Agathion, Procyal

Wide of chest and waist, this finely dressed man has a gray-muzzled raccoon’s head and beady, darting eyes.

ECOLOGY

Environment any urban (Nirvana)
Organization solitary or party (3–4)
Treasure standard (+1 short sword, other treasure)

Ecology

Most procyal agathions have short, reddish fur, and gray muzzles that suggest old age. Rarely, a procyal has black or white fur; such creatures are treated with great respect by their fellows. Like raccoons, procyals have sharp teeth and small claws that could potentially serve as weapons, but they prefer to fight with manufactured blades when possible, viewing unarmed combat as distasteful even if it is sometimes necessary.

They do not need to eat or drink, but they greatly enjoy such activities and always endeavor to ensure that food and drink are in abundant supply. Likewise, they enjoy dressing in the trappings of high society, wearing elaborate outfits and carrying only the finest tools. After all, they believe the availability of such luxuries is an indication society is working as it should—provided, of course, that these indulgences don’t come at someone else’s expense.

Although procyals resemble raccoons, they take great offense to the suggestion that they might resort to rooting through the trash to satisfy their hunger or might engage in other undignified pastimes. Though they may wear fancy clothes, procyals make a point not to try to flaunt their wealth, and earnestly attempt to ensure that others are able to satisfy their own needs. Procyals are more than willing to go without or donate their time and energy in order to ensure that others have enough.

Habitat and Society

Procyals are one of the only types of agathions that build entire cities in Nirvana, and they take great pains to ensure that their home settlements are suitably beautiful. Instead of imposing laws, they establish order through hundreds of maxims that discuss every aspect of daily life, from what clothing to wear to how to speak with strangers. Procyals don’t follow every axiom at all times; instead, they use these proverbs as behavioral guides, and they expect visitors to do likewise. They record these maxims in large, bound tomes kept in the hearts of their cities, available for all to read.

Procyals are gregarious creatures who are always eager to meet new people while on their travels, whether they are in Nirvana or on the Material Plane. They prefer to travel frequently from one community to another, experiencing each one fully and guiding it as needed before once again setting out toward the next settlements along their paths. Once they have experienced a community, they never forget about it or its needs, and they often return when they know their services will likely be needed. However, procyals rarely spend significant time in one place.

The exception is when procyals cross paths with obvious evil, whereupon they stop, often for years at a time, to establish and carry out complex and long-term plans to undermine it. They don’t see evil as a force to be met head on and fought, but instead as something that needs to be weakened over time, so that good can naturally rise up in its place.

This is especially true when it comes to governing bodies, as procyals see some administrations as fundamentally better than others: democratic groups and wise councils are among their favorite forms of government, while dictatorships, monarchies, and military states must ultimately be replaced. In cases of particularly tyrannical rulers, they even go so far as to actively encourage or provide assistance to bands of revolutionaries or heroes who might usher in a fundamentally better government.

Procyals are hesitant to meet even a weaker foe in direct combat if they can avoid it.

Instead, they prefer to trick enemies into attacking another stronger opponent, especially if that will weaken both antagonists at the same time. When they must fight, they fight dirty, and they take any advantage they can. Procyals typically focus on damaging their opponents’ faces as they fight; if they are forced into unarmed combat, they gouge eyes and tear off ears whenever they can.

On the Material Plane, procyals are rarely wholly trusted. Since procyals love to chasten the powerful and to play pranks on the high-and-mighty, few talented creatures are willing to enter into long-term alliances with them. Individuals in the lower classes are frequent exceptions. They tend to welcome procyals with open arms. For here among the poor and downtrodden, where society exists in its most imperfect state, nearly every action that a procyal takes has a positive and lasting effect.