UserShadow7989
2010-06-02, 04:44 PM
I've always been fascinated with lycanthropes and the like. Humans taking on animalistic forms (willingly or otherwise) is a common theme in the mythology of cultures all around the world. As my favorite animal is the fox, it's little surprise I was drawn to Kitsunes. They're particular in that the animal form was the 'true' form, and the idea of playing a race like that appeals to me.
While searching through the forum and looking at the builds provided, they always struck me as too vanilla. Many were just humanoids with Fox traits, and often carried only one or two of the Kitsune's hallmark abilities, if any at all. A few addressed their shape shifting, their true form as foxes, and/or their many tails being signs of age and experience, but missed others. They weren't bad, but I couldn't find one that thoroughly appeased me.
Kitsunes
Kitsunes are tiny, fox-like creatures that can assume a humanoid form. They sprout additional tails over time, and no matter what their form they cannot remove or change their fox-like tails or ears. Kitsunes are commonly portrayed as tricksters close to both magic and nature. However, they are shown in a positive light just as often as negative, often as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives. Being more nature spirits than animals like they originally were, they are loosely linked to the elements of the world, providing them with a nearly endless natural lifespan.
Personality: Younger Kitsunes love two things; playing pranks and discovering new things. Most travel as nomads to seek out new experiences and targets for their deceptions, though a handful travel solely to keep ahead of the enemies they've made. More of their tricks come from boredom than malicious intent, though the latter is a reason not to draw their ire.
Despite their love of new things, Kitsunes are slow to change. Perhaps it's a result of their impossibly long lifespans, but they cling to whatever they like, rarely seeing any need to give it up or go to the next thing right away, or to do today what they can tomorrow. This ironically makes them one of the most steadfast races out there.
Kitsunes on a whole loathe being told what to do or restrictions on their actions, many simply wanting to do what they want when they want. It's not hard to understand that they have difficulty respecting authority without the threat of severe repercussions to hold them in line. The few times a Kitsune settles down, they will choose a place with little authority or whose laws line up perfectly with their own preferences.
As loose cannon as they are, they do have a small amount of respect for the well traveled or dedicated. To see someone with such a comparatively short lifetime stick to one thing instead of changing constantly and quickly is confusing, but admirable.
Younger Kitsunes revel in their freedom, searching for something to practice and playing pranks at every opportunities. Older Kitsunes are more laid back, using their powers to garner respect instead of causing misfortune and slowly becoming set in their ways. Regardless of their age or origin, when a Kitsune finds someone or something they like, they pursue/protect it passionately.
Physical Description: While they prefer to assume the shape of a humanoid race, a Kitsune's true form is that of an average fox. Four legs, a large, bushy tail, and a body shape comparable to a small dog's. As they grow, both physically and metaphorically, they grow more tails up to a maximum of 9. Those with a high number of tails are highly respected amongst their own kind as beings who have seen and done much.
Most commonly, a Kitsune will transform into the shape of a human (or whatever race is most common in the area) when they travel. It lets them better examine the local culture, and grants them the benefits of thumbs and the ability to carry objects. However, even the most powerful transformation magic has difficulty removing a Kitsune's tails or ears. They can stuff them under hats and loose cloaks or use a spell to turn them invisible (along with the rest of themselves), but must constantly concentrate to keep their tails and hears hidden. If the tails or ears are cut off or otherwise removed, they will regrow over the course of a week.
Alignment: Kitsunes have no preference along the good/evil axis, running the gambit from cunning manipulators who abuse their abilities to cause trouble, to respectable if haughty beings who punish the wicked, and everything in between. However, they lean heavily towards chaos, with lawful Kitsune being all but unheard of. The few Kitsunes that are lawful are such through a personal code, rather than a respect for authority or self control, and are still more than happy to twist the wording of any promise or rule to their benefit.
Kitsune Lands: Kitsunes don't have any claimed lands or notable civilizations, due to their tendency to wander in search of interesting individuals and potential targets. The small tribes that appear tend to have a mish-mash of random traits that change constantly as they find something else of interest. The only common theme is a caste system in some shape or form, usually based off the number of tails one has (higher number meaning higher caste).
Religion: There's no preferred religion among Kitsunes, but they may take interest if they choose a religious figure as their disguise. For those that do adopt a religion, nature, trickster, and magical deities are most common.
Language: Kitsunes speak Common and one other language.
///PC Kitsune\\\
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength, -2 Constitution. Kitsunes are compulsive pranksters and their spellcasters favor illusions and enchantments. They are quick and graceful on their feet, but they lack the strength and physical stamina of larger races.
Small: As Small creatures, a kitsune gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but she uses smaller weapons than humans use, and her lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
Magical Beast (Shapechanger): As magical beasts, kitsunes are immune to spells and effects that specifically target humanoids. They have the shapechanger subtype as a result of their constant transformations.
Speed: Kitsune base land speed is 30 feet.
Multiple Tails: A kitsune gains more tails as she grows physically, mentally, and/or spiritually. At levels 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, and 20, she sprouts an additional tail (a total of nine, counting the one they're born with). The kitsune receives a racial bonus to diplomacy and bluff checks towards kitsunes with less tails, +1 for every tail more then the other. If a tail is removed in any way, another will grow in it's place in a week.
Animal Shape: A kitsune cannot speak in their true form, nor can they perform the subtle motions of the hands that humanoids can. They're a regular fox outside of their magic, and cannot cast spells that require verbal or somatic components or use weapons/armor. Their grace in this form grants them an additional +2 racial Dexterity bonus, but their feeble shape also adds another -2 racial Strength penalty. The racial stat bonus and penalty from this ability are added to those listed above. While in their true form, Kitsunes can perform a 1d4+STR modifier Bite as a Natural Attack.
Transformation: All kitsunes are capable of transforming into another race's shape. As a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity, the Kitsune can disguise itself as a member of a medium size or smaller humanoid race. Doing so, they are no longer effected by the Animal Shape racial ability (see above). The kitsune does not gain the racial abilities of the race she imitates or lose her normal racial bonuses/abilities, and is still treated as small sized even when she takes a different sized appearance. She reverts back to her animal shape when entering a anti-magic field, effected by anything that negates supernatural abilities, or rendered unconscious. Trueseeing and divination spells or abilities will reveal her true appearance, though it won't return her to her true form. Kitsunes can change back to their normal state as an instant action.
Flawed Disguise: A kitsune can disguise herself as any humanoid race (see Transformation) without any penalties for imitating a different gender, race, or age category. However, a kitsune has difficulty hiding her ears and tails, and must make a concentration check to keep them hidden when under scrutiny (DC 10 + (1 for each of the investigating creature's hitdice/2)) every (hitdie) hours. Failing the concentration check grants a +4 untyped bonus to a Spot checks made against her Disguise check. If the creature suspicious of the kitsune or searching for and aware of a kitsune's abilities to change shape (DC 15 Knowledge (Nature) check or previous experience with a kitsune), increase the DC of the concentration check by +5. When interacting with people who have interacted with the kitsune before (even in disguise), the Kitsune must make a (DC 15 + (1 for each of the investigating creature's hitdice/2)) every hour. If she fails, those who have known her for an hour or more gain a +2 untyped bonus to Spot checks made against her Disguise check or to recognize the specific kitsune, while those that know the kitsune on a personal level gain a +6 bonus instead.
Ageless: Unlike most creatures, a Kitsune's essence is linked to the world itself, drawing from it. As a result, a Kitsune's 'natural' lifespan is beyond that of many mortals, possibly even being as eternal as long as the world is. While they are still killed just as easily as the next mortal, a Kitsune does not die of old age, nor do they have age categories. Their adulthood is reached at 100 years, and the only thing that changes in their aging is how many tails they have (see Multiple Tails ability).
Low-Light Vision: A Kitsune can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
Spell-like Abilities: Kitsune can use dancing lights and ghost sound as spell-like abilities, each a number of times per day equal to the number of tails she has. Caster level equal to her Hit Dice.
Disguise is always treated as a class skill for the Kitsune.
A Kitsune can take levels of the Shadowcraft Mage prestige class, despite not being a Gnome.
Kitsunes may communicate with other Kitsune and foxes in any form as if under the effects of Speak With Animals.
Automatic Languages: Common and one other.
Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic).
Favored Class: Wu-Jen. A multiclass kitsune's wu-jen class does not count when determining whether she suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing. (If you don't have access to the Wu-Jen class, you may treat the Druid as the Favored Class of the Kitsune instead.)
///Kitsune Racial Feats\\\
Arcane Familiarity [Kitsune]
Requirements: Int 11+, 4 ranks of Knowledge (Arcana)
Benefit: Your partially magical nature protects you from the effects of spells. You gain a +1 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects, and an additional +1 racial bonus for every 4 ranks of Knowledge (Arcana) you have after the required four, to a maximum of +5 from 20 skill ranks.
Normal: The Kitsune receives no racial bonuses on saving throws against spells or spell-like effects.
Improved Transformation [Kitsune]
Requirements: Cha 15+, 3 ranks in Disguise.
Benefit: When disguised as a humanoid creature with your Transformation racial ability, you can trade your physical racial bonuses/penalties for any physical racial bonuses/penalties that race normally receives. You do not receive or lose any other racial traits while in this shape. If your level increases, you use your normal ability scores when determining if you meet the requirements to learn a feat or ability.
Normal: Kitsunes do not change their racial ability modifiers when using their Transformation racial ability.
Natural Illusionist [Kitsune]
Requirements: Cha 13+, 3 ranks of Knowledge (Arcana)
Benefit: Your powers of deception are magical in the most literal sense of the word. When you take this feat, select 1 spell from the Bard or Sorcerer/Wizard spell list with the [Illusion] descriptor and of a spell level equal to or less then the number of tails you have (if it is available on multiple spell lists, use the highest listed).
You gain that spell as a Spell-like Ability, usable a number of times per day equal to (Number of Tails - Spell's Level (if it is available on multiple spell lists, use the highest listed)) + 1 (Maximum 3). Caster level for the Spell-like Abilities provided this way is equal to your Hit Dice.
Special:This feat may be taken multiple times. If you wish to select this feat more then once, the required Cha score is increased by 2 and the number of ranks in Knowledge (Arcana) by 3 for each time you've taken this feat. You cannot select the same spell twice for the effects of this feat.
Playful Trickster [Kitsune]
Requirements: Int 11+, Cha 13+, 5 ranks in at least two: Bluff, Disguise, Diplomacy, Forgery, and/or Sense Motive.
Benefit: As a Kitsune, deception is part of your nature. You gain a +1 to all Bluff, Disguise, Diplomacy, Forgery, and Sense Motive checks for every 5 ranks in the appropriate skill you have.
Normal: The Kitsune is no more adept at trickery then any other race.
Spirit Fire [Kitsune]
Requirements: Int 13+, Cha 11+, either 4 ranks of Knowledge (Arcana) or 4th level.
Benefit: You can now create actual, harmful foxfire as opposed to the mere image of fire by focusing it through your hands/tails. You may cast burning hands as a Spell-like Ability by sacrificing one of your per day uses of dancing lights, with your caster level equal to your level. When using the burning hands spell-like ability, you may choose to deal electricity damage instead of fire (the fire descriptor is replaced with the electricity descriptor if you choose to deal electricity damage).
Normal: A Kitsune can only create small balls of light with their fox fire (see dancing lights in the list of Spell-like Abilities above) and cannot use them to harm anyone.
Special: You can take this feat multiple times. Every time you take this feat after the first, you gain an additional daily use of your dancing lights or burning hands Spell-like Abilities.
///Epic Racial Feats\\\
Curse of the Nine Tails
Requirements:Cha 16+, Level 21 or higher
Benefit:Your spiritual power allows you to inflict a curse on those who slight you. You gain bestow curse as a Spell-like Ability, usable nine times per day. The DC for saves against castings of bestow curse provided by this ability is 18 + Cha Modifier, instead of the normal DC.
Normal:You do not have the ability to bestow a curse upon someone unless you have learned the spell by taking levels of a spellcasting class.
Change Log:
6/07/10: Added a paragraph to the intro describing what I feel differs my version of the Kitsune from others as recommended by DracoDei. Modified Arcane Familiarity and Playful Trickster as per suggestions from Jiriku, hopefully dropping Arcane Familiarity's power as suggested by Milskidasith. Minor fluff rewrites.
6/08/10: Switched the racial dexterity bonus for a racial wisdom bonus. Dropped the racial bonuses to spot/listen/search. Reduced the always-class skills to just Disguise. Changed the Kitsune's size to Small, and it's type to Magical Beast. Changed automatic languages to Common and one more. Clarified that you do not lose your racial bonuses/abilities when using Transformation (except for the additional bonuses/restrictions from Animal Shape), and that Animal Shape's bonuses/penalties is added to the normal racial bonuses/penalties. Dropped the awkward last sentence at the end of Flawed Disguise. Switched Darkvision for Low-Light Vision. Gave the Kitsune dancing lights (to represent fox fire), silent image (illusions), and charm person (the enchanter/seductress take) Spell-like Abilities once per day. Arcane Familiarity now requires Int instead of Cha. All of these were made on the suggestions/criticisms of erikun, except changing type to magical beast which was Owrtho's.
Added the Spirit Fire racial feat to better represent the ability to create fire and lightning, since I wasn't comfortable giving it a 3rd level spell as a Spell-like Ability by default. Added Improved Illusionist to give the Kitsune better illusions.
Modified Flawed Disguise for flavor, changed the Wisdom bonus provided from Animal Shape to a Dexterity bonus, changed the caster level for the Spell-like abilities to reflect the number of tails instead of class levels, changed all mentions of class level to just level, and modified Improved Transformation to only affect physical ability scores, as per Owrtho's suggestions.
Changed the Wis Bonus back to a Dex Bonus, dropped all Spell-like abilities but dancing lights and changed number of uses per day to equal number of tails, using Hit Dice to determine caster lever instead of an awkward number of tails formula. Modified the racial feats involving Spell-like abilities to reflect this. All racial feats with a Wis requirement now have an Int requirement instead. Made the "Curse of the Nine Tails" epic feat. Kitsune can now take levels in Shadowcraft Mage despite not being a Gnome. These were made based on erikun's suggestions. Changed "Curse of the Nine Tails" to once per encounter after DracoDei noted it as too weak for once per day. Created the Natural Illusionist feat. Changed "Curse of the Nine Tails" again to nine times per day, and dropped the DC by 2.
6/10/10: Spell-like Abilities learned via Natural Illusionist are usable a maximum of 3 times per day, even if the number of tails you have would allow more uses then that.
6/13/10: Modified fluff to present Kitsunes as outsiders looking in instead of melding into a culture seamlessly. Gave them the Shapechanger sub-type. Gave them the ability to communicate with other Kitsune and foxes as if with the Speak With Animals ability at any time. Transforming into a different Humanoid form now requires a Concentration check when in combat, to reduce potential abuse by changing size mid combat. Kitsunes now pick one humanoid race at creation to transform into, and can gain the original benefits of the Transform/Flawed Disguise abilities as a racial feat. These were based on the advise of Leaf Eater. Gave Kitsunes a weak Bite Natural Attack in their true form, as suggested by erikun.
6/14/10: Transformation now grants only one form among the race you choose (I.E. you can choose to imitate elves, and make the disguise an elven female, but you cannot later disguise yourself as an elven male). Alternate Form has been altered to grant an at-will disguise self to allow you to 'transform' like the Kitsune myths describe, and reduced the requirements to compensate. These were based on erikun's advice. Changed the Spirit Fire ability to grant burning hands as a SLA instead of fireball, and adjusted the requirements accordingly. Favored class changed to Wu-Jen, but note the Druid may be used if you lack access to the Wu-Jen. This was based on radmelon's advice. Added the fact you can't use weapons/armor in the Kitsune's true form, which I forgot to clarify.
6/15/10: Transformation once again allows you to imitate any race freely, but no longer changes your size (except in appearance). People who interact with the kitsune for more then an hour gain a +2 to spot checks against their disguises/to identify them, and those who now the kitsune on a personal level gain a +6 to spot checks instead. The alternate form feat was dropped, as it no longer serves a purpose.
6/17/10: Concentration check to keep the tails hidden must now be done once every (hitdie) hours. A tougher concentration check must be made once every hour when interacting with someone who has met the kitsune before, and failing grants the untyped Spot bonuses mentioned above. Succeeding prevents them from recognizing the kitsune and receiving the bonus for 1 hour.
7/12/10: Small fluff fixes, a few spelling/grammar errors corrected. Removed the Improved Illusionist feat, as it had no purpose after the creation of the Natural Illusionist feat.
9/25/11: Fixed an error under the Spirit Fire racial feat where Fireball was mentioned under special despite the feat providing Burning Hands. Added a new racial feature called 'Ageless', serving as a substitute for age categories. Expanded and cleaned up most of the fluff.
11/3/11: Changed the Charisma score prerequisite of Curse of the Nine Tails from 20 to 16.
While searching through the forum and looking at the builds provided, they always struck me as too vanilla. Many were just humanoids with Fox traits, and often carried only one or two of the Kitsune's hallmark abilities, if any at all. A few addressed their shape shifting, their true form as foxes, and/or their many tails being signs of age and experience, but missed others. They weren't bad, but I couldn't find one that thoroughly appeased me.
Kitsunes
Kitsunes are tiny, fox-like creatures that can assume a humanoid form. They sprout additional tails over time, and no matter what their form they cannot remove or change their fox-like tails or ears. Kitsunes are commonly portrayed as tricksters close to both magic and nature. However, they are shown in a positive light just as often as negative, often as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives. Being more nature spirits than animals like they originally were, they are loosely linked to the elements of the world, providing them with a nearly endless natural lifespan.
Personality: Younger Kitsunes love two things; playing pranks and discovering new things. Most travel as nomads to seek out new experiences and targets for their deceptions, though a handful travel solely to keep ahead of the enemies they've made. More of their tricks come from boredom than malicious intent, though the latter is a reason not to draw their ire.
Despite their love of new things, Kitsunes are slow to change. Perhaps it's a result of their impossibly long lifespans, but they cling to whatever they like, rarely seeing any need to give it up or go to the next thing right away, or to do today what they can tomorrow. This ironically makes them one of the most steadfast races out there.
Kitsunes on a whole loathe being told what to do or restrictions on their actions, many simply wanting to do what they want when they want. It's not hard to understand that they have difficulty respecting authority without the threat of severe repercussions to hold them in line. The few times a Kitsune settles down, they will choose a place with little authority or whose laws line up perfectly with their own preferences.
As loose cannon as they are, they do have a small amount of respect for the well traveled or dedicated. To see someone with such a comparatively short lifetime stick to one thing instead of changing constantly and quickly is confusing, but admirable.
Younger Kitsunes revel in their freedom, searching for something to practice and playing pranks at every opportunities. Older Kitsunes are more laid back, using their powers to garner respect instead of causing misfortune and slowly becoming set in their ways. Regardless of their age or origin, when a Kitsune finds someone or something they like, they pursue/protect it passionately.
Physical Description: While they prefer to assume the shape of a humanoid race, a Kitsune's true form is that of an average fox. Four legs, a large, bushy tail, and a body shape comparable to a small dog's. As they grow, both physically and metaphorically, they grow more tails up to a maximum of 9. Those with a high number of tails are highly respected amongst their own kind as beings who have seen and done much.
Most commonly, a Kitsune will transform into the shape of a human (or whatever race is most common in the area) when they travel. It lets them better examine the local culture, and grants them the benefits of thumbs and the ability to carry objects. However, even the most powerful transformation magic has difficulty removing a Kitsune's tails or ears. They can stuff them under hats and loose cloaks or use a spell to turn them invisible (along with the rest of themselves), but must constantly concentrate to keep their tails and hears hidden. If the tails or ears are cut off or otherwise removed, they will regrow over the course of a week.
Alignment: Kitsunes have no preference along the good/evil axis, running the gambit from cunning manipulators who abuse their abilities to cause trouble, to respectable if haughty beings who punish the wicked, and everything in between. However, they lean heavily towards chaos, with lawful Kitsune being all but unheard of. The few Kitsunes that are lawful are such through a personal code, rather than a respect for authority or self control, and are still more than happy to twist the wording of any promise or rule to their benefit.
Kitsune Lands: Kitsunes don't have any claimed lands or notable civilizations, due to their tendency to wander in search of interesting individuals and potential targets. The small tribes that appear tend to have a mish-mash of random traits that change constantly as they find something else of interest. The only common theme is a caste system in some shape or form, usually based off the number of tails one has (higher number meaning higher caste).
Religion: There's no preferred religion among Kitsunes, but they may take interest if they choose a religious figure as their disguise. For those that do adopt a religion, nature, trickster, and magical deities are most common.
Language: Kitsunes speak Common and one other language.
///PC Kitsune\\\
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength, -2 Constitution. Kitsunes are compulsive pranksters and their spellcasters favor illusions and enchantments. They are quick and graceful on their feet, but they lack the strength and physical stamina of larger races.
Small: As Small creatures, a kitsune gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but she uses smaller weapons than humans use, and her lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
Magical Beast (Shapechanger): As magical beasts, kitsunes are immune to spells and effects that specifically target humanoids. They have the shapechanger subtype as a result of their constant transformations.
Speed: Kitsune base land speed is 30 feet.
Multiple Tails: A kitsune gains more tails as she grows physically, mentally, and/or spiritually. At levels 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, and 20, she sprouts an additional tail (a total of nine, counting the one they're born with). The kitsune receives a racial bonus to diplomacy and bluff checks towards kitsunes with less tails, +1 for every tail more then the other. If a tail is removed in any way, another will grow in it's place in a week.
Animal Shape: A kitsune cannot speak in their true form, nor can they perform the subtle motions of the hands that humanoids can. They're a regular fox outside of their magic, and cannot cast spells that require verbal or somatic components or use weapons/armor. Their grace in this form grants them an additional +2 racial Dexterity bonus, but their feeble shape also adds another -2 racial Strength penalty. The racial stat bonus and penalty from this ability are added to those listed above. While in their true form, Kitsunes can perform a 1d4+STR modifier Bite as a Natural Attack.
Transformation: All kitsunes are capable of transforming into another race's shape. As a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity, the Kitsune can disguise itself as a member of a medium size or smaller humanoid race. Doing so, they are no longer effected by the Animal Shape racial ability (see above). The kitsune does not gain the racial abilities of the race she imitates or lose her normal racial bonuses/abilities, and is still treated as small sized even when she takes a different sized appearance. She reverts back to her animal shape when entering a anti-magic field, effected by anything that negates supernatural abilities, or rendered unconscious. Trueseeing and divination spells or abilities will reveal her true appearance, though it won't return her to her true form. Kitsunes can change back to their normal state as an instant action.
Flawed Disguise: A kitsune can disguise herself as any humanoid race (see Transformation) without any penalties for imitating a different gender, race, or age category. However, a kitsune has difficulty hiding her ears and tails, and must make a concentration check to keep them hidden when under scrutiny (DC 10 + (1 for each of the investigating creature's hitdice/2)) every (hitdie) hours. Failing the concentration check grants a +4 untyped bonus to a Spot checks made against her Disguise check. If the creature suspicious of the kitsune or searching for and aware of a kitsune's abilities to change shape (DC 15 Knowledge (Nature) check or previous experience with a kitsune), increase the DC of the concentration check by +5. When interacting with people who have interacted with the kitsune before (even in disguise), the Kitsune must make a (DC 15 + (1 for each of the investigating creature's hitdice/2)) every hour. If she fails, those who have known her for an hour or more gain a +2 untyped bonus to Spot checks made against her Disguise check or to recognize the specific kitsune, while those that know the kitsune on a personal level gain a +6 bonus instead.
Ageless: Unlike most creatures, a Kitsune's essence is linked to the world itself, drawing from it. As a result, a Kitsune's 'natural' lifespan is beyond that of many mortals, possibly even being as eternal as long as the world is. While they are still killed just as easily as the next mortal, a Kitsune does not die of old age, nor do they have age categories. Their adulthood is reached at 100 years, and the only thing that changes in their aging is how many tails they have (see Multiple Tails ability).
Low-Light Vision: A Kitsune can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
Spell-like Abilities: Kitsune can use dancing lights and ghost sound as spell-like abilities, each a number of times per day equal to the number of tails she has. Caster level equal to her Hit Dice.
Disguise is always treated as a class skill for the Kitsune.
A Kitsune can take levels of the Shadowcraft Mage prestige class, despite not being a Gnome.
Kitsunes may communicate with other Kitsune and foxes in any form as if under the effects of Speak With Animals.
Automatic Languages: Common and one other.
Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic).
Favored Class: Wu-Jen. A multiclass kitsune's wu-jen class does not count when determining whether she suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing. (If you don't have access to the Wu-Jen class, you may treat the Druid as the Favored Class of the Kitsune instead.)
///Kitsune Racial Feats\\\
Arcane Familiarity [Kitsune]
Requirements: Int 11+, 4 ranks of Knowledge (Arcana)
Benefit: Your partially magical nature protects you from the effects of spells. You gain a +1 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects, and an additional +1 racial bonus for every 4 ranks of Knowledge (Arcana) you have after the required four, to a maximum of +5 from 20 skill ranks.
Normal: The Kitsune receives no racial bonuses on saving throws against spells or spell-like effects.
Improved Transformation [Kitsune]
Requirements: Cha 15+, 3 ranks in Disguise.
Benefit: When disguised as a humanoid creature with your Transformation racial ability, you can trade your physical racial bonuses/penalties for any physical racial bonuses/penalties that race normally receives. You do not receive or lose any other racial traits while in this shape. If your level increases, you use your normal ability scores when determining if you meet the requirements to learn a feat or ability.
Normal: Kitsunes do not change their racial ability modifiers when using their Transformation racial ability.
Natural Illusionist [Kitsune]
Requirements: Cha 13+, 3 ranks of Knowledge (Arcana)
Benefit: Your powers of deception are magical in the most literal sense of the word. When you take this feat, select 1 spell from the Bard or Sorcerer/Wizard spell list with the [Illusion] descriptor and of a spell level equal to or less then the number of tails you have (if it is available on multiple spell lists, use the highest listed).
You gain that spell as a Spell-like Ability, usable a number of times per day equal to (Number of Tails - Spell's Level (if it is available on multiple spell lists, use the highest listed)) + 1 (Maximum 3). Caster level for the Spell-like Abilities provided this way is equal to your Hit Dice.
Special:This feat may be taken multiple times. If you wish to select this feat more then once, the required Cha score is increased by 2 and the number of ranks in Knowledge (Arcana) by 3 for each time you've taken this feat. You cannot select the same spell twice for the effects of this feat.
Playful Trickster [Kitsune]
Requirements: Int 11+, Cha 13+, 5 ranks in at least two: Bluff, Disguise, Diplomacy, Forgery, and/or Sense Motive.
Benefit: As a Kitsune, deception is part of your nature. You gain a +1 to all Bluff, Disguise, Diplomacy, Forgery, and Sense Motive checks for every 5 ranks in the appropriate skill you have.
Normal: The Kitsune is no more adept at trickery then any other race.
Spirit Fire [Kitsune]
Requirements: Int 13+, Cha 11+, either 4 ranks of Knowledge (Arcana) or 4th level.
Benefit: You can now create actual, harmful foxfire as opposed to the mere image of fire by focusing it through your hands/tails. You may cast burning hands as a Spell-like Ability by sacrificing one of your per day uses of dancing lights, with your caster level equal to your level. When using the burning hands spell-like ability, you may choose to deal electricity damage instead of fire (the fire descriptor is replaced with the electricity descriptor if you choose to deal electricity damage).
Normal: A Kitsune can only create small balls of light with their fox fire (see dancing lights in the list of Spell-like Abilities above) and cannot use them to harm anyone.
Special: You can take this feat multiple times. Every time you take this feat after the first, you gain an additional daily use of your dancing lights or burning hands Spell-like Abilities.
///Epic Racial Feats\\\
Curse of the Nine Tails
Requirements:Cha 16+, Level 21 or higher
Benefit:Your spiritual power allows you to inflict a curse on those who slight you. You gain bestow curse as a Spell-like Ability, usable nine times per day. The DC for saves against castings of bestow curse provided by this ability is 18 + Cha Modifier, instead of the normal DC.
Normal:You do not have the ability to bestow a curse upon someone unless you have learned the spell by taking levels of a spellcasting class.
Change Log:
6/07/10: Added a paragraph to the intro describing what I feel differs my version of the Kitsune from others as recommended by DracoDei. Modified Arcane Familiarity and Playful Trickster as per suggestions from Jiriku, hopefully dropping Arcane Familiarity's power as suggested by Milskidasith. Minor fluff rewrites.
6/08/10: Switched the racial dexterity bonus for a racial wisdom bonus. Dropped the racial bonuses to spot/listen/search. Reduced the always-class skills to just Disguise. Changed the Kitsune's size to Small, and it's type to Magical Beast. Changed automatic languages to Common and one more. Clarified that you do not lose your racial bonuses/abilities when using Transformation (except for the additional bonuses/restrictions from Animal Shape), and that Animal Shape's bonuses/penalties is added to the normal racial bonuses/penalties. Dropped the awkward last sentence at the end of Flawed Disguise. Switched Darkvision for Low-Light Vision. Gave the Kitsune dancing lights (to represent fox fire), silent image (illusions), and charm person (the enchanter/seductress take) Spell-like Abilities once per day. Arcane Familiarity now requires Int instead of Cha. All of these were made on the suggestions/criticisms of erikun, except changing type to magical beast which was Owrtho's.
Added the Spirit Fire racial feat to better represent the ability to create fire and lightning, since I wasn't comfortable giving it a 3rd level spell as a Spell-like Ability by default. Added Improved Illusionist to give the Kitsune better illusions.
Modified Flawed Disguise for flavor, changed the Wisdom bonus provided from Animal Shape to a Dexterity bonus, changed the caster level for the Spell-like abilities to reflect the number of tails instead of class levels, changed all mentions of class level to just level, and modified Improved Transformation to only affect physical ability scores, as per Owrtho's suggestions.
Changed the Wis Bonus back to a Dex Bonus, dropped all Spell-like abilities but dancing lights and changed number of uses per day to equal number of tails, using Hit Dice to determine caster lever instead of an awkward number of tails formula. Modified the racial feats involving Spell-like abilities to reflect this. All racial feats with a Wis requirement now have an Int requirement instead. Made the "Curse of the Nine Tails" epic feat. Kitsune can now take levels in Shadowcraft Mage despite not being a Gnome. These were made based on erikun's suggestions. Changed "Curse of the Nine Tails" to once per encounter after DracoDei noted it as too weak for once per day. Created the Natural Illusionist feat. Changed "Curse of the Nine Tails" again to nine times per day, and dropped the DC by 2.
6/10/10: Spell-like Abilities learned via Natural Illusionist are usable a maximum of 3 times per day, even if the number of tails you have would allow more uses then that.
6/13/10: Modified fluff to present Kitsunes as outsiders looking in instead of melding into a culture seamlessly. Gave them the Shapechanger sub-type. Gave them the ability to communicate with other Kitsune and foxes as if with the Speak With Animals ability at any time. Transforming into a different Humanoid form now requires a Concentration check when in combat, to reduce potential abuse by changing size mid combat. Kitsunes now pick one humanoid race at creation to transform into, and can gain the original benefits of the Transform/Flawed Disguise abilities as a racial feat. These were based on the advise of Leaf Eater. Gave Kitsunes a weak Bite Natural Attack in their true form, as suggested by erikun.
6/14/10: Transformation now grants only one form among the race you choose (I.E. you can choose to imitate elves, and make the disguise an elven female, but you cannot later disguise yourself as an elven male). Alternate Form has been altered to grant an at-will disguise self to allow you to 'transform' like the Kitsune myths describe, and reduced the requirements to compensate. These were based on erikun's advice. Changed the Spirit Fire ability to grant burning hands as a SLA instead of fireball, and adjusted the requirements accordingly. Favored class changed to Wu-Jen, but note the Druid may be used if you lack access to the Wu-Jen. This was based on radmelon's advice. Added the fact you can't use weapons/armor in the Kitsune's true form, which I forgot to clarify.
6/15/10: Transformation once again allows you to imitate any race freely, but no longer changes your size (except in appearance). People who interact with the kitsune for more then an hour gain a +2 to spot checks against their disguises/to identify them, and those who now the kitsune on a personal level gain a +6 to spot checks instead. The alternate form feat was dropped, as it no longer serves a purpose.
6/17/10: Concentration check to keep the tails hidden must now be done once every (hitdie) hours. A tougher concentration check must be made once every hour when interacting with someone who has met the kitsune before, and failing grants the untyped Spot bonuses mentioned above. Succeeding prevents them from recognizing the kitsune and receiving the bonus for 1 hour.
7/12/10: Small fluff fixes, a few spelling/grammar errors corrected. Removed the Improved Illusionist feat, as it had no purpose after the creation of the Natural Illusionist feat.
9/25/11: Fixed an error under the Spirit Fire racial feat where Fireball was mentioned under special despite the feat providing Burning Hands. Added a new racial feature called 'Ageless', serving as a substitute for age categories. Expanded and cleaned up most of the fluff.
11/3/11: Changed the Charisma score prerequisite of Curse of the Nine Tails from 20 to 16.