Nekomata
lined the valley path, it was noticeable that despite these skeletons looking very human in nature, they all had two ghostly tails, looking like blue fire sprawling from their backs. Then the perpetrater of this encirclement came forward. Clad in dark robes and hiding his face, one wouldn't know their identity if not for the adjustments for her ears on the hood, and her twin tails swaying behind her.
Needless to say, it appeared as if our presence within the valley was unwelcome."
-- Iorki, The Seishin Expedition
Mysterious humanoids from the secluded mountains and deep forest of the Seishin isles, the nekomata are typical members of the Kemono Empire, oppressed due to their inborn control of the undead, and the fact that they are not kitsune. Preferring to avoid the watchful gaze of their empress, the naekomata live in small secluded communities and clans, leaving only to complete destined tasks or to recover supplies for their kin.
Progenitors of Death
Since ancient times when the different races of the Kemono Empire first set foot within he Seishin Isles, the nekomata has the ability to call upon the souls of the deceased. With this innate connection to the afterlife, and ability to manipulate the deceased, the nekomata developed a unique cultural approach to death, seeing the passing of a life as but the next stage for them, and thinking of their bodies as vessels that were discarded when they returned to the upper realms, and could be left in the care of their descendants to aid them with their activities, primarily farming and construction. When the body finally broke down to the point of uselessness, it would be ground into powder and used as fertilizer within the fields of the nekomata tribes to help bolster plant growth, allowing the bodies to give life once more.
Secluded Communities
Nekomata are often found in small collectives & tribes, usually within hard to reach mountainous regions, where they grow up away from the prying eyes and overbearing authority of the upper ranks of the Kemono Empire. In rare cases, several groups of nekomata will group together to create proper towns, and may start to attempt to interact with the rest of the Kemonon society, though these towns and villages still tend to be located far away from others.
Due to these reasons, nekomata are a rare sight within the Seishin Isles, and are often found donning disguises when exploring, and leaving their homes, so as not to arouse suspicion, and avoid prejudice from the other races.
Nekomata Names
Nekomata use names from their local culture, sounding quite different to those who do not hail from Seishin.
Male Nekomata Names: Masuru, Toshi, Sachiko, Hoshiko, Note
Female Nekomata Names: Shika, Masa, Kohaku, Sachiko, Maeko
Nekomata Traits
Your nekomata character has an assortment of inborn abilities, part and parcel of the nekomata nature.
Suggested Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age. Nekomata reach adulthood at age 50, but cease to physically age after the age of 20. They can live up to the age of 500 years.
Size. Nekomata are generally on the smaller side of most humanoids ranging from 4'7" to the tallest being just under 5'9". Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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.
Form of the Cat. Using an action, you can change your form into that of a two tailed cat. the transformation lasts for 1 hour, or until you are reduced to 0 hit point.
While in your cat form, you take the game statistics of a normal cat, retaining your Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma stats. You are limited in the actions you can perform by the nature of your new form, and can't speak, cast spells, or take any other action that requires hands or speech. You are still capable of ending this ability early with an action. You must complete a long rest before using this feature again.
Friend of the Beasts. You gain advantage on all Wisdom (animal handling) rolls.
Nekomata Magic. You can cast false life with this trait, using Wisdom as your spellcasting ability for them. Once you cast either spell, you can't cast it again with this trait until you finish a short or long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can also cast the raise dead spell once per long rest. Intelligence as your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvian.
Tanuki
they were taller than those I had seen through my travels, with a different skin complexion, amidst other differences, their leader even had mesmerizing orange hair, akin to those of my kins, very unusual for a human. They also has a dragon man with them, though his appearance was like no dragon I'd ever witnessed.
They claimed to be from a land far across the sea, and were documenting their journey as they explored the isles. Seeing as they were new around here, and probably held no prejudice against my kin, I decided to offer my assistance, as I'm sure something interesting will happen if I stick around these people."
-- Ichika the Explorer, The Foreigners of the East
Hailing from the lands of Seishin, the tanuki, also known as the raccoon spirits or raccoon dogs, are an ancient fay race that claim the souther islands of the Seishin archipelago as their home. Considered the equals of the kitsune, the tanuki are known for their powerful innate control and abilities related to the school of illusion magic, and are seen to be very comparable to the kitsune in all skills except for deceit.
Childish Souls
The most distinct difference between the tanuki and the kitsune is their general personality/ disposition. The kitsune are sly and conniving, while the tanuki tend to have a brighter outlook on life, retaining a youthful personality and maintaining a naive thought process when interacting with others. This is most apparent with the tanukis general disposition towards pranks. Despite being powerful illusionists, tanuki have spent the betterpart of their entire history within the isles using their illusions to mess with and surprise the other races, enjoying the shock and annoyance that comes from their successful schemes, and playful ploys.
While this demeanor has left the tanuki as the victims of the kitsune's political takeover of the Southern isles, it has also made them friends with the majority of the other races, even if only is sparing amounts. this is especially true of the vanara, who also have a youthful passion for adventure and love interacting with the other races of the world. This has lead to many friendships between the two races of opposite sides of the archipelago. It is said, that during the great journey of Qitian Dasheng, he met with four tanuki who joined him for a great portion of his exploration, helping to develop his playful nature, and even teaching him the art of illusion and transformation, leading to Dasheng's unique ability to transform his body into that of any creature he can imagine.
Tanuki Names
Tanuki use names from their local culture, sounding quite different to those who do not hail from Seishin.
Male Tanuki Names: Akira, Kaien, Ren, Roku, Tsuki
Female Tanuki Names: Kauri, Kazane, Rumia, Shion, Yuna
Tanuki Traits
Your tanuki character has an assortment of inborn abilities, part and parcel of the tanuki nature.
Suggested Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age. Tanuki reach adulthood at age 100, but cease to physically age after the age of 30. They can live up to the age of 500.
Size. Tanuki are generally on the smaller side of most humanoids ranging from 4'7" to the tallest being just under 5'9". Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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.
Form of the Raccoon. Using an action, you can change your form into that of a raccoon. the transformation lasts for 1 hour, or until you are reduced to 0 hit point.
While in your raccoon form, you take the game statistics of a normal raccoon, retaining your Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma stats. You are limited in the actions you can perform by the nature of your new form, and can't speak, cast spells, or take any other action that requires hands or speech. You are still capable of ending this ability early with an action. You must complete a long rest before using this feature again.
Friend of the Beasts. You gain advantage on all Wisdom (animal handling) rolls.
Tanuki Magic. You know the thaumaturgy cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the silent illusion spell once per long rest, and when you reach 5th level, you can also cast the mirror image spell once per long rest. Wisdom as your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvian.
Credits
Created by Nicholas H.
Proofreaders/Balancers: /u/lidanma, Nicholas H.Art in Order of Appearance
"WUXIA" by Wang Xiao
"Fanart of Nekomata from The Nippon Folk Lore" by Keyren.s
"NUKI-TheWildAdventurer" by PerryHan Zhang