There are many different races in Dungeons & Dragons 5E, but if you’re looking to play some sort of feline, there’s only one way to go; the Tabaxi.
The Tabaxi is one of the many unique races found in Volo’s Guide to Monsters.
- What are Tabaxi?
- Where did they come from?
- What are the Tabaxi’s traits?
- What classes are best for Tabaxi?
- How do you role-play a Tabaxi?
All these questions and more will be answered in this complete Tabaxi guide. So, grab a ball of yarn, your favorite furry companion, sit back, and learn all there is to know about the Tabaxi race in D&D 5E.
What are Tabaxi?
Tabaxi are a feline race of humanoids hailing from strange and distant lands. They live in small tight clans, typically moving quite often.
Though most stay in their homeland, a few are filled with wanderlust and venture out into the world. Many Tabaxi believe this is the Cat Lord, the divine God that created the Tabaxi, gifting them with curiosity.
These brave Tabaxi venture off into an unknown world, hoping to find strange artifacts, stories, and adventures. Once they grow old, they return home and tell their tribe all about their travels. Thus, keeping the isolated Tabaxi informed of the outside world.
The Cat Lord
The Cat Lord is a divine entity that created the Tabaxi. The Tabaxi believe the Cat Lord roams the world and watches over them, intervening in their lives when necessary.
Lovers of Lore
Though Tabaxi know the usefulness of material goods, they would much prefer to collect stories and lore.
Like most felines, they are very curious and want to know everything about everything. If they hear about a cursed ancient ruin near them, they will immediately head that direction. An army of orcs have been spotted? Well, sign me up for the scouting party, the Tabaxi would say. A noble that owns an ancient history book may find it stolen only to be returned once the Tabaxi has finished reading it.
Outside of the Homeland
Much like the Romani people of our world, you can find groups of Tabaxis outside of their homeland. They travel in small groups from town to town in colorful wagons.
They arrive in each town, plying their exotic wares and entertaining the locals with stories and acrobatic feats.
While they will accept gold, but they tend to trade their items for other items they find more interesting.
Where did they come from?
Strange and distant lands are where the Tabaxi traditionally come from. If you are playing a Tabaxi, you can always discuss with your DM where your distant lands are, or you could leave it more mysterious when asked.
If you want to learn even more about Tabaxi and where they come from, look on page 113 of Volo’s Guide to Monsters.
What are the Tabaxi’s Traits?
Ability score increases.
Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.
Age
Tabaxi have lifespans equivalent to Humans.
Size
Tabaxi, on average, are taller than Humans and relatively slender. Your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision.
You have a cat’s keen Senses, especially in the dark. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in Darkness as if it were dim light. While you can see, you can’t discern color in Darkness, only Shades of Gray.
Feline Agility.
Your reflexes and agility allow you to move with a burst of speed. When you move on Your Turn in Combat, you can double your speed until the end of the turn. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns.
Cat’s Claws.
Because of your claws, you have a climbing speed of 20 feet. In addition, your claws are natural Weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an Unarmed Strike.
Cat’s Talent.
You have proficiency in the Perception and Stealth Skills.
Languages.
You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.
What Classes are Best for Tabaxi?
There are quite a few classes that a Tabaxi can excel at. Here’s a brief list of some of my favorite.
- Rogue
- Paladin
- Bard
- Monk
- Ranger
Rogue
Tabaxi are arguably one of the best, if not the best, races to play a rogue. Not only are the Tabaxi traits pointing towards rogue, but also their culture as a whole.
Add in the +2 to Dexterity, +1 to Charisma, Darkvision, Feline Agility, a climbing speed, Cats Talent, and a leaning towards chaotic alignments, and what else do you need.
You don’t have to look any further than the first thing written about the Tabaxi in Volo’s Guide to Monsters on page 113.
“We had a tabaxi come through once, a few winters back. She kept the taproom packed each night with her stories and spent most days napping in a chair in front of the fireplace. We thought she was lazy, but when Linene came around looking for a missing broach, she was out the door before I could blink an eye.
—Toblen Stonehill, innkeeper”
Paladin
I know I just said that Tabaxi make the perfect rogue and now I’m throwing paladin at you, but hear me out. Tabaxi would make an excellent dexterity-based Paladin. Paladins spellcasting is based on their charisma, which will make the Tabaxi’s plus one handy.
Since you will not be using heavy armor, I would suggest taking Dueling as your fighting style and wielding a rapier and a shield which will help you make up for the lack of heavy armor. Add in Feline Agility, and you have an incredibly mobile Paladin who will also be a respectable fighter.
Bard
Tabaxi also make excellent bards. It is in their nature to tell stories and perform for the people. They also love collecting stories to take back to their homeland. Their natural curiosity makes them the perfect investigators to sniff out these stories.
Since they only have a plus one to charisma, I would suggest making a combat-based Bard, College of the Sword for a melee build or College of Whispers for a ranged build.
Monk
Tabaxis have a good start for being a Monk with their plus two to dexterity. However, charisma is useless for a monk. Now, that does not mean that a Tabaxi monk could not be great.
With the monk’s movement and a Tabaxi’s feline agility, you have quite possibly one of the fastest characters in the game. A level 2 Tabaxi monk would have a speed of 40. If they went all out using dash action, step of the wind, and then feline agility, they could move a whopping 240ft.
Ranger
Choosing Ranger is also a good pick for Tabaxi. The bonus dexterity is great for Rangers. However, charisma, like with the monk, is not very important for Rangers. You would be better off with a wisdom bonus or constitution bonus.
Tabaxi’s are prime for an Archer build. With feline agility, it would be easy for them to get away from melee combat and find a more advantageous archery position. Add in the climbing speed, and things can get very interesting.
How do you role-play a Tabaxi?
If I was role-playing a Tabaxi, there are a couple of things I would focus on.
- Unquenchable need to discover new things
- Gatherers of stories and lore
- Cat-like humanoids
Discovery of new things.
Since you are fascinated by pretty much everything, I would question every NPC I meet. Why are you wearing that hat? Where is the cursed temple exactly? How old are you? What would happen if I let the lion out of the cage? But how do we know they’re evil?
Stories and lore.
Everyone has a good story, even the farmer, the barkeep, or the blacksmith. Maybe the farmer tells you a funny story, and then you tell it on stage that night. The barkeep tells you about a wizard looking for adventurers. A blacksmith talks about an ancient weapon his grandfather built. As a Tabaxi, I would search for a new story under every stone.
You’re a cat. Act like a cat.
First off, you can look like any type of cat you want, whether you’re a house cat, jaguar, bobcat, leopard, tiger, etc. I think the best representation of a Tabaxi I’ve seen would be the Khajit race in Skyrim.
A few things to think about: Does your Tabaxi have any catlike habits? Do you purr when you’re happy? Maybe you knead a chair for a while before sitting. Or maybe you prefer raw meat. Maybe you look directly at the barkeep as you push a glass mug off the table.
Any of these things will help you role-play this race. However, it’s also important to note that you can really do whatever you want for your character in D&D. If you want to have a depressed cat that doesn’t care about anything, go for it. It’s your character, do what you want.
FAQ’s about the Tabaxi
Is Tabaxi a playable race?
Yes, Tabaxi are a playable race of cat-like humanoids found in Volo’s Guide to Monsters, page 113.
Can Tabaxi understand cats?
No, Tabaxi cannot automatically understand cats. This would require a spell, like Speak with Animal. You could ask your DM if you could have advantage on insight or handle animal checks when it comes to cats, but that’s up to them.
What is the lifespan of a Tabaxi?
Tabaxi’s lifespan is the same as humans, reaching adulthood around 15 years of age and living into their 70s.
Can Tabaxi be tigers?
Yes, Tabaxis can look like any kind of cat; tigers, bobcats, leopards, panthers, house cats, pumas, mountain lions, etc. If you want to look more like a lion, I suggest the Leonin race found in the Mythic Odysseys of Theros book.
Are leonin related to Tabaxi?
No, they are not. The Leonin are lionfolk, and the Tabaxi are catfolk. Their cultures are also vastly different. The Leonin are more noble warriors, and the Tabaxi are clever and fast roguish types.
Can Tabaxi climb walls?
Yes, because of their trait Cat’s Claws, they have a climbing speed of 20 feet. They can also use their claws as natural weapons dealing 1D4 slashing damage plus their strength modifier.
Does Tabaxi have their own language?
No, Tabaxi can speak and write common, and they get one bonus language of their choice.
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