Keshan

"It pays not to taunt strangers, child. A boy, no older than you, once mocked a Keshan monk. Since the monk had taken vows to eat no raw meat, he cooked the boy before he ate him right up."

— Mistress Mindim of Bitterwater

In legends, the Keshan are great cats made of orange flame whose sharp clawed rage and vengeance feature in their every mention. Followers of the evil god Kelish, the Keshan warred with The People 200 years ago. Face to face, Keshan are somewhat different. They are a small feline species with orange, black and white fur who can naturally chanel fire and are possessed of a legendary temper. They are truthful to a fault which can lead to unintentional insult of those unfamiliar with Keshan. They often refer to other races as “prey,” which usually leads to somewhat less unintentional insult. Their short fur covers them from head to very mobile, though not prehensile, tail. Their ears are tufted and can be as active as their tails. In addition to two forward facing eyes they also have 2 smaller eyes on each side of their head. They sport fangs and claws neither of which aid them in melee, needing to wear the metal “Keshan Claw” to supplement what nature provided. In warm climates, like that of their home jungles, they eschew clothing and wear decorations of bone and colorful feathers. They hate the cold and when they travel will wear many layers of clothing to keep warm, even in summer. Though they appear feline, they are not true cats. They prefer daylight and have no unusual ability to see in the dark. They come from The Hunts of Rathkil.

Keshan Bond of Bashtet

”Those Who follow me must live by my bond. If your prey speaks, you may not eat it while it lives. If you speak, your words are mine, and must only be the truth. All The People of The Land are one with the Great Hunt and never again shall you war against them. Follow me and I will purify you and my flame shall burn in you.”

— The Goddess Bashtet to the Keshan,
Keshan Book of Fire and Entrails

The Keshan themselves were the ninth of the fourteen pillars of The Fall, 200 years ago. Following the evil god Kelish and led by their equally evil queen Keshtet, they raged across The Land. kingdom after kingdom fell to their fiery aggression and it seemed no army could prevail against them. It was only after a mission led by 5 heroes journeyed to meet with the Keshan Queen’s sister, Na’hespit, that there was any hope. It isn’t known how they convinced her, but soon after their meeting Na’hespit renounced the evil god Kelish. She committed herself to spreading the word of Bashtet. Her Hunt of Honor followed her in service to Bashtet and they confronted the evil Queen and her Hunt of the Devouring Fire.
Keshtet was defeated and though her good sister Na’hespit died as well, the invasion collapsed as the god Kelish’s flame failed in all Keshan. As their fire was quenched, so was their lust for war. Worship of Kelish ended as his evil influence diminished. All civilized Keshan bonded to the goddess Bashtet and they retreated to the jungles of their origin, far to the East. Bashtet returned fire to all Keshan who would live by the Bond of Bashtet. Although their previous prey, all other people’s of the Land, were not quick to forgive them, over time the Keshan became known for their Bond of Bashtet and the promise of peace that it represented.

The Hunts of Rathkil

After rejecting Kelish and accepting the Bond of Bashtet, the Keshan settled into the eastern Rathkil jungle. They closed their borders to outsiders and their lands are now know as the Hunts of Rathkil. In their home territory, Keshan fit into all of the expected roles in a civilized community. Keshan travelers are rare and they are most often: spies, far travelers, tribesmen, diplomats, traders or combinations thereof.
Keshan society, or The Great Hunt, is divided into Hunts each charged with different responsibilities. A Keshan takes the name of it’s hunt, pack, position or some combination as a title:
The Far Hunt: Their domain is the world outside of The Hunts of Rathkil:

• The Left Claw of Bashtet: These Keshan are considered the most level headed and are often sent abroad as diplomats. They are the least likely to eat someone who insults them.
• The Right Claw of Bashtet: These Keshan can survive alone in the most challenging natural conditions. They most often are used as scouts.
• The Ward Weavers: These Keshan have dedicated their existence to harnessing the flames within them and their ranks are mostly filled with Our fire priests. The entire pack maintains the Keshan Wardwall far to the west, which holds back the cold of the Pelos Falls.
• The Eyes of Bashtet: These Keshan are self-sufficient and skilled with illusion and are often sent abroad to spy. They can control their rage better than most Keshan.

The Chosen Hunt: They make up the military caste and are broken into three groups:

• Those Who Have Died: These elite warriors are legend for their disregard for their lives. Used as shock troops they are feared by all but mindless opponents.
• The Eyes of the Storm: These heroes are most often assigned independent missions being most capable of dealing with diverse situations.
• The Nightmares: Trained in the arts of stealth and ambush, these lightly armored troops can devestate much more powerful opponents if deployed correctly.
• First Among Hunters: This pack makes up the majority of the Chosen Hunt and serve as disciplined soldiers capable of fielding formations.

The Queen’s Hunt: They make up the nobility, Queen’s guard and bureaucracy of the Hunts of Rathkil. In ancient times it was known as The Hunt of Honor. This hunt has many packs but the three largest are:

• The Heart of the Queen:
• The Open Hand of the Queen:
• The Claw of the Queen:
• The Will of the Queen:
• The Purifying Flame: This secret pack has operated continuously since a time long before The Fall. It is all that remains of the Hunt of Honor and only reports to the Keshan Queen as long as she is the rightful heir to the first to accept the Bond of Bashtet, princess Na’hespit.

The Dominion Hunt: Now that the Keshan embrace a more civilized life, the Dominion Hunt has become the largest hunt. It encompasses all of the trades that compose a civilized society and the packs within it are too numerous to list, but include:

• The Green: Contrary to their portrayal in legend, Keshan are omnivorous and this pack includes the many farmers who support the Hunts of Rathkil.
• The Iron: Keshan blacksmiths wielding their inner fire truely put themselves into their work.
• Two Hands with Claws Sheathed: The merchant pack has grown greatly in influence over the past decades and represent the majority of Keshan who travel beyond their borders.
• ...

Many Hunts have been retired over the ages. A millennia ago all Hunts dedicated to Kelish or his evil works were disbanded. Some of the retired hunts include:

• The Hunt of the Devouring Fire: The fuel that fed the Devouring Fire were all those who didn’t follow the evil god Kelish. War was this hunt’s only function.
• The Fey Blood Hunt: Who concerned themselves with the extermination of all elves and their kin.
• The Hunt of Kelish’s Throne: The various packs within this hunt policed the Keshan for compliance with the evil god Kelish’s edicts.
• The Hunt of Honor: This ancient hunt, instrumental in overthrowing the evil queen Keshtet, was disbanded in the creation of the new Queen’s Hunt. It is rumored that at least one pack of this hunt has continued to operate in the shadows.

Keshan Names and Titles

Keshan often use their title instead of their name with strangers.
Common Names: Reshkar, Peshta, Nishket, Kestat, Kooshra, Reshik,
A Keshan’s title is usually his hunt, pack or both with their role appended. Some examples: First Among Those Who Have Died, The Nightmare Who Eats The Living, and The Left Claw of Bast Who Eats With Prey.

RPG Datasheet

Keshan traits mirror their personalities and shape their world view.
Ability Score Increase Your Dexterity score increases by 1, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.
Age Keshan mature faster than humans do and reach adulthood around the age of 14. They live as long as humans and their fur begins to grey at 40.
Alignment Keshan lean towards chaotic alignments. They value freedom but have a fierce loyalty to their people and land.
Size Keshan range from 3 to 4 feet tall and weigh 50 to 90 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Traditional Weapon Training Keshan are all proficient with the Keshan Claw weapon. Only Keshan can be proficient with this weapon.

Keshan Claw - Cost: 10gp. Damage: 1d6 slashing. Weight: 3lb. Properties: Finesse, light, special. The Keshan Claw cannot be dropped as it is strapped on. The blades can be rotated into and out of a safe position with a bonus action. The wielding hand is free and available for somatic spellcasting and to hold small items. They can be doffed and donned in 1 minute or in 1 action if aided.

Languages You can speak, read, and write Common.
Keshan Rage To be Keshan is to be in constant struggle with the beast within. You have Two Keshan Rages. Once used, you recover them after a long rest. If an enemy rolls a critical hit against you automatically enter a Keshan rage. You may also choose to enter a Keshan Rage when you take any damage.
While experiencing a Keshan Rage, you gain the following benefits:

• You have advantage on Dexterity checks and saving throws
• You take only half of the damage that triggered the rage.
• Your base speed increases by 5’

While experiencing a Keshan Rage, the following limitations apply:

• You cannot cast or maintain concentration spells.
• You may not communicate verbally or otherwise except for snarls and screams.
• You must attack the creature who damaged you and move to a position that grants you the best position to attack even if doing so triggers an AoO or other negative effect. If moving towards your target does not allow you to attack your target, you must dash toward your target.
• Your rage lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious, if your target is dead or if your target has been out of sight for 2 turns. At the end of your turn you can choose to attempt to end your rage by succeeding on a DC12 concentration check.

Hate the Cold Keshan hate the cold for good reason. Any cold damage or exposure to a freezing environment for longer than 4 hours results in a level of exhaustion. This is not cumulative, but can add to other sources of exhaustion.
Fire is Art The fire that burns within Keshan is literal and is beautiful. You can cast the cantrip Control Flames which most Keshan use to create fireplays.
Keshan Fireplay All Keshan are taught to tell the stories of their people using their control of flames. Even though every cub can use this ability, a handful of masters have learned to enthrall all who watch and are welcomed into any home in the Hunts of Rathkil.

• Keshan have advantage with performance checks when using their Control Fire cantrip to create a Fireplay.

Legendary Thin Skin Never insult a Keshan, unless he is concentrating on a spell! If you have any remaining Keshan rages, an opponent who can communicate verbally with you can attempt to goad you by making an opposed Charisma check versus your Constitution. You have advantage if you are not yet in combat. If the opponent succeeds, you enter a Keshan Rage with the source of the taunting as your target. You can only succumb to goading once per long rest.
Fierce Free Will Trying to calm a Keshan can have unfortunate results. If you are successfully charmed or succumb to a sleep spell and you have a Keshan Rage remaining, make an additional DC12 Concentration check. If successful, the spell is ineffective and you enter a rage with the caster as a target (even if the caster is not in sight).
Equanimity As Keshan grow in experience and age they can learn to suppress their rages. At 4th, 9th and again at 14th level a Keshan can decide to permanently lose one Keshan Rage.
Downward Spiral As Keshan become more powerful, their inner fire can burn even more brightly. At 4th, 9th and again at 14th level, a Keshan can decide to add one Keshan Rage.
Parietal Eyes Keshan have six eyes. Two forward facing eyes provide them with binocular vision and four smaller parietal eyes on the sides of their head provide threat detection. The parietal eyes move independently of each other and are not consciously controlled. They track all movements around a Keshan and other races can find this discomfiting. The parietal eyes continue to function even when a Keshan sleeps although one or two might close at times. If a Keshan attempts to lie, their parietal eyes will rapidly scan back a forth and won’t settle on anyone being spoken to.

• A Keshan has disadvantage on deception checks.

A sleeping Keshan will be awoken if its parietal eyes detect any threatening movement around it.

A keshan is difficult to surprise and add their proficiency bonus to their passive perception.

Keshan Equivocation Whether Keshan avoid deception because they are so bad at it or vice versa, they have many tactics to avoid being caught in a lie. They will circle indefinitely around an uncomfortable truth and are masters of the segue. The most common techniques they use are:

• Ignoring the question

Attacking the question

Acknowledging the question without answering it

Answering a different question

Questioning the question

and if all else fails, Refusing to answer

The Keshan are a rare species outside of The Hunts of Rathkil:

The Hunts of Rathkil

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