Post by Amanojyaku on Aug 9, 2018 1:22:47 GMT -6
Kitsune, or fox folk, are vulpine shapeshifters known for their love of trickery and art. Said to be favored by Luna, they share her wisdom and fickle nature. They hail from a world that appears to have no sun, where the veil separating the Materium from the Umbra is particularly thin, and as a result, they very nearly live alongside the spirits they seem to worship.
They have a knack for warpcraft, to the extent that most kitsune "tech" is based on unique enchantments placed on otherwise unremarkable items. Their ships, however, leave a bit to be desired; most kitsune prefer to hitchhike with someone else rather than use their own... resulting in various superstitions and a certain level of mystique surrounding kitsune passengers. Kitsune-made weapons and armor are often prime targets for Limulians, who see them as anomalies to be contained for further study.
Physical Characteristics
Average Height: 1.3-1.8m
Average Weight: 65-85kg
Languages: Trade, Moonspeak, Spirit-tongue
Common Personality Traits: Flirtatious, untrustworthy, wise, sneaky, capricious
Common Physical Traits: Splendid tails, fine hair, sharp teeth, unnatural eyes, slight build
Example Names: Ran, Kurama, Shippo, Tamamo, Sakura
Racial Statistics
Characteristic Bonus: +1 to Fellowship or Wisdom
Skill Bonus: +1 to Deceive and Scrutiny
Power: Crazy Like a Fox: Once per Scene, when making a skill test, you may use Deceive and an appropriate characteristic instead.
Size: 3
Racial Feats
Fluffy Grazebox [Kitsune]
Your tails are fluffy as hell. It's possible to hide someone of lower Size than you among them, granting concealment. You and anyone hiding among them can treat your tails as warm clothing, and any attacks against you that roll 3 for hit location go to your tails, dealing damage only to your pride... and whatever poor sod is hiding there.
Fox Form [Kitsune]
You have the power to change your form! You can change into a fox-like animal - or back to normal - as a Full Action. Doing so reduces your Size by 1 and grants you the Quadruped trait, but you can't cast spells or manipulate objects very well. You have the same number of tails in this form as in your normal form. Your equipment melds into your new form and you lose any effects it gives. Treat this feat as Wild Shape for the purpose of other feats and prerequisites.
Foxfire [Kitsune]
Once per session, you may cast the spell Magic Missile, automatically passing the Focus Power test with a number of raises equal to your level.
Nine-Tailed Fox [Kitsune, Paragon]
Gain one rank of "Fox Magic" magical power. Your rank of this power is increased as you purchase Excellence, and "Fox Magic" spells are cast using Excellence + Fellowship in place of the normal magic test. You learn a new spell of this school each time your Level or Excellence increases. If you already know all spells available at a given level of "Fox Magic" when your Level or Excellence increases, you can learn a spell from the lowest level of "Fox Magic" that you do not know all of the spells from, regardless of your current Excellence.
- Level 1: Charm Person, Disguise
- Level 2: Invisibility, Confusion
- Level 3: Dominate, Suggestion
- Level 4: Mislead, Improved Invisibility
- Level 5: Screen
Physical Qualities
Kitsune generally have small, lean builds and almost elfin features, with narrow eyes and large, furry ears. Most have at least one tail, coated in fluffy fur of the same color as the kitsune's hair, while others have been seen with as many as nine, but the average among adventuring kitsune seems to be three. Kitsune run the gamut from pale to fair to dark in coloration, with a rusty red shade being the most common hair color. Eyes are generally green or amber in color; blue eyes among kitsune usually indicate deafness in the ear on the same side.
Kitsune tend to favor loose and flowing outfits that can be arranged to conceal or display their vulpine features as they see fit. They don't, however, like wearing a lot of clothing... too many layers does unpleasant things to their fur. Kitsune are particularly uncomfortable wearing voidsuits, preferring implanted voidskins whenever possible.
Playing a Kitsune
Despite an irrepressible penchant for deception, kitsune prize loyalty and make true companions. They delight in the arts, particularly riddles and storytelling, and settle in ancestral clans, taking their wisdom from both the living and spirits. Kitsune deal well with elves and humans, but their reputation as tricksters follows them when they interact with other races. Many kitsune, particularly those who dwell in mixed-race societies, choose to hide their true natures and pose as elves in public.
Kitsune are gregarious by nature, but have no problem with solitude. They enjoy sharing their wisdom, often couched in parable when not a direct demonstration. Illusion magic comes easily to them, and is often used alongside their oratory to provide context. Left to herself, a kitsune often spends her free time in reflection... thinking up new ways to screw people over, according to some berks, but the truth is that spirituality is very deeply ingrained in kitsune culture.
They still tend toward a form of spirit worship, keeping family shrines to honor their ancestors. Adventurers often carry small funerary plaques for ancestors who might look well upon their efforts. Those kitsune who do look to the gods tend to favor Luna as an example of all that the fox folk consider to be virtuous. Kitsune smiths are thus particularly adept at working silver, which is linked with the Changing Goddess as well as connotations of spiritual purity.
Kitsune language is based on syllable sounds rather than letter characters. The written form consists of several different alphabets, each made up of runes representing these sounds, and another made up of a truly massive number of runes representing concepts. Many of these symbols are shared between the Kitsune alphabets, resulting in names and words that can have different meanings depending on which alphabet they're read in.
Kitsune Heroes
Kuyo is a four-tailed fox born under the formless light to a legacy of fire. And power over fire is the last thing anybody wants a near-psychopath to have. He is still functional, if barely, but prone to fits of rage that invariably result in melted heaps of slag where once were buildings. Especially when someone disagrees with his usual method of "use fire to end problem."
Hinata of Mae is an eight-tailed - well, eight-and-one-fifth-tailed - fox desperately fighting out of the shadow of her mother, a nine-tailed oracle renowned for her power of divination. One day, after cleaning out her family's shrine, she finally found her way... an ancient Syrneth artifact, in a box hidden in a dark corner, that awakened a golden presence in her mind. And with it, the shadow her mother cast was illuminated, a path of magic that would carry Hinata to the heights of the Wheel.
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