Hengeyokai

Hengeyokai are animalistic shapechangers. They have a humanoid form and an animal form, and they can change between them at will. While in their humanoid form, they have some physical characteristics of their animal side. The amount of animal traits that are manifest in their humanoid form changes for each hengeyokai. Some have subtle features, like the eyes of a cat, while others are more pronounced, like the fur and tail of a fox.

Spirit Zones

Hengeyokai are the mortal descendants of spirits that gained corporeal forms. Because of their unique origin, they have a close relationship with nature spirits.

When a great number of spirits join together in a small enough space, their presence creates a spirit zone. Space in these areas is larger than it initially appears from the outside, allowing more things to fit in it than one would expect. The higher the concentration of spirits, the more pronounced the effects. Some zones have so much space inside that an entire city can fit within a small meadow. The perimeter of these zones shimmer like waves of heat from a hot desert.

Spirit zones are beautiful places filled with unique art and architecture. Hengeyokai and spirits live together in harmony and build the area to their desires. Nowhere else in the world can mortals and spirits build something together.

Animal Childhood

Hengeyokai are born as baby animals. Once they reach a few months old, they gain the ability to change into their humanoid form and continue growing from there. They don’t gain control over their shapeshifting until they are a few years old. Young hengeyokai sometimes accidentally shapeshift when sneezing. It’s adorable.

Dual Aging A hengeyokai’s animal form ages at the same rate their humanoid form does. For example, when a hengeyokai’s hair begins to gray, the animal’s fur begins to gray as well.

Hengeyokai can live for hundreds of years. As they start to enter old age, they find that shapeshifting becomes harder. Eventually a hengeyokai is unable to shapeshift any further and lives the rest of their life in whatever form they last assumed. Most hengeyokai prefer to remain in their humanoid form, if given the option.

Small Animals

Hengeyokai have only been known to transform into smaller animals like squirrels, badgers, and foxes. There are rumors of larger bearlike hengeyokai, but they are unconfirmed.

Hengeyokai typically assume the forms of animals native to the area they were born in.

Hengeyokai Names

Example Names: Vola, Gengetsu.

Hengeyokai Traits

You gain the following traits as a hengeyokai.

• Ability Score Increase. You gain a +2 and +1 bonus to two different ability scores of your choice, or +1 to three different ones.
• Age. Hengeyokai can live a long time, up to 400 years.
• Size. Hengeyokai have the same sizes and body shapes as humans. Your size is Medium.
• Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
• Animal Spirit Form (Costs two major features). As an action, you can change into a beast form or your humanoid form. When you do so, your equipment melds into your new form, and you gain certain benefits depending on the type of animal you transform into. While in your beast form, your statistics remain the same but you are unable to make attacks or cast spells. You can talk in your animal form. Pick the type of animal you can transform into, which must be Tiny or Small, and then pick one of the following options that makes sense for your animal form. These traits only apply to your animal form.
  • Burrower. As an action, you can burrow 10 feet.
  • Aquatic. You gain a swim speed of 30 feet and can breathe air and water. Your walking speed becomes 10 feet.
  • Climber. You gain a climb speed equal to half (rounded down) of your ground speed.
  • Flier. You gain a fly speed of 30 feet. Your walking speed becomes 10 feet.
  • Sprinter. Your walking speed increased by +10 feet.
• Shapechanger. You gain the shapechanger subtype.
• Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common.

Minor Features

Choose two of the following minor features.

• Beast Whisperer. You can speak to and be understood by the animals of the same type that you can transform into. For example, if you can transform into a badger, you can speak to other badgers.
• 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.
• Deceptive. You have proficiency in the Deception skill.
• Fleet Foot. Your base walking speed is 35 feet.
• Fluent. You can speak, read, and write two additional languages of your choice.
• Free Spirit. You are hard to pin down. You have advantage on any checks or saving throws to avoid or escape from grapples or restraints.
• Natural Weaponry. You possess the natural weaponry of a beast. Your claws, fangs, or tail are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage (depending on the type of weaponry) equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the normal bludgeoning damage for an unarmed attack. You can also make attacks while in your animal form, using your natural weapons only. Your natural weapons are considered to have the light and finesse weapon properties. They are not weapons, but attacks with them are considered weapon attacks. This means that you can use your natural weapons for effects like the paladin’s divine smite, but feats like dual wielder do not apply the AC bonus.
• Trained Tools. You have proficiency in two tools of your choice.