Death to all Cat People!!

[BaldHero]

I have a special place in my heart for anthropomorphic pc races. Cat people actually. A dark and terrible place. I just think they are...stoopid. This is my opinion so please don't blast me for it. In my eyes there is just no defense for cat people, other than some people think they are cool. Whenever i see them in some form of game, or comic, or video game, i just assume they are there because someone thought "Hey, let's put in Cat people! We'll give them neat sounding names so they don't sound like cats, but yeah they will definately be cat people!"

Now, so far most of the cat people i can recall have been noble, honorable, and often times tribal folk. In fact i dont know of any cat people that are ever bad. The problem is, i can't really recall where i ever got this opinion. At any rate, i turn to this community to help me gather more intelligence about the terrible catman craze.
I want to collect a list of the games (rpg, video, any source really) that include cat folk as a playable race, and what they are called, as well as their general place in their respective worlds. I can start by tossing out the ones i know for sure, hopefully you can add more. Consider it a hit list if you like...

Nero/Sar
Arcana Unearthed/Litorians
Everquest/Kerra
Shaintar, Immortal Legends/I can't remember...
Wing Commander/Kilrathi

Anyone else?

 

[Teflon Billy]

See, iw as originally semi-with you on this, as I thought you were talking about the giggly, "sexy-teens with cat ears and tails" that are so prevalent in the anime that I hate.

But Anthropomorphic Animal races like the Kilrathi and the Vargr and the Gorn are all that let me effectively run a Space Opera campaign.

You are on your own.

 

[Alzrius]

I agree with Teflon Billy, except that I like the sexy-teens with cat ears and tails, and I think they'd make the real-world a better place. Someday, genetic engineering will let us live the dream, and there'll be no place for the prejudiced catgirl-haters!

 

[demiurge1138]

Regular ol' D&D has catfolk, too. They were in the Mini Handbook and Races of the Wild. And no, I don't particularly have any problem with anthropomorphic cat races, as long as they're sane. Short-skirted, pointy-eared catgirls, on the other hand, have no business in D&D or any of its spinoffs. Leave 'em in BESM where they fit the genre, thank you very much.

Edit: Although Alzrius' idea has some merit...

Demiurge out.

 

[Gothmog]

I have a special place in my heart for anthropomorphic pc races. Cat people actually. A dark and terrible place. I just think they are...stoopid. This is my opinion so please don't blast me for it. In my eyes there is just no defense for cat people, other than some people think they are cool. Whenever i see them in some form of game, or comic, or video game, i just assume they are there because someone thought "Hey, let's put in Cat people! We'll give them neat sounding names so they don't sound like cats, but yeah they will definately be cat people!"

Now, so far most of the cat people i can recall have been noble, honorable, and often times tribal folk. In fact i dont know of any cat people that are ever bad. The problem is, i can't really recall where i ever got this opinion. At any rate, i turn to this community to help me gather more intelligence about the terrible catman craze.
I want to collect a list of the games (rpg, video, any source really) that include cat folk as a playable race, and what they are called, as well as their general place in their respective worlds. I can start by tossing out the ones i know for sure, hopefully you can add more. Consider it a hit list if you like...

Nero/Sar
Arcana Unearthed/Litorians
Everquest/Kerra
Shaintar, Immortal Legends/I can't remember...
Wing Commander/Kilrathi

Anyone else?

I'm with ya on the cat-folk hatin'. While the Kilrathi were kinda cool and cat-people can work for something like Gamma World or some space opera, cat people in D&D or fantasy are just plain lame. Why? I'm not sure. Other animal-people are cool- gnolls, lizardfolk, yuan-ti, etc- pretty freaking cool. Even the yak-people were interesting. But cat people always come off as being stupid, in that creepy "furry" kindof way. Not to mention the people who always insist on play cat-folk are pretty weird themselves IME. Either crazy cat ladies (think the character on the Simpsons), or a clone of cat piss man http://www.savantmag.com/16/retail16.html . Yeesh- they are worse than the most gothy, angsty of the Vampire players.

 

[jester47]

CAT people suck. If they are in a game they should be halfling sized. Tiger people and lion people - thats just cool.

 

[Parlan]

i always liked the Dog Boys from RIFTS...

does that count?

 

[JustKim]

Cat races are the racial equivalent of the kewl ninja, a dumping ground for what I guess you'd call cat fanboyism. Cats are graceful so let's give them +2 Dex. They're pretty so let's give them +2 Cha. Sometimes they stare at the wall after licking their butts so they must have some really deep sixth sense, +2 Wis. Also they should always land on their feet, slow fall 10'. And a bite attack, and a claw attack, and hey, how about some natural armor? Cats are mildly active in the 6 hours a day they aren't sleeping so let's give them +2 to all physical skills.. etc., etc.

Then of course comes the cat race society, which is of course proud, enlightened and utopian because cats are not territorial wrecks who pee on your couch if they so much as suspect another cat is nearby. Their only weakness is a compulsion to bat around balls filled with rare, sacred herbs.

Having seen this exact same approach no less than a hundred times, any cat race that I don't have at least ten years of nostalgia with is impossible to take seriously. And if I ever hear your rakshasa say "nyu", I'm keying your car.

 

[demiurge1138]

Having seen this exact same approach no less than a hundred times, any cat race that I don't have at least ten years of nostalgia with is impossible to take seriously. And if I ever hear your rakshasa say "nyu", I'm keying your car.

What if he says it mockingly after you foolishly called him "catboy" and right before he tore your body asunder with deadly magic?

Demiurge out.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Oddly, I'm right there with you.

I don't hate anthropomorphic races in general. I'm a huge fan, for instance, of gnolls and their variants. And I like cats IRL; I have two, and I wish I had room/money for more.

But for some reason, I have an instinctive loathing for cat-people in fantasy. Doesn't matter their form, their background, or anything. I hate 'em.

They don't ruin a setting for me if they're well done, but even then I could do without.