Claws first, questions later
Most species in the galaxy learned to talk their way out of trouble. The Cathar learned to hunt their way through it. They're feline warrior-hunters from the forest world of the same name — all short fur, slitted eyes, and retractable claws — and if you've played Knights of the Old Republic you already know one: Juhani, the Jedi who fell and came back. They're playable in SWURPG now, in the catalog and the Character Builder, and they bring a kit built entirely around closing the distance.
What makes a Cathar
Beneath the fur they're lean and fast-twitch, closer to a sprinting predator than a laborer — males carry a heavy mane and a set of lower fangs, females a lighter mane and the edge in speed, and both bear the claws that slide free at will. Their homeworld, Cathar, is a green world of forest canopy where the people built living tree-cities among the branches rather than clear them. And their culture runs hot: honor, family, and the bond between mates matter more than almost anything, loyalty and hatred both run deep, and every Cathar is raised to face the darkness in themselves head-on. That's the Blood Hunt — a rite of fighting a nest of forest predators alone, to earn honor and burn off the fury. It is not a coincidence that so many of the galaxy's most famous Cathar carried a lightsaber.
The build
The kit is a front-line hunter's, top to bottom:
| Ability modifiers | DEX +2, STR +1, WIS −2 |
| Skill | Athletics |
| Retractable Claws | Natural weapon, 1d4 slashing, finesse — dangerous even disarmed |
| Feline Pounce | Charge 15+ ft into a target, land a claw, and knock it prone |
| Cat's Eyes | Darkvision out to 60 ft — fight where others are blind |
| Blood Hunt | Bonus-action rage: advantage on melee attacks, at the cost of a clouded head |
Put together, a Cathar wants to move. Open with a pounce to put the biggest threat on its back, tear in with the claws, and — when it really matters — loose the Blood Hunt for advantage on every swing, knowing the rage makes you reckless and keeps you from backing off. The Dexterity lean means the claws hit hard on finesse, and the night-eyes turn a dark corridor from a liability into home ground. The catch is temperament: the same fury that fuels the rage makes a Cathar easy to bait, and the best players lean into that rather than pretend it isn't there. Scoundrel, soldier, or Jedi, the fur fits — start one in the builder and point everything at the charge.
Legends of the species
The Cathar have left deep marks on galactic history, most of them holding a lightsaber. Sylvar and her mate Crado trained beside the future Dark Lord Exar Kun under Master Vodo-Siosk Baas, and the Great Sith War took them both in different directions — Sylvar to a lifelong struggle with her own rage, Crado to the dark side and a pointless death in Kun's service. Generations later came Juhani, a refugee raised on Taris after the Mandalorians all but exterminated her people in the Cathar Massacre. She rose to Jedi Knight, fell briefly to the dark side, and was redeemed — and is widely recognized as the first openly gay hero in Star Wars. Their full stories, and the rest of the species' lore, live on the Cathar species page.
Build your own
The Cathar are live in the Character Builder — claws, pounce, night-eyes, Blood Hunt, and all. Read the full species profile for the lore and the stat breakdown, roll a Cathar name from the built-in generator, and take a feline warrior-hunter down onto whatever world your table is bleeding over this week. Just remember the one rule every Cathar lives by: it's easier to start the hunt than to call it off.