Overview
Language
The gathamhr communicate amongst themselves with a combination of roaring, growling, chuffing, and other sounds. They also use their bodies to convey moods and emotions, especially with their tails and ears.
Appearance
The gathamhr are comparable to ponies in height and weight, but are comparatively much longer because of their tails. When fully grown, Baaran lions are capable of looking down on
dwarves and halflings. They have more developed forelimbs and a shorter neck than some of their cousins, a long tail and slightly pointed ears. Their canines are somewhat elongated, though they don’t extend below the mandible.
Their summer coat is reddish-beige in colour with pronounced pale striping. The prides that inhabit northern reaches of the Taagi Baara moult their fur in autumn for a completely white coat. In spring when snow recedes they moult again, returning to their summer fur.
Compared to some other big cats, the gathamhr exhibit no sexual dimorphism in regards to size – the only observable difference beyond the genitals is the short mane possessed by the males. It is a rich auburn in colour during summer and a spotted white in winter.
The two pairs of eyes they possess are by far their most prominent feature. Both are blue-gray in cubs, but the lower pair slowly changes to golden-brown as they mature into adults.
Habitat
Preying on large herbivores in hot and temperate climates alike, the gathamhr can be found all across the long stretch of the Taagi Baara, from the very tip of the Eaglehead to the dense forests in the shadow of the Spine. They have been encountered as far south as the Allir reach, and there have even been sightings in the Aberresai (though this might have also been some of their many feline relatives).
Some prides prefer staying in the colder climes of the Spine and the Eaglehead all year long; others linger in the temperate steppes, while those further south seem to thrive best in the warmer temperatures of the Allir reach. It isn’t clear if these are just regional preferences or entirely separate
subspecies evolved from a shared ancestor.
Traits
As predators, the gathamhr can crush skulls with their bite and break bones with a swipe of their paws. They are strong enough to carry or drag up to two times their weight, but their imposing build prevents them from climbing trees like some of their smaller, more slender cousins.
Because they live in prides, the gathamhr have adapted to a stalking form of the hunt, as opposed to chasing down their swift prey. Thus they are much more capable of slinking through low grass and patiently sneaking up on their quarry. While galloping they can match the speed of the average horse, but they can only cover very short distances before getting tired.
Between their two pairs of eyes they have excellent binocular and night vision, but poor lateral sight as a tradeoff. The lower pair sees into the spectrum of visible light; the upper pair into the infrared. For this reason, the upper eyes are almost always closed against the glare of daylight – the gathamhr use them when they hunt at night, and even more so when the days grow short in winter.