Kitsune

“Poor things. You lot are a far way from home.” The fox-like creature said softly. She crouched down before me, her robes of fine white silks fanning around her and brushing the earth. Briefly, I thought of how just one of her sleeves could feed my family for a week.
Trees grew in twisted and whimsical shapes from the forest ground around us, framing the pastel pinks and blues of the beautiful twilight sky above, and nearly brushing the cotton candy clouds. She stood, reaching out a clawed hand toward me, her yellow eyes alight with mischief as she smiled at me, though I did not know it at the time.
"Come, little kit, let's get you fed and safe."

— Xiran Shie, The Feywileds: Tales from a Lost Child.

Mischievous, mystical and enigmatic. Kitsune are human sized anthropomorphic foxes, known for their intelligence, cunning, and magical abilities. They possess a natural talent for illusion and deception, and their shape-changing abilities allow them to assume a wide variety of forms, from foxes to humanoids. But unlike changelings, Kitsune have only two forms: one of a fox-headed humanoid and one largely depending on where they were raised. Those raised in populated areas typically have what's called a tailless form—a humanoid body without any fox features that resembles a more common ancestry, such as an elf or a human. In wooded rural areas, or areas close to a Feywild portal, their second form is more likely to be that of a fox.
In their true forms, Kitsune have alert vulpine ears, pointed snouts, and short, semi-

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retractable claws on their fingers and toes. Their fur is dense, counter-shaded, and most often red, tan, black, or white in color. They may also have various morphs in color that causes various patterns, such as spots, piebald variants, etc. Kitsune have bushy tails that grow in number as they hone their innate magical abilities, to as many as nine. 

Spirituality

With dual forms and a connection to both the material and spiritual worlds, kitsune have diverse concepts of self and identity. Some even view their forms as separate individuals altogether, using them to explore different aspects of their personality.
Kitsune often have neutrality in their alignment from balancing their dual natures, though their instinct for stirring up trouble leads many to lean slightly toward chaos. Some possess the ability to control or bend the will of others, but even among those that do, only the evilest use these arts flippantly or selfishly. The patron kitsune deity is Daikitsu, the goddess of crafting and agriculture. Though not all kitsune necessarily worship Daikitsu, most respect her as the purported source of their powers. Kitsune in Batun often revere both Leto and Virana (called Shizuru and Tsuyiko respectively among kitsune), seeing the duality of the sun and moon in their own multifaceted nature. A small sect of kitsune worship Gaez, the goddess of memory, twilight, and illusion, respecting her position between perception and reality and believing the goddess's true form to be that of a kitsune—hidden behind not one cloud, but nine.

Basic Information

Genetics and Reproduction

Kitsune are both a sexually and magically reproducing race.
A kitsune must meditate on the desire to have a child for 3 months without food or water. After which, they must cut off one of their tails and bury it in the earth of their ancestral land. 6 months later, a newborn kit will be creep out of the earth, crying for their parent. If multiple kitsune wish to co-parent, all parties involved must go through this ritual, with the only difference being that they must bury their tails together. The resulting kit (or kits) will bear traits of all parents involved. If the parents are multiple types of kitsune, the kit's type will be randomly selected from one of the parents.

Growth Rate & Stages

Kitsune grow at a slow pace comparable to that of humans. Their life cycle includes:

• Newborn Kit - Birth to 12 months
• Toddler - 12 months to 3 years
• Kithood - 3 to 16 years
• Adolescence - 16 to 19
• Young Adulthood - 19 to 30 years.
• Adulthood - 50 years

Ecology and Habitats

Kitsune prefer magic enriched areas such as Batun and Rizex, or even better, the Feywilds. But they are perfectly capable of thriving in urban areas such as Caheath Commonwealth. There is also a type of kitsune who thrive in extreme cold, such as Frost Territories.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Kitsune are rarely the majority in whatever communities they inhabit, and many go their whole lives without meeting another kitsune beyond their family. Even in their homelands of the feywilds, kitsune tend to spread out as the various types have specific needs. These types are dark fields, earthly wilds, celestial envoy, empty sky, and frozen wind. Earthly wilds and dark field kitsune prefer the Unseelie Court due to its chaotic and unpredictable nature. While the other kitsune remain in the Seelie Court. As such, you will see this division reflected in the kingdoms of Batun and Rizex.
Kitsune are, like many fey, proud of their heritage and happily participate in the political aspects of their courts. However, there are those who do not wish to be entangled in the war between Titania and Mab, choosing to flee to the Caheath Commonwealth, far away from any fey that might recognize them. They also might choose to give worship to Virana (called Tsuyiko by this race), or Qirena, instead of Daikitsu who is the patron of kitsune. These kitsune are often called Deserters, and are not looked upon in a positive light by their fellow fey.
Their society, as much as it exists, centers primarily around the commonalities that kitsune find as they pass among other peoples. The same social perspective that helps them imitate others also makes them quick to notice signs that someone may need help or a kind word. Due to this, kitsune often form strong interpersonal relationships and tend to anchor their social circles.
When two kitsune do meet, they may find themselves exchanging light verbal repartee, enjoying the sport of trying to outwit each other. While it's considered a grave offense to outright give away another kitsune's shapechanging nature, kitsune relish surreptitiously forcing another to “break character,” shocking the other into disrupting their transformation through a well-placed comment.
Though all-kitsune settlements exist, most live among people of other ancestries, granting them a degree of external insight into social rules or dynamics that others process only subconsciously. Kitsune enjoy subverting expectations as much as they do going along with them. Their fondness for jokes, stories, and wordplay, especially when the twist of a riddle hinges on the listener's assumptions, reinforces their reputation as tricksters.
Due to their shifting nature, kitsune often have mixed-ancestry family units. The children of a kitsune and a non-kitsune can inherit either of their parent's lineages, though many assume that a human baby born to a kitsune is simply a kitsune that has yet to reveal their true form. This has led to the widespread misconception that all offspring of kitsune are themselves kitsune.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

While kitsune have some traditional names, they're more likely to use names that are unremarkable in their local society, the better to pass unnoticed. Some have different names for each form: a kitsune name for their kitsune form, a regional name for a tailless form, and possibly no name at all for a fox form.
Neutral Names: Hamako, Haohiko, Kitsukou, Kon, Kwan-la, Talaro
Male Names: Yoji, Yunari, Ganjiro, Unoto, Kenko
Female Names: Ataba, Tatsune, Himi, Oko, Rochiha

Details

Lifespan

Kitsune reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, they typically claim adulthood around the age of 50. On average, they live about 600 years.

Average Height

4-5 ft

Geographic Distribution

• Batun
• Caheath Commonwealth
• Frost Territories
• Rizex

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THE LADY OF FOXES

• A goddess of rice and agriculture ensures many seek her favor. Farmers of Caheath Commonwealth and Batun seek her blessing to ensure fertile fields and good harvests; smiths and craftsmen of those same continents worship her aspect as a patron of artifice; and families pray to her for safety. Daikitsu is also worshipped as the patron of the kitsune people and has many followers amongst them.
• Though usually referred to with she/her pronouns, the goddess Daikitsu's nature is fluid; her gender, age, and appearance change at her whim. Kitsune's legends state that they were created when Daikitsu granted her original attendants, fox spirits known as the Nine Bright Grains, one of her own abilities: the power to dance between shapes.

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Character Creation Details

You must be a part of my campaign to access character creation for my homebrew race. Please use DnDBeyond for stats, but WorldAnvil for lore & worldbuilding: DnDBeyond Kitsune