
Candra |

I'm a huge fan of the kitsune race(I admit, a lot of it is nostalgia, since they're also my fav of the mythological creatures as well), but I had a question.
The books say that a kitsune's normal form is an anthropomorphic fox form. Here's my question... Do the kitsune have hair in that form? Only fur? The pictures of Miyaro from the Jade Regent shows wafting hair behind her, the same shade as her fur, but the picture in the advanced race book doesn't, though that could be due to other reasons (bald human form, for example).
I realize that this is completely a visual effect and won't matter in the game, but I was wondering if there is any official word on this? Or unofficially, what do you guys think? Hair or fur?

Alexander Augunas Contributor |

Honestly, no. There's no official wording on this and there probably never will be. Different artists take liabilities with their work all the time: for the perfect example, see the fact that there are now three different styles of catfolk spread out between various Pathfinder products (catgirl in Bestiary 3, full-on anthro in Advanced Race Guide, and Thundercats in Shattered Star).
Personally, saying that the fur on a kitsune's head grows to the human-like lengths could be an interesting way to distinguish the kitsune from both lycanthropes (werefoxes) and vulpinals (Agathions) in your campaign setting. You might also choose to say that it can grow longer, but it doesn't quite reach the same length of humans. As humans ourselves, I think its very difficult for us to distinguish an individual without cues like hair, so I'd imagine that most artists are going to choose to take liberties like that because if they don't, you'll run into a situation where your players (who are humans) are not going to be able to tell any of the NPCs apart. Then again, that might lead to an interesting situation where the player himself (or herself) actually sets up their character to be perceived as a racist by the kitsune. The possibilities are endless!

Candra |

It is a pretty cool idea. My GM has pretty much said that he won't describe it, mostly because he doesn't care. It's window dressing to him, and if it isn't affecting the game, it can look however you want it to. I personally like the idea of hair and Alexander's idea of it differentiating between the three is a wonderful idea.
I love the idea of a form that looks like the anime girl with fox ears and otherwise human, but yeah, not for my Pathfinder games. I insist that you at least look non-human in your non-human form. :P