Hengeyokai Kitsune Are One of the Most Common and Most Mysterious Hengeyokai Are Shapechangers Found Throughout the Island Subsets of Hengeyokai

Kitsune: Hengeyokai Kitsune are one of the most common and most mysterious Hengeyokai are shapechangers found throughout the Island subsets of Hengeyokai. These are Hengeyokai who spend nation of Wa and sometimes into neighboring lands of Kara- their first century as Foxes. However even young kitsunes can tur. It is near impossible to tell just how many there are due often be told apart from normal foxes due to their prevalence to their highly secretive nature and ability to appear as for odd colors and patterns. Kitsune can take on usual orange human. Hengeyokai actually have three forms. One of a and white fur of most red foxes but more often are pure humanoid, one of an animal, and one of a hybrid forms. white, white with red markings, or black with white Hengeyokai typically live for two centuries, for the first markings. This makes them a target for poachers or slavers century they live as a normal member of their animal species who want a powerful spies or courtesans on their side, save for their longevity. However during their 10th decade of especially before the kitsune comes of age. Though even life, they slowly become bipedal and more and more Kitsune as young as 50 recognize this problem and often intelligent until they obtain a hybrid form. dirty themselves on purpose to hide an unusual coloration or Most Hengeyokai prefer to live in their hybrid forms, markings. Additionally Kitsune of extraordinary power or life usually disguised as humans. With the exception of kitsune, experience tend to gain tails. This is not consistent with life Hengeyokai have no control over the natural shape of these experience, a kitsune can live a very long peaceful life and forms and they all appear as unique individuals who don’t never gain any tails, while others may earn multiple with a resemble any other people except by rare coincidence. Most single year. The exact way kitsune gain tails is unknown but Hengeyokai prefer this form and live among common races, it’s recognized a a symbol of wisdom and status in their but always on the edge of highly wild areas and almost never culture. 3-tailed Kitsune often become leaders of their in cities. Most only show their hybrid forms to those they community, 5-tailed kitsune are sought after by sages across trust completely, though a few due choose to live openly or in the nation. And legend speaks of kitsune who have been able the rare all hengeyokai community. Having spent their first to gain ten tails and become gods. At any time your number of century as normal animals, most do not repeat their time in tails is equal to your ½ your level rounded down, minimum animal forms except if they have large attachments from their one. old lives or need to protect their old homes. These Hengeyokai are revered as guardians of their home forests. Traits: Ability score: Your Dexterity score increases by 2 Age: Hengeyokai live for two centuries, as an animal in the first, and then as an intelligent creature their second. Upon turning 100 they are physically and mentally comparable to adolescent humans. Size: In your hybrid form you are between 4’8” and 5’6” though you usually gain a couple inches in your human form. Your size is medium Languages: You can read, speak and write, Common, Sylvan, and another language of your choice. Speed: Your speed is 35ft Proficiencies: You are proficient at deception. Nature’s Mask: Your true form is that of an anthropomorphized animal but you can use your move action transform into either your hybrid form, a specific human that is unique to you, or animal as a move action. If you transform into your animal form use the stat block for your animal, but keep your intelligence, wisdom, and charisma. In this form you cannot speak normal languages or cast spells or do any other actions that require hands or human speech to perform. Your gear is absorbed into yourself. You can however speak with other animals. This effect lasts as long as you transform again or if you drop to 0 hit points while in animal form. If so, then you revert to your hybrid form and cannot transform into an animal or human with this feature until ySampleour next short or long rest. file Kitsune are social creatures and while their deceptions of the Bakeneko common races are legendary they are also the only known Bakeneko are unique among hengeyokai as the only subrace hengeyokai to form their own communities. Kitsune villages that almost never ventures into the wild. Rather older are often impossible to find unless you know exactly what bakeneko often try to pass their offspring to wealthy or nice you’re looking for. They are hidden by powerful enchantments individuals of the common races to as common housecats. on high mountains or in deep forests. On their own Kitsune Those unable to make it, instead wind up on the streets of culture is quite chaotic and with artistic performance and coastal cities, hunting rats and fish until their awakening. drama are mainstays of their culture, as is the thriving Even after this period though, most bakeneko chose to live in merchant class who boast wares attained almost lawfully animal form rather than in human or hybrid forms, often from throughout Kara-tur. Kitsune children are often kept in lapping in the luxury of their owners or using the the household and treated as somewhat akin to pets, having commoners’ neglect of them to learn valuable secrets. Many very few responsibilities save to not chew on furniture. alley cats eventually are recruited or form their own However kitsune childhoods often last longer than their organized crime syndicates; specializing in spy-work, parents lives so it iup to aunts, uncles, and local monasteries assasination, and transportation of valuable materials. Just to oversee kitsune’s transformation into intelligent creatures don’t ask them to pick up cat-nip. and their subsequent adolescent years. Around the time of their awakening, bakeneko’s tails split Fox Shape: your animal shape is a fox. Use the stats listed into two. These tails grow longer throughout their lives and below. then begin to glow as well. Often cat-owners who suspect they Ability score: Your charisma score increases by 1 have a malevolent bakeneko on their hands cut the tails of Natural illusionist: You have the minor illusion cantrip. their cats in hopes this would prevent their awakening. In Additionally you may use your Nature’s Mask feature to look actuality this sometimes causes a self fulfilling prophecy, like any small or medium humanoid, however while doing so turning a potential newly awakened and loyal family member you must make concentration checks to not revert to your into a prodigal child who may or may not seek revenge. Few hybrid form. do but enough to keep the fear alive. More often though bakeneko cast out of their homes, turn to any new place to establish and prove themselves, often becoming adventurers. Ability score: Your intelligence score increases by 1 Fox Cat form: Your animal form is that of a cat. Use the stat small beast, unaligned block listed on page pg. 305 of the player’s handbook. Innate spell casting: You know the dancing lights and chill Armor Class 12 Hit Points 2(1d4) touch cantrips. At 5th level you can use the animate dead Speed 40ft. spell once per day. This is replaced by create undead at 10th level Cat’s Grace: You take half damage from falls and cannot STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA be knocked prone by falling damage unless you fall 6 (-2) 14 (+2) 6 (-2) 8 (-1) 10 (0) 9 (+0) unconscious.

Skills Perception +3 Stealth +4 Senses passive Perception 10 Languages - Challenge 0 (10 XP)

Keen Hearing and Smell The Fox has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell Actions Bite Melee Weapon Attack: +1 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit 1 (1d4 - 1) Sample file Tanuki Often mistaken for badgers or racoons, tanuki actually start their lives as Racoon- Dogs, a type of Canine similar to foxes Racoon Dog but much heavier with Racoon-like brown and black small beast, unaligned markings on their fur. Tanuki are on of the few Hengeyokai that cannot naturally grow additional tails. Instead certain Armor Class 10 other aspects of the tanuki’s body are enlarged at the Hit Points 3(1d6) discretion of the player and GM. These should be within Speed 30ft. reason, without impeding movement. Raccoon-dog’s close relationship to foxes may explain why STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA Tanuki often share a similar sense of mischief to their kitsune cousins. The main difference is that Tanuki often lack the 7 (-2) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 6 (-2) 12 (+1) 7 (-2) boundless energy and playfulness of their cousins, but in turn are much more careful and capable and patient. Kitsune Skills Perception +3 Stealth +4 often see their tricks or illusions as a form of art, the loftier Senses passive Perception 10 the better. Tanuki instead are surprisingly humble and Languages - Challenge 0 (10 XP) capable of waiting out long cons just for the joy of eating a simple meal in peace. It is for this reason many still choose to live in the wilderness even after their awakening. If a tanuki Keen Hearing and Smell The Fox has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or does choose to live in a society it’s often in their human form, smell running stores of questionable wares and waiting to see just how much money they can make before they’re caught. Ability score: Your constitution score increases by 1 Actions Racoon-dog Shape: your animal form is that of a Racoon- Bite Melee Weapon Attack: +1 to hit, reach 5ft., dog. Use the sat block listed below. one target. Hit 2 (1d4) Deceptive shapeshifting: While holding a leaf, you can use your nature’s mask power to become an inanimate object between 6 inches and 6 feet tall. You retain your stats and health and gain resistance to two types of damage of your choice. But you cannot speak and your speed becomes zero. The only action you can take is to use your nature’s mask again to dispel this.

Sample file Kappa Traits: Ability score: Kappa are tough and strong. +2 constitution +1 Kappas of Kara-tur are close cousins to Tortles of the West. strength Like them, Kappa tend to live solitary lives, with only one or Age: Kappa mature fast at 10 years of age and can live up two per river per town. Kappas have little concept of to 150 years “parenting” and all but a few who choose to adopt customs of Size: 3’8”-4’6” and weigh 150-250lbs Your size is small. neighboring races tend to bury their eggs on land, to hatch Speed: Your speed is 25 feet on land and 30 feet in water and alone at which point instinct will lead Kappas to the Languages: You can read and speak common and Kappa nearest source of freshwater. By this point the parents are but can only write kappa. If a feat or other feature would give long gone. you the ability to learn a language you can choose to learn This lack of formal upbringing, often contributes to the common. monstrous status kappa have throughout most of their native Amphibious: You gain water breathing, the benefits of your lands. Lone kappas often become lurking predators praying water bowel cannot be taken away while submerged on human children who wander too close to rivers or Hardened shell: Kappa gain +3 to AC when wearing light generally causing mischief unless local villagers can appease or no armour. them with gifts of cucumbers, a kappa’s favourite food. Water Bowel: As long as a kappa has water in their head Occasionally though some kappa may grow curious about bowel, they have +1 strength and +3 racial bonus to grapple nearby villages or be adopted when first born. These kappa attempts. However if they fall prone, the water falls out and often take on the mannerisms and customs of whatever they instead have -strength -3 penalty to these checks. This people they live amongst, though occasionally over lasts until the kappa can fill their bowel up with one liter of emphasize such customs to a fault. Other times a group of water. newly hatched kappas may settle in the same river bed and grow up together, often forming their own secret language and a sense of community and partnership not found among their solitary kinsmen. It is these groups of kappa that tend to have the social skills and desires to form adventuring parties.

Sample file Akane Oni Oni As an Akane Oni, you are slightly larger than average with So you’re familiar with oni. Yes, I’ve heard a few of the two horns, two eyes, and large tusks and fangs. Akane Oni meanest Blue Oni have made their way west. They’re much value martial skill and regularly hold contests to show their more common here, but the mages you’ve heard tales about prowess. Red oni dominated communities tend to be are more the exception to the rule. Don’t get me wrong, Oni nomadic hunter groups, rarely interacting with non-oni are some of the smartest giantkin and with fierce natures and communities except to raid. fiercer appetites. But some do channel their way up to rise to Ability Score: Akane Oni are powerful martial creatures, the title of “hero”. you gain +1 Constitution Oni can be broken down into two different subraces. Akane Great Weapon Fighting: You may wield a two-handed or red, and Ao or Blue. Once these clans were in constant weapon with one hand. Or you may wield a versatile weapon war, determined to destroy each other and anything else that with one hand and do damage as if it was being held by two so much of stood in their line of sight. Then something hands. This feature can only apply to one weapon you’re strange happened. The blue oni, their numbers reduced to holding at a time. less than half of the reds of the time, resorted to kidnapping. Using their magic the blue Oni would kidnap children of high ranking Red Oni to force subjugation. In some cases this worked and red generals completely swapped sides. In other cases Red Oni simply copied the tatic. To make matters even more confusing, while some of these children were treated as prisoners, many others were well treated and hand cultivated to join the armies of their forcefully adopted families. Within two generations you had families completely unsure as to their loyalty before the peace talks finally broke out. Now war’s over in most places. However the tradition of “child swapping” is still strong in some areas, with Oni living among mixed tribes. Others still continue it in smaller ways, often competitive oni (read all of them) choose a member of the other clan about their age to be their rival and push each other to new extremes. This is why Oni of the east are often found in a red and blue pairs. Despite this cultural closeness though, interbreeding is rare. And when done it seems that the signature skin color is only determined by one gene. However other features do get swapped so you may now see Blue oni with two horns, red with three eyes, or members of either clans with three horns. These features did not exist before the cultural exchange program Traits: Ability score: Oni are hulking creatures of imposing physical form. +2 strength Age: Oni reach adulthood at 200 years and can live up to 800 Size: Oni average between 6’3” and 8’5”. Your size is medium but just barely Speed: 30 feet Languages: Giant,common, infernal Kanabo training: You are proficient in kanabo and other two handed weapons. Terrifying visage: You are proficient in intimidation Powerful build: Your carrying capacity is treated as thoughSample you are one size larger than what you actually are. file Ao Oni As an Ao Oni you likely have one horn, and two or three eyes and large tusks. Ao Oni focus are nearly as large and just as impressively strong as their red counterparts but prefer to focus on magical might and tricks to stay dominate. In particular they covet magical items, with individual households status often determined by the quality and quantity of items that they pass down. In order to get more items many infiltrate human, elf, or kitsune communities disguised as one of them, or journey as far as Faerun for exotic items to bring back. Ability Score: Akane Oni are focus on mental and magical skills for power. You gain +1 wisdom Change Shape: You may cast polymorph to turn yourself into a small or medium humanoid or a large giant. You keep your stats while doing so. Your clothing, armour, and one weapon or spell casting focus of your choice also change size and perhaps even design with you but nothing else you’re carrying does. These items return to their normal size and appearance when your choose to or when you are slain. This ability lasts for one hour or until you choose to revert back to your true form. Once you use this feature you cannot use it again until you finish a long rest.

Sample file Kotengu Tengu It’s said in the West that Kenku were once capable of flight Even more so then Oni, Tengu of different subraces are so far and original speech, but were cursed for betrayal of their removed from each other as to be nearly unrecognizable as a original elemental master. But the Kotengu of Kara-tur have single species. Rather, some have argued that they are two only ever served the Daitengu, only rarely betraying them. As different races in the same family such as goblins and such they retain their gifts of flight and both their cousin’s hobgoblins. And like goblins, their main connection seems to natural ability to mimic sounds, as well as their own high- be to be one of strategic leaders, and followers in their pitched voices which rumble in their throats like the cawing isolated mountain communities. One family of Daitengu tend of ravens. However, they lack kenku’s natural gift for forgery to rule over an entire village of Kotengu, only interacting with and slight of hand. other villages so that the Daitengu can intermarry forming Ability Scores: You Dexterity Score increases by +1 complex clan bonds. That said Kotengu can and have Mimicry: You can mimic sounds you have heard, including rebelled, occasionally casting Daitengu families out to make it voices. A creature that hears the sound you make can tell on their own. Though more commonly independent kotengu they are imitation with a successful wisdom (insight) check set off on their own, joining human societies or making their opposed by your Charisma (deception) check. own as an adventurer. It is possible for two of these Tengu from either side of the social spectrum to suddenly find Daitengu themselves as equals in an adventuring party. In place of the Elemental Lords, Kotengu instead gather around their Daitengu leaders, putting Daitengu in positions and expectations for leadership from a young age. Some rise Traits: to the challenge, becoming benevolent rulers protecting their Ability score: Your wisdom score increases by 2 flocks. Others, take it for granted, becoming cruel tyrants who Age: Tengu can live for 1,200 years see their kotengu as no more than trained birds. Size: 4’10”-5”8 your size is medium And indeed the difference of appearance between ko and Speed: Your speed is 30 on land daitengu is startling. While Daitengu mostly have black Languages: Tengu start play knowing Common, Auran, feathered wings like the kotengu, they are sometimes brown, and Sylvan white, or green. More startling still in the humanoid faces but Flight: You have a base flying speed of 35 feet. This is with bright red skin and feathers instead of hair. Rather than reduced to 25 feet with medium armor, and 10 feet with long beaks, Daitengu have exaggerated noses that protrude heavy armor. from their faces like lying puppets. Daitengu take great pride in this noses and males in particular often measure their noses as a symbol of power. Contrary to popular belief, Daitengu are often the same size as Kotengu but appear taller due to their fondness for exaggerated sandals. Ability Scores: Your Intelligence score increases by +1 Weapon Training: You start play with proficiency in short swords, long swords, and katana

Sample file Dragon Element Magic type Ryu Dragonborn Amethyst Wood Plant growth moonstone metal Lapis Lazuli water Ruby-fire Sapphire - Ruby Fire Fire conjuration and breath earth Amethyst wood In the land of Faerun it is told that at the dawn of time the Tiger's Eye Earth Ability to shake and mold the Earth great dragon Io, was divided into two pieces. One half of his Moonstone Metal Mastery of Armor and Weapons body became the Platinum dragon, Baphomet who rules the benevolent metallic dragons. From the other half emerged Sapphire Water Water Breathing Timiat, the five headed goddess of the evil chromatic dragons. And this story may be true, but Kara-tur tradition tells of another story. That after the death of the original dragon, he was reborn into a jade egg on top of a lotus flower floating on a pool of still water. Tian Yu Lung, the Jade Empress. This new dragon was different from the ones before her. She had no wings, but flew on through clouds by twisting her serpentine body as if in water. Her horns were not sharp, but but sprouted in many directions like a great stag. Feathers or lion fur sprouted from underneath her scales along her face giving her a great whispers like an ascended karp. And in one claw she clutched the orb of wisdom. It was from this orb she created the Gemstone Dragons of the East. Whether the dragonborn of Kara-tur are a new species derived from these ancient dragons, or if Dragonborn of the West travelled to the east and adapted to the magic of it’s lands, none can say. But the Ryu Dragonborn of Kara-tur are quite similar to their western cousins. Perhaps leaner, favouring intellectual pursuits over strength. But they are bound to a similar sense of honor and dignity in their tribes. Ryu Dragonborn are rare in the world, but their presence is almost always noticed and respected. Whether the dragonborn choose to abuse this respect or live up to it, is their choice. Dragonborn Traits Your Draconic heritage manifests in a variety of traits you share with other dragonborn. Ability Score Increase: Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1. Age: Young dragonborn grow quickly like their cousins but live far longer. They walk hours after hatching, attain the size and development of a 10-year-old human child by the age of 3, and reach Adulthood by 15. They live to be around 200. Alignment: While Western Dragonborn tend towards extremes, Ryu Dragonborn are much more thoughtful in their actions, accessing each situation by its own merit. They tend towards neutral and lawful alignments. Size: Dragonborn are taller and heavier than humans, standing at nearly 7 feet tall and averaging around 200 pounds. Your size is Medium. Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Draconic Ancestry You have draconic ancestry. Unlike their Western counterparts and even the gemstone dragons they resemble, Ryu Dragonborn lack breath weapon attacks and resistances but are instead tuned to the Wu Xing or the Five Elements. The element that the dragonborn is correlated to is based on the type of gemstone that makes up their scales. Each DragoSamplenborn has magical powers related to their element file whether or not they actually study magic. The gemstones and their related elements are follows.