D&D General An Overview of Furry-Friendly D&D/Pathfinder/OSR Settings

[Ancalagon]

Have you heard of the GLOG, Many Rats on a Stick edition?

 

[Libertad]

Golarion

Beginning as the setting for a frontier region in one of Paizo’s many adventure paths, Golarion achieved fame as the pre-eminent world for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Running for 15 years, material is still being made for players and Game Masters alike, and there’s no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Much like 3rd Edition D&D, Pathfinder is known for a dizzying array of character options to the point that designing intricate builds is an activity done for fun on its own. And as can be expected, there are many fantasy ancestries at play, from your standard dwarves and elves to magic-changed Fleshwarps and the shadowy Wayang. And of relevant interest to this series, there’s a good selection of anthropomorphic ancestries and even awakened animals for players!

In terms of Lore, none of the anthro peoples are as prominent or omnipresent as the standard ancestries like humans and elves. That being said, anthros still have a place and get their time to shine in the Lost Omens line. The Ancestry Guide serves 2nd Edition’s generic race book, and particular regions focus on their place in specific kingdoms and regions. And far from being monoliths, many ancestries have listings for particular subcultures and what differentiates them.

The more well-known and widespread anthros of Golarion include the catfolk, believed to originate on the continent of Garund where they were supposedly created by the gods as guardians. They have since spread across the many lands as traders, warriors, monster hunters, and other occupations. The kobolds are small reptilian people who are skilled trap-makers and tend to be dismissed by others as weak and cowardly. But in reality they are very practical and have allied with all sorts of people, such as establishing a guild-like niche as subterranean explorers in the city of Absalom. Lizardfolk are able to adapt to almost any environment, and possess talent for druidism and astronomy, and one kingdom in southern Garund known as Droon has a majority population of them where lizardfolk utilize dinosaurs as livestock and steeds. The ratfolk, also known as the ysoki, are renowned merchants who travel along the routes and crossroads of every continent. Tengu serve the storm god Hei Feng, and were once second-class citizens in the empire of Lung Wa. This prompted many to flee to more tolerant lands, and the genu learned many trades as a result of their diaspora. The major cultural divide is between those living abroad and those who never left.

Rarer ancestries include the Beastkin, who are a sort of “all-in-one” option representing anyone who has the ability to partially or fully turn into a specific kind of animal, and they can maintain hybrid shapes. Kitsune are shapechangers who can assume the shape of either a fox-headed humanoid, or a human/elf form with no foxlike qualities. Alternatively this latter form may instead be a fox, depending on where the kitsune was raised.

Regional sourcebooks include even more ancestry options. The Mwangi Expanse introduces the Anadi, intelligent peace-loving giant spiders; gnolls, canny warriors with a (partially deserved) foul reputation; and grippli, frog-people who live as hunter-gatherers who occasionally must take action against greater threats encroaching upon their lands. The Tian Xia Character Guide has the carabao-like sarangay who come from a warrior culture in touch with nature, and the raccoon-like tanuki who always find a way to look on the bright side. The Impossible Lands gives us the rhino-like Kashrishi, who have such utter control over their physical forms they can evolve new traits via psychic powers; the Nagaji, who have a variety of serpentine physical traits that differ greatly between communities and have an equally diverse number of societies; and the simian Vanara, who seek moderation in all things and look to heroes from their peoples’ past to serve as role models in the modern day.

Furthermore, several otherwise non-furry ancestries can have animalistic physical traits, particularly ones representing a multitude of heritages such as planetouched or are blatantly supernatural such as the sprite. Additionally, quite a few non-playable monsters who fall under the furry label or are popular among furries have major roles to play in various regions. For example, the wicked rakshasas are a powerful threat in the Impossible Lands, while dragons play a major role in the history of Tian Xia.

In terms of Playability, Paizo is very generous when it comes to giving ancestries neat toys for players. In 1st Edition, the Advanced Race Guide had most of the above peoples listed, along with a robust system for creating one’s own race. In regards to 2nd Edition, most of the 1e races (besides very obscure monsters from the later Bestiaries) got re-introduced, and just about every ancestry has a series of feats for most levels of play. The Howl of the Wild sourcebook will be of particular interest to furries, for it introduced several new ancestries: the fish-like athamarus, the insect-like surki, and the minotaur as the classic fantasy standby. But the most versatile ancestry in the book is the Awakened Animal, representing an animal granted sapience by magic.

While the flavor text and lore is found in the appropriate sourcebooks, the mechanics for these ancestries are available on the Archives of Nethys, the online SRD for Pathfinder’s 1st and 2nd Editions. So playable furries are within easy reach of players who don’t have to fork over too much dough just to get their preferred ancestry.

 

[Libertad]

Have you heard of the GLOG, Many Rats on a Stick edition?

I'm aware of the GLOG subculture as well as the supplement you've mentioned, but I don't know how much can merit an entry on its own beyond a quick mention. Then again, not every post has to be long.

 

[Accaris]

I'm not as well known as some of the other entries here, but I've been around and some of you might know me. Our setting guide, the Chronicles of Aeres, isn't a "furry" book, but it does have a variety of beastfolk that you can play as. Our ratfolk proved to be popular enough to warrant their own series. Our first rat-centric book, Shadows of Padfoot Alley, is a concise 44-page module highlighting the rats' world, how to roleplay as them, a good handful of quest options related to folk in the ratfolk town, along with a narrative mystery-based adventure and a short dungeon crawl. Made for 5E, you must play as a ratfolk character and as no other option, making this module somewhat unique.

The lore of the ratfolk is that they were created by a god of beasts who was jealous of humanity and wanted to rival his brothers and sisters. Heavily influenced by the Secret of NIMH, the rats live in an underground cavern in a city populated mainly by humans, who are, for the most part, not hostile towards them. Our goal was to wipe away most of the negative influences of ratfolk in fantasy and uplift these creatures to proper heroic status.

Ratfolk character creation traits are provided. Along with a few abilities you might expect, such as a knack for moving quietly, they have a few other unique traits such a resistance to transformative magic (as beasts born from transformation their spirits resist it,) and an ability that unlocks the "courage of the heart" after enough adventuring time has been endured. We also provide a few unique monsters in a short bestiary to go along with the setting of Padfoot Alley.

Thanks to the success of this book, we're working on a direct sequel, which is an open city sandbox rather than a purely narrative adventure, called Nightfall At Thorn Hollow. The ratfolk have their own city now, with much more to explore, see, and do. There is a larger story brewing in the background involving multiple factions, including an underground resistance intent on overthrowing a cruel king; the factions will play off each other and progress the status of the setting whether you interact with them or not. We plan to have it be more of a "living" world than the last, and we're developing it for AD&D 2nd Edition with 1E conversion guidelines. I expect this one to be bigger and better than the original in every way; it will probably be more like a 100-page module compared to the original's 44 pages, with a full city map, a large and deadly dungeon, and the like.

Both books have artwork second to none from some of the most talented animal illustrators I could find.

 

[Libertad]

I'm not as well known as some of the other entries here, but I've been around and some of you might know me. Our setting guide, the Chronicles of Aeres, isn't a "furry" book, but it does have a variety of beastfolk that you can play as.

Very cool! Permission to repost this elsewhere? I maintain this thread on other forums and the Beast World discord as well (and yes, I plan on doing a writeup for that setting when I get enough time).

 

[Corinnguard]

The Mharoti Empire is a major superpower in the setting ruled over by various clans of dragon nobles, and the dragonborn are a race of super-soldiers uplifted from kobolds.

Is this the case for just the 5e version of the Dragonkin in Midgard? I ask because the 1st edition Pathfinder version of the Midgard setting mentioned that the Dragonkin were the descendants of Half-Dragon Humans who bred true amongst themselves. Kobolds otoh were the descendants of Half-Dragon Gnomes, Goblins and Dwarves.

Btw, I do like the 5e version of the Dragonkin because 4 out of 5 of their subraces have an elemental connection (Flame, Wave, Wind and Stone). They're like a cross between a Dragonborn and a Genasi.

 

[Accaris]

Very cool! Permission to repost this elsewhere? I maintain this thread on other forums and the Beast World discord as well (and yes, I plan on doing a writeup for that setting when I get enough time).

Sure of course! My artist for Thorn Hollow also did art for Cullen with Beast World.

 

[Libertad]

Scarred Lands

The world of Scarn is a land of dark fantasy, still reeling from a war between the primordial titans and their godly children. Although the titans are dead, the continent of Ghelspad finds itself facing new threats, from the tyrannical Calastian Hegemony expanding its territories through conquest, the secretive Cult of the Ancients seeking world domination at the behest of the death goddess Belsameth, and monstrous titanspawn running amok and laying waste to the divine races (humans, dwarves, etc) and all others who serve the gods.

The Scarred Lands was originally published for 3rd Edition D&D, with later products shifting over to Pathfinder and 5th Edition. The latter RPG is the current line at the moment, and the timeline and metaplot have been advanced in several ways. One of them is most notably the introduction of the “Redeemed,” various titanspawn monsters who turned against their creators. Quite a few titanspawn, Redeemed or otherwise, are anthropomorphic beings.

In terms of Lore, there’s quite a bit of “furry” people in the Scarred Lands. The serpentine Asaathi live in strict feudal hierarchies who once ruled a vast empire. The Sutak are anthropomorphic horses who live as nomadic bands of raiders in the Ukrudan Desert, and whose redeemed counterparts call themselves the Ironbred. The lionlike Manticora are creations of the god war god Vangal to fight the titanspawn, yet are still distrusted by the other divine races for their bloodthirstiness. The ratfolk Slitherin were born from the shed blood of Chern, the titan of decay and disease, and spread across the land in a diaspora where most work in cities as cheap laborers but have a metropolis of their own called the Walled Warren. The Minotaurs originally hail from the Bastion-City of Dromyas in the far north, who were created by Denev the Earthmother. She was the only titan who sided against the rest of her kind and joined the side of the gods. The Minotaurs are capable of creating an inner mental landscape known as the Labyrinth, and more powerful members of their people can draw others into it.

In the dangerous Blood Bayou swampland, a Carnival of Shadows was created from the land’s connection to dreams. Many of its Krew members have animalistic features, such as the birdlike Bone Bosuns who serve as the Carnival’s navy, and Heron Priests act as ambassadors for their master, the Jack of Tears. The Proud are lionlike tauric creatures created by the titan Hrinruuk the Hunter, and roam the plains and savannas as a threat to aany who come upon them. The rhinolike Unitaurs are titanspawn who guard their homelands in the Bleak Savannah from intruders. They originally worshiped the titan Denev before she sided against the rest of her kind, and in modern times unitaurs are less able to drive off human interlopers. In a distant continent known as the Dragon Lands, civilization is split up into various pseudo-Japanese clans ruled by dragons. Kobolds are one of the common races there alongside humans, elves, half-elves, halflings, and tatsuri, the last being near-human beings with notable dragonlike physical features. Vigil Watch: Collected Volume has deeper entries detailing less-prolific areas in the setting, such as the manticora city of Leoni and the roaming Ironbred bands known as the Iron Court.

In regards to Playability, the original 3rd Edition setting was more or less restricted to the traditional core playable races, but the Pathfinder and 5th Edition updates were notable for including many new races. Of the above, the Asaathi, Ironbred, Manticora, and Slitherin are the major furry races in the core Player’s Guide. The Minotaurs are expanded upon in Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad as a playable option, and Vigil Watch: Dromyas is a splatbook that details their capital city and culture. The Dragon Lands never received an official update, with much of its lore relegated to the 3.5 book Lost Tribes of the Scarred Lands. Although not technically official, the Slarecian Vault is a program where fans can self-publish their own material for the Scarred Lands. One of the setting’s most prolific writers, Travis Legge, made a lot of material for the Vault. One of his products, Wracklings, incorporate the dragonborn into the setting as a playable option in a lore-friendly way. He and several other authors worked on the Frostlands of Fenrilik, detailing the arctic continent of the setting. One of the new races in that book are the Krampek, who look like satyrs but have fur from head to toe and are more animalistic overall.

While the modern Scarred Lands has done much to allow for playable anthropomorphic races, it should be noted that they are still distrusted by many of the divine races in that most of them were created by and are still loyal to the titans, who with the exception of Denev were evil-aligned. While there are Redeemed in great enough numbers to form their own independent societies and even integrate into wider society, it is still a recent cultural shift. Some titanspawn, such as the Proud and Unitaurs, still occupy the role of “evil humanoids who attack on sight.”

 

[Shadowdweller00]

Eberron has a species of lycanthrope-relatives called Shifters as a playable character option that could function pretty well for a variety of furry types.

 

[Libertad]

Beast World

One Night at Holly’s by Zeusdex of Fur Affinity.

While the worlds covered so far in this thread have certain anthropomorphic people with prominent roles in history and society, we haven’t had one where said groups were front and center. Enter the Beast World, a relatively new setting created by members of the furry fandom.

In terms of Lore, the Beast World was originally a wild land home to animals and a sleeping pantheon of Seelie. It was later discovered by a pantheon of six gods, one of whom uplifted the native animals into sapient people heretofore known as “beasts.” The one responsible was the goddess Pirhoua, who is the most popular deity and takes on the role of a creator mother in the world’s religious traditions.

The anthropomorphic people are colloquially called “beasts” in reference to their animalistic origins. Mundane animals still exist, and the primary dividing line for what qualifies as a sapient entity is “willfulness.” A willful creature has an enhanced sense of self-awareness: a distinct identity that separates itself from others and is capable of personal growth and change. Non-willful creatures are referred to as quiet-minded.

While willful creatures are capable of siring children with each other, children of mixed species inherit the traits of only one parent. There are no “hybrids.” Additionally, while various species have their own historical homelands and can be found in great numbers there, civilizations generally aren’t homogenous and each of the five major regions count people of many lineages.

All of the willful species native to the Beast World are mammals and include bovine (cattle), canine (dogs and wolves), celerine (rabbits and squirrels), cervine (deer), equine (horses and donkeys), felines (shorthair/house cats and big cats), laetine (otters and ferrets), ligonine (armadillos, moles, and sloths), murine (rats and mice), ovine (sheep), tenebrine (possums and raccoons), ursine (bears), vulpine (fennec and red foxes). There are also extraplanar immigrants and visitors, such as such as brethren who are humans that escaped the cosmic destruction of their Broken World; kobolds and dragons, who came from the Ancestral Homeland which is ruled over and terraformed by various elder dragons; fey-like jackals, who mostly live in the Dreaming which is collectively formed from the sleeping thoughts of the Beast World’s inhabitants; and bats, who live the Astral Sea and inhabit post-scarcity cities whose foundations are shaped from the plane’s very essence.

Crystal Caverns, by travis of ArtStation.

In regards to Playability, the 18 major species mentioned above are all playable. 16 of them were balanced in line with each other, but jackals and dragons are specifically called out as having relatively more powerful features on account of reflecting the fact that they are an ancient and mighty people in the lore. Virtually every species of the Beast World gets five unique Homeland Traits for their ancestry, which grant specific features and/or proficiencies based on the region in which they grew up. The extraplanar groups either don’t have Homeland Traits (kobolds, dragons, jackals) and get some other equivalent subfeature, or are recent arrivals and thus treat the plane of existence as their sole Homeland (bats, brethren).

The Delver’s Guide also has a sidebar for guidelines in making your own species, for those who wish to include anthropomorphic animals that aren’t covered in the above.