So I have a player in my local game that wishes to play a Kitsune, in fact is obsessed with them. Thats cool and great with one big problem... I know nothing about them aside from the fluff material about their tendencies towards liking art and practical jokes.
Now this player is a great RPer and a person that really reacts well to story archs so I want to reward her with nuggets of juicy RP goodness that will make her Kitsune shine. So Im asking the community for some advice, what sort of story archs can you suggest that will help me let this Kitsune shine in my game? Are there great Kitsune myths I can draw upon?
This is going to sound snide & I apologize, but have you tried Googling kitsune or nine-tailed-fox? Because the answer to your question is .
On the plus side, pretty much all said stories can also be used as religious stories for... crud, I don't recall her name, the Kitsune patron deity, the . She is also the goddess of rice & bounty, consequently she is also kind-of the patron goddess of peasants.
LOL not a furry but certainly an anime lover type girl. Also when I do look up Kitsune one the google again all I seem to get is stuff about them being artsy and tricky... not exactly much to build a fun story on. I suppose my best option is to get her involved in a bit of one-upsmanship practical joking. Im thinking of having some sort of spirt start playing practical jokes in a competitive way with her. Maybe doing stuff to the NPCs and other PCs. Not sure how that would fly though...
Just looking for ideas. :)
Well, in the legends kitsunes weren't only known for being tricksters. However, it might be even harder to use those stories in a game. They were thought of as supernatural spirit creatures and often only had a few roles that they played in stories.
Many kitsunes were servants of Inari, the the Shinto deity of rice. Pathfinder's equivalent of that god is Daikitsu. They were the god's messengers and were thought of as good omens. Many kitsunes would be thrilled by the idea of somehow doing a mission involving Daikitsu because she's the only kitsune god.
Other Kitsunes were thought of as evil spirits. These weren't simple tricksters like other kitsunes, they actually tried to ruin people's lives.
There were also stories about people unknowningly marrying someone who was a kitsune posing as a human. Often some event would lead to the one finding out that the other was a kitsune... but I'm not sure if you would want to use THAT in your games ;)
Hmmm, you may be able to do something similar though. Put him into an area where kitsunes have a bad enough reputation or are unknown enough that he would want to stay in human form most of the time. Let him make a few friends, and then have them somehow find out that he's really a fox person. In some areas that don't know what a kitsune is, they would think that he's a werefox. Roleplaying ensues ;)
Yea, I've become a bit kitsune obsessed lately myself, so I've been doing a little research. Wikipedia has a good article on kitsunes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune
Thanks Matrixryu those are some interesting ideas. I think Im going to have her meet up with a falsey accused Kitsune as they enter an area set upon by some nasty BBEG - maybe even an evil Kitsune.
I'll brainstorm some on Daikitsu as well. THis adventure is set in the Inner Sea so perhaps this might serve as a way to link her to a lost heritage.
Thanks Matrixryu those are some interesting ideas. I think Im going to have her meet up with a falsey accused Kitsune as they enter an area set upon by some nasty BBEG - maybe even an evil Kitsune.
I'll brainstorm some on Daikitsu as well. THis adventure is set in the Inner Sea so perhaps this might serve as a way to link her to a lost heritage.
No problem! Not sure if you're still watching this thread, but here's one other suggestion:
This isn't really covered by the material for Pathfinder Kitsunes, but look for the section mentioning Kitsune Star Balls on that Wikipedia article I linked earlier. In the legends, kitsunes carried them around because they stored a portion of their power and they could become weakened or even die if they lose it.
In pathfinder, you could treat it as a sort of variant on Arcane Bonded items for a kitsune npc and have him need help getting it back.
(In the actual rules Kitsunes can get a 'Star Gem', but those are really only pearls of power for spell-like-abilities.)
One other thing you failed to mention:
A kitsune can only be killed by a blessed weapon(magic weapon). That would make it too strong though so when I made my kitsune I gave it a
DR 5/Magic.
Good luck.
-Dunali(Old)/Amber(Current)/Vixen(My kitsune)
Furcadia.
*sigh* Makes me wish they had made a kitsune's true form be a real fox rather than an anthro fox. Not because I don't want kitunes to be 'furries' (I just don't care either way). It is just because it would have avoided the drama while being more authentic. I guess they can't just follow the legends word for word though ;)
They're mainly from the Forest of Spirits in the Dragon Empires, if that helps at all.
Something neat my GM gave me was a magic talisman that essentially gave me "Fox Form" for free at the end of a short kitsune-focused sidequest.
Does your player spend a lot of time in human form? A lot of races are quite put off by Kitsune, as they are seen as tricksters. Maybe work that in somehow.
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Furcadia.*sigh* Makes me wish they had made a kitsune's true form be a real fox rather than an anthro fox. Not because I don't want kitunes to be 'furries' (I just don't care either way). It is just because it would have avoided the drama while being more authentic. I guess they can't just follow the legends word for word though ;)
It's not a put down, just saying that's a place filled with alternate Kitsune lore. Some NSFW, but still, lot's of it.
Also, there is a ton of Japanese Mythology that is NSFW.I feel you though. I have hard time playing any animal-like race without the furry thing coming up. Kitsune are cool, and in fact, my brother runs a Kitsune Paladin Archer. Very cool PC.
The Hook: Daikitsu sends forest messengers to contact human-form spirit-beings that there is a village where a local river has become poisoned. The players must make contact with an old druid who lives in that forest to discover what the matter is, and then investigate the village.
The Quest: The river has become polluted by runoff from a new metal refinery. The local village chief is new to his position, and was put in-charge by a distant warlord who is controlling the province (wants more metal from the mines). The village is going to starve next season though, if the crops aren't planted. Everyone is working in the mine instead, and the pollutants from the refinery (acids) are washing into the river. The druid used to be the spiritual leader of the area, but has become ill (or is dead).
The Twist: While the new chief can be bullied and terrorized by kitsune into possibly leaving his position (and restoring the village, no one wants to mine metal) he also has spiritual guardians sent by the warlord. These komainu (lion dogs) will use violence to thwart the adventurers, and vanquishing them will get the attention of the warlord's wizard, who will cause future trouble for the PC's.
It's not a put down, just saying that's a place filled with alternate Kitsune lore. Some NSFW, but still, lot's of it.
Furcadia is the last place I'd send someone for any kind of accurate history on Kitsune... or any kind of animal, be it real or mythological.
I think the biggest trick to work with, here, is that no matter how much you look into actual Kitsune folklore, you're probably going to have to pick up the Dragon Empires Primer and Gazetteer at some point. That will probably give your the best source of information on what Kitsune are like, what kind of environment they grow up in, etc. etc.
Luckily now there is the Advanced Race Guide with Kitsunes in it, good luck
This is a source I found awhile back. It's actually designed for Legend of the Five Rings, but you should be able to use a lot of it. Huge amount of good information there on all sorts of stuff.
Thanks again! Great ideas all!
Nothing wrong with Furcadia, or FA (just keep the SFW filter on.) Good for looking art concepts more then total story though. Of course there is hungry artists like me that are more then willing to help the character design come to fruitition.
Furcadia.*sigh* Makes me wish they had made a kitsune's true form be a real fox rather than an anthro fox. Not because I don't want kitunes to be 'furries' (I just don't care either way). It is just because it would have avoided the drama while being more authentic. I guess they can't just follow the legends word for word though ;)
Thanks for the houserule idea.