Water Cat

The ancestors of these cats were familiars belonging to wizards killed when a necromancer overthrew their guild. Magical runoff in the sewers has changed them, as it has so many creatures down there, yet water cats remain gentle and fond of people. Stories credit them with guiding lost explorers home.

Their claws and bite are no worse than any cat's. The danger is venom: their fangs are hollow like a viper's and inject poison with each bite. A victim who fails a save vs. poison is weakened as if by ray of enfeeblement, the 2nd-level wizard spell. Humans, demihumans, and humanoids must also save a second time or slowly turn into a mongrelman over the following month. Rats of every kind, including giant rats and wererats, die on the spot if they fail the save.

Unlike other cats, water cats enjoy getting wet and live in and near water. Secretive and solitary, they meet only to breed and speak as normal cats do, though a gifted few understand the common tongue thanks to their ancestry.

Their diet is mostly mice, rats, and similar small prey, with the occasional nibble of a dead monster. They are the main reason so many giant rats have fled the sewers lately, and even normal rats, though better at dodging them, have been heading upward. Brought to the surface, a water cat would be an unmatched mouser.