Danuki (Greyhawk)

	Unofficial rules compendium
	Contents 1 Description; 2 Standard Racial Traits 2.1 Skill Racial Traits; 2.2 Magical Racial Traits; 2.3 Weakness Racial Traits; ; 3 Danuki in Greyhawk; 4 Advance Race Guide Design Points; 5 Racial Trait Options; 6 Racial Feat Options 6.1 Advanced Danuki Shapeshifter; 6.2 Expert Danuki Shapeshifter; 6.3 Practiced Danuki Shapeshifter; 6.4 Danuki Utility Shapeshifter; ; 7 External Links;
	Contents 1 Description; 2 Standard Racial Traits 2.1 Skill Racial Traits; 2.2 Magical Racial Traits; 2.3 Weakness Racial Traits; ; 3 Danuki in Greyhawk; 4 Advance Race Guide Design Points; 5 Racial Trait Options; 6 Racial Feat Options 6.1 Advanced Danuki Shapeshifter; 6.2 Expert Danuki Shapeshifter; 6.3 Practiced Danuki Shapeshifter; 6.4 Danuki Utility Shapeshifter; ; 7 External Links;

Danuki are Japanese spirit animals, at home in brush, hills, and ditches, kin to kitsune and tengu. As game creatures, they are humanoids, related to the tanuki (japanese raccon-dog) the same way kitsune are related to foxes. Danuki are a small and very cowardly race. They are peerless shapechangers but rarely have an agenda with their change of forms; pranks and laughter suffice for them. Few danuki have the courage to go adventuring, the few that do really liven things up.

Just like there are people-foxes and monster foxes in kitsune and nogitsune, there are people-danuki and monster-tankui. Tanuke are more monstrous and closer to the spirit world than danuki. Danuki and tanuki are just different transcriptions of the same word in Japanese, making a distinction between words that are usually derived from context contest in Japanese.

Description

Danuki vary greatly in their natural appearance, and as all danuki are shapechangers, their natural appearance is often irrelevant.

Physical Description: Danuki are small, about 2'7", humanoids with the snouts and ears of tanuki (Japanese racoon-dogs). They have stout, dwarf-like bodies and furred tails. Some danuki have body fur and look more animal-like, while others have humanoid faces with only the ears, tail, and sometimes the rhinarium of an animal.

Society: Danuki can live in most temperate climates and thrive in much the same places humans do. They are not as adaptable as humans and avoid extremes of heat, cold, and mountainous terrain. When living with their own kind they often make their homes in burrows or hollow trees, but if available they gladly take over the dwellings of other species.

Danuki are clever, but they are also shy, lazy, cowardly, and pleasure-seeking. They like to find positions in society where they can enjoy life and help their neighbours without having to work hard. They love to entertain, and this is a way for them to overcome their natural shyness. Few danuki would go out of their way to trouble or oppress others, but neither would they normally offer help. The one exception is that few danuki can resist making fun of fools and buffoons.

Relations: Danuki are often considered lucky or blessed by humans, and a certain level of unruliness is expected, even extending to minor thefts. Those familiar with danuki know these thefts are rarely malicious, and the danuki will often repay a theft later. Elves, gnomes, halflings, and humans generally share this generous attitude, and even dwarfs find danuki charming, if untrustworthy. Most orcs, goblins, gnolls, and similar evil creatures find danuki to be nuisances better eaten than spoken to.

Alignment and Religion: Danuki are self-centered and tend towards chaotic alignments. They have an instinctive need to humble the pompous and aloft, and tough not all danuki dare to do so, it is considered highly virtuous among danuki to trick and make fools of overly lawful creatures. This does not prevent danuki from acting like pompous fools themselves. Most danuki have a health respect for gods and spirits; a danuki may make fun of errant clergy, but when confronted with genuine faith and virtue they are usually impressed and respectful. A danuki who is particularly impressed might seek to serve and spread such a faith, often with hilarious consequences in the case of creeds of law and discipline.

Adventurers: Heroes among the danuki are often magicians, developing their natural shape-changing abilities to frightful levels. Psychic magic comes naturally to danuki as long as they can overcome their natural reservations. Danuki make excellent occultists, psychics, and wizards. Those who go for mundane careers are usually rogues or investigators.

Male Names: Aito, Akio, Akira, Eiichi, Hansuke, Hibiki, Hikaru, Hiroto, Hiroyuki, Izumi, Koji, Taichi, Yokuto.

Female Names: Andrea, Hikaru, Kaiya, Mao, Natsuko, Nozomi, Rei, Sachi, Tamiko, Umeko, Yoshiko.

Standard Racial Traits

Ability Score Racial Traits: -2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -4 Wisdom. Danuki are clever of both paws and mind but shortsighted and their size limits the strength they can muster.
Size: Danuki are Small creatures and thus gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty on their combat maneuver checks and to Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Type: Danuki are humanoids with the danuki and shapechanger subtypes.
Base Speed: 20 ft.
Languages: Danuki begin play speaking Common and Sylvan. Danuki with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Elven, Catfolk, Draconic, Gnome, Halfling, Terran, Vanara, and Yutu.
Random Starting Age: Base age 15 years
Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer +1d4
Bard, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger +1d6
Cleric, Druid, Monk, Wizard +2d6.
Aging Effects: Middle Age 35. Old 55. Venerable 80. Max 80+3d20.
Height and Weight (male and female): Height 2'2 Weight 30 lbs. Modifier 2d4 Weight Multiplier x2 lbs.,

Skill Racial Traits

Natural Actor: All danuki have a talent for acting and gain a +2 racial bonus on Bluff and Disguise checks.
Scavenger: Danuki gain a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.

Magical Racial Traits

Masterful Shapeshfter A danuki can assume the form of another creature or object, a supernatural ability that can duplicate the spells alter self, beast shape II, monstrous physique I, and object shape I. To use this ability, the danuki must make a Disguise check (DC 20), with the usual modifiers for Disguise. Ignore race and gender modifiers for object forms. The attempt takes a full-round action. This ability lasts until the danuki chooses to end it or suffers the influence of a non-harmless effect with the emotion or fear descriptors. Otherwise, not even death can reverse the transformation. The transformed shape comes with clothes as appropriate, but no other equipment.
Learned Shapeshifter For each rank danuki gain in the Disguise skill, a danuki can select one form they can assume as an immediate action without having to make a Disguise check and without counting against the daily limit on masterful shapeshifter. This must be a form they can transform into using masterful shapeshifter when taking 20 on the Disguise check. Each form is specific; if a danuki selects the form of a 14 year old human girl, that danuki does not become able to freely change into the form of any other humans, females, or 14-year olds. All danuki begin with the the tanuki (use raccoon) as a learned form.

Weakness Racial Traits

Coward's Excuse: Danuki make great magicians, but their concentration is easily disrupted. All spells cast by danuki have emotion components (see Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Occult Adventures). This is in addition to any other components of the spell and cannot be removed in any way.
Nearsighted: Danuki take twice the usual Perception penalties due to range (-1 per 5 ft. of distance).
Phobic: All danuki have a phobia, usually against a type of predator or a member of a specific race or class (such as a wolf, elf, or ranger), but sometimes a natural phenomena. A predator phobia applies against monsters of this basic form, like a worg or winter wolf for wolves. The GM must approve all phobias and insure that at least the threat of them occurring comes up in the story. When in the presence of their phobia, danuki become shaken, and if directly confronted they become covering for 1d6 rounds and thereafter panicked for another 1d6 rounds.

Danuki in Greyhawk

Danuki are relatively common in Nippon and the Nippon Territories. Only a few individuals ever get further away. In Nippon, they are outsiders, imposers at worst. Individual danuki can achieve positions of wealth and power, but most live on the fringes of society or as small-time businessmen or shopkeepers.

Advance Race Guide Design Points

-1 Speed 20 ft.
+12 Master Shapeshifter
-2 Mixed weak ability scores
+1 Lowlight vision
+2 Natural Actor
+2 Scavenger
-2 Coward's Excuse
-2 Nearsighted

10 points

Racial Trait Options

Danuki can choose among the following traits.

Focused Fear You gain an additional phobia (as the phobic danuki racial trait), but you are less afraid in general and gain a +2 trait bonus on saving throws against fear effects.

Imitator When you use the masterful shapeshifter danuki racial trait to imitate something or someone you have seen in the last 24 hours, you gain a +4 bonus on the Disguise check.

Improvising Shapeshifter You can use the masterful shapeshifter danuki racial trait an additional time per day.

Good Nose You gain scent, but the range is only 10 ft. (5 ft. when upwind, 20 ft when downwind).

Scholar of Forms For each of the following knowledge skill you have ranks in, you gain an additional form appropriate to the knowledge skill, which must be of the listed creature type. Knowledge (engineering): animated object. Knowledge (history): monstrous humanoid. Knowledge (local): humanoid. Knowledge (nature): animal. Knowledge (nobility): humanoid. This adds to the forms gained from the learned shapeshifter danuki racial trait and has the same restrictions.

Racial Feat Options

Advanced Danuki Shapeshifter

Prerequiste: Masterful Shapeshifter (danuki racial trait), Disguise 6 ranks

Benefit: Select one of the following spells: beast shape III, monstrous physique II and object shape II. You can imitate the selected spell with masterful shapeshifter.

Special: You can select this feat multiple times. Each time you do, select a different spell to imitate.

Expert Danuki Shapeshifter

Prerequiste: Masterful Shapeshifter (danuki racial trait), Disguise 12 ranks, Advanced Danuki Shapeshifter.

Benefit: Select one of the following spells: beast shape IV, monstrous physique III and object shape III. You must have selected the spell of the same name with Advanced Danuki Shapeshifter. You can imitate the selected spell with masterful shapeshifter.

Practiced Danuki Shapeshifter

Prerequiste: Masterful Shapeshifter (danuki racial trait).

Benefit: You can use the masterful shapeshifter danuki racial trait an additional two times per day.

Special: You can take this feat multiple times, the benefits stack.

Danuki Utility Shapeshifter

Prerequiste: Masterful Shapeshifter (danuki racial trait), any Craft skill (5 ranks)

Benefit: You can shapeshift a part of your body into a tool or other object. This works like major creation (sp) with a caster level equal to your hit dice, except that the object is connected to you physically and cannot be dropped or taken away. Small amounts of consumables or peripheral substances can be made from excreta, but this can only be 10% of the maximum size of object. Someone successfully sundering the object inflicts damage on you. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1/day).

Special: You can take this feat multiple times, each time after the first you gain three additional daily uses of the ability.

External Links

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