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  1. Races

Expansion Lesser Catfolk

Beastfolk
Recent History
While there had been adapted Catfolk living in the Empire for some time before, the Expansion in late 2A (where the subrace gets its name) vastly expanded their numbers and injected fresh Heartland blood into the gene pool, creating an even more varied array of fur patterns as the two mixed, creating an entirely new breed of Catfolk. 
 
General Description
The Expansion Lesser Catfolk generally look very similar to the Heartland Lessers, but with far more varied fur patterns, ranging from a smoke tabby to calico to even pure jet black. Eye colour also varies greatly. 
 
Culture
The culture of the Expansion Lesser Catfolk is greatly dependent on their location, but generally they, like their Heartland forebears, are heavily matriarchal and view family as extremely important. Expansion Lesser families, especially those of lower social class, are often very large, with the rapid expansion caused by them usually having litters of two to five kittens rather than single offspring and often only slowed by their own biology only allowing the females to conceive for roughly two weeks four months. Interestingly, the less impoverished an Expansion Lesser family is the smaller the number of children will be; the exact reasons for this and why such external stimuli affect their reproductive rates is unknown. Otherwise, they tend to blend into the culture of the nation they live in. 
 
Behaviour
Expansion Lessers are a very social race, and are generally charismatic and quite intelligent. They do have a tendency towards being quite talkative and emotional, as well as rather lazy at times. They can also be aloof, but given time they tend to be very loyal towards their friends. They do have a liking for shiny objects though, and sometimes their dormant hunting instincts will take over, leading to short bursts of unconscious, erratic behaviour that will last a few seconds. 
 
Bad Reputations
The Expansion Lessers have a reputation for being lazy sex addict kleptomaniacs, which isn't strictly true. While some of them are lazy in the more frequently used sense, usually this laziness manifests itself in trying to find the path of either least resistance or least effort in a situation, which can be either a good or bad thing depending on the practicality of their solutions. As for the kleptomania and sex addiction, this is more because of the sad fact that a great number of the Expansion Lessers that people will encounter are usually either criminals or sex workers, which is often because they simply have no other options. 
 
Bottom Rungs of Society
In general, the Expansion Lesser Catfolk form the lowest classes of Orth’s citizens. From the slums of the Southlands to the great streets of Mor’Koc, destitute, unemployed and sometimes just lazy Expansion Lessers can be found living on the charity of state and individual alike. The Thieves Guild has taken advantage of the plentiful supply of willing recruits this provides. Expansion Lessers generally excel in this position, using their natural stealth and dexterous claws to pickpocket unsuspecting citizens. Sadly, the majority of Expansion Lessers are involved in crime or prostitution due to a vast number of reasons, and those that manage to escape this and make a good life for themselves and their families should consider themselves extremely fortunate. As a result of this situation, while Expansion Lessers can live just as long or even longer than the other Beastfolk races (genetically there is not much difference from the Heartland Lesser Catfolk and the current Queen Amongst Queens, Djamila el-Burhan, is the oldest Catfolk ever recorded; as of 3A 206 she is 109 years old) the average life expectancy of the Expansion Lessers as a whole is a mere 24 years due to extremely high rates of poverty and violent or accidental death. 
 
Exceptional Hearing
The hearing of the Expansion Lesser Catfolk is just as sharp as their Heartland cousins, and is far above and beyond that of any other common race. This makes them a good fit for scouts and hunters, but unfortunately the stigma of being thieves and criminals surrounding the race more often than not gets in the way of this potential. As such they also have the same weakness to extremely high-pitched sounds. 
 
Naturally Stealthy
Like their Heartland brethren, Expansion Lessers are incredibly stealthy when they want to be, and are natural acrobats and contortionists thanks to their feline physiology. 
 

Sub-Race Creation Additional

+1 Cha, -1 Str

Cat’s Talent: You have proficiency in the Perception and Stealth skills.

Extreme Hearing: Lesser Catfolk have the sharpest hearing of any Oerthian race, the results of a long evolution geared towards hunting and predation. You have advantage on Perception and Intelligence Investigation checks that rely on hearing.