Homebrew Dreamland Cat Species Details

*all the information is taken from the Mythos Player Character Races*

Everyone knows about cats. They're small, sometimes obnoxious predators that people often keep as pets or exterminators. Cats are normally not a sapient species. Normally. Like humanoids, they have a dream life, but unlike most people, ats are aware of this dream life. Furthermore, while in their dreams, cats are as intelligent as humans, or even more so. They are still cats, of course, with the personalities and traits belonging thereto.

Even more remarkable, cats are able to freely pass physically from the waking world to the Dreamlands and back again. This means that a cat can either transfer between the dream and waking state in the normal humanoid way, by falling asleep and waking up, or it can physically move to the Dreamlands and back.

HISTORY

 Cats traveling the Dreamland run the full gamut from feral to domestic. However wild they might be, player character cats are assumed to have lived or currently live in and among humanoid communities, making them at least somewhat capable of getting along with other species and likely willing to adventure with them.

Unlike other companion animals, cats almost certainly took the first step toward domestication, so it is arguable that cats actually mastered humanoids, rather than the other way around. It has certainly been a successful partnership. In return for protection, shelter, and food, cats keep down the population of rodents and other pests in humanoid ares, which helps ward off bot disease and famine. In addition, cats provide affection, companionship, elegance, and beauty to their humanoid families- at least on their own terms. And during their languorous periods of rest, watched over by a humanoid family that has learned not to interrupt them, cats can walk the Dreamlands with enhanced mental acuity and reason.

Occasionally, a cat decides that it wants to spend its aking hours as well as is sleeping hours as a fully sapient being. When this happens, it becomes what is known as a Dreamlands cat, and becomes a suitable choice for a player character. Any cat may make this decision, and it ma spend just a few days as a Dreamlands cat, or remain that way for the rest of its life. Likewise, any Dreamlands cat may decide to returnto its normal status of being a mundane cat. For those who know cats well, it will come as no surprise that such decisions seem to be made capriciously.

Humanoids cannot tell whether a particular cat is a Dreamlands cat based purely on outward appearances. Typically, either the cat has to inform them by its actions, or the humanoidhas to figure it out by watching the cat take on tasks that would be impossible for a normal cat of animal intellect and awareness.

PLAYING A CAT

Cats are typically a "love 'em or hate 'em" type of creature. While some cant stand them, others can't live without them, and few are neutral on the subject. Some people are even ailurophobes, making them neurotically afraid of cats. but even those who dislike or fear felines will generally admit that cats are graceful, nimble, and often adorable.

IF YOU'RE A DREAMLANDS CAT, YOU LIKELY...

• are busy, active and aloof.
• are energetic when interesting things are going on but sleep soundly for hours when no action is afoot.
• occasionally force other party members to carry you. They may or may not mind, and you may but probably don't care.
• are quiet, curious, and interested in new things.
• hate cats' natural enemies (dogs, mice, birds, whirring machines, etc.)
• are easily distracted.
• are highly athletic and can move fast when you want to. 

OTHERS PROBABLY...

• are not alway sure if you are sapient or not. (Is it a normal cat? can i talk to it?)
• think you are cute, but possibly useless.
• frequently pet or otherwise annoy you when you are busy, forcing you to teach thm a lesson about personal boundaries. 
• misconstrue your thought processes, such as they are. 

PHYSIOLOGY

 Unlike many other predators, cats are exclusively carnivorous. Thei teeth are designed only for cutting and devouring flesh, so wile they can clumsily chew up bread or vegetables, these are insufficient sources of nutrition. Their digestive tracts are not adapted to process such food either, and a cat deprived of meat will suffer significant health issues and perish fairly quickly.

Cats have extraordinarily keen senses. Their one defect in this regard is an inability to taste sweetness. When a cat eats cantaloupe or some other sweet flavor, the cat does not taste the sugar and instead reacts to whatever savory elements are present. Contrary to popular myth, cats can't see in complete darkness, but they rely on their sense of touch, which is amplified by their whiskers, to feel their way around an area.

Cats do not have rigid collarbones, so they can squeeze through any space through hich their heads will fit. A cat's whiskers tend to be about the same width as their shoulders, so they serve an additional purpose in indicating whether the cat can fit through a particular opening.

Cats can be highly vocal at need, possessing more than 100 different vocalizations for various purposes. Of course, Dreamlands cats have the same vocal apparatus, but with their greater intellect, they can string different sounds together to create other meanings. Cats can speak a language of their own, which other people can learn to interpret wit practice.

FAMILY AND LIFE CYCLE

While cats often regard a particular other cat as a friend or recognize it as a relative, they rarely have a true family. Tomcats wrangle over desirable mates, then depart to live alone, A mother cat has a powerful love of her kittens and will die to protect them. But even for her, once a kitten grows up and moves on, that consuming love fades and is replaced by a lower level of affection.

Cats give birth to a litter of 2 to 5 kittens on average. The first time a cat gives birth, she will typically produce 2 kittens, and only after a year or two of bearing kittens will she produce 4 or 5. The mother trains and teaches her kittens how to hunt, where to hide, and all about her habitat, so the kittens reach adulthood with a ear-perfect understanding of the area around their home and the creatures and wildlife that populate it.

At 12 weeks, though they are not fully grown, kittens are fully socialized and able to leave their mother. Most cats are considered to have reached adolescence by the age of 5-6 months. 

In the wild, cats may live upwards of sixteen years, though any die in the dangerous outdoors earlier than that. In a safer environment, such as a humanoid's home, they typically live thirteen to eighteen years, Dreamland cats, on the other hand, tend to live longer than those who sped less time sapient in the waking world, and may live up to 25 years.

SOCIETY

As normally solitary and often capricious hunters, cats don't really have a society in the humanoid sense of the word. Cats are able to live in large groups, but do not cooperatively hunt or organize. With their greater intelligence, Dreamlands cats can work together to go to war, gather for raids, and hold celebrations. Dreamlands cats have been known to form an effective militia of sorts, including having military ranks, to proactively defend themselves as a race from organized enemies such as zoogs and moon-beasts.

The cat vocal apparatus is not built very well to speak humanoid languages. However, cats are perfectly capable of understanding these languages, and they can learn any of the languages spoken in their home area. other peoplemust learn the Cat language to communicate effectively with their fickle feline companions. Fortunately, the cat language is fairly easy to learn: in fact, most people who own a cat are probbly hlfway there already. A one week association with a specific cat allows a character to understand that specific cat without needing to learn the cat language. This does not allow them to understand other cats unless they spend a week with those cats as well. The character can send one week with multiple cats and understand them all after that week. 

Communicating with cats is a combination of learning what some of their meows and whines mean and also understanding patterns of behavior. A cat understands what party members are saying, and soon enough those party members usually learn how to talk with the cat. 

OTHERWORLDLY CATS

Many other worlds have cat-like organisms of their own. This is so common that many researchers theorize that somewhere there exists a sort of ur-cat, the archetypal cat upon which all other cats are based.

Cats from different worlds are often unfriendly with one another. In fact, it is quite common for them to live in a state of low-level warfare.

FAITH

Cats have a spiritual nature, and often seem to commune with the beyond. They have gods, of course, but instead of worshiping them, they try to live in harmony with them. Usually, these gods are known to and sometimes worshiped by the local humanoids, particularly if they value cats for religious reasons. For example, Bastet is a well-known goddess of cats, but other worlds (and other cultures) have these as well. 

Cats sometimes feel a pull towards spiritual life, and are known to serve alongside priests of compatible gods for their purposes. Many worship sites have a that keeps out vermin and accompanies the priests on their rounds. These cats, when they choose to be Dreamlands cats, often become clerics.

CULTURE

Cats in the material world don't have unified cultures in the sense that humanoids do. Instead, cats live for the now and participate in the culture of their humanoid neighbors. Even the intelligent Dreamlands cats use their greater brain power simply to adapt to their environment that they might better enjoy their lives as cats.

Cats are not typically materialistic: they do not keep much in the way of equipment or possessions. Part of this is practica, as cats lack prehensile hands or any real means of manipulating objects, rendering them unable to create aterial items. without a specially constructed harness, they can only carry small objects for short distances in their mouths. And cats ae also naturally passive creatures, taking what is offered again in the future. 

Cats who do not live with people may have a den, but even this is not constructed by the cat itself: it is mere;y a hole or hollow tree in which the cat finds shelter from the elements. 

RELATIONS

Fundamentally, cats are friendly to humanoids- or at least those who keep cats as companion animals. Of course, even within these societies, there are those who dislike cats, and cats are usually keenly aware of who likes them and wo does not. Often, a cat will pay especial attention to someone the can tell does not like cats, as a way of keeping that person off balance. In the Dreamlands, cats often have tense relationships with zoogs.

ADVENTURERS

Cats sometimes adventure, most often with humanoid companions, to feed their curiosity and to contain threats to their chosen territory. Cat adventurers like to point out that they usually cost nothing when staying at an inn-far less than a horse, anyway, which requires stabling and grooming-and can often feed themselves by catching small rodents, bats, insets, or birds. They are clean and neat and take up little space. When traveling in areas where cats find it hard to go (such as up sheer cliffs), the cat can be easily carried in a pouch or on a shoulder. They are incredibly convenient as companions, and of course, a cat that can cast spells or scout and communicate has obvious value.

 

 

 

 

 

Dreamland Cat Traits

Imagine a cat but with spells, armor, and more contempt.

Moon Jump

This movement provokes opportunity attack normally. This trip takes 2d6 minutes to complete, while jumping you are in a demiplane. Four dreamlands cats can bring a sinle creature up to one size category larger with them. Eight dreamlands cats can bring a single creature up to 2 category sizes larger with them. On a return Moon Jump you return within 1 mile of where you departed. You can use this trait twice. You regain all uses after a long rest. 

Nine Lives

The widely circulated myth of cats having nine lives hearkens to their possession of a Dreamlands self. when a cat is killed, its dream self remains alive and can return to the waking world, restoring that cat to life. For a cat to die or be destroyed in a single event, both its dream and waking world self must die at the same moment.

When a Dreamlands cat is killed, its normal, non-sapient self will eventually return from the dream world, where it has been relaxing. This typically takes 4d6 hours, and the result is a normal cat. Of course, that cat may then decide (once more) to become a Dreamlands cat, resulting in the effective resurrection of the character. Cats can only perform this self- resurrection eight times (hence "nine lives"). Players should keep track of this on their character sheets.

Note, that when a cat is resurrected by a spell or an item, this does not use up one if it lives. Only purposeful self-resurrection increases the count.

Cat Equipment

You can not use items that require hands (such as wielding manufactured weapon or shield) since you dont have hands. You can hold items in your mouth well enough to aim a wand or carry a Tiny object. you can wear armor tailor fitted to your body. You can wear and benefit from magic rings, belts, googles, gloves, boots, bracers, amulets, cloaks, and similar items, which adjust themselves to your size and weight when you attune to them (or when you don them, if they don't require attunement). Cat spellcasters often create variants on magic items designed to be worn as earrings. You can speak a magic item's command word in Cat to activate it even if it normally requires another language, and you can speak Cat even while carrying something in your mouth. 

Cat spellcasting

You can provide somatic components for spells by moving your tail and whiskers. You can provide verbal components for spells with normal cat sounds. If a spell requires a material component, you can hold it in your mouth, which does not interfere with providing verbal components, or use any component (or spellcasting focus, if appropriate) within 5 ft so long as the component isnt carried by a creature unwilling to let you use the component. 

Language

Cat has no written form and is spoken in meows, hisses, and yowls. Cats prefer others to use equivalent words and names in their own language since most non-Cats have difficulty pronouncing the sounds. A Cat speaks in Cat and others speak their normal tongues. You can also understand and read the language of a nearby predominant community (generally Common), but you can't speak or write non-Cat languages without magical assistance. Other creatures can learn to speak Cat but normally it takes a week for others to learn you specifially. 

Speed

Base walking speed is 40 ft. In addition, you long claws give you a climbing speed of 30 ft. You don't need to spend extra movement to climb.

Alignment

Cats are disinterested in societal expectations and view each relationship as a unique arrangement distinct from all others. they are most often Chaotic.

Age

For more information see Life Cycle

Yog-Sothothery

The Mythos includes essentially all topics covered in this book, similar and related creatures and forces, alien planes of existence, unstable magic and science, means of bypassing the laws of time and space, and lore regading most aberrations. In addition, this skill can be used in place of other skills to cast spells as formulas. 

Gaining proficiency in Yog-Sothothery strains the mind of most creatures other than aberrations, fiends, oozes, and undead. If you are trained in this skill, you take a penalty equal tohalf your proficiency bonus on saving throws against dread, confusion, insanity, madness, magical effects that give the frightened condition, and similar effects. 

Further study leads to a weaker mind. If you have he Expertise feature or another trait or feature that modifies how you apply yor proficiency bonus on all Wisdom (Yog-Sothothery) checks, ythe saving throw penalty becomes half the modified proficiency bonus. For instance, if you have the Expertise feature applied to Yog-Sothothery, you would apply double your proficiency bonus on ability checks using Yog-Sothothery skill and your saving throw penalty would be equal to your full proficiency bonus.

Lowlight vision

You can see in dim light within 60ft as if you were in bright light.

Ability Score Increase

Cats are naturally agile so your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Size

Cats are typically between 8-13 inches tall, 15-21 inches long, tail is optional. Size is tiny but with a reach of 5ft. 

Speed

Base walking speed of 40. Your long claws give you a climbing seed of 30. you dont need to spend extra movement to climb. 

Bite

Your can bite as an unarmed strike. It is the light and finesse properties. You can use it as part of two weapon fighting.

Tiny- deals 1d2 or 1 piercing damage. Small or medium- deals 1d4 piercing damage. Both plus dexterity bonus modifier.

Claws

You can use your claws to make an unarmed strike. you are proficient with unarmed strike. It has the light property and can be use as part of 2 weapon fighting even though it uses multiple limbs. If you are tiny, an unarmed strike deals 1d3 slashing damage and has the finesse property. If you are small or medium, it deals 2d4 slashing damage but doesnt have the finesse property. 

Dreamlands Travel

When encountered in the Dreamlands themselves, all cats are Dreamlands cats: intelligent and fully sapient beings with feline instincts, behavior, and skills.

scholars of the MYthos believe that cats spend so much time asleep because that is when they enter the Dreamlands and become intelligent. Their waking lives are somewhat of an afterthought, intended as an opportunity to seek affection, to mate, to fuel their bodies, and for rest and relaxation. Most of a cat's significant activities take place during sleep.

A cat can always choose whether to enter the Dreamlands or the waking world, either physically or mentally. Most of the time, a cat enters the dreamlands mentally and leaves its body behind, asleep.

When a cat enters the Dreamlands physically, it travels through the Gates of Slumber, a dimensional portal imperceptible to most beings. When ding so, the cat is no longer present in the waking world. Cats can only do this when they are completely unobserved. The Gates of Slumber are actual physical locations, but they are typically open at many places at once and move around, so they are not always at the same spot. Sometimes, they may lurk behind a backyard fence, or a cat might find them in an abandoned badger burrow, or else up a spooky old tree. Only cats know for sure, for they see, drawn to these portals only they can see. Humanoids can only tell the cat has left physically when, for instance, the cat runs into the attic and doesn't return for a day or so. Most assume this means the cat is merely hiding somewhere they cannot find it.

It is important to note that a cat wishing to enter the Dreamlands must physically find the Gates of Slumber and can only pass through when entirely unobserved. A cat cannot simply escape to the Dreamlands when it is, for example, caught in a trap or imprisoned, unless the Gate happen to manifest at the same location. Usually, cats can only perform this form of travel wen thy have free and unrestricted movement.

A cat in the dreamlands can always choose whether it wishes to return to the waking world mentally or physically, regardless of how it got to the Dreamlands. When a cat returns from the Dreamlands, it always returns to its physical body in the waking world. 

If a cat returns physically to the waking world, regardless of how it entered the Dreamlands, it returns through the Gates of Slumber, which always lead to a location within 1 mile of where the cat left.

If a cat went to the Dreamlands mentally and returns mentally, it wakes up in the waking world wherever it left. 

If the cat entered the Dreamlands physically but returns mentally, its body reappears where it entered the Dreamlands or at an unobserved location within 1 mile.

A cat cannot otherwise use Dreamlands travel to move its physical body. The cat does not control where the Gates of Slumber manifest in the waking world and so cannot direct its return like some form of teleportation magic.

When a cat is in the dream state it can travel much farther and faster that it could while waking. For example, it can leap to the moon and back from the earth's surface in the Dreamlands. It can even travel to the stars beyond, but thisis dangerous, for terrible things lurk out in that darkness.

When in the dream state, cats might meet unusual entities and objects in the Dreamlands, particularly if they travel far from the places they know well. A cat may well visit the Dreamlands, fill up on eating pixies, and then return sparkling with pixie dust. A Dreamlands cat may encounter an entity none as meant to see and might never return- or be profoundly changed by the experience.

Magic item melding

You can meld tiny magic items permanently into your body when you carry it into the dreamlands. If it requires attunement, you must be attuned to it to meld it. When you do, it permanently vanishes and becomes a part of your body, perhaps manifesting as a tattoo or a differently colored patch of fur. 

A melded magic item cant be damaged separately from you but removing the matching body parts ends the item's benefit until that body part is reattached (such as by a regenerate spell). A melded item's magic aura can still be detected normally. A single body part can't have multiple items melded into it. when leaving the dreamlands, you can choose to separate the item from your body en route. If you end attunement with a melded item, it remains melded but you lose all its effects until you attune to it again. 

Any observer can notice your body part is supernatural by succeeding on a DC 10 wisdom (perception) check. The item can be identified with a successful Intelligence (Arcana) check, but the DC is 5 higher than it would normally be.

Items you're able to meld with:

• Weapon- when you merge a weapon, it melds into either both sets of front claws or your jaws. All magic properties of the weapon (but not  the weapon's basic physical statistics) apply to your unarmed strike using applicable part(s). 
• Armor- when you merge armor it melds into a pattern of fur on your back and underside. You must be proficient with a suit of armor to meld with it. You are treated as wearing the armor in all respects. You can suppress or resume the armor's effects by concentrating (as if concentrating on a spell) for the length of time normally required to don or doff it. 
• Wand, Rod, or Staff- when merging a wand, rod, or staff it melds with your eyes. That eye glimmers with some magical feature (such as flames) that is symbolically appropriate for the item. You can use the melded item as if it were held in hand. 
• Worn Wondrous item- when you merge a worm wondrous item, it melds with the fur on a matching area of your body. You are constantly treated as wearing the item. As an action, you can use the treated item as if you were no longer wearing it until you use another action to again effectively wear it.