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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GreenTengu" data-source="post: 6856152" data-attributes="member: 6777454">The main problem you have here is.... you didn't make a Tanuki.Tanuki are a real animal. It is an animal that doesn't climb, it is a burrower. It is pretty slow and clumsy as far as a predator goes. The folktales about Tanuki generally paint them to being pretty dim, wild, awkward and generally funny. Their most commonly cited traits are transforming themselves into objects by putting leafs on their heads and that they have giant inflatable, stretchable scrotums that they can use in a variety of ways such as drums, balloons, blankets, baskets, etc. Neither of which seems to fit the "minor illusion" power you put here.Though they have tails, their tails are neither large enough nor flexible enough to make them any more worth mentioning than the Tieflings tail is. I don't imagine every race that has a tail needs it to have this particular trait.I guess you could call the animal brave, although most tanuki myths involved them hiding from people using their magic because they get spooked so easily... affable, careless and generally relaxed would be better descriptive. And certainly nothing about their tails would make them out to be thieves. Beggars, perhaps, but not clever and deceptive thieves.It feels like you saw they looked like Racoons and just assumed that everything about them must be exactly like the American image of a raccoon. But you couldn't be further off. They would be more comparable to a coyote or a badger. I really think you should spend more time figuring out what Tanukis are about and then give this another go.But, as far as these stats go?... Hmmm....Well, what I would suggest is that you put them aside. Are these going to be part of an east Asian themed world where you are going to have Kitsune and turtle-like Kappa and bird-headed Tengu and maybe Panda-folk and other "furries" for lack of a better term?Because these would be fine for Raccoon folk OR, if you want to keep with the east asian theme, a race based on Red Panda. You could call them "Habre" or "Kaala" which are local Nepalese names for the animal and the only names for it that aren't multi-word terms calling them "bear cats" or "little red bears" or "little pandas". Because that animal does do a lot of climbing, does live in trees, does have a large tail, is dexterous and clever and could easily be envisioned as thieves.... though the brave part doesn't work as being things that are hunted by leopards, weasels and humans tend to be panicky and run away up the trees at the first sign of trouble.But for proper Tanuki, think more a slow, prodding people that pretty much get along with everyone everywhere, have few cares in the world, love to indulge but are otherwise pretty common folk... focus on Constitution, Charisma, possibly maybe Wisdom or Strength. Make sure you hit on the "they can disguise themselves as objects, but they can't move or do anything else when they do so" and having a big flap of stretchable, inflatable skin that they can use in creative ways even if you don't feel comfortable explaining what skin that is... basically... make them tanuki, not Halfling/Gnomes.</blockquote>

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