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What are good races for "High Japanese Fantasy" settings?
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<blockquote data-quote="TheCosmicKid" data-source="post: 7359634" data-attributes="member: 6683613"><p>Well, if you're asking for my <em>opinion</em>, I'd be hesitant to use kitsune just because I don't want to give the creepy fanboys any encouragement. But setting that entirely subjective grudge aside, I think you're right on the money: the varieties of hengeyokai deserve to be distinct races. I might even question whether they need shapeshifting at all. D&D tends to strip down its playable races to the bare bones powerwise: dwarves and elves in Scandinavian folklore have a lot of magical abilities (in particular, the dwarf named Otter could almost be a hengeyokai), but the game would assume those come from their class levels or some other means. I'm not saying definitely not to give hengeyokai shapeshifting -- I'm saying that, if you're concerned about overpowering them, not giving them shapeshifting is an option.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Again, like with the dwarves and elves and hengeyokai above, if oni are a playable race, it's easy to say that the oni of the Monster Manual with the potent magical abilities just has wizard or sorcerer levels -- literally an "ogre mage". As a race, I'd give them a knack for magic via an Int or Cha bonus, and otherwise make 'em look a lot like the half-orc or goliath as you say. Or, if the <em>cone of cold</em> is considered an iconic effect in D&D, then you've got a race with a Str and Cha bonus and a conical elemental attack... just reskin the dragonborn.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I use a monkey race in my campaign, with a bit of a twist, or perhaps a lack of a twist: they are literally just monkeys. Baboons, to be exact. No need to physically anthropomorphize them when they already have opposable thumbs. They've got human-level intelligence and can speak, but that's not so very rare among animals in fantasy. So some of them decide to start building towns and growing crops, and boom, you've got another civilized society.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>One more idea I can offer from my own campaign is... well, I call them the shi ren because I'm running a fantasy China, but their Japanese counterparts might be called the komainu. Anthropomorphic guardian lion-dogs. Bound by ancient oaths and capable of smelling lies, fierce and mighty warriors but generally good-hearted -- perhaps natural rivals to the morally-suspect oni?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TheCosmicKid, post: 7359634, member: 6683613"] Well, if you're asking for my [I]opinion[/I], I'd be hesitant to use kitsune just because I don't want to give the creepy fanboys any encouragement. But setting that entirely subjective grudge aside, I think you're right on the money: the varieties of hengeyokai deserve to be distinct races. I might even question whether they need shapeshifting at all. D&D tends to strip down its playable races to the bare bones powerwise: dwarves and elves in Scandinavian folklore have a lot of magical abilities (in particular, the dwarf named Otter could almost be a hengeyokai), but the game would assume those come from their class levels or some other means. I'm not saying definitely not to give hengeyokai shapeshifting -- I'm saying that, if you're concerned about overpowering them, not giving them shapeshifting is an option. Again, like with the dwarves and elves and hengeyokai above, if oni are a playable race, it's easy to say that the oni of the Monster Manual with the potent magical abilities just has wizard or sorcerer levels -- literally an "ogre mage". As a race, I'd give them a knack for magic via an Int or Cha bonus, and otherwise make 'em look a lot like the half-orc or goliath as you say. Or, if the [I]cone of cold[/I] is considered an iconic effect in D&D, then you've got a race with a Str and Cha bonus and a conical elemental attack... just reskin the dragonborn. I use a monkey race in my campaign, with a bit of a twist, or perhaps a lack of a twist: they are literally just monkeys. Baboons, to be exact. No need to physically anthropomorphize them when they already have opposable thumbs. They've got human-level intelligence and can speak, but that's not so very rare among animals in fantasy. So some of them decide to start building towns and growing crops, and boom, you've got another civilized society. One more idea I can offer from my own campaign is... well, I call them the shi ren because I'm running a fantasy China, but their Japanese counterparts might be called the komainu. Anthropomorphic guardian lion-dogs. Bound by ancient oaths and capable of smelling lies, fierce and mighty warriors but generally good-hearted -- perhaps natural rivals to the morally-suspect oni? [/QUOTE]
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What are good races for "High Japanese Fantasy" settings?
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