Caiveh

"The caiveh (or caivehi) are a race of lion-men and women. In some ways they are the quintessential barbarian: living in tribes in often simple lifestyles, exulting in the now, and with a focus on individual strength and courage. That said, they are members of the Empire and behave themselves around other races. According to the ancient records being researched over in Nihon, the race was originally gengineered from human and various 'great cat' stock to create a super-bodyguard kind of counter to the goblins. Their senses are very acute, and this is at least partially why they avoid cities. Even Elven cities have noise and smells that the caivehi try to avoid. Though in the case of elves they also try to avoid such easily broken areas.

"Caiveh meals are catch-of-the-day. Whatever they hunted is what's on the table, often seared on the outside and raw on the inside. They are decent carvers of wood, making the sharpening of their claws into an artistic exercise. Not quite the level of wood-elves, but to be fair - the caiveh don't use magic. Caiveh males are big, muscular, and their heads are very suggestive of big cats. The females are smaller, more slender, and more humanlike in appearance. Though this mainly means that they have smaller muzzles and a few other (ahem) humanlike features.

"Caiveh typically follow the Piper as the Elves do, or venerate Etragar while trying to appease Surtag. As their lifestyle is often a nomadic circle from one set of huts to another, there are few temples but there are shrines that they take with them.

"During one of the raids of goblinkin on Empire land, I was able to observe caiveh tactics. They out-savage several of the goblinkin races and watching a small pride of caivehi going through ranks of goblins kind of reminded me of shooting a watermelon with a shotgun. Which brings up a peculiar problem of the caivehi - their berserkers.

"Maybe one in ten caiveh has a chance of being a berserker. If they are trapped, back against the wall, see a friend or beloved fall in battle, there is a chance of a berserker going into a Rage. This should be avoided by anyone, friend or foe, if at all possible. Their strength and endurance reaches extreme levels, their intellect fades to near-animal, and all that is left of a friend you might have joked with a half hour before is a bloodthirsty ravening animal who will slash and slay anything that even dimly registers as a threat until exhaustion at last comes."
Keian the Wanderer, "A Wanderer's Journal"

The caiveh are a rare nomadic race of lion-men. Most of the species sticks to an area where they go from one set of semi-permanent buildings to another set of buildings in a great circle. This was originally developed to allow game a chance to recover, but its origins have been lost to the ages.

Some few individuals take to adventuring or Imperial service. The vast majority are Barbarians or Fighters, since that is their preferred method of dealing with things. There are few thieves, and it would be rare for a cleric to achieve more than 5th level. Druids are valued among the caiveh, though few have the mental architecture necessary.

In D&D terms, the caiveh is most like a half-orc. Just the knowledge of the occasional berserker is enough to cause people to give them a wide berth. They are strong and excellent fighters, yet few ever go beyond their tribes.

There are some among the caiveh who are known as t'kailleh or more commonly - outwalkers. These have found something outside their society that draws them, either a wanderlust or a fascination with another race. Until they reach a period of k'shan (when they feel a sudden and overpowering need to return home and mate), these outwalkers will adventure and work among other races. Once the k'shan has occurred, they rarely leave the tribal grounds again.