Tabaxi Tabaxi ( also known as jaguar people or cat - men ) were a race of feline humanoids native to the jungles of Maztica . Description . Tabaxi were taller than most human s at six to seven feet . Their bodies were slender and covered in spotted and sometimes striped fur . Like most , Tabaxi had long tails and retractable claws . Tabaxi fur color ranged from light yellow to brownish red . Tabxi eyes were slit - pupilled and usually green or yellow . Tabaxi were competent swimmers and climbers as well as speedy runners . They had a good sense of balance and an acute sense of smell . Etymology . Depending on their region and fur coloration , tabaxi were known by different names . Tabaxi with solid spots were sometimes called leopard men and tabaxi with spots were called jaguar men . The way the tabaxi pronounced their own name also varied . Some pronounced it ta - - ee and others tah - - ee . Personality . Tabaxi were a reclusive people who often avoided interaction with other intelligent races . However , as each tabaxi possessed a specific feline trait , some had an innate curiosity that compelled them to travel and seek out stories , artifacts , new experiences and knowledge , never remaining in the same place or obsessing over the same piece of lore for too long . In general , tabaxi did not care for wealth , but they had an almost obsessive interest in ancient artifacts , relics and magic items , but not for the items themselves , as much as the stories and secrets they held . Once an item had been thoroughly examined and studied , and its secrets revealed , it would lose its allure and the tabaxi would quickly lose interest and pass it on . Not all tabaxi were motivated by curiosity to leave their homeland , however . Some found safer ways to satisfy their fleeting obsessions by becoming traveling minstrels and tinkers , often accepting interesting objects and stories as payment for their services . Combat . Tabaxi were exceptional hunters and utilized these skills in combat . Speed and stealth combined with their natural meant that tabaxi were particularity skilled at surprise attacks . Tabaxi were even known to disguise their scent with aromatic herbs . Their hunting skills and intelligence made them formidable tacticians . Groups would often drive prey into ambushes , sometime playing with their doomed foe before killing them . Tabaxi clans did have berserker warriors within them , these were known as blood - stalkers . For weapons , Tabaxi favored bolas , sling s , maca s , and javelin s with . These weapons would often be made from wood , bone or stone . Tabaxi were just as likely to use weapons as they were to use their claws and teeth . Their preference of simple weapons was not due to a lack of capability . Tabaxi were quite capable of adapting to new technology or salvaged weapons . Due to their knowledge of hunting , intelligence and sense of smell , it was practically impossible to trap a tabaxi . Society . Tabaxi society was built around clans . Clans were split evenly between males and females with 3 to 12 young . Each clan had several Hunts each made up of two to eight individuals . The Hunts patrolled the area around the clan ' s lair . Although tabaxi lairs were sometimes just temporary , they were more often small villages of . Each ramada was built from wooden poles with grass roofs . Clans were led by elders . About half of the time , leaders were aided by shaman s . Clans tended to avoid each other and did not engage in trade . Tabaxi considered trade to be demeaning but in rare instances would use third party agents to trade for them . When the tabaxi started wandering out of their homeland of Maztica , rumors followed about strange happenings there , but the tabaxi themselves said little about them . Language . The Tabaxi language was an ancient from of the Payit language . Those who spoke modern Payit and knew what to listen for could usually understand about half of the Tabaxi words they heard . It was completely unrelated to the Tabaxi language of the Tabaxi tribe of Chult . Religion . Most clans worshiped Tezca , Nula , or ( rarely ) Azul . A minority of clans owed their allegiance to a jaguar lord . In this instance , Zaltec was the dominant deity of the tribe . The creator figure in the tabaxi pantheon was the Cat Lord , a fickle and tricky entity who bestowed each tabaxi with a specific feline trait and was believed to wander the world , watching over them . Interracial Relations . Tabaxi had few enemies and only the most degenerate clans would attack members of other intelligent species without goods reason . Threats . Tabaxi were sometimes hunted for their pelts . Each pelt could be sold for up to 50 gp . Hishna shapers could use tabaxi skin and claws to enhance their strength . Young tabaxi could be sold on the black market for around 225 gp . Notable Tabaxi . The Velvet Veil tavern in Ashabenford was famous for a particularly talented tabaxi dancer .