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Prrex Swift and Honorable Catlings Medium Humanoid (feline) Hit Dice:
1d8 (5 hp) Climate/Terrain:
Any Note: Stats above are for a 1st level prrex warrior with no exceptional abilities. Asterisks show skills where the armor check penalty has been applied. Detailed stats for NPC prrexi are available. Follow these links for more.
The prrexi (singular and adjective "prrex," pronounced with a rolling "r") are an honorable and capable offshoot of kzinti. The true origins of the prrexi are unknown, but their own scholars believe that the first prrexi appeared during the time of the kzin colonization. The mana rich environment of Saltwave caused ancient mythical genotypes to appear in kzinti as they did in humans. This gave rise to unexplained transformations of some kzinti into prrexi, prrexi, and yaati. Kittens born to kzinrretti also displayed strange traits of these non-kzin races. Unlike the births of elves, dwarves, and orcs to human settlers, nearly all of the prrexi infants born to kzinretti were destroyed by the kzintoshes before they could grow to survive on their own. The prrexi that were directly transformed or changed after maturity withdrew from kzin society. The legends of these first battles fought to win free of the kzin patriarchies still inspire prrex samurai to this day. The changed prrexi discovered that they were much more able to control their tempers and passions than their forebears. They dedicated themselves to duty, honor, and excellence in all things. This dedication and the natural curiosity of the prrexi led to the creation of a stable and enduring civilization. Duty and honor are very strong values in prrex society, which mirrors the best of Honuran practices in many respects. Prrexi are fortunate in that their natural tendencies aid them in accepting their roles in society while still providing for advancement of exceptional individuals. Personality & Culture: Prrexi are self-disciplined, honorable, curious, daring, stubborn, and loyal. They are industrious and hard-working, but appreciate things that can make work more efficient. The prrex culture revolves around a caste system in which each prrex is born to his station but may rise to a higher station by displaying special ability. This gives prrexi confidence in themselves and in their social order while providing the motivation to work hard for advancement. Duty and honor are keys to proper action. Self-centered achievements gain nothing in their eyes. Only talents used for the benefit of the community are worthy of praise. Prrex culture stratifies people into five castes: rulers, warriors, farmers and crafters, merchants and clerks, and "dirt workers." The lowest caste is the "dirt worker," which is made up of prrexi who work in occupations that are considered to soil the fur and spirit. These occupations include those who handle dead bodies (butchers, tanners, undertakers, executioners, necromancers), cleaners of excrement (including stablehands and sewer workers), prostitutes, thieves, beggars, and laborers with no other skills. One other low caste occupation is peculiar and quite notable—arcane spellcasters. Prrexi have a deep distrust for arcane magic and those who employ it. This kind of magic is thought to come from a tainted source that corrupts the soul of its practitioners. Despite their great powers, wizards, sorcerers, and other arcane spellcasters are considered "dirt workers" and are shunned by other levels of society. Outside the caste system, but following the principles of honor, loyalty, and courage, are rreshta, or "the learned." This group properly includes the learned (teachers, priests, monks, scholars, and scientists) but also includes the ignorant by default (foreigners and prrexi mentally incapable of grasping the concepts of honor). Membership in this group is unrestricted by birth; only ability is important for membership. It thus provides a way to move outside the caste system to seek enlightenment and education without being held to the same strict standards of duty and position as those within the castes. Foreigners are assumed to be ignorant of the ways of honor until they have lived within prrex society for one year. After that time, they may be allowed to test for membership in a caste. Members of a caste are required to give deference and obedience to those of higher caste, and to demand the same from those of lower caste. It is common for members of the ruling or warrior castes to completely ignore those beneath them in social settings. Bearing the distinctive katana and wakizashi swords is an honor entirely reserved to the warrior and ruling castes. No one else is permitted to do so. Members of the ruling caste frequently bear only the wakizashi unless they are trained samurai, as wearing the katana is a sign that one is prepared to use it at any time. Heavy armor is likewise forbidden except when worn by the upper castes or issued to foot soldiers. Prrexi generally follow the warrior code of "bushido" common to Honuran lands, but allow for a wider application of the code beyond excellence in war. Prrexi apply bushido to science, the arts, commerce, and the trades. The core principles of honor, loyalty, and courage guide the behavior of farmers and crafters just as strongly as the actions of noble samurai. Indeed, despite the caste system, there is much more equality within prrex culture than in similar human nations, such as Honura and Deeyam. All prrexi believe that acting with honor will bring spiritual enlightenment and protect their race from oppressors. In addition, there are the annual games of advancement. Each autumn, prrexi (and qualified foreigners) may enter the Games to compete for a place in a higher caste. Each entrant is tested by the rreshta for aptitude, ability, and honor. The entrants then compete in the categories of arts, sciences, athletics, and martial skills. Those who excel in the competition while displaying flawless honor are elevated to other castes as the rreshta recommend. The next year for these winners is a time of learning the duties assigned to them in the new caste. Those who advance may not compete again for four years. Those who do not advance may not compete two years in a row, but may otherwise try again until they are successful. Only the individual competitor and any of his or her minor children are advanced in caste; adult family members retain their previous caste. Obviously, this can result in inappropriate cross-caste matches. For this reason, most competitors are young and unmarried, or have their spouses competing alongside of them. Divorces are automatically granted to advancing prrexi with spouses of a lesser caste. Alternately, the spouse can relinquish caste standing to join the rreshta without penalty if he or she qualifies for a place in this group. Education in preparation for the Games is freely available to all members of society, as it does not involve things restricted to any given caste. This increases the importance and influence of the rreshta and balances the power of the upper castes. The prrexi understand all of this and like it this way. Physical Description: Prrexi look like cats with roughly human proportions. They are shorter than humans, averaging 4 1/2 to 5 feet in height and weighing 80 to 120 pounds. Most prrexi have orange fur with tabby or tiger markings, but there are many with other colors, as well. The color of one's fur is not important, but aesthetically pleasing combinations of color and pattern are considered most attractive. Prrex eyes are catlike, with green, blue, or amber irises with slitted pupils. Prrexi have short five-fingered hands, opposable thumbs, and sharp retractable claws. They have large ears and furred non-prehensile tails. Prrexi commonly wear clothing to protect themselves from heat, cold, dirt, and injury, but do not require it in temparate conditions. Interestingly, prrexi are fertile with the tabaxi. Given the two races greatly differing outlooks, such matches are quite rare. Offspring of these pairings usually favor the female parent in ability. Prrexi who consort in this way with the undisciplined tabaxi are greatly dishonored. Relations: Prrexi get along quite well with dwarves and humans who understand and follow the principles of honor. They hold tabaxi in quiet scorn and react to other races as circumstances dictate. Individual prrexi might develop friendship with anyone who was honorable and of similar mind about things. Prrexi are stubborn and do not quickly change their minds once they have made a judgment or decision. They look down on whimsical or flighty individuals and shun those who prove themselves to be selfish or evil. Alignment: Prrexi are strongly lawful and tend to good moral behavior and thought. They believe in supporting their community, country, and race. They owe loyalty to their rulers and to their nations beyond the rulers, and typically strive to act in the best interests of everyone. Most members of other races who know of prrex honor consider them to be good, reliable companions, if perhaps a bit stuffy. Prrex Lands: The prrexi have two great nations on Saltwave. The Prreshtuwan Federation is located on the large continent south of Deeyam known as Prrexiland in the Common tongue. The Federation is made up of two prrex republics and a cyberdemocracy that share common worldviews and political goals. The Prrani Empire is a prrex technocratic monarchy in eastern Jaastenland that suffered terrible destruction in the War of Falling Stars. Prrexi have also established successful colonies in southwestern Jaastenland and Churach. These nations are peaceful in outlook, but maintain a very strong military tradition. Prrexi hate to lose, and consider defeat a mark of dishonor that must be expunged by victory. Prrexi dwell in the same kinds of towns and cities as humans, although their communities are planned, organized, and constructed for both defensive function and aesthetically pleasing design. They find the Honuran architecture appealing, and have developed their own refinements upon the classic Japanese style. Religion: Prrexi follow a religion that stresses moderation and the cyclical nature of existance. Each being can follow the basic teachings to come closer and closer to enlightenment. Prrex monks devote themselves to this path, as do the psionic spiritualist priests. There are many temples and shrines devoted to this religion and to the spirits of prrex ancestors, who they believe are able to advise the living on right actions. Language: The prrex language is Kathto, an offshoot of Hero's Tongue. Kathto has links to Mrretling, but uses few of the ear and tail expressions common to prrexi communication. Written Kathto elongates and beautifies the common Hero's Tongue characters into an artistic script similar in appearance to modern Arabic. Adventurers: Prrexi find adventure in about the same proportion as elves or dwarves—many individuals have adventuring classes, but many others do not. Prrexi are concerned with expanding their territory, and often seek to explore new lands or push back the kzinti or other creatures that would threaten them. The prrex have a warrior tradition and favor the samurai or fighter classes. The prrexi have very few wizards and sorcerers, and even divine spellcasters are rare. They do have a respect for psychic powers and most of their priests are spiritualists—psionic specialists who combine powers of cleric and psion. Monks are fairly common, and access to this discipline is common enough that monks may multiclass freely as long as they continue to meet the requirements for advancement in the monk class. Prrexi also place a very high value on scientific advancement, and many rreshta (and a number of adventurers) are scientists or technomancers. Prrex Racial Traits
Special Rules Note #2: Both prrex nations are highly advanced technologically and economically. Prrex characters are assumed to be educated in an Information Age culture and familiar with its rules and tools. Prrex characters automatically have Technical Proficiency as a bonus feat. They have access to advanced technological goods at uninflated prices and are generally assumed to have personal communications and infonet access.
Last updated
01-Jul-2004 |