what are you doing man boots not gonna
like it if you make a big mess outlaw
moon games and toys nestled here in the
heart of Austin Texas it's gonna be just
fine with my shenanigans ok what can you
not help yourself what's going on I've
always been a cat person you know that
Jim cat person Pruitt talked about this
they're called taboc see ok too boxy on
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link here and in the description cats
cat and the people thereof got people to
back C Jim Davis I mean like a lot of
the player race shows we get a lot of
requests for dive into this you know
what do you think about it give us a
breakdown and tamaak sees one of those
that when it came out when bulldoze
first came out everyone was on it about
the tamaak see it seemed like it was
like oh my god you can't play sop and
have you seen this you know yeah and yet
like a year later or whatever long games
still here everybody games still here
the world still around nobody give your
books didn't combust in the flames your
dice didn't melt yeah I mean maybe your
game group is still here hopefully it's
a player race that I am eager to kind of
talk about because I don't think it was
as over-the-top as people thought it was
initially it's tightly focused and a
mechanically speaking at least really
yeah support certain archetypes and it
can bolster other archetypes that maybe
need a little bit of help
sure yeah they're watered forever for
long for most classes run but like most
things it's it's all about your concept
sure yeah yeah so it's how you want to
look at it and to do that I think first
we'd have to look at the cats themselves
what kind of cat are you trying to
emulate for one right there's a
difference between like a house cat
there's links you know there are the big
cats of the wild and and while they do
have a pretty similar way of being yeah
there are some some intricacies that you
can tell them to you're really cheesy
you really can you really can so like
baseline Lord for taboc see is that
they're from this region the Forgotten
Realms nor does mess TECA but then
there's also another group of taboc see
in the Forgotten Realms that are also
cat people so there's some confusion
there they first appeared in fiend folio
back in the early 80s and they're like
looking at them way back they seem to be
more like villainous and they're there
for like to fulfill that evil or at
least aggressive humanoid role when
they're in a jungle instead of the
forest kind of things yeah I like that
they've evolved flash their assets
partly I like that they've evolved and
changed and moved beyond that that's
sort of like they're evil jungle cat
people or like you know wicked in some
way it seems like they're really leaning
into like the house
oh right particularly the write-up in
Volos it certainly seems like you're
that you're encouraged to play that
quirky weird sort of obsessive type
feline archetype and approach it from
that perspective but I think there's a
lot of territory there that you could
cover yeah yeah but but it's actually
but I do kind of like the whole the toot
those two charts at the beginning
sessions and the quirks yeah because I
mean yeah you know a cat can have like a
favorite toy and they have their
favorite place they like to nap or that
favorite thing they like to do but
they'll change brush it'll change it
then the quirks let me know it's just
staring at the wall see ghosts man why
does that debauch see always chases own
tail
right right right just like staring at
the grass like looking at bugs and
things so I think like that's a good
place to start with it right like how do
you want to portray this feline humanoid
you're really leaning into the the kind
of the I know what you call them them
stereotypes of cats I nap all day I'm
kind of mischievous I'm secretly the
master of this place or act like it your
affection is fickle your attention is
fickle what you are into changes all the
time like I think that that works as a
starting point for the taboc see but I
like looking at them as more generic and
more of a template to project like other
archetypes on to so there's like the
stealthy predator the big cats are where
I really look to for inspiration for
tamoxafin jagwire is this stealthy
rippling muscle kind of predator right
like you don't want to mess with them
same with tiger or lion yeah drawing
inspiration from that as opposed to the
more cutesy cheetah sort of is the
obvious one because of their speed burst
but you can look at other big cats as
the inspiration because I like the idea
of like a feline warrior with just a big
weapon and and maybe some you know
piecemeal armor or something kind of
like really leaning into the the lion-o
Thundercats angle there and you know
you're a mighty warrior and and use your
feline agility and grace to make
yourself a better combatant yeah not
necessarily a assassin or a you know
sneaky rogue or something like that yeah
you're really good at getting in on them
it emulates that pounce it emulates that
pounce that I can't have yeah yeah the
bursts are gonna get there and so I like
that angle too or like the big strong
feline humanoid as opposed to the slinky
stealthy sort of dexterous and and
mechanically speaking I think that even
though they don't say have a bonus to
strength you can still kind of play with
that and swim in that conceptual water
to to come up with something really fun
you know we were talking about the show
you mentioned something maybe re
skinning or using some abilities from
like bugbear oh yeah you look at bugbear
like if you really just thought about it
like imagine if that's just a strong cat
yeah I mean I really do think so like if
you're talking about mixing and matching
things or you know a lot of tables you
can approach the DM and just say like
hey I like this part of the race won't
want to change something about it or
alter it you can usually negotiate
something there where a slight
modification will help you fit the
concept that you're going for
I mean that's always what I like I like
mechanical support for a concept that
helps me get into character it helps me
find an angle to approach the character
that's interesting for me that I'm gonna
want to play through multiple sessions
it's easy to come up with a character i
want to play once but i want to stick
with and not always go like well alright
the second session time for my second
character revolving door what are some
other sort of concepts that you're well
here's the thing again
observing cats as they are what are cats
cats are noble they're majestic at least
that's how they see themselves alright
okay alright understand that's what they
want you to think continuing right good
thinking that's what they want to
portray
so I mean I could even see like your
Tuvok see being like a noble background
yeah something like that and they are
full of grace of course yeah but never
forget that when they fail it should be
momentous
now this isn't thing you roll one and
just catastrophe happens but I think
that for a debauch see they need to at
least fall and everyone needs to see
your bright these to be like a big
because there's nothing better than when
a cat it just doesn't make that jump and
then looks around like what
that me everybody see that does that
mean sorry being a cat person yes
something that you observe but yes like
having that like it like a bard yeah
that goes out to sing their tale
you could do the trickster cat right at
you like an arcane trickster using a
little mage handed like noxious taking
things and and secret in them away well
there's a lot of synergy there right
like there's using stealth magic to
enhance your already considerable
stealth abilities yes leaning into the
house cat sort of angle of it maybe like
the taboc Cianna in a party is like a
you know sort of a stray cat where it's
like we don't really know where you came
from did you feed it was it you like
where did you want yeah I can see that
the to me when you look at like the the
house cat angle for taboc see I see a
lot of pitfalls and I see a lot of
places where you know you could take
something too far and like no other
place and I get like really you're not
gonna help again cuz your plant you're
taking another nap mr. cat man yeah like
swiping things and and you know stealing
them or knocking them over just being a
general sort of annoying kind of person
it's cute when it's tiny cat does it but
what a giant cat humanoid acts that way
you might feel differently yeah when
it's supposed to be a fully grown adult
in the party and group of friends yeah
after a while it's like Bob can you
please stop yeah cute loosely yeah yeah
yeah and maybe that's a part of it like
right like maybe that's something that
you want to work into the the group
dynamic of your of your party and it's
okay you have players who are alright
with playing characters that are a bit
annoying to each other but it's
definitely something you should like
work out ahead of time like hey you know
we can have this dynamic that way in
play it's not as just like oh god yeah
but this happens with some of the player
races that have you know sort of
interesting personality quirks we saw
with like the Ken coup kinder of course
are famous for this and in terms of
being like they've got these personality
traits that if you role play before just
suitable itself everybody at the table
worth having a conversation about it's
worth sitting and talking with the DM
and the other players and going like hey
here's what I'm thinking for this
character because I know that it might
have a tendency to annoy others
there might be something about it that
if I only do this one thing and I don't
portray like a well-rounded
three-dimensional character it might
irritate you or something I think taboc
C has that potential because of the
mischievous cat-like
kind of qualities that it has its
associated with it but do you have to
really lean into that as the DM like
that baseline more of you know they're
always transient yeah they're homeless
they're gonna just come up some people
most people don't really like them
because he's like what do you
contributing yeah yeah that's the kind
of thing that I'm when I was looking at
them and looking at the baseline right
up that first caught me is that so we
have a group of people that travel and
they're nomadic they're they're out
there looking for lore and artifacts and
interesting stories and they don't value
money and when I read that I know from a
world-building perspective that looks
like a group of people in your world
that are ripe to be picked on and abused
it's a I want something more than that
number one there's already multiple sort
of archetypes that fill that niche and
this is the wandering Roma type right
there in colorful wagons and they they
set up shop in the village square and
and put on a show with their travelling
acting troupe whatever and they may or
may not be compelled by their God to go
do this as well
yet another D in the power that has
exerted an undue influence over people
that they so it's so called created
anyway that's not a huge chip on my
shoulder or anything like that standard
it does right me it is it there's a lot
of them that have that so to me it's
like yeah maybe there's a group of taboc
see that travel and move from place to
place and yeah you could draw
inspiration from our own world and look
and see those people who are nomadic who
live amongst settled peoples tend to be
mistrusted tend to be sort of treated
with suspicion if not worse because a
lot of our history the people that
traveled or from out of town you don't
know them there's that mistrust of him
like well you don't live around here you
don't have a stake in this community we
don't know who you are why are you here
what are you doing traveling you could
lean into all of those things you could
use them as inspiration
you could also say like hey what if it
is possible to travel great distances
within this a fantasy Kingdom that we
have because the commitment to law and
order makes traveling safe and now we've
got a group of people who are all these
elves dwarves into boxing and Ken ku and
whatever halflings Island stuff and they
make use of the peace and stability that
this kingdom our Empire whatever is
provided to travel the roads and now
it's possible for people to make a
living or or or adopt a lifestyle that
is no semi-nomadic without that
accompanying sort of mistrust and
suspicion because everybody knows people
are travelling right like it's just what
you do now because the good Queen
whoever is you know keeps the land safe
exactly and and also there's a whole
slew of jobs that would arise there you
need rogue wardens to keep those those
lands they're just you know it's the
state troopers right yeah and so your
character could be a taboc see that and
that your whole job like you're
literally job is to travel dispense
justice where you see fit but just you
don't keep moving yeah we're messengers
or mesomery Express except the Express
right I think of like scientific
research they do on say housecats and
when they put like tracking collars on
them like where do you go in the day
yeah when we let you out of the house
and you see it's like oh it's a little
circuit yeah it's like three miles right
yeah and so like take that and
extrapolate a me like okay well this
wandering troupe of two voxi who are
tinkerers and and sort of petty
merchants and they collect stories and
whenever they come into town it's like
new trinkets new stuff they're there to
help you fix things because they've
collected all this lore around the
kingdom or the countryside they just
sort of know stuff it's where you get
your news and you just know like well
you know springtime is when their wagon
comes through this part of the you know
the kingdom but like in winter they
they're here and they just make a
circuit around a particular region and
that helps to build I don't know trust
it kind of like establishes them as a
part of the community even though they
do travel and it's a way to kind of keep
the wandering nomadic storyteller and
Merchants feel that to Boxey have
without meaning to import all of the
quite frankly gross injustice and
oppression that that we find in our own
world
a lot of diems uses inspiration you just
say hey let's flip the script on this
try something different I bring news
from afar I mean there's no internet I
mean how is do you expect people to find
out I mean you have to welcome some
travelers right yeah yeah yeah and
that's just one way maybe in the taboc
see have you know their own Kingdom
somewhere and the ones that you see here
are those who are sent out to engage in
kind of a cultural exchange program you
treat them not as a species and a
culture but they are uplifted felines
each one unique and individual because
they're the creation of a wizard or
druid or something like that so of
course now I just thought of a debauch
see diviner that reads the future in
their own hairballs that they have just
got to lean into it man just over there
like dividers and them getting ready in
the morning learning their spells okay
oh yeah don't worry he's just doing his
portents for the morning and you would
just edit an excerpt and like lick
certain pelts when it was suggest
certain spells just like oh I've got it
real I got a like really yeah I mean
again you just gotta lean into that man
what do you do with the taboc seabeds or
what do you do into boxes I don't know
you open up a portal to the cat Lord and
summon it to you Oh anyway that would
travel beyond the spheres right magic
hair balls and Dungeons and Dragons but
also I've done this for another
character it was a human but I was
inspired by a friend's cat who just
passed away and it did the typical
indoor/outdoor cat thing where they just
disappear yeah go on their long walk
like to say like a fear judge dredd fan
yeah she kind of send them out there out
in the woods dispensing justice until
their last day yeah and so I made a
character based on that an old cleric
but imagine an old - Boxey just going on
their long walk their long long before
they go and rejoin the the great nap in
the sky one eye all cloudy maybe doesn't
even have his claws anymore it's like
broken all over you know yeah it's just
but damn it I could still move like it's
still moving like that you can hear his
bones cracking but you know to me like
monk gets paired with debauch see a lot
Oh God you can see them as the graceful
kungfu right but to me I'm like knob
that I
a back-alley street fighter this is the
stray cat cutting tendons uh-huh it's
covered in scars and it's just mangy
yellow and white just a beast of a cat
that rolls all over the back alleys of
Waterdeep a gray Hawk or whatever city
that they're in yeah and be careful when
you get the milk in them that's one
thing that I think taboc sea should get
drunk off of milk you drunk off of milk
get that milk drunk damn it that catnip
drunk there's so much fertile ground
here because I mean first off pick your
favorite cat meme and make a character
based on that like boat up cat boat okay
angry cat you're too boxy barbarian
there's so much inspiration here right
there's litter ins which were a third
edition Aliona type cat race from our
kind of evolved I think magic gathering
has their own different cat species the
coddle of course you know the obvious
the obvious one that everybody talks
about the sword of omens out oh I was
gonna mention kijima Thundercats but yes
of course yeah or so off-base
oh it's alright man alright we gotta get
back in sync gene has wares to Khajiit
does have words I find that could you'd
have a and they loom large in my
portrayal of tamaak see and no matter
what I do I will end up just doing my
Khajiit voice just cuz it's like I don't
I don't like it it's sort of like
Scottish with Scottish accent and
dwarves it really gets under my skin now
no I understand of like yeah it's sort
of set Skyrim is a big game and a lot of
people have that frame reference for it
so still playing it currently for the
long haul I'm a monogamous gamer I'm
settle down with the game you know you
want to settle down you know get your
smithing and your chaining up to a
hundred even gotten into the mods yet
I've got two mods you know we're keeping
a spicy no but anyway Thundercats though
man get all the different kinds of cats
get all the different kinds of cats you
might like make some changes that's not
a dexterity it's strength or we'll let
you like swap some features out for
other classes to kind of give you a sort
of cat person that you're looking for I
think my favorite portrayal of cat
people's got to be from quest for glory
which is the kata and they're these like
desert cat people they dress is sort of
like silks and
and other kind of finery and when you
first meet them it's this like couple of
them in this far frozen were these
they're like desert cats you still the
warmth and dryness and here they are you
know in a frozen forest you know you can
help them in sort of win their trust we
could spend the rest of the episode
talking about different kind of cat
people from from fiction you can base it
on but what about these mechanics I
think well I mean like we talked about
the being in the show it's pretty
focused yeah and in my opinion it's an
awesome set of abilities any dexterity
bonus yeah for fifth edition for its
faults you get a dexterity but you're
gonna be I mean it you're gonna be a
winner there's more yeah it seems like
there are way more concepts that work
mechanically with dexterity than there
are say strength based concepts we talk
about that you know the merits of
streaks versa texts arity so yeah I mean
you know when you talk about bang for
your buck you know it's like just give
give strength a couple more skills maybe
but whatever you're getting a vision
boost you're getting a mobility boost
you get an attack boost and a skill
boost yep okay that's rough to pass up
it's really easy to shit on because you
know all these just just power gamers
that are gonna do it sure no no it could
be just can't lovers thank you I think
the people that don't like to debauch
see they're just the dog people of the
world and that's fun well for one there
needs to be a dog pretty good boys good
boys there needs to be good boys and a
girl this needs to be blemings snoots
booped
yeah all that guy said it's alright that
the cat people and get their stuff first
I'm willing to wait yeah on the canine
person I don't think it'll happen
people don't like seeing stuff happen to
dogs that's again that with it they
don't mind seeing cats brutally
mutilated through magic just saying you
heard it here first folks Pruitt John
John Wiggs if you didn't get a cat he
got a dog look at what happened yeah so
dark vision obviously that's a
no-brainer for cats now get to the big
one that people let's go and get this
out with if that feline agility double
move which of course that's why you want
to go monk and you want to go and take
the mobility feat yeah they don't have
to do that it doesn't first up the fact
that does it cost you anything you don't
have here's your bonus action you don't
have to use something it's just like I
double my speed and then I think in
order to reset it I need to spin around
not moving at all the fact that it does
a costly thing and
synergizes so well with those classes
that do have considerable bursts to
speed like monk like rogue you're really
like doubling down and D&E has always
been a game that overvalues
specialization right it's always been
one of those games where because it's a
party based game there's different roles
to fulfill in the party if you double
down on a specialty if you're like
listen I don't want to do the little bit
of everything dabble and stuff you can't
do that fifth editions very friendly for
it as opposed to say other editions of
D&D but like almost every version of
this game it's been out if you just like
say this is my shtick I'm gonna just do
everything I can to to make it work you
will come up with a character most
likely that's you know pretty effective
in play and so it's holds the same for
like monks and rogues that are too boxy
because there's so much synergy there
with the ability and feline agility is
is one of those that that used to get
talked about a lot because of the burst
of speed of it but again I think it's an
accurate reflection of the animal that
it's based off of sure in quick bursts
alright don't you see like a cat just
about a hundred times a day they look
around they hold on for a second and
then they're awesome
it's pretty fucking accurate to continue
the mobility and segue into the attack
with those claws right I'm getting that
20-foot climb speed and ad4 unarmed
attack slashing they're slashing that's
kind of nice for monks gives them an
option for their unarmed attack climb
speed is just a nice thing right like
especially from starting at first level
because if you think about sort of the
progression of mobility abilities in
Dungeons and Dragons it usually goes
like what you're just walking and then
you get some sort of boost to climbing
and swimming and then maybe there's a
fly and then the pinnacle of that before
misty step at least was teleportation so
I kind of see those things as benchmarks
for a D&D character can my be any
character climb without having to make a
roll and they swim without having to
make a roll can they fly can they
overcome vertical obstacles easily a
climb speed is useful for just about
anyone especially useful for those
classes that really benefit from the -
Boxey abilities and it's just like
reinforces that idea
this is a race option that's really
meant for these kinds of characters
these stealthy subtle characters and
sleek around but like said it's also
useful for just about anybody else well
giving drops of giving it a giving a
solid like melee attack - like
sorcerer's sure like a like a warlock
those are charisma based characters
anyway and you're you get a little bit
of bump to charisma sure so there's some
good synergy there but I'm just just
getting that one like slash just slice
and throw in some I'm sorry but you
throw some green flame blade or green
flame claws sure sure on that why not
why not I mean if you're not like say a
hex plate I could see - Boxey hex way
being really fun to play
they have like a ball of yarn right like
just if there's a lot of synergy there
with the fact that you basically got a
Dex charisma build the fact that you've
got all these other things on top of it
that work really well you've got an
attack that's always for a reason you
are disarmed you don't have anything you
have you have that natural attack but
it's first of it fits you can kind of
see like you could do a lion-o type as a
hex blade that that sort of like this is
my sword that changes and grows
particularly for take back of the blade
boon right you know the more I think
about it the more I start thinking of
different sort of like mechanical
strings to do land between two rivers
has two S's the bad luck mage which is a
- Boxey diviner slash lore bard with
like Bane and all kinds of things to
mess with dire roles and just make life
like more difficult for the part yeah
he's the one that drives the wagon I was
gonna say just can drive the wagon he's
great comes careening off but he's
always back I have another des boxing
they're called sees through lies and
that that's a - Boxey bard that is all
about detecting lies detecting
falsehoods and cats no okay so yeah it's
going so like the whole idea there is
that they're just that they stare
intently all the time and for that
particular NPC they've got observant
alert though those kinds of like vision
related
that make them so right well I mean to
finish off the last couple of abilities
that I mean the cat talents of
perception and stealth yeah completely
accurate completely and really great
proficiencies that fit for a lot of
concepts like it's just a solid option
because honestly my opinion perception
is like that skill yeah it always has
been
spotless and anything like that and so
consolidating it in 5th edition down to
one thing I just want that out some way
to get it yeah you know it's almost
always my human skill that I pick if you
don't otherwise have access to it or
you're one of those classes that their
skill proficiencies are like really
precious you get into from your
background your to from your class you
need those to be certain things
so getting perception through something
else can often be be really handy so
like all of that we've pretty much said
it's a solid option for most archetypes
for the archetypes that it it sort of
like seems it's good for it's really
good for so how is it not Opie like I
just don't think that it is I don't
think I think that just cuz it's just as
it has synergy and just because it fits
well doesn't necessarily mean that it's
overpowered it just means yeah works
well yeah just spreading it out over all
pretty much all the aspects of play the
way they have it's just like I'm sure
that there are other races that have
done similar things but I don't know
that I've done it this well yeah yeah
you could see it with the same way with
like say Goliath or half-orc both of
those for the types of characters that
you would that you would want to play
with them they have a lot of features
that really work for the barbarians and
sort of front line fighter types and
it's the same with maybe say elves and
wizards or high elves at least even with
those they're still abilities and things
that you get you're like I might never
use this or whatever but democracy is
that another matter pretty much gonna
use everything but use matter what and I
honestly I kind of see it's one of those
things where like yeah we D&D rewards
specialization but because there's so
much going on with the taboc scene that
doubles up with what's a rogue and monk
do rogues and monks are already really
fast do they need to double their speed
once every other round like you really
need you I'm talking more rhetorically I
know what you think Pruitt
yes yes is that what about those class
combos that don't already have something
like that yeah
and so to me when I look at it too boxy
I go man I want to play like a democracy
fighter and even if you you go like say
Archer and you lean into that you more
like a mobile skirmisher that would fit
really well being able to climb up to
places perches to shoot your bow from
did I see a battle master don't ask for
fighter because when you can double your
speed and then you you tack on that to
maneuver where until the end you add the
die roll to your AC yeah yeah so it's
just like I'm gonna run through this
entire group of guys you know are gonna
try to hit me it ain't gonna work yeah
I'm gonna kill your leader yeah before
right there you know and that's just
weaving through yeah you know you could
go more medium armor and take that
medium armor master so that you don't
necessarily have to have like a crazy
high dexterity but you can still have a
high dexterity benefit from that bonus
to AC and not necess and then you don't
have to worry about the penalty to
stealth that comes from wearing say
heavier armor if you want to make a
balanced strength dex character that's
maybe how you go if you want to go all
decks and you might do light armor or
something like that but there's like
just so many different ways to play it
it is what I like about it it's not
necessarily pigeon-holed into one type
of of class or archetype like some of
the races are liked that's sort of how I
see it
like barbarian anything like that I mean
a backseat barbarian
pretty sick again we we could keep going
on and on because pretty much they all
they all work I took a backseat
barbarian that doesn't use any weapons
but it's claws yeah
and you know some people were like only
addy Ford it's like well still listen we
by playing the game where the barbarian
only punched people and they didn't have
any there was literally like one
straight it was fine it was fine he was
just fine yeah because you would do the
things that he did as atabaque see
because he was all about getting people
on the ground punching them and what is
what a cat's do they grapple and they
start raking I got that back kick okay
that back kick and of course you can
never forget the most famous two back
seal all in my opinion how's that the
Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz Oh
God
whoa I mean come on the the Irv fantasy
settings yes why have that released
release the source book already I don't
know who owns Wizard of Oz anyway frank
lloyd bomb says name let it out
just let it out David yeah elfrid boss
right head on over to patreon for our
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our second youtube champion
yeah well now I have a whole new noise
for that for monk because now he does
this thing in his age where he rakes his
tongue over the roof of his mouth so it
just kind of sounds like velcro and when
I hear that noise a timer starts in my
head and I have 10 to 15 seconds to get
him somewhere cuz he's gonna that's just
the noise he makes now
