Shields-the-Pride. While Catcher-of-Feasts brings the prey to the pride, it is Shields-the-Pride who ensures the providers and the feast itself remain safe. Their priests frequently work in tandem—hunters and guardians moving together through the savanna and city alike. Despite their differing focuses, the two gods are described as brothers in the mythic sense, their values harmonizing like the claws and teeth of a lion.

Worshipers

Symbols

The primary symbol of Catcher-of-Feasts is a felarid pawprint with claws extended, representing both the hunt and the means of sustenance. It is usually engraved into stones placed near cooking fires, burned into the lids of meat-storage pits, or worn on necklaces carved from claw-shaped bone. Secondary symbols include fire pits, feasting bowls, and charred bones, each representing an aspect of the cycle—hunt, feast, and remembrance.   During feast days, symbolic meat cuts—especially rib bones—are decorated with red ochre and stacked in communal displays, meant to represent the ribs of the great lion himself. Clerics often mark their shoulders or cheeks with claw-like lines before sacred meals or hunts, using ash from the previous night’s fire.

Notable Worshipers

History

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Most champions of Catcher-of-Feasts are proud hunters, trusted providers, or spiritual anchors of the pride. They understand the sacred balance between hunger and joy, and know that strength exists not for conquest, but for sustaining those who depend on them. These champions are both predator and protector, their claws offered not for cruelty, but for the feast to come.

Earning and Losing Piety

You increase your piety score to Catcher-of-Feasts when you expand the god's influence in the world in a concrete way through acts such as these:

• Bringing down dangerous or difficult prey to feed your community
• Sharing your bounty with another pride or group in need
• Upholding the balance of nature by refusing to hunt over-diminished or sacred prey

Your piety score to Catcher-of-Feasts decreases if you diminish the god's influence in the world, contradict his ideals, or make him look ridiculous through acts such as these:

• Wasting food or letting meat rot through negligence or pride
• Refusing to share while others starve, especially if it causes harm to the pride
• Killing solely for sport or cruelty, or slaughtering an animal beyond what the pride can use

Catcher-of-Feasts's Devotee

Piety 3+ Catcher-of-Feasts Trait   As a devotee of Catcher-of-Feasts, you have shown yourself to be a worthy provider and steward of the sacred hunt. You gain the ability to cast Speak with Animals once using this trait, regaining the ability to do so when you finish a long rest.   Additionally, you are able to gut and prepare any hunted creature in half the normal time.

Catcher-of-Feasts's Votary

Piety 10+ Catcher-of-Feasts Trait   You can cast Locate Animals or Plants once using this trait, regaining the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. In addition, whenever you help prepare a meal, all allies who consume it and rest nearby gain advantage on Survival checks for the next day.

Catcher-of-Feasts's Disciple

Piety 25+ Catcher-of-Feasts Trait   Your instincts sharpen under your god’s gaze. You gain Expertise in the Survival skill.   Whenever you would reduce an animal or magical beast to 0 hit points with a weapon attack, that creature's corpse is treated as being put under the effects of Gentle Repose.

Champion of the Hunt

Piety 50+ Catcher-of-Feasts trait   You can increase your Strength or Wisdom score by 2 and also increase your maximum for that score by 2.

Divine Mount

A paladin of Catcher-of-Feasts can summon the following creature when casting Find Greater Steed in addition to his or her other choices.   The mount of Catcher-of-Feasts is a golden lion, a celestial predator with glowing amber eyes, sun-touched fur, and clawed paws that leave no tracks.   {STATBLOCK}