RangerWickett
Legend
For an upcoming campaign, a player wants to play a kitsune, inspired slightly by the recent Magic: the Gathering set. I don't know anything about them.
Tell me some stories, please.
Tell me some stories, please.
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Tell me about kitsune
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Alzrius
The EN World kitten
One Japanese folktale is The Kitsune Bride. It's basically the story of a farmer who meets and marries a beautiful woman, but breaks a promise not to follow her into her monthly trips into the woods, and sees she is really a kitsune. Saddened, she can't stay with a man who can't keep his promises, and leaves him forever. It's fiarly typical of stories of that type (isn't there one in another culture where the woman is some other kind of creature?).
In regards to kitsune in general, they are considered to be kami (spirits), but are still physical creatures. A kitsune is a fox that you see. They are clever, and very tricky, specializing in illusions. They tend to be somewhat self-centered, usually not being particularly good or evil, just curious and mischevious. The more powerful they get, the more tails they have, with the strongest having nine.
As an aside, when you answer a telephone in Japanese, you say "moshi moshi". I read somewhere that this is because, for some reason, a kitsune can't say those words, so by saying that you're proving that you are really you, and not a kitsune using an illusion.
In regards to kitsune in general, they are considered to be kami (spirits), but are still physical creatures. A kitsune is a fox that you see. They are clever, and very tricky, specializing in illusions. They tend to be somewhat self-centered, usually not being particularly good or evil, just curious and mischevious. The more powerful they get, the more tails they have, with the strongest having nine.
As an aside, when you answer a telephone in Japanese, you say "moshi moshi". I read somewhere that this is because, for some reason, a kitsune can't say those words, so by saying that you're proving that you are really you, and not a kitsune using an illusion.
tarchon
First Post
It's the Japanese word for fox. In a couple RPGs, they're essentially were-foxes, somewhat loosely based on Japanese fox mythology. In Japan they were seen as something like fairies, somewhere between tricky and malevolent, often capable of minor magic and transformation. If you're at all familiar with Chinese folktales involving sorcerous animal spirits (like the movie Green Snake), the basic themes are similar.
There's the fox-bride that Alzrius mentioned (possibly the world's most widely distributed folkloric theme), and you also have the fox that aspires to humanity by magical means (a significant hubris in a Buddhist culture, which views ascension to humanity as something that must be earned via self improvement through repeated reincarnation), and the human witnessing the secret activities of the foxes (e.g. Kurosawa's Dreams). Take almost any western folktale about fairies and insert foxes.
Just to make it easy, I think I'd do it as a were-fox with the hereditary form of "lycanthropy." To be closer to the original, maybe slap on a Fey template on it if you have it, but that'd probably power the character up too much. The third option is to create a new creature type - I think White Wolf has stats for them in one of the Werewolf supplements, part of the vast menagerie of were-whatevers. There's a good chance that some Asianoid-setting d20 supplement has done something along these lines too.
There's the fox-bride that Alzrius mentioned (possibly the world's most widely distributed folkloric theme), and you also have the fox that aspires to humanity by magical means (a significant hubris in a Buddhist culture, which views ascension to humanity as something that must be earned via self improvement through repeated reincarnation), and the human witnessing the secret activities of the foxes (e.g. Kurosawa's Dreams). Take almost any western folktale about fairies and insert foxes.
Just to make it easy, I think I'd do it as a were-fox with the hereditary form of "lycanthropy." To be closer to the original, maybe slap on a Fey template on it if you have it, but that'd probably power the character up too much. The third option is to create a new creature type - I think White Wolf has stats for them in one of the Werewolf supplements, part of the vast menagerie of were-whatevers. There's a good chance that some Asianoid-setting d20 supplement has done something along these lines too.
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Arkhandus
First Post
Kitsune are basically like trickster-ish natural-lycanthrope were-foxes.......yeaaahhh...... I too have read Champions of Kamigawa: Outlaw recently, and it does portray the kitsune kinda neatly. Kitsune in that M:TG plotline are relatively similar to those in oriental legends. Though, in the book I just mentioned, the kitsune are represented as being more or less superior to humans in every way except strength and maybe toughness. The book represents them as being tremendously fleet of foot, and able to run and fight for incredibly long periods, skilled in illusion magic, extremely agile and well-coordinated, wise and very long-lived, able to sense and communicate with spirits, and able to sense/analyze the auras of creatures, spirits, places, and magical forces.
Legend isn't quite so......extreme, far as I know. Regardless, kitsune are an ancient people, and they're at least a bit in tune with nature or the spirit world. They are kami (spirits) themselves, though corporeal and at least somewhat mortal (either long-lived and quick-healing, or just plain immortal, or bound to woodlands like a dryad or whatnot). They're friendly but don't like having visitors in their own homelands, they like being secretive and sneaky, and they're mischevious humanoids, with more or less all of them capable of some minor illusions at least (if not greater illusions), though few if any are capable of damaging illusions (i.e. Sharpear's burning will'o'wisp trick in the book CoM:O). Kitsune are traditionally portrayed as being women who change into foxes (or vice versa), but in oriental-themed RPGs and such there are usually male kitsune too. In some games/stories they're portrayed as simply human/fox hybrids in appearance, such as in the Champions of Kamigawa trilogy/sets. Rokugan has kitsune fox-folk for instance, one of the ancient races before the time of Man, with few remaining in hiding during the time of Rokugan's empire. Shippo could be considered a kitsune, in InuYasha, though he's a runt and such, but nonetheless he does demonstrate quite a few tricks of illusion (some of it even corporeal, though not strong enough to hurt much or to carry any significant load); Shippo could even change shape a bit, though he didn't grow any stronger in those forms.
You can use Fox Hengeyokai from Oriental Adventures (3E) to represent them fairly well, I suppose. Hengeyokai in 3E OA are shapechangers with a +1 ECL/LA, though I personally don't think they deserve it..... They have a specific human form, a specific animal form, and a hybrid form. They can change between forms a few times per day, plus extra times based on their level. The hybrid form is the only one in which they're similar to the core races in power; their human form has no human racial traits (no bonus feat, extra skill points, etc.), and their animal form is just a normal animal of Tiny size or less, though they have one or two minor racial abilities that allow them to communicate or something in the animal form. Their hybrid form has a minor ability score adjustment and a few minor traits like their animal form (i.e. a slow flight speed for those with bird animal/hybrid forms). Aside from their minor shapechanging, Hengeyokai have only one or two other more-minor racial traits of little use, and in all their forms they have a -2 Wisdom adjustment. Overall, they didn't strike me as deserving any sort of Level Adjustment.
If you make a custom Kitsune race for D&D based somewhat on the Kitsune in Champions of Kamigawa, here's a few suggestions: ability adjustments should be something like -2 Str, +6 Dex, +2 Wis, +2 Cha; should be of the Humanoid type, appearing similar to humans but fair of skin and face, with foxlike features to their visage and body (don't remember if they have tails or not); Medium-sized; base speed 60 feet; +8 racial bonus on Jump checks and no limit on jumping height/distance; Balance, Jump, Perform (Singing), and Tumble always count as class skills; Endurance and Great Fortitude both as racial bonus feats; extra +4 racial bonus on checks noted in the Endurance feat; natural healing rate is doubled; chance to stabilize each round when at negative hit points is 30% instead of 10%; +4 racial bonus on saving throws and Spot checks against Illusion effects; +2 racial bonus to the save and Spot DC of any Illusion effects they produce themselves through spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities; all Kitsune have 1 effective level of Sorcerer for purposes of spellcasting ability only, which stacks with any actual levels of Sorcerer, giving Kitsune initially spells known and per day as per a 1st-level Sorcerer, but the Kitsune must choose only spells of the Divination and/or Illusion schools for their spells known with this effective Sorcerer level; favored class is either Bard or Ranger, character's choice.
Legend isn't quite so......extreme, far as I know. Regardless, kitsune are an ancient people, and they're at least a bit in tune with nature or the spirit world. They are kami (spirits) themselves, though corporeal and at least somewhat mortal (either long-lived and quick-healing, or just plain immortal, or bound to woodlands like a dryad or whatnot). They're friendly but don't like having visitors in their own homelands, they like being secretive and sneaky, and they're mischevious humanoids, with more or less all of them capable of some minor illusions at least (if not greater illusions), though few if any are capable of damaging illusions (i.e. Sharpear's burning will'o'wisp trick in the book CoM:O). Kitsune are traditionally portrayed as being women who change into foxes (or vice versa), but in oriental-themed RPGs and such there are usually male kitsune too. In some games/stories they're portrayed as simply human/fox hybrids in appearance, such as in the Champions of Kamigawa trilogy/sets. Rokugan has kitsune fox-folk for instance, one of the ancient races before the time of Man, with few remaining in hiding during the time of Rokugan's empire. Shippo could be considered a kitsune, in InuYasha, though he's a runt and such, but nonetheless he does demonstrate quite a few tricks of illusion (some of it even corporeal, though not strong enough to hurt much or to carry any significant load); Shippo could even change shape a bit, though he didn't grow any stronger in those forms.
You can use Fox Hengeyokai from Oriental Adventures (3E) to represent them fairly well, I suppose. Hengeyokai in 3E OA are shapechangers with a +1 ECL/LA, though I personally don't think they deserve it..... They have a specific human form, a specific animal form, and a hybrid form. They can change between forms a few times per day, plus extra times based on their level. The hybrid form is the only one in which they're similar to the core races in power; their human form has no human racial traits (no bonus feat, extra skill points, etc.), and their animal form is just a normal animal of Tiny size or less, though they have one or two minor racial abilities that allow them to communicate or something in the animal form. Their hybrid form has a minor ability score adjustment and a few minor traits like their animal form (i.e. a slow flight speed for those with bird animal/hybrid forms). Aside from their minor shapechanging, Hengeyokai have only one or two other more-minor racial traits of little use, and in all their forms they have a -2 Wisdom adjustment. Overall, they didn't strike me as deserving any sort of Level Adjustment.
If you make a custom Kitsune race for D&D based somewhat on the Kitsune in Champions of Kamigawa, here's a few suggestions: ability adjustments should be something like -2 Str, +6 Dex, +2 Wis, +2 Cha; should be of the Humanoid type, appearing similar to humans but fair of skin and face, with foxlike features to their visage and body (don't remember if they have tails or not); Medium-sized; base speed 60 feet; +8 racial bonus on Jump checks and no limit on jumping height/distance; Balance, Jump, Perform (Singing), and Tumble always count as class skills; Endurance and Great Fortitude both as racial bonus feats; extra +4 racial bonus on checks noted in the Endurance feat; natural healing rate is doubled; chance to stabilize each round when at negative hit points is 30% instead of 10%; +4 racial bonus on saving throws and Spot checks against Illusion effects; +2 racial bonus to the save and Spot DC of any Illusion effects they produce themselves through spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities; all Kitsune have 1 effective level of Sorcerer for purposes of spellcasting ability only, which stacks with any actual levels of Sorcerer, giving Kitsune initially spells known and per day as per a 1st-level Sorcerer, but the Kitsune must choose only spells of the Divination and/or Illusion schools for their spells known with this effective Sorcerer level; favored class is either Bard or Ranger, character's choice.
SteelDraco
First Post
Do you have a level adjustment target you're approximating? I can see them ranging from one to three or four, depending on how powerful you want the race itself to be. As a baseline, though, I'd go with...
- Stat modifiers should be a bonus to Dex and Charisma, and a penalty to Wisdom and possibly Con. They're fae-type creatures, and not really all that wise or tough.
- Some illusion magic, innately. Disguise Self and Silent Image 1/day each at least, IMO. More would not be out of line.
- They may or may not be of the Fey type. If you want high-LA, I'd make them Fey. Otherwise, humanoids will work.
- They should be able to shapeshift between human and fox form. I'd probably allow this at will, since it's not really a very useful power. Fox shape is neat, but hardly particularly effective for anything. It's not much stealthier than a normal humanoid shape, and certainly nowhere near as combat-effective.
- If you have spirits in your game, they should probably be able to see them innately. This depends on whether or not they're Fey, though.
- Favored class should be sorcerer, in all likelihood. Or wu jen, if you're using that class. They're spellcaster-types.
Gez
First Post
Alzrius said:
Not very japanese, but that's about the tale of Melusine, (sometimes said to be the daughter of Merlin and Viviane, or of the less known Elenas and Pressine), was met in the woods by the Raymondin de Forez, younger son of the Count of Forez, who wooed her and married her.
Mel told Ray she would, once a month, need to be left alone, and made Ray promise he would never spy on her during these times. (Other versions of the tale says once per week, and the tales disagree on whether she needs to be left alone in a lake, a river, or merely her bedroom.)
Time passed, and Melusine's magic helped Raymondin build strong castles and increase his wealth. His elder brother, who was now the Count, grew jealous and convinced Ray that if Mel wanted to be left alone, it was because she was cheating on him.
So, Raymondin spied on his wife, discovered she was a serpentine sirine, and because he knew her secret, Melusine fled weeping and was never seen again.
Anyway, she got birth to children before this even arrived, so the bloodline of Melusine lived since in the Lusignans.
The theme is the tale is a classic: the one who do not trust his love will lose it.
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Voadam
Legend
The bride with a secret also has a celtic swanmay version where she turns into a swan. And the reverse of that story is of course bluebeard where the wife looks in the forbidden room and finds the dead previous wives who also looked in the forbidden room and were killed by Bluebeard for disobeying him.
But back to the Kitsune. They are also done out in the Bastion Press Monster Book Complete Minions which updates the 3.0 Minions book to 3.5.
I belive they are moderate HD monstrous humanoids with levels in sorcerer and a fox shapechanging subtype. I believe they are evil.
They might also be in Jade Dragons and Hungry Ghosts by Green Ronin, a 3.0 Oriental monster book, but it has been a while since I've looked there.
But back to the Kitsune. They are also done out in the Bastion Press Monster Book Complete Minions which updates the 3.0 Minions book to 3.5.
I belive they are moderate HD monstrous humanoids with levels in sorcerer and a fox shapechanging subtype. I believe they are evil.
They might also be in Jade Dragons and Hungry Ghosts by Green Ronin, a 3.0 Oriental monster book, but it has been a while since I've looked there.
Kitsune are in the Legend of the 5 Rings, "Creatures of Rokugan" book. It's in 3.0 format but still good enough for what you need.
http://www.legendofthefiverings.com/rpg/products.html
http://www.legendofthefiverings.com/rpg/products.html
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