Pantheran Lore Codex

Hi! So as a long-time Panthera main, I figure I might know the most about their lore on the forum and to encourage others to play my favorite race I figured I would put together a lore doc.
__________________________________

The Panthera is one of Age of Wizards Online's most versatile race options, blending character perks and traits between Hero and Beast options. They stand tall, between 5'10" and 6'10" when not transformed by their Panther Form. Their fur colors can vary from inky blacks, to snow whites, to fantastical colors such as blues and pinks, and this extends to their fur pattern choices and face options which often mirror cat species from the real world, such as tigers, leopards, lions, tabbies, sphinxes, siamese cats, lynxes, caracals, and, of course, pumas and panthers. Many of these visual choices are also reflected while a Panthera is in their Panther Form!

Mechanically, they function similarly to other Hero races, but come with numerous perks unique to them. Let's begin with some of that OOC information, since that can inform the IC.

Perks:

• Dense Pelt - You have resistance to slashing damage, cold damage, and weather effects.
  Beast Stride - Roots, tangles, mud, and snow no longer count as Difficult Terrain. You move quietly.
  Tail Sense - You have a wider balance meter when traversing beams or rails.
  Flammable - You take 15% more fire damage. Inflammatory comments in chat apply 1 psychic damage.
  

These traits help paint a picture of what the physical experience of being a Pantheran is like.

Their Dense Pelt and Beast Stride perks speak towards their hardiness in natural conditions and natural inclinations towards survivalist wizard classes such as Druids, Barbarians, Rangers, and even Alchemists and Farmers who want to set up camps in harsher zones. Your Pantheran may be one of these rugged individualists!

The combination of Beast Stride's secondary effect, paired with Tail Sense makes Panthera a fairly solid choice for players interested instead in Thief, Rogue, or Nyctomancer, as well, as they will thrive in dense urban areas where stealth is key.

Of course, these bonuses have to come with a downside. That downside comes from being Flammable. Fire damage is one of the most common damage types, but mitigating it is viable with potions of fire resistance.

The real problem is the secondary effect - a cheeky joke by WizEnt - which makes Panthera a very suboptimal choice for PvP gameplay as trolls can spam chat with specific key words to deal damage. In isolation, 1 damage is nothing against a normal health pool, but some toxic players may use macros that combine abuse-filtered words with the term 'furry', 'kitten', or 'booboo wheel' to proc the damage extremely rapidly. It won't kill you instantly, but it's about 3x faster than typical poison damage if chat is constantly spammed, and gets even faster if more than one player is doing it.
Do not play Panthera in PvP!

I would say lorewise, this speaks to the more sensitive side of Panthera - they're rugged and hardy survivalists, but their cute looks lead others to demean them and it hurts their feelings because like everyone, they just want to feel strong too.

Panthera have one major racial skill, which I previously mentioned. Panther Form. This is a shapeshifting ability which allows them to become a quadrupedal version of themself. In this form your weapon skills are disabled and you have to use the Form Bar, which is filled with clawing, biting, and roaring actions instead.

In lore, the reason that Panthera exist, and can perform this feat of magic, is that long ago the trickster god Cattustus was incensed by a human, Lord Sigroy, particularly fond of keeping large cats in his lavish menagerie, dressing them up in silly outfits and forcing them to perform circus-like feats, balancing on beams for his guests. To punish him, Cattustus granted his menagerie intelligence, and the ability to stand on two legs and wield weapons. The menagerie rose up and slew their despicable owner, and took over the once-menagerie.

The Panthera homeland spread out from Sigroy's castle, the region now known as Cattusia in honor of the god which gave them wit and freedom, and the biggest holiday of the year in Pantheran society is known as Menagerie Day. The castle itself is now the Cattusian Palace, the city of Newpelt having grown around it. Smaller towns exist in Cattusia in the periphery, such as Gupton, Tacgnolia (named for the Tacgnolia Flower), and Fangport. One town was lost during the Great Wilting in the first expac, known as Tailpine.

Pantheran culture is one of freedom above all, owing to their history. To the average Pantheran, to be restrained or told what they can or cannot do is tantamount to torture. Thus, Cattusian laws are some of the most loose in the realms, permitting many acts which other lands would see as ill-mannered or uncouth. Nudity, drug use, loitering, trespassing, and many more similar behaviors (both in and out of canon...) are considered normal and commonplace.
__________________________________

I hope this helps you make your own Panthera!
This is maybe incomplete because I only know stuff from base game + expac 1, so if people have more context feel free to add it in a reply!!

dark-x-ripple wrote:Pantheran culture is one of freedom above all, owing to their history. To the average Pantheran, to be restrained or told what they can or cannot do is tantamount to torture. Thus, Cattusian laws are some of the most loose in the realms, permitting many acts which other lands would see as ill-mannered or uncouth. Nudity, drug use, loitering, trespassing, and many more similar behaviors (both in and out of canon...) are considered normal and commonplace.

Is that why I've seen such... uncouth behavior whenever I've had to make visits to the Cattusian Farmer's Market? The things I've heard uttered in the Cattusia Inn...

Anyway, as for Panthera lore past expansion 1... I won't give away any spoilers, buuuuut I think you'll be pleased to hear that Goran the Wild becomes a much more important character in expansion 3 onwards! I'll leave you to see what I mean by that.

(Wish we got more gnome characters, but that's neither here nor there... )

i think wiz should tell u abt the pvp nerf when u make the character i made a panthan bc tigers r fuking awesome but evry1 called me a furry in pvp n killed me so i had to make an alt

im not a furry btw but tigers ARE the fking coolest animal of the jungle biiiiiiitch!!!