Kitsunemimi (Fox)

Kitsunemimi are the line of kemonomimi whose yokai ancestors were fox spirits and like their spiritual ancestors, they are often considered too smart for their own good. They create elaborate plans, cunning schemes, and complex designs at a moment’s notice. Their creativity does not end there, however, as they often take extra time to harness their intellect to less utilitarian pursuits. They love taking extra time to adorn their creations with baroque ornaments, spice their speech and writing with convoluted metaphors, and develop intricate, labyrinthine social customs. Finesse and style are the foremost qualities to kitsunemimi, though their concept of finesse might border on undecipherable to other races.

Physical Description: Kitsunemimi have human bodies with distinctive fox ears and bushy tails. Their hair and fur is usually some shade of red, especially when they have pale pink skin, though kitsunemimi with pale yellow skin and silvery gray hair or brown skin and black hair are quite common as well. Of all the kemonomimi, the kitsunemimi have the most elaborate way of dressing, preferring adorned, elegant clothing.

Society: Kitsunemimi love for complexity extends to the way they organize their society, forming byzantine courts and extensive bureaucracies, though they take extra effort and try to avoid making the later boring. Deciphering the proper way of progressing one’s official case through the bureaucratic loops is a favorite pastime of many kitsunemimi, with elaborate systems of licenses, titles, and bribes to be understood and exploited. The kitsunemimi bureaucrats are expected to play the game as well, respecting the petitioner’s finesse and style at dealing with them while the boring obstructionism is frowned upon.

Relations: Kitsunemimi respect with the races that show finesse, style, and elegance. Those who are crude and blunt are looked down on. While kitsunemimi prefer to mingle with the former, they are not above interacting with the later if they think they might use them in some scheme or plan. They usually respect nekomimi’s natural elegance, though nekomimi are sometimes tempted to disrupt kitsunemimi’s complex plans, especially those relying too much on good luck, at least in the nekomimi’s view. Inumimi are mostly viewed as a loud and brutish lot, while usagimimi are often targets of the less savory kitsunemimi wishing to exploit their industriousness. Akaimimi are respected as sages but at the same time distanced from for their perceived love of simplicity and unwillingness to play the games of style and elegance. Some kitsunemimi happily pit their intelligence and cunning against akaimimi’s wisdom and insight by offering them logic puzzles, philosophical challenges, or simply by asking mocking questions.

Alignment And Religion: Kitsunemimi represent the full spectrum of alignments from lawful to chaotic and from good to evil, trying to bring finesse and sophistication to whatever moral code the individual kitsunemimi adheres to. Kitsunemimi primarily revere ancestral spirits and to lesser degree nature spirits. Sometimes they worship deities known for intelligence, cunning, and refinement, but almost never worship deities that are primal forces of nature with little sophistication.

Adventurers: Adventuring is quite appealing to kitsunemimi, for it allows them to use and test their keen intellect and cunning in various ways, often much less restrained than settled life in civilized society, and pays handsomely to fund lavish lifestyle. It has its drawbacks, namely the presence of oafish brutes, who are too often actually needed around as extra muscles, the occasional lack of civilized amenities, and the simple boredom of long travels. Kitsunemimi make particularly efficient wizards and witches, with all the foresight and planning needed while preparing spells, they are also quite fond of the skillful versatility of bards and investigators.

Standard Racial Traits

• Ability Scores: Kitsunemimi are gracious and smart. They gain a +2 bonus to Dexterity and Intelligence.
• Type: Kitsunemimi are humanoids with kemonomimi subtype.
• Size: Kitsunemimi are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Speed: Kitsunemimi have a base speed of 30 feet.
• Languages: Kemonomimi begin play speaking Common and Sylvan. Kemonomimi with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following languages: Catfolk, Celestial, Giant, Goblin, Tengu, and Vanara.
• Low-Light Vision: In dim light, kitsunemimi see twice as far as humans.

Feat & Skill Racial Traits

• Racial Bonuses: Kitsunemimi gain a +2 racial bonus to Perception and Sense Motive checks. They have a keen eye for physical and behavioral details.
• Fox Affinity: Kitsunemimi gain a +4 racial bonus to Handle Animal and wild empathy checks made to interact with foxes, jackals, and other smaller non-pack canids and fox-like beasts. All kemonomimi have an affinity for their animal kin.
• Patient Planner: Kitsunemimi gain +1 bonus when taking 10 on an ability or skill check and +2 bonus when taking 20. Patience and smart planning are the key for their elaborate schemes.