Homebrew Raccoon Folk Species Details

The purpose of this guide

This is a short set of rules for a Demi-Human Raccoon race in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.  Depending on the setting for you game, they may be more human-like than animal, simply having raccoon ears and a tail to show off their differences from being human.  They may end up being more beast-like than human, having bodies covered in fur, similar to that of a Tabaxi.  Regardless of their appearance in your setting, these short rules will serve as a guideline as to how a Humanoid Raccoon character would behave in a fantasy world. 

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Like with most things in fantasy, real world mythology is often times a good place to find inspiration.  Native American and Japanese myths are a good place to start when it comes to stories about raccoons.  In Native American mythology, raccoons are often depicted as tricksters.  They are shown to cleverly out-wit creatures such as coyotes and foxes in many different stories.  In Japan, Tanuki were considered to govern all things in nature.  Tanuki would also disguise themselves to fool people that came near them.  This was often done simply to make that person appear foolish or stupid when compared to the Tanuki.  Again, they seem to have a very trickster-like nature.  If you are creating a Raccoon-Like race of people for your setting, a chaotic nature seems appropriate for a more trickster-like race if you decide to use real world myths as your inspiration.  Perhaps they developed this nature in an effort to keep other races out of their forest homes.  They could serve as guides to travelers with honest intentions and lead astray those with malicious motives.  In a more natural setting, Raccoon-Folk could make for wise druids who keep evil intruders out their woodland homes.  In an urban setting, Raccoon Folk could make for devious and deceptive rogues who have adapted to living a life of crime.  

Raccoons in our world are quite hardy and capable of surviving in most conditions.  They have keen senses and can eat most anything.  Since we are combining humans and raccoons, we will take some of the raccoons hardiness into account when designing the race's unique traits.  A raccoon will often forage and search for food under the cover of night.  They seem to be able to see very well at night, which will grant the Raccoon Folk Darkvision.  They also have a keen sense of smell, which should be taken into account when going through this creatures traits and abilities.

Raccoon Folk Traits

A Raccoon Folk's ability to survive and adapt are represented in these traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Wisdom increases by 2, and your constitution increases by 1.  Raccoon Folk have keen senses and are very aware of the world around them.  They are also hardy survivors and able to adapt to most environments.

Age

You age at the same pace as a human would.  

Alignment

The trickster-like nature of Raccoon Folk lead them towards the Chaotic Alignment.  Some may lean towards Neutrality, but very rarely will a Raccoon Folk be of Lawful alignment.  On the good and evil spectrum, it varies with the motives of each individual Raccoon Folk.

Size

Raccoon Folk tend to be a little smaller than humans, but not by much.  Generally growing to be 5'9" on the tall side.  Your size is medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

You inherit the Raccoon's ability to better see at night and in the dark.  You have Darkvision that stretches out to 60 feet.  The world will appear in shades of grey, black, and white when you leave a well lit area.  In a poorly lit room, you can see much further than a human.  

Languages

You may read, speak, and write common and one other language of your choice.  You and your DM may decide to add a custom language for Raccoon Folk to speak.

Alertness

Your animal-like senses allow you to become more aware of the environment around you.  You are more likely to notice changes when compared to other races.  From this, you gain proficiency in the Perception skill.  You also have advantage to all Perception checks that involve sound or smell.

Trickster

Raccoons are often depicted as being tricksters and deceivers.  Raccoon-Folk inherit this and are natural deceivers.  You gain proficiency in the Deception skill as a result.