Homebrew Hengeyokai Species Details

No one knew how the phantom thief Goyo Tazune broke through the Daimyo's securest vault. Nor how he he escaped from the most secure prisons of the province.
Only on his execution day was his secret revealed. 
When the blade came down on the neck of an old greying man, there was a sudden puff of smoke and he was gone, replaced by an old fox that scurried off into the forest.
And he has never been seen since. 

-Excerpt from the biography of the legendary phantom thief Goyo Tazune.

 To the east of Faerûn, far beyond the Sea of Fallen Stars, Thay, and the Hordelands, is the continent of Kara-Tur. It is from this distant land that the hengeyokai originate, and stories of these reclusive shape-shifting creatures have traveled far and wide and are known throughout the Sword Coast and the more diverse cities of Faerûn.

Two Lives

The first century of a hengeyokai’s life is spent in its animal form. Members of other races would never know the difference between a mundane lizard and a lizard hengeyokai in the first half of its life cycle, unless they spent many years observing the creature’s behavior. During the animal stage of their lives, hengeyokai exhibit heightened intelligence and do not progress into old age. Upon the dawn of their second century, they are able to take a half-animal, half-human shape, or a fully human shape. At this point, their human form is that of an adolescent, and the memories of their past life begin to slowly fade as they transition into the second stage of their life. From this time onward, hengeyokai age at the same rate as humans, reaching maturity about 110 years of age.

Freedom and Friendship

Hengeyokai are spiritual beings that value freedom and self-determination above all else, both for themselves and those they befriend. They are diametrically opposed to the schemes of those who would abuse power over others, such as the Zhentarim, and view any attempts to enslave or extort other beings as an unforgivable affront. Unlike lycanthropes, which tend to be less-than-agreeable and violent, hengeyokai are a reclusive, peaceful people. They are strongly connected to the spiritual world and do not reveal their true nature to anyone they do not implicitly trust due to the storied nature of their race and the many myths involving them throughout history. However, once they let someone into their inner circle, they become stalwart and loyal friends for the rest of their life.

Animalistic Tendencies

All hengeyokai begin their lives as animals, and the traits of their animal forms stay with them for the entirety of their lives. For example, a raven hengeyokai might have a pointed nose that hooks like a bird’s beak, and may make short, fast motions when surveying an area, or cock their head to the side while engaged in conversation. A cat hengeyokai may be solitary and self-reliant, while a weasel hengeyokai may be energetic and playful. Some hengeyokai are predisposed to act more like their animal forms than others. A raven hengeyokai may be prone to picking up shiny stones, coins, and other items that a raven might furnish their nest with from a market square, while a lizard hengeyokai may be inclined to observe the crowd at the same market square and blend in with its surroundings to the best of its abilities.

Wanderlust

Hengeyokai generally don’t stay in one place for long, giving into their impulses and exploring the world, either alone or in small groups. This urge can take a hengeyokai from distant Wang Kuo all the way to Baldur’s Gate over the span of many years, granting them a number of opportunities to learn, grow, play pranks, and make friends. A small number of hengeyokai who live among humans develop a strong instinctual urge to protect their friends and neighbors, especially those who share the same or similar values that they do. These hengeyokai remain in their adopted hometowns for several decades under the guise of their animal form or an invented persona. They might pose as a ranger or traveling merchant, providing an alibi for themselves when they need to tend to other business or deal with a nearby threat. After safeguarding a town or village for a few generations, a hengeyokai may finally heed their instincts and set off into the world once more in search of another great adventure.

Hengeyokai Names

Hengeyokai take names in the same style as humans in the region that they live in, though they do not assume clan names or surnames.

Hengeyokai Traits

Your hengeyokai character has several traits that it shares with all other hengeyokai.

Ability Score Increase

When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. The “Quick Build” section for your character’s class offers suggestions on which scores to increase. You can follow those suggestions or ignore them, but you can’t raise any of your scores above 20.

Age

Hengeyokai can live over 200 years, but their life cycle is unique among the races of Toril. For the first century of their existence, hengeyokai exist strictly in an animal form, set apart from other beasts only by their higher than usual intellect. After its first century of life, a hengeyokai can assume a hybrid form and a human form, detailed in each sub-race’s section below.

Alignment

Hengeyokai are just as diverse as humans, though they generally tend towards chaotic alignments due to their animalistic nature and love of freedom. Certain sub-races of hengeyokai have a predisposition towards good or evil alignments, though as with other races, nothing is set in stone.

Size

Hengeyokai range between 5 and 6 feet in height in their human and hybrid form and have builds suited to their animal forms. For example, a cat hengeyokai may have a slight build with pointed ears and hair that always seems to stand on end. In hybrid and human form your size is Medium. In their animal forms, hengeyokai are slightly larger than other animals of the same type.

Creature Type

You are a Fey. You are also considered a shapechanger for any prerequisite or effect that affects shapechangers.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet in human and hybrid form. Your speed in animal form are dependent on the animal form’s statistics.

Darkvision

Due to your close connections to the spirit world you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Beast Tongue

While you are in hybrid or animal form, you can communicate with beasts and fey creatures that share your animal form or a form closely related (for example, a cat hengeyokai can communicate with a panther). In human form, you can understand beasts and fey creatures that share your animal form or a form closely related to it, but you can’t directly communicate with them.

Nature’s Mask

You can use your action to transform into an animal form, a hybrid form, or a human form and you have the shapechanger tag.

Your statistics are the same in human and hybrid forms. Additionally while in hybrid form you gain a unique trait based on your subrace, detailed in your subrace traits.

While you are in animal form, the following rules apply:

• Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the beast (based on your subrace), but you retain your alignment, personality, hit points, hit dice, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies.
• Your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your beast form. Transforming doesn’t break your concentration on a spell you’ve already cast, or prevent you from taking actions that are part of a spell, such as call lightning, that you’ve already cast.
• You retain the benefit of any features from your class, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so. However, you can’t use any of your special senses, such as darkvision, unless your new form also has that sense.
• You choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. Worn equipment functions as normal, but the DM decides whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the creature’s shape and size. Your equipment doesn’t change size or shape to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can’t wear must either fall to the ground or merge with it. Equipment that merges with the form has no effect until you leave the form.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice. Sylvan, the language of the Feywild is commonly known by Hengeyokai.