Feline
by Charis
The Feline is dedicated to Nystul, whose Ironmen and BARs seem to have 9 lives.

Class: Rogue, Warrior
Tag: CAT

Introduction

The Feline has arose in the village of Tristram to combat the evil that is Diablo, and to slay their bitter enemies the hell hounds. He/she assumes the form of a human to better use magical weapons and to aid humans in their struggle. These enemies take the form of poison spitters, lava maws, pit beasts, etc., and they must die.

As you might expect, this CAT has nine lives (but see below!). Also, the CAT's main goal is to slay all Dog Bosses and Diablo

Rules

The biggest challenge to the feline is that the strength required to maintain human form is drained with each death, and the character's ninth death is permanent... unless... (s)he can undergo revitalization. If a feline plays on b.net, their designation should be 'CAT'+#lives left, e.g.: (CAT9), (CAT8).

The Feline prizes agility, and puts at least +2 dex per level-up. They prefer not to use shields, and will do so only if it contains one of the prized suffixes or prefixes given below.

While Cain is the Feline's close ally, Adria suspects her true identity and is avoided as far as possible. Likewise Gris is only visited to buy or repair Feline items. Wirt is quite discreet, and may be visited. (CATs who do not buy from Wirt, Griswold or Pepin are virtually LOL).

Felines may (and enjoy) co-oping with humans, but must be exceedingly careful who they trust, given the traumatic nature of death. Lore tells us there are felines who also live off the land (LOL) with the exception of speaking with their friend and supporter, Cain the Elder. There have also been reports of Felines springing up in Amazon tribes, or starting life as a simple wanderer (BAR, BNR, NR) who will wear no non-cursed magical items EXCEPT those which they prize.

Items

Enchantments
They value stealth (no +l.r.) and love items of the jaguar, tiger, lion, precision, perfection, obsidian (their natural color) and emerald (their eye color), items of speed or swiftness. Some felines instead have Jade eyes. They magical absorb sounds around them, and so can wear any armor. If they have the option of wearing a perfect collar (amulet) they often do so.

Special Unique
The unique shield Dragon's Breach, because of its portrayal of a Cheeath (often mistaken for a Dragon), is allowed.

Perfect CAT Gear?
Given the sought after equipment, the ultimate setup for a Feline might consist of
Rogue:
AFPoLion, Emerald Bow of Perfection, Gotterdamerung, Obsidian Ring of the Tiger, Topaz Ring of the Jaguar. (Sorcerer would have an Emerald Staff of Wiz)

Warrior:
AFPoLion, Emerald Sword of Haste, AweShTiger, Topaz Ring of the Jaguar, Obsidian Helm of Precision.

Actual equipment should be far less ideal than this :)

Spells

Felines love to use infravision and Guardian for better vision, teleport for quick escape.

Quests

1) Jaguar Quest
To become a Jaguar the feline must slay all dog bosses in Normal difficulty, and obtain and wear one item of the jaguar

2) Tiger Quest
to become a Tiger the feline must kill Diablo on Normal diff., and obtain and wear (in addition to jaguar) one item of the tiger

3) Lion Quest
To become a Lion the feline must kill Plaguewrath and Diablo on NM diff., and obtain and wear a third item, of the lion

4) Cat Lord Quest
To receive the highest title of "Cat Lord" the feline must vanquish Deathspit, Chaos Howler and Diablo on Hell difficulty, and obtain and wear one additional item, of emerald or obsidian (both if available).

Note
The Dragon's Breach Shield, if found by the character, may be substituted for any one of these required items mentioned in the previous four quests.

5) Feline Retribution
If a feline dies while hunting a dog boss, they should consider a Feline Retribution run. Wearing their MOST feline gear, they must slay every single dog in the dungeon, on the same diff they died on. The monster class responsible for the death should also be slain en masse, and added to the most hated list.

Example
If slain by a Storm Rider, all forms of Lning demons must die in the retribution, and the Storm Rider specifically becomes persona non grata.

If a dog boss is encountered, be sure to slay each one of his cohorts in front of him (you need not slaughter the whole lvl in his presence), and make him die as painful a death as possible. *IF* a dog boss is found, and if the difficulty is the highest possible, the life lost in the previous game may be reclaimed by taking his life. For this to work, *some* dog must drop a feline item. This is the item which contains the essence of that death. This is the only way, outside of rejuvenation quest, that a life may be regained.

If another Feline of similar ability is available to coop, this is highly encouraged. To finalize the process and actually restore the life, slay Diablo. Menhit-CAT5 and ChariSimba-CAT3 were the first to undertake this quest, on Hell diff, no less. It was a hectic ride, but they prevailed, slaying not one but two bosses, Deathspit and Chaoshowler.

6) Revitalization
As a last ditch effort, after the ninth death, the transient form of the feline may descend into the dungeon one last time, naked and with no items, in the hopes of finding a prized item. That is to say, an item of obsidian, emerald, perfection, of the lion, Gotterdamerung, or Dragon's Breach Shield. If no such item is found, the spirit of the feline returns to the realm of the cats, never to return.

She may use whatever she finds in the dungeon and can return to town ONLY to have drops identified by Cain the Elder, who knows her true identify - none of the other townsfolk can be used or spoken to. A death also ends the revitalization attempt. Any dog seen during this attempt must be slain. If successful in finding a revitalizing item, the character may re-equip only that gear which is 'prized', and must leave the rest, along with any gold, at the feet of Deckard Cain.

The good news is... she has another full set of nine lives. The item found becomes her most prized possession, and if lost or sold, she will immediately perish. On rare occasions, those with poor gear or many deaths have been known to undergoing trial and death by fire to force the issue and attempt the revitalization quest, but this is obviously very risky.