HENGEYOKAI

Hengeyokai are intelligent, shapechanging animals, able to shift freely between human and animal forms, as well as a bipedal, animalistic form. Several subraces exist, defined by the kind of animal form they can assume. They are typically found on the fringes of human-settled lands, where they can mingle in human form but retreat to solitude when they desire.

Personality: Hengeyokai tend to be secretive, reclusive, and solitary, dwelling alone or in small bands. They often display personality traits similar to their animal type - so monkey hengeyokai are curious and inquisitive, hare hengeyokai are peaceful but easily startled, and so on. Hengeyokai usually do not try to fit into human society, knowing that they are different and believing that they are more closely connected to the spirit world.

Physical Description: In animal form, hengeyokai are almost indistinguishable from normal animals except through magic. Naturally, their behavior often provides proof of their intelligence, so careful observation of a hengeyokai in animal form can reveal that it is not what it appears to be.

Hengeyokai can also assume a bipedal, animalistic ("hybrid") form. They stand on their hind legs (or similar appendages) to the height of their human form. The front paws, wings, or fins change into hands, capable of gripping and using normal equipment. The rest of the body retains the general appearance of the animal, including fur, feathers, wings, tail, and other characteristic features, but in the overall shape of a humanoid head and torso.

In human form, hengeyokai look exactly like normal humans, though (like lycanthropes) they often display some feature associated with their animal form. For example, a sparrow hengeyokai might have a sharply pointed nose, while a rat hengeyokai might have beady eyes and a long mustache.

Relations: Hengeyokai often live near humans, and good hengeyokai sometimes assume a protective role over a nearby community. A hengeyokai never feels a part of a human community, however, even when grateful villagers offer food or gifts to reward the hengeyokai for the protection she offers. Evil hengeyokai instead prey on human communities, and are rewarded with fear and hatred. Hengeyokai believe themselves to be closer to the spirit world than humans, and therefore feel a closer affinity for spirit folk when the two races come into contact.

Alignment: Most hengeyokai are chaotic, with a strong independent streak. They are wild and value freedom - theirs and others'. Some types of hengeyokai strongly favor good or evil: carp, crane, dog, hare, and sparrow hengeyokai are usually good, while badger, fox, raccoon dog, rat, and weasel hengeyokai are usually evil.

Hengeyokai Lands: Hengeyokai do not have lands of their own. They live - alone or in small bands - near human communities, usually on the edge of civilization, near regions of unsettled wilderness. Given their strong chaotic streak, hengeyokai are frequently on the move, particularly when the advance of civilization turns their wilderness retreats into bustling metropolitan areas.

Religion: Hengeyokai do not worship the spirits that humans venerate - they consider themselves the spirits' equals. Hengeyokai may practice the disciplines of a philosophical school, sharing a spiritual orientation with certain monks. Hengeyokai shamans command the power of the spirits not through veneration, like human shamans, but through partnership.

Language: Hengeyokai speak their own language, which is common to all hengeyokai regardless of animal type.

Names: Hengeyokai names follow human patterns in whatever lands they dwell.

Adventurers: Hengeyokai are commonly adventurers, since the sedentary life of a commoner or expert holds little appeal for them. They are usually motivated by little more than wanderlust, or perhaps curiosity about the world.

HENGEYOKAI RACIAL TRAITS

• -2 Wisdom. Hengeyokai tend to be flighty and weak-willed. A hengeyokai's physical ability scores vary widely in its animal and hybrid forms; the character's generated ability scores apply to its human form. In hybrid form, a hengeyokai gains a +2 adjustment to one physical ability score, as shown on Table: Hengeyokai Hybrid Forms. Its physical ability scores in animal form are average for its animal type, as shown on Table: Hengeyokai Animal Forms.

• Humanoid (Shapechanger): Hengeyokai are susceptible to any spells that target shapechangers.

• In human form, hengeyokai are Medium-size. As Medium-size creatures, hengeyokai have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.

• In human form, hengeyokai base speed is 30 feet.

• Alternate Form (Su): Hengeyokai can change shape, assuming one of three possible forms. This supernatural ability functions like the polymorph spell, but a hengeyokai can change form a number of times per day equal to 1 plus his character level. Thus, a 1st-level hengeyokai can switch from human form to animal form and back again in a single day. Changing form is a full-round action that does provoke attacks of opportunity, as with the polymorph spell.

  A hengeyokai's animal form is a normal animal of Small or smaller size. Possible animal forms include badger, carp, cat, crab, crane, dog, fox, hare, monkey, raccoon dog, rat, sparrow, and weasel. Equipment the hengeyokai is wearing or carrying transforms to become part of the animal form (as with polymorph other), and magic items cease functioning while the hengeyokai remains in animal form. In animal form, the hengeyokai has low-light vision and the supernatural ability to communicate with other animals of its kind. This is the same as a familiar's ability to speak with animals of its type. Hengeyokai have the size, speed, AC, damage rating, and physical ability scores shown on Table: Hengeyokai Animal Forms. In animal form, a hengeyokai is effectively disguised as an animal, gaining a +10 bonus on Disguise checks while in this form.

  Hengeyokai in hybrid form retain their low-light vision and the ability to communicate with animals of their type. Their physical characteristics are based on their abilities in human form, modified as shown on Table: Hengeyokai Hybrid Forms. In this form, a hengeyokai can typically wear light or medium armor without modification, but wearing heavy armor is impossible. Equipment worn or carried by a hengeyokai in human form does not transform when the hengeyokai assumes hybrid form. When a hengeyokai in animal form assumes hybrid form, her equipment returns to its normal form and magic items resume functioning.

• Automatic Languages: Common, Hengeyokai. Bonus Languages: Giant, Goblin, Nezumi, Spirit Tongue.

• Favored Class: Wu jen. A multiclass hengeyokai's wu jen class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty.

Table: Hengeyokai Hybrid Forms

Table: Hengeyokai Animal Forms

KOROBOKURUS

Korobokurus are dwarflike humanoids that live in barren wilderness areas where they seldom come into contact with humans. They live in simple villages, tending small farms in secluded areas. They typically avoid any contact or involvement in the affairs of the world outside their farms, but occasional individuals, driven by wanderlust or inspired by some contact with human civilization, find their way into human lands.

Personality: Humans look down on korobokurus in more ways than one, and stereotype them as being rude, belligerent, boastful, and somewhat comical. Korobokurus resent this reputation, but generally do little to disprove it. That aside, they have simple tastes, enjoying community life in their small villages, telling wildly fanciful stories around a fire, simple arts, and collecting treasure. They consider it poor taste to display their wealth, and usually carry only a few coins on their person.

Physical Description: Korobokurus stand about 4 feet tall. Their arms and legs are slightly longer in proportion to their bodies than those of a human. They are leaner than dwarves, averaging 120 to 140 pounds. Most are bowlegged. They have big, bright eyes, usually blue, green, or brown. Their ears are small and somewhat pointed. Their noses are round with flaring nostrils, and their lips are wide and full. Thick hair, usually light brown or blond, covers their arms and legs and grows in wild tangles from their heads. Most adult males have sparse beards, and even a few women have short whiskers sprouting beneath their chins.

Korobokurus look wild and unkempt. They favor simple clothing, such as cotton shirts and trousers, or a kimono tied at the waist with a rope sash. Their clothing is often loose or oversized, wrinkled but clean. They shun bright colors in favor of earth tones. They avoid gaudy jewelry, but often wear colorful stones on leather straps around their necks and sometimes decorate their hair with flowers.

Relations: Most other races find korobokurus primitive and inferior, and rarely embrace them as equals. In return, they become insular and don't seek interaction with outsiders. They particularly despise goblinoid creatures and initially react to other races with suspicion. Members of other races need to earn their trust.

Alignment: Korobokurus resist hierarchy and authority, leaning strongly toward chaotic alignments. Most of them hate evil creatures and value life and good.

Korobokuru Lands: Korobokurus dwell in remote sites of great natural beauty, such as lush mountain valleys, sprawling tropical forests, snowy wooded mountainsides, and crater lakes in ancient volcanoes. They live in simple villages or camps, erecting crude buildings with thatched roofs and walls formed of mud, sticks, and rocks. A typical korobokuru village consists of a single extended family. Korobokurus who venture into human lands may support themselves with their simple arts (paintings, woodcuttings, or carved statuettes) or through an adventuring life. Such individuals are quite rare.

Religion: Korobokurus usually venerate the nature spirits that reside near their communities - spirits of the forest, the rivers, and the mountains. Often, they adopt the greatest spirit of the region as something like a patron deity, naming their clan after that spirit and making offerings to it above all others.

Language: Korobokurus speak a dialect of Dwarven, but they do not have a script. Literate korobokurus (who are rare) use the Common script to read and write.

Names: Like other dwarves, korobokurus bear names that are bestowed by the clan elder. Their names are simple and usually denote natural features such as plants, small animals, brooks, or stones.

Male Names: Bun, Bod, Dath, Fek, Mog, Tod, Vun.

Female Names: Bin, Dim, Fain, Gim, Mem, Mon, Tas, Wan.

Clan Names: Kuo-ban, Gia-mun, Hua-kag, Jun-tua, Ten-min, Yak-rui.

Adventurers: A korobokuru adventurer is usually motivated by the needs of his people. If a korobokuru community faces a problem it does not know how to handle, it typically falls to a single hero - whether a volunteer or a candidate chosen by the elders - to venture into the outside world to find a solution.

KOROBOKURU RACIAL TRAITS

• +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence. Korobokurus are extremely hardy, but not exceptionally bright.

• Small: As Small creatures, korobokurus gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but they must use smaller weapons than humans use, and their lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of Medium-size characters.

• Korobokuru base speed is 20 feet.

• Darkvision: Korobokurus can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and korobokurus can function just fine with no light at all.

• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison: Korobokurus are hardy and resistant to toxins.

• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects.

• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against goblinoids (goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, bakemono, and goblin rats): Korobokurus are trained in the special combat techniques that allow them to fight their common enemies more effectively.

• +4 dodge bonus against giants: This bonus represents special training that korobokurus undergo, during which they learn tricks that previous generations developed in their battles with ogres. Note that any time a character loses his positive Dexterity bonus to Armor Class, such as when he's caught flat-footed, he loses his dodge bonus, too.

• +2 racial bonus on Survival checks: Korobokurus are familiar with the wild lands in which they dwell.

• Automatic Languages: Common and Dwarven. Bonus Languages: Giant, Goblin, Hengeyokai, and Sylvan.

• Favored Class: Barbarian. A multiclass korobokuru's barbarian class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing. Korobokurus are naturally wild and fierce in battle.

NEZUMI

The nezumi, or "ratlings" as they are often called by humans, are a race of bipedal ratlike humanoids. In Rokugan, they are an ancient race native to the Shadowlands. Before the fall of the seven kami, the ratlings of Rokugan lived in grand cities in a mighty empire. On an apocalyptic day nezumi legend dubs "The Terrible Day When Air Became Fire and Heaven Fell From Its Perch to Crush Our Glorious Home Beneath Its Blackened Corpse," the empire of the ratlings was destroyed and the Shadowlands was born. In the aftermath of that event, the ratlings have become hardy and wily scavengers, eking out a meager existence in the midst of Rokugan's greatest horrors.

Personality: Nezumi are wild, fierce, and primitive. They are survivalists in a grim terrain, and their outlook is colored by the harsh realities of their existence: barren land, hazardous natural features, and deadly predators, from ogres and goblins to terrible oni. For all the evil that surrounds them, the nezumi have somehow escaped the Shadowlands Taint, remaining uncorrupted by their surroundings.

Physical Description: Nezumi look like nothing so much as humanoid rats. They stand upright, roughly as tall as a human (averaging about 5 1/2 feet tall and 155 pounds). They have long snouts, pink ears, and pronounced incisors, like ordinary rodents. Their bodies are covered with rough fur, ranging in shade from white through gray and brown to black, sometimes solid and sometimes patterned. Fur patterns tend to run in ratling families.

The nezumi have five-fingered hands, opposable thumbs, and sharp claws. Their long tails are mostly hairless and have the same pink coloration as their ears and palms. Their legs are bent like those of rats and have only three toes. Like human barbarians, nezumi often wear earrings in their pierced ears, necklaces made of bone or teeth, and similar ornamentation that humans usually consider savage.

Relations: In Rokugan, the nezumi are staunch allies of the Crab who defend the Empire from the Shadowlands. They often work closely with the scouts of the Hiruma family. Other humans of Rokugan, however, view the ratlings in a less positive light. Superstitious folk believe they carry the evil of the Shadowlands with them, and their disregard for the culture and customs of Rokugan lowers them in human estimation. Their scavenging habits - sometimes extending as far as graverobbing - deeply offend the Rokugani sense of propriety.

In other campaign settings, nezumi are often confused with rat hengeyokai or goblin rats (evil lycanthropes) and suspected of being just as evil as those races.

Alignment: Lacking a sense of property, home, or community, nezumi tend strongly toward chaotic alignments. In Rokugan, they are rarely evil, being sworn enemies of the Shadowlands and its creatures. In other campaign settings, many nezumi are evil - whether by nature or simply because they are so often suspected of evil.

Nezumi Lands: Nezumi are nomadic, wandering in packs or tribes along a more or less fixed migratory cycle. In Rokugan, they generally confine themselves to the Shadowlands, though they sometimes venture into Scorpion and Unicorn lands to scrounge for food or equipment.

Religion: Nezumi do not venerate ancestors or spirits. Rather, they believe that an individual's ki shapes the universe, making each individual life - as well as the collective life of a pack or the entire race - inherently valuable.

Language: The native nezumi language is a chittering combination of barks, squeaks, and clicks, bearing a strong resemblance to the noises of common rodents. It has its own script, but it is rarely used except to leave warnings or directions for other packs. Nezumi usually learn to speak Rokugani or Common, though they punctuate it with clicks and squeaks and a peculiar stuttering repetition.

Names: A nezumi name consists of three to five syllables, separated by an apostrophe (which represents a pause in some dialects, a clicking sound in others), and ending with the name of the individual's clan, such as chek, tch, tck, tek, tuk, or uk. Sometimes the syllable oh- is added to the beginning of a name to designate an individual of great age and wisdom. (Ohchi'chek is a respected elder of the chek, or Teachers, tribe.) To show that a nezumi has gained great honor in his tribe, the syllable ti- is added before the name of the tribe. (Rik'tik'tichek has distinguished himself in the Teachers tribe.) Only occasionally do ratlings adopt nicknames, such as "Longsnout." Nicknames are most common among ratlings who work closely with humans, since humans often have trouble pronouncing ratling names.

Names: At'tok'tuk, Chet'rop'tik, Chit'i'tchik'kan, Mack'uk, Mat'irt'chuk, Mat'tck, Oh-chi'chek, Rik'tik'tichek, Ropp'tch'tch, Ruantek, T'tep'mok, Tchick'chuk, Tir'chik'tep, Z'orr'tek.

Adventurers: The step from the nezumi's scavenging lifestyle to the life of an adventurer is not a large one, and nezumi adventurers are usually motivated by the simple desire to make the most of their short lives that they can.

NEZUMI RACIAL TRAITS

• +2 Constitution, -2 Charisma. Nezumi are hale and hardy but rather crude by human standards.

• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, nezumi have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.

• Nezumi base speed is 40 feet.

• Low-light Vision: Nezumi can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

• +2 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. Nezumi are naturally stealthy.

• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison and disease: Nezumi are resistant to illness and toxins.

• Immune to the Shadowlands Taint: Nezumi can never acquire a Taint score, and suffer no ill effects from exposure to the Shadowlands. Effects such as the cloud of Taint spell or the special attacks of Shadowlands creatures can still harm them, however.

• A ratling's sharp claws and teeth deal 1d4 points of normal damage with a successful unarmed strike. A ratling can make only one unarmed attack per round, using either claw or a bite attack.

• Keen Scent: Nezumi have a better sense of smell than humans do, and are often more able to distinguish humans from each other by scent than by sight. Nezumi have the scent special quality.

• Automatic Languages: Rokugani, Nezumi. Bonus Languages: Bakemono, Shadowlands.

• Favored Class: Rogue. A multiclass nezumi's rogue class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing.

SPIRIT FOLK

Spirit folk are the descendants of humans and various spirits of nature. Spirit folk have three distinct races - bamboo, river, and sea spirit folk. All tie very strongly to the natural world as well as to the society of humans.

Personality: Spirit folk tend to be serene and calm, attuned to their surroundings and at peace with the world. Their spirit ancestry gives them an awareness of the spirit world, and they show little desire to manipulate that world through magic. They manifest a love and enjoyment of life that many humans can only envy.

Physical Description: Spirit folk look human. Their eyes are slender and their mouths are small. Their eyebrows are very thin and their complexions are very pale or golden. They have no facial or body hair, but the hair on their heads is thick and luxurious. They appear in all the diversity of humans, and many come close to the ideal of human beauty in their society.

Relations: Spirit folk typically live as part of human society, and are accepted as equals in human communities, even when their true ancestry is known. They are members of human clans, citizens of human nations, and have blood relations who are entirely human. At the same time, they are part of the spirit world, and never feel completely at home in the mundane life of a human village. As spirits, spirit folk often get along well with hengeyokai, and they may have friends and allies among other spirit races as well.

Alignment: Perhaps because of their strong ties to the natural world, spirit folk tend to seek balance between extremes. They tend toward neutral alignments.

Spirit Folk Lands: Spirit folk live among humans, but usually near regions of untouched wilderness - uncut bamboo groves, pure streams and rivers, and deep ocean waters. Unlike hengeyokai, they are more tightly integrated into human communities, bound by family ties. They do not usually join in communities with other spirit folk.

Religion: Spirit folk share the religious habits of humans, venerating a host of spirits and Fortunes. They typically venerate their human ancestors as well as their spirit forebears.

Language: Spirit folk speak Common in their human communities, but can also converse in the Spirit Tongue that is used among spirit creatures.

Names: Spirit folk usually have human names, though their given names often reflect their ancestry.

Adventurers: Some spirit folk feel their difference from their human neighbors more acutely than others of their kind, and take up the life of an adventurer in order to find their own way in the world. Sometimes, sheer wanderlust drives a spirit folk to explore the world.

SPIRIT FOLK RACIAL TRAITS

These abilities are common to all three subraces of spirit folk.

• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, spirit folk have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.

• Spirit folk base speed is 30 feet.

• Low-light Vision: Spirit folk can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

• Spirit Subtype: Spirit folk have the spirit subtype, which means they can be affected by spells that specifically target spirits, such as protection from spirits and invisibility to spirits. Their human ancestry makes them humanoids, however, so they are also affected by spells such as hold person and charm person.

• Automatic Languages: Common and Spirit Tongue. Bonus Languages: Aquan, Giant, Goblin, Hengeyokai, Nezumi.

• Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass spirit folk suffers an XP penalty, her highest-level class does not count.

BAMBOO SPIRIT FOLK

Bamboo spirit folk have these additional characteristics.

• +2 racial bonus on Survival checks.

• +4 racial bonus on Hide checks when in woods or forest.

• Trackless Step: Bamboo spirit folk leave no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked.

• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects with the words "earth," "rock," "stone," or "wood" in the name of the effect, shugenja spells of the earth element, and wu jen spells connected to earth or wood.

• Once per day a bamboo spirit folk can use speak with animals to speak with any animal. This ability is innate to bamboo spirit folk. It has a duration of 1 minute (the spirit folk is considered a 1st-level caster when using this ability, regardless of actual level). See the speak with animals spell description.

RIVER SPIRIT FOLK

River spirit folk have these additional characteristics.

• Water Breathing: River spirit folk can breathe water as easily as they breathe air.

• River spirit folk have a base swimming speed of 30 feet. They do not need to make Swim checks to swim normally. They gain a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard, and they can always choose to take 10 on these checks, even if rushed or threatened when swimming. They can use the run action while swimming, provided they swim in a straight line.

• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spelllike effects with the word "water" in the name of the effect, shugenja spells of the water element, and wu jen spells connected to water.

• Once per day a river spirit folk can use speak with animals to speak with any fish. This ability is innate to river spirit folk. It has a duration of 1 minute (the spirit folk is considered a 1st-level caster when using this ability, regardless of actual level). See the speak with animals spell description.

SEA SPIRIT FOLK

Sea spirit folk have these additional characteristics.

• Water Breathing: Sea spirit folk can breathe water as easily as they breathe air.

• Sea spirit folk have a base swimming speed of 30 feet. They do not need to make Swim checks to swim normally. They gain a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard, and they can always choose to take 10 on these checks, even if rushed or threatened when swimming. They can use the run action while swimming, provided they swim in a straight line.

• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects with the fire descriptor.

• A sea spirit folk can make a Knowledge (nature) check (or an untrained Intelligence check) with a +2 racial bonus to predict the weather for the next 24 hours. The DC is 15.

VANARAS

Vanaras are a race of monkeylike humanoids, possessing brave hearts and inquisitive minds.

Personality: Vanaras are often viewed with amusement or even exasperation by members of other races, who find their personalities childish and irritating. They are curious in the extreme, frequently badgering people with questions (sometimes very personal questions), picking small items up to examine them, opening doors to see where they lead, and generally exploring places where the human sense of propriety and order would demand they not go. They also tend to be bluntly honest, never couching a negative opinion in gentle terms or hiding their true feelings about anything. At the same time, they are incredibly loyal, quite brave when the situation requires it, and genuinely kind.

Physical Description: Vanaras are slightly shorter than humans, standing 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 feet tall and typically weighing 90 to 140 pounds. Their bodies are covered with light fur, ranging from white through light blue to brown and black. Their faces are distinctly monkeylike, with protruding muzzles, furred cheeks, and wide, lipless mouths. They have long, semiprehensile tails, long fingers and toes, and large ears, but their arms, legs, and torsos are proportioned like those of humans.

Relations: Vanaras are very fond of humans, admiring them and respecting their power while laughing quietly at their conservative stodginess. They get along well with other good-aligned races as well, as long as the other race will tolerate them. They loathe evil, however, and their opinion of an entire race or kind can be soured by their experience with one wicked individual.

Alignment: Vanaras are strongly chaotic but equally strongly good. They show little or no respect for social mores, rules with no purpose they can understand, or codes of discipline, and hate tyranny and oppression. Their only concession to social order is their acceptance of caste systems. Their religion allows for the possibility that different divine gifts might be given to different people, although it rejects any different valuation of those gifts. Vanaras, therefore, might respect that religion is the province of the priestly caste among humans, but do not necessarily accord that caste the respect and veneration human priests might expect.

Vanara Lands: Vanaras dwell in deep forests and high mountains, building their villages and towns in such a way as to make a minimal impact on their natural surroundings. They gather in loose clans, but do not keep track of kinship at all, so "clan" is a very loose term for their associations. They subsist largely by hunting and gathering, rather than farming the land. They rarely come into contact with other races, and do not seek them out.

Religion: The vanaras revere the greatest of the nature spirits - spirits of the sun, the highest mountains, the oldest forests, and the widest rivers. They revere these spirits with deep personal devotion, offering prayers and songs to these deitylike beings at least daily.

Language: Vanaras speak Vanaran, which is written in the Common script. Humans complain that Vanaran sounds like nothing but screeches and chattering, but it is a complex and subtle language.

Names: A vanara receives a name within a week after birth, as soon as the parents observe some sign or portent that suggests an appropriate name for the child. The vanara keeps this name through life, and considers it shameful to use any other name, such as a nickname or honorific.

Male Names: Amanu, Khanu, Mindra, Rava, Thetsu, Vaki, Vindu.

Female Names: Aki, Kiri, Ghuna, Lakshi, Sitha, Tani, Vina.

Adventurers: The arrival of a human or a member of another race in a vanara community usually sparks a rash of vanara adventurers, as young vanaras - curious about the foreign society from which the visitor came - venture forth to learn about the wider world. Vanara adventurers often attach themselves to humans, following them with tremendous loyalty and devotion.

VANARA RACIAL TRAITS

• +2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, -2 Strength. Vanaras are clever and inquisitive and have keen senses. Their small build detracts from their physical strength, however.

• Medium-size: As Medium-size creatures, vanaras have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

• Vanara base speed is 30 feet.

• Vanaras have a base climb speed of 20 feet. They gain a +8 racial bonus on all Climb checks, and use either their Strength modifier or their Dexterity modifier, whichever is higher. They can always choose to take 10, even if rushed or threatened when climbing.

• Low-light Vision: Vanaras can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

• +4 racial bonus on Balance and Jump checks. Vanaras are agile and athletic, climbing, leaping, and swinging in trees.

• +2 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. Though they enjoy making noise, vanaras can be very stealthy when the situation demands it.

• Automatic Languages: Common and Vanara. Bonus Languages: Giant, Goblin, Spirit Tongue, Sylvan.

• Favored Class: Shaman. A multiclass vanara's shaman class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty.