Hengeyokai, A Player Race
[Art Taken from the 4th Edition Wiki]
Transcription:
Hengeyokai Traits
Hengeyokai are a race of intelligent, shapeshifting animals that can freely assume human form or a bipedal hybrid form; numerous subraces exist, each corresponding to a different category of common animal. They are the descendants of humans and shapeshifting animal spirits, and as such they have a strong connection to both the spirit and mortal worlds. Their animal spirit lineage determines what specific beast they take the form of.
Ability Score Increase. Increase your Dexterity score by 2.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language.
Life Span. Hengeyokai can live for over 200 years, but for the first century they exist only as animals and cannot assume another form. Once they reach 100 years of age, they can assume hybrid and human forms.
Size. You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Language of Beasts. Hengeyokai in animal or hybrid form can communicate simple commands and concepts to beasts and fey spirits with the same form or a closely related form, for example, dogs to wolves.
Shapechanger. As an action, you alter your physical form to appear as a beast, as a unique humanoid, or a hybrid. While you have the form of a beast, you are unable to make attacks, benefit from shields or armor, or cast spells. You choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. You stay in the new form until you use an action to revert to your true form or until you die. Your beast and hybrid forms are determined by your subrace.
Subraces:
Avian: Members of this subrace are the descendants of winged animal spirits, most often birds. Born into a life with an affinity for air, they can change their form to take into the sky. It is common for them to stick together in flocks, both for protection and to share their findings amongst themselves.
Ability Score Increase. Increase your Wisdom score by 1.
Eyes in the Sky. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Feathered Form. When you use your Shapechanger trait to turn into a beast or hybrid, you have a flying speed of 30 feet; your hybrid form loses this benefit if you are wearing medium or heavy armor. When you use your Shapechanger trait to change into a beast, your size is small.
Flyby. While you have the form of a beast, you do not provoke opportunity attacks when you fly out of an enemy’s reach.
Aquan: Members of this subrace find home in bodies of water, as they are descendants of aquatic animal spirits. With the ability to traverse both land and water, they have amassed great knowledge of the natural world. Some Aquan Hengeyokai choose to use their knowledge amicably and thrive in social settings where they can share the information they know, while others might use it to hone in on their tactics to hunt other beings down.
Ability Score Increase. Increase your Intelligence score by 1.
Sea of Knowledge. You have proficiency in the Nature skill.
Aquatic Form. When you use your Shapechanger trait to turn into a beast or hybrid, you have a swimming speed of 30 feet. When you use your Shapechanger trait to change into a beast, your size is medium or small.
Amphibious. You can breathe air and water while in any form.
Terran: Members of this subrace have lived on land their entire lives and know how to get by amongst all other beings they have met in that time. Terran Hengeyokai know that their beast forms are considered cute to many Humanoids alike, and they will use it to their advantage. Generally they are social beings, but have learned the ins and outs to survive in these settings as well.
Ability Score Increase. Increase your Charisma score by 1.
Friendly Face. You have proficiency in the Persuasion or Deception skill.
Terrestrial Form. When you use your Shapechanger trait to turn into a beast or hybrid, your walking speed is increased by 10 feet as long as you aren’t wearing armor. When you use your Shapechanger trait to change into a beast, your size is medium or small.
Scurry. As a reaction when a creature misses you with an attack, you can move up to half of your speed to an unoccupied space.
Commentary: This is another 4e race, but this time we’ve gone and done more of a direct conversion. Because of this, a lot of the language used here is taken directly from the 4e version of the Hengeyokai. You can read more about how that race appeared in 4th edition here. On that note, in 4e the Hengeyokai has a dozen variants that each correspond to a very specific animal (dog, crab, or cat, for example), but in this rendition we’ve gone ahead and simplified things down to three categories in the spirit 5e’s design. This approach, while offering less specific flavor, aims to allow players who use this homebrew race to roleplay as an animal/humanoid hybrid with really any animal they’d like to. There are some edge cases where you still have ‘reflavor’ things as is often the case with 5e. For example, while a bat might not technically be an avian creature, the avian subrace provides the opportunity to experience the fantasy of shifting into a little flying creature at will regardless of the chosen animal’s real-world capabilities.