Tanuki

"They were a curious bunch. They appeared to be human, but 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.