Lore According to Arkanis

[DM Arkanis]

I'm a cat guy. Yup, love cats. At home I have a Tortoise Shell, and a Himalayan who both love me but hate each other. Cats have a great, and long-standing tradition of being involved with real life religion, and in our game lore have had some cursory, and not well remembered lore surrounding them. There was this Cat Lord once... but I digress...

Elven Cats, while rare, do appear now and then. Here's some lore I found about them:

"Cats kept by elves have evolved into magical creatures, possibly aided by arcane means. They are very intelligent and have their own language, and many can speak a crude form of the elven tongue. Some live with gnomes, brownies, or woodland creatures, and also speak a basic form of their keepers' language. Most have gray-brown fur with dark stripes.
Elven cats are very stealthy, imposing a -5 penalty to opponents' surprise rolls. They are surprised only on a 1. Elven cats have a 99.9% chance to move silently, and a 90% chance to hide in wilderness areas.
They are excellent climbers, can leap 20 feet with ease, and enjoy swimming and playing in water.
Elven cats have magical abilities that they use to avoid enemies. They have limited ESP which is used to determine intent. They can use enlarge and trip once per day, and reduce and tree twice per day; for magical abilities, elven cats are treated as 9th-level spellcasters. Enlarge doubles an elven cat's Hit Dice and damage; tree allows it to assume the form of a tree's limb."

(AD&D Monstrous Manual pp 128-129 PDF format)

I have also heard that they can be used by certain gods as messengers, and while they themselves possess no divine attributes, they certainly know what they want, well, at least for the moment, and would never be unkind to someone who knew the value of a tasty Bird, or Fish...
Cats are fickle creatures though; you may be their friend one moment and an afterthought the next, and cats who can read your mind, perform spells, and speak rudimentary Elven should be treated with respect, and the utmost caution...

[DM Arkanis]

It is a little known fact, but during the plague in Europe between 1300-1700 cats were viewed as agents and consorts of the devil and killed. In fact, there were many countries that outlawed the common cat. Brought originally to Europe by the Romans, who got them from Egypt, cats were viewed as whimsical, fickle, and even sly or tricky and mistrusted by most common people.

It was only when the cats were gone, and the plague slew millions, that the proverbial light bulb came on, or rather the candle was lit, and similar to sir Bedevere in Python's the Holy Grail, there was an epiphany and everyone realized that it was the rats, and not the cats that were causing the plague. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g

Might be the reason we see NPC cat's on the streets of Baldur's Gate.... and I seem to remember a plague in DR 1351 as well...

(thanks DM Hera for the insight)

Ark

[Nachti]

I wonder how common they are in the underdark.

[Hoihe]

It is a little known fact, but during the plague in Europe between 1300-1700 cats were viewed as agents and consorts of the devil and killed. In fact, there were many countries that outlawed the common cat. Brought originally to Europe by the Romans, who got them from Egypt, cats were viewed as whimsical, fickle, and even sly or tricky and mistrusted by most common people.

It was only when the cats were gone, and the plague slew millions, that the proverbial light bulb came on, or rather the candle was lit, and similar to sir Bedevere in Python's the Holy Grail, there was an epiphany and everyone realized that it was the rats, and not the cats that were causing the plague. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g

Might be the reason we see NPC cat's on the streets of Baldur's Gate.... and I seem to remember a plague in DR 1351 as well...

(thanks DM Hera for the insight)

Ark

Actually, the Baldur's Gate itself holds cats in an amazing regard. I remember reading somewhere that excessive abuse of cats may include punishment of a temporary polymorph into a cat to "teach a lesson".

[Maecius]

Cats are the only animals allowed in Baldur's Gate, per the lore, yeah:

Cats are everywhere -- raised to keep down the shipborne vermin -- but there's nary a dog to be seen. Livestock and mounts are kept outside the city in order to ensure maximum cleanliness.

[Source: Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast, 8-13]

[izzul]

Cat lover.. *hugs cat and sleep together*

[DM Arkanis]

I wonder how common they are in the underdark.

I believe I saw one in the UD last night...

[DM Arkanis]

I'm heading to Toronto for an Irish wake - yes, a real Irish wake... back Sunday. I'd expect then you might find one of these elusive cats hunting mice at Nashkel. Ark

[chad878262]

Hope your liver and kidneys are in good working order.... Sorry for your loss as well.

[DM Arkanis]

Crouching low in the tall grass,
she moves one paw slowly... slowly... slowly.
Soundless.
Soundlessly one paw down, another up.
Eyes fixed. Pupils dilated. Full breaths in and out. Slowly.
Crouch and wait.
Wait for the moment.
She is air. She is the waving grass. She is shadow.
There is nothing but the sound of her heart beating,
the wind in her ears;
the smell of avinsin caballin
Jump! Rend and tear with teeth and claws,
and the sweet, sweet taste;
eyes half closed in victory, but also in satisfaction
The hunt ends, the feast ends,
the Dance goes on.

[Nachti]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0zERiMJFQo

0:55

[DM Arkanis]

“I’m bored.”
“You're ancient.”
“I’m not old, I resent that!”
“I didn’t say that you were old. I said that you are ancient.”
“And there is a difference?”
“I am older than you are.”
“True. You can be boring too, you know.”
“Me? Boring? Now in all the time that we have known each other, when, ever, have you known ME to be boring? My sense of humor is legendary my dear. Legendary! Boring??”
Smiling, “ You know it has been so long since you took me anywhere.” Pouts, “You always have the best parties, and you know ALL the best people… Remember that time, when you invited that serious one? You know, with the armor and metal all over his face? He couldn’t speak you made him so angry. Remember how he tried to kill you?” Laughter now.
Smiling despite himself, “Yeah, that was pretty good... Boy, was he mad." Thinking, "You and I still make a good team you know. Flirting so mercilessly with him... I thought that he was going to choke. You shouldn’t provoke him, even if he is just a minor deity.”
“Me?” With mock indignation, “It was YOUR party after all! You could have stopped me.”
“What, and ruin all the fun? What would our devoted say to that...? We have a reputation to uphold, my dear, and I would hate to see some stuffed up suit of armor not get flustered because be would not let his guard down, although” giggles “I suppose that would be counter productive for him, no? Considering??” Real laughter. Real, hold-your-gut you are laughing so hard. Both take a moment, then quiet.
Purring. “I hear Dug is venturing these days on the Sword Coast… I know he LOVES your parties.”
“Dug?” That old curmudgeon? Bah! He doesn’t know the meaning of fun. I bet that when we show up, he faints on the spot... ooh, that gives me an idea...”
Excited. “So… we’re going then?”
“Asti, how could I deny you anything? You’ll have to wear the furs though. I hear it is cold there.”
“Honestly! You are such a tease!” Purrs again, “this will be fun and I don't mind fur... for a while”
"For a while. Until it gets boring, I suppose?"
"My love, you are never boring..."

[DM Arkanis]

"NO, I will not help you..."
"Aw, c'mon, it's going to be fun! These are your people after all!"
The old man looks up from the large book he was writing in and squints at the elf. "You think my people are a joke?"
"No, no!" The elf grins and walks closer to the old man... closer than the old man likes but he tolerates it, seeing as how it is HIM. "Not a joke. Helpers."
"You cannot use my faithful that way. We are Those who Learn. We seek Knowledge, and we write it, and we Keep Track of events. That is all."
Pouting, the young, and very handsome elf speaks, almost as if he is purring, "But there IS knowledge. There are events that will need tracking."
The old man rubs his eyes, for effect only, his Avatar distracted by other events happening a continent away, "Why should I track your "events", Trickster? You always get yourself in trouble. Now you are dragging in... words... you are dragging in half the mortals into this... Dance?"
Grinning the elf sits on the book the old man is writing in, "It will be the best story. It will involve the best people. It will be epic. Worthy of the Great Binder's time, I assure you."
Wincing slightly the old man mutters, "It had better. Begin you at Candlekeep, I shall make way." And with that, and a flourish, Oghma vanishes and assumes the form of a young elf; a scribe of Candlekeep, and puts in motion the Trickster's plans...

[DM Arkanis]

q.v there is no correlation between the above-mentioned trickster and any other DM event past or present. For the purposes of my RP it refers to anyone who plays pranks, albeit some of them are Epic Level...

Ark

[DM Arkanis]

"Is it done?"
"The Lady of Dreams has played her part. One more player and the game is in motion."
"You sound like a Dark Elf."
"Well, they are involved... sort of. It's been a while since I played Sava with the web-thrower..." He looks to the large Sava board on the broad mahogany desk in front of him, it's pieces glinting in the low light of several magical candles.
"Focus my love."
"She hates me too. She will really hate me once she finds out what we've done. I'm going to Dance at that thought for an eon..."
"You don't need an excuse to dance, my love..."
"No, just the moonlight, and an open field, and random friends."
"They won't all dance you know. Most of them will never trust enough."
"I know, but this starts things. This will be my greatest prank ever. I mean, think about it... Dark Elves living on the surface, under the stars and the moon... I need to visit the Promenade to make sure the Dark Dancer knows it is coming..."
"Not yet. You have the Strong to convince, then The Four to find the key. When the Door opens you can visit your beautiful Elli." She pouts, feigning jealousy.
"I only have eyes for you, my love."
"You'd better, you know that making a dragon angry is never a smart move."
"I know, my love" and he reaches for the Sava board for the Champion Dragon piece, which glows purple in the low light of the room, and places it next to the Ilharess Ithar.