The cat lord (also rendered as Cat Lord), also known as master cat, was one of the Animal Lords. The cat lord was the ruler of all felines, from the common house cat to the huge smilodon. Those who truly understand felines know that the Cat Lord is neither good nor evil but concerned with cat-things alone. To this end, he roams various planes, including the Material Plane.[1][5]
Description[]
- Human forms
- The Cat Lord appears alternately as a black cat, a black panther, a pale human male with dark hair, or a dark skinned male human, or as a hybrid human-cat sharing traits of both cat and human forms. In human form he always wears black garb with simple gold accessories and jewelry with gems that were the same colors as found in cats. Many admire the Cat Lord’s unique style, others envy him his artistry, while those who meet him in person are often swayed by his animal magnetism.[6][note 1]
- Feline forms
- The cat lord also appeared as either a black cat or black panther,[6] with very large, sharp teeth and claws.[1]
Personality[]
The cat lord was indifferent to nearly everything and everyone, except those things and creatures which affected the lives of cats.[1]
Abilities[]
A cat lord had superhuman strength and dexterity and a genius-level intelligence.[1] Their hearing and vision were five times more acute than a normal human's, plus they could see great distances in the dark.[6] They could leap 30 ft (9.1 m) in any direction, including straight up, and always landed on their feet with no recovery time needed.[1] The cat lord could outrun a horse[7] and could move almost perfectly silently under normal conditions.[6]
Pale-skinned human form, ready to leap.
A cat lord spoke Common and all manner of feline languages, including caterwaul, chimera, displacer beast, dragonne, kamadan, sea lion, tabaxi, and weretiger. They had a form of telepathy that could be used to communicate with almost any creature once per day, if necessary. They also had spell-like powers to blur, haste, speed, or use improved invisibility on themselves only; travel by dimension door, etherealness, astral travel, or teleport without error; and detect good, detect evil, or hypnotize others.[6] They could travel freely to the Outer Planes.[8]
The cat lord was extremely hard to hit, resistant to most magic, and could shapeshift between human and feline form at will.[1]
As Human[]
When they took human form, a catlord could choose to be either a highly skilled monk or a master thief, with all the professional abilities of the chosen form. The master cat could magically summon other cats to their aid.[1] In random fashion, they could bring forth one or two weretigers, a handful of elfin cats or giant lynxes, or up to fifty domestic cats. Summoned felines were always completely obedient and loyal to the cat lord.[6]
As Feline[]
In panther form, they fought with two razor-sharp front claws and a vicious bite.[1] On alternating bite attacks, they could hiss and spit, and the spittle caused magical blindness in a target unless they successfully resisted. This blindness was permanent until dispelled or cured. As an alternative to a melee attack, they could emit a howl that stunned all but felines in a 19-ft (5.8-m) radius unless they managed to resist.[6]
If wounded, the master cat could lick their wounds nine times per day. Each lick restored health very similar to a cure light wounds spell. They could also summon other cats to their aid in feline form. The creatures that appeared ranged from small wild cats, up through the large cats to smilodons.[6]
Relationships[]
The cat lord was typically a loner, and except for other cats, had very few known friends.[6] However, the elven god Solonor Thelandira, who was allied with various nature powers and Animal Lords, had a particular alliance with the cat lord, with whom he shared a dominion over hunting.[5]
History[]
The position of cat lord was an inherited one, passed on from an old cat lord to a chosen heir.[9]
In the mid–14th century DR, the current Catlord was an old and bestial male who led the cats from the jungles. Sensing his end was near and great change coming to the Realms, the Catlord decided to choose an heir, a young werecat boy. He decided that this new catlord must instead prowl beside cats in the towns and cities. Unfamiliar in the ways of civilization, the Catlord sought an apparently respectable human to teach his heir. Unfortunately, believing being respectable meant being civilized, the Catlord chose the cruel and ruthless Pasha Abon Duum of Manshaka. Duum planned to corrupt and use the kittenlord to further his own schemes and made a deal with the god Malar, the Beastlord, promising to give him the child when he was through with him. The Catlord rescued the boy but was attacked by Malar, while the rogue Conner (following the direction of the goddess Selûne) carried the boy to safety.[9]
In the Year of the Prince, 1357 DR, Duum kidnapped the kittenlord and captured the Catlord, and used their ability to travel to Gladsheim, where he confronted Tyr, god of justice. However, the Catlord and Conner had colluded to trick Duum. In the commotion, the Catlord snatched the Claw of Malar from around Duum's neck, an item he'd hoped to use against Tyr, then hurled his mages out of the plane. The real Tyr sent them back to the material plane, and the kittenlord remained safely with the Catlord.[8]
Rumors and Legends[]
Some sages considered the cat lord to be a minor deity, and a few considered them to be evil.[6]
Known Cat Lords[]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The old catlord depicted in the comics is obviously very different from that described and pictured in other sources for the core setting, such as a young man (Monster Manual II 1st edition) or woman (Monstrous Compendium Planescape Appendix). This is to be expected, however, as the position is passed onto successors, but it is unclear how these other cat lords are related. It is tempting to imagine that the boy kittenlord might grow up and become the young man catlord, who has a similar appearance, but Monster Manual II was published in 1983, while the relevant comics were published over 1988–1990, so the chronology is difficult. A fifth "Cat Lord" appears in the Epic Level Handbook, but is noted as specific to the Greyhawk setting. It may be that the cat lord, unlike other planar powers, is setting-specific.
Appearances[]
- Novels
- A Virtue by Reflection
- Card Games
- Blood Wars
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Gary Gygax (August 1983). Monster Manual II 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 22. ISBN 0-88038-031-4.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Allen Varney, ed. (June 1994). Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-1560768623.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 258. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell (July 2002). Epic Level Handbook. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 305–306. ISBN 0-7869-2658-9.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Eric L. Boyd (November 1998). Demihuman Deities. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 133. ISBN 0-7869-1239-1.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 Gary Gygax (August 1983). Monster Manual II 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 23. ISBN 0-88038-031-4.
- ↑ Gary Gygax (December 1977). Monster Manual, 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 53. ISBN 0-935696-00-8.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Dan Mishkin (March 1990). “The Last Betrayal”. In Elliot S. Maggin ed. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons #16 (DC Comics) (16)., pp. 5–6, 8–9, 11–12, 14–16, 23.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Dan Mishkin (March 1990). “The Last Betrayal”. In Elliot S. Maggin ed. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons #16 (DC Comics) (16)., pp. 1–2.
Giant felines: Dire lion • Dire tiger • Giant lynx
Magical felines: Cath shee • Crag cat • Elven cat • Jaguar lord • Jana-nimr • Jana-qitat • Luck eater • Sabu lord • Swamplight lynx • Tressym • Water cat
Planar felines: Fey panther • Spectral panther
Humanoids: Rakshasa • Razorclaw shifter • Tabaxi • Wemic
Outsiders: Cat lord • Displacer beast • Foo lion • Hellcat • Leomarh • Leonal
Lycanthropes: Werecat • Werecougar • Werejaguar • Wereleopard • Werelion • Werepanther • Weretiger
Undead felines: Crypt cat