Furstock Appearances

So, some of you guys may know I'm a lead dev over on Tamriel Rebuilt, a massive mod project to add the rest of the mainland of Morrowind to the Vvardenfell given to us in TES:III. We're partnered with Project Tamriel, which are working on the other provinces like Cyrodiil, Skyrim, and High Rock. They've recently taken an interest in starting work on Elsweyr, which means some of my furstock lore may see the light of day beyond this website. Which is really exciting for me! To that aim, I'm interested in getting some thoughts on the appearances of the furstocks now that this may become a thing. The other furstock posts I made had to be a little bit obtuse as they were written in an in-character voice, so now I am saying my head-canons flat out for clarity.

These appearances I've suggested are based in canon, though some I've had to add more speculation to. I've tried to incorporate some popular head-canons as well, but as I've been trolling round the internet looking at concept art, I notice a lot of, well, lack of creativity, in which Khajiit all look like bigger or smaller ingame models or different sizes of tigers and cats. This is quite boring to me; some of my furstocks may then not be what you expect if you are used to this art.

With no further ado:

Alfiq: The size and the shape of a short-hair house cat.

REASONING: This is alluded to heavily in ESO, and was also given to us in a dev interview with Douglas Goodall (Daggerfall/Morrowind era lore).

Alfiq-Raht: The size and shape of a lynx, including a shorter tail and tufted ears.

REASONING: Douglas Goodall said that the Alfiq-Raht are similar to Alfiq but larger, and likening them to a lynx is a popular headcanon.

Ohmes: Look so much like a Bosmer, non-Khajiit may have trouble telling the difference!

REASONING: This is alluded to in Douglas Goodall's interview. Ohmes are also the player race of Arena.

Ohmes-Raht: Similar to an anime catgirl: Bosmer with cat ears, tail, and light fur.

REASONING: This is alluded to in Douglas Goodall's interview. Ohmes-Raht are also stated to be the player race for Daggerfall.

Suthay: The player race of Oblivion, Skyrim, and ESO, with fur, a tail, a cat-like face, and plantigrade feet. Fur color can be variable.

REASONING: Up until Oblivion, any changes to the shape of Khajiit was said to be due to their furstock. Though there is a dev interview stating these later Khajiit player races are Suthay-Raht, I personally lump this into the same bad-retcon bin as the furstocks presented in Legends, and hence ignore it. So why did I choose Suthay instead of Cathay as the Wiki states? By the official lore given to us in the Ohmes and Senche furstocks, the -Raht Khajiit forms are not only bigger, but more bestial in configuration. Suthay-Raht have digitigrade feet, which makes the plantigrade feet a logical choice for a less-bestial non-Raht. Also, as stated in my Cathay reasoning below, a digitigrade Khajiit probably appears larger and stronger than a plantigrade Khajiit, making a plantigrade version of the Suthay-Raht to be necessarily the smaller Suthay. Regarding the Wiki, I cannot find any official references behind their choice of Cathay. (If someone can point me to the reasoning, please tell me!) Some reasoning out there also points at the lynx-like fur color of the Skyrim Khajiit versus the jungle-cat-like fur color of the Oblivion Khajiit, saying that this should mean they are a different furstock. As I am trying to make the furstocks be markedly different and not just details like this, AND as ESO gives us a lot more options for fur color for their Khajiit, I don't see this as a reason compelling enough to make the Skyrim Khajiit a whole different furstock. Khajiit may simply have regional or familial differences in their coloring, much like IRL humans.

Suthay-Raht: The Morrowind player race, which has digitigrade feet, tail, fur, and a cat-like face. Is capable of running on all fours, but prefers to walk about on two.

REASONING: It is stated specifically in Morrowind that their player race is the Suthay-Raht, so this one is straight forward. The game Redguard also sees a few Khajiit that are said to be Suthay-Raht, but is inconsistent with whether or not they have those digitigrade feet: one concept art and the ingame art shows them with plantigrade, while the Cyrus Origin comic shows them as digitigrade and able to run on all fours as well as stand on two. I assume the ingame graphics is a technical limitation, and the other art is a minor retcon--it's worth mentioning that the Khajiit pictured in that art is a cripple. So maybe he is a deformed specimen of Suthay-Raht...?

Cathay: Similar to the Egyptian god Bastet, with a tiger or lion like head, and a human body. The body is tailless and furless (at least, as furless as humans are, and some of us are still quite hairy!), and in males, the mane may extend down the back a ways, as in Peter Jackson's depiction of Beorn in the (2012-2014) Hobbit movies.

REASONING: As I am attempting to make the furstocks massively different in appearance than just size or fur color, I went with this unusual choice. The Egyptian god look is one so far unused in popular cat people fantasy, and is unique enough I think it deserved a cameo. As for why I chose Cathay for this and not some other furstock: the interview with Douglas Goodall states only that the Cathay are larger and stronger than the Suthay-Raht, but smaller than the Cathay-Raht. A plantigrade form may appear smaller than digitigrade, as if a digitigrade were stretch out their legs, they would be taller. Digitigrade legs are also built for springing and jumping, and a digitigrade Khajiit may be able to jump further or run faster, lending again to the impression they are stronger. Finally, Ohmes and Senche lore gives us a precedent that the non-Raht forms are not just smaller, but less bestial in their appearance as well. As the form of Cathay-Raht is already well established, this gave room for Cathay to be both human-sized and given a more human-like form than a Suthay-Raht.

Cathay-Raht: Similar to the Suthay-Raht, with partially digitigrade feet, tail, fur, and a tiger-like face. Particularly large (6-8 feet tall), and like GW2 charr, may prefer to go on all fours when running, though they will usually walk about on two.

REASONING: Lore given states this furstock are like an upright jaguar, so a mix of big cat and human attributes seemed appropriate. The other parts are popular head-canon.

Pahmar: Similar to a leopard, svelte and agile. Quadruped.

REASONING: It is stated by Douglas Goodall that Pahmar are like a tiger. To differentiate them from Pahmar-Raht, I make them a little leaner and smaller in appearance.

Pahmar-Raht: Might be called a dire tiger if this was D&D. Heavier-set and thicker furred than the Pahmar.

REASONING: It is stated by Douglas Goodall that Pahmar-Raht are the larger and stronger versions of the Pahmar. To differentiate them more clearly, I imagine they are quite large and muscular.

Senche: Similar to a tiger in all aspects except their forelegs, which are twice as long as their hind legs, and feature paws with thumbs.

REASONING: The part about the forelegs comes from earlier lore. Earlier concept art also suggests that the length of these forelegs give them some ability to stand upright like a great ape or troll, so I gave them thumbs. This also reflects the lore (previously stated) that the non-Raht forms of Khajiit are not just smaller, but less bestial than their non-Raht counterparts.

Senche-Raht: The size of a small Indian elephant (7 feet at the shoulder). Quadruped, heavy-set, similar in appearance to a sabertooth tiger with a short tail.

REASONING: Earlier lore states that Senche-Raht are like huge tigers, and stand at twice the height of an Altmer. If this was measured on a quadruped from the shoulder, these Khajiit would be so massive as to be illogical and difficult to implement in an ingame space. Instead, a Beyond Skyrim dev suggested they are measured this way when standing on their hind legs. Dropping back to all fours would put them back at the height of a polar bear or small Indian elephant. The short tail is a nod to some fan concept art I found, as well as to differentiate them more clearly from the Pahmar-Raht.

Dagi: Similar to a tamarin monkey, with grasping paws, a long tail, and is primarily quadruped as it gets about in trees. Of a similar size to the housecat-like Alfiq.

REASONING: Dev interviews and the lore book Mixed Unit Tactics say this furstock lives in trees, and are on the small side. We also have a concept art from MK that gives us a size (small enough to perch on someone's shoulders), though their exact physiology is harder to pick out in that picture. Rather than make Dagi simply a small Suthay-Raht, I wanted to get creative. I chose the tamarin as they have manes and moustaches like the earlier concept art of Khajiit, and so I can see them being tweaked slightly to look like a cat.

Dagi-Raht: Similar to a baboon with a lion-like face. Quadruped but can stand upright for short stretchs, have grasping paws, and may be a knuckle-walker. 3-4 feet tall at the shoulder when standing on all fours.

REASONING: The lore gives us that Dagi-Raht are similar to Dagi except for being bigger and less able to climb trees. Going with the image of Dagi as monkeys, this made baboons a natural choice. Some notable fan concept art makes Dagi-Raht big and heavy-set like gorillas or giant sloths, but try as I might, I can't quite see this working for a cat people, so I went with a smaller and more agile-looking great ape.

Tojay: A halfling-sized (3 foot) Suthay-Raht, with a head and facial structure ranging from anime catgirl to dome-headed cat. May run about on all fours, but prefers standing and walking on two.

REASONING: The only thing we know from official lore is that the Tojay live in forests and swamps, and that it is smaller than the Tojay-Raht. This gives us a lot of room to head-canon it up with this furstock. As most of the fan concept art is just different takes on Suthay-Raht, I took a leaf out of Beyond Skyrim's book and made Tojay into tiny Suthay-Raht, as I enjoy imagining them with a predilection for tinkering or mischief like gnomes and halflings in other universes. This small size also gives them the ability to climb trees like the Dagi, backing up the official lore of them living in heavily wooded areas. To then distinguish them from the Dagi (and give a few nods to the fan artwork), their face and head are more like a Bosmer's.

Tojay-Raht: Manticore or sphinx-like, with a Bosmer-like head set on a quadruped cat's body (no wings obviously). About the size of a large dog (thigh-height on a human); the forepaws may be talons or grasping paws.

REASONING: The only official lore we have is that this furstock is bigger than Tojay. Like the Cathay, I then sorted through other configurations we have for combining human and cat features in fantasy, and landed on the manticore. The grasping paws/talons comes from the speculation that this form may be bipedal, and hence be able to manipulate objects with its paws, and also the fact it probably lives in trees like its Tojay cousin, and so needs good feet to climb. Their relative size is based off the Tojay.