Steorling races

Physical traits are a product of their origin habitats - in modern times, Steorlings of all races live across the continent, though they do tend to be more common in their homelands.

This is sort of based on Eorzea's basic races - you can generally find Hyurs/Miqo'tes/Roegadyns/Elezen basically everywhere, each with a couple of differences and lore to support their tribes that occasionally plays a role in NPC backstories, and also affects how often you see these in a region, but it's not imposed strongly upon your character.

All of these can interbreed with each other. For technical purposes, mixed-race Steorlings are assigned a "main" race at random from the parents and some required physical characteristics of this race must show, but secondary traits from the parents can be mixed.

Cold to temperate

Large cat

• Largest of cat races
• Big paws, small rounded ears
• Strong build
• Thick fur (seasonal moults)
• Medium to long fur, long tail
• See: Siberian tigers

Medium cat

• Very large paws for their size
• Thick fur (seasonal moults)
• Medium to long fur, short tail
• Pointed ears with extended tips
• See: Bobcats, lynxes

Tropics

cat

• Somewhere in between temperate medium/large cats
• Tend to be heavily patterned
• Strong build but more wiry than muscled
• Short fur, long tail
• Notably large range (historic); not restricted to tropics
• See: Tigers, jaguars

Small cat

• Comparable to house cats
• Tend to be heavily patterned
• Smallest cats, most common
• Shares range with arid cats (historic)
• Coat length, tail length can vary considerably
• Smaller paws

Grassland/arid/desert

Large cat

• Larger than tropical large cats
• Rounded ears
• Strong build
• Long tail
• Very short fur but may have longer fur on neck like a ruff or mane
• Less patterned
• See: Lions

Medium cat

• Ranges from small to medium
• Large rounded ears OR pointed ears with extended tips
• Sleek and flexible
• Short fur, medium length tail
• See: Servals, caracals

Small cat

• Comparable to tropical cats
• Build is more blocky, with larger ears
• Short fur
• Less patterned
• Short fur, long tail
• See: Sand cats

Short tail: Bobcat/lynx length. Just a nub, but not tailless.
Medium tail: Serval length - roughly midway to ground from base to tip when standing; does not touch ground.
Long tail: Normal cat length - able to touch ground when standing. Approximately horizontal length of body from shoulders to butt.