Other Races

Immune to the Shadowlands Taint : Nezumi can never acquire a Taint score, and suffer no ill effects from exposure to the Shadowlands . Effects such as the cloud of Taint spell or the special attacks of Shadowlands creatures can still harm them, however. A ratling's sharp claws and teeth deal 1d4 points of normal damage with a successful unarmed strike . A ratling can make only one unarmed attack per round, using either claw or a bite attack. Keen Scent : Nezumi have a better sense of smell than humans do, and are often more able to distinguish humans from each other by scent than by sight. As a feat, a nezumi with a Wisdom of 11 or higher can take Scent. This feat lets a nezumi detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell.

A nezumi with the Scent feat can detect opponents by sense of smell as a free action, generally within 30 feet . If the opponent is upwind, the range is 60 feet . If it is downwind, the range is 1s feet . The nezumi can detect strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, at twice these ranges . The nezumi can detect overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, at three times these ranges .

The nezumi detects another creature's presence but not its specific location . Noting the direction of the scent is a move-equivalent action . If he moves within s feet of the scent's source, the nezumi can pinpoint that source .

A nezumi with the Scent feat can follow tracks by smell, making a Wisdom check to find or follow a track. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10 . The DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry's odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail . For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2 . The ability otherwise follows the rules for the Track feat . Nezumi tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.

Nezumi with the Scent feat can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights .

Water, particularly running water, ruins a trail .

False, powerful odors can easily mask other scents . The presence of such an odor completely spoils the ability to properly detect or identify creatures, and the base Wilderness Lore DC to track becomes 20 rather than 10 . Automatic Languages : Rokugani, Nezumi . Bonus Languages : Bakemono, Shadowlands . Favored Class : Rogue . A multiclass nezumi's rogue class does not count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing.

SPIRIT FOLK

Spirit folk are the descendants of humans and various spirits of nature . Spirit folk have three distinct races-bamboo, river, and sea spirit folk . All tie very strongly to the natural world as well as to the society of humans . Spirit folk are not found in Rokugan .

Personality: Spirit folk tend to be serene and calm, attuned to their surroundings and at peace with the world . Their spirit ancestry gives them an awareness of the spirit world, and they show little desire to manipulate that world through magic. They manifest a love and enjoyment of life that many humans can only envy.

Physical Description : Spirit folk look human . Their eyes are slender and their mouths are small. Their eyebrows are very thin and their complexions are very pale or golden . They have no facial or body hair, but the hair on their heads is thick and luxurious. They appear in all the diversity of humans, and many come close to the ideal of human beauty in their society .

Relations : Spirit folk typically live as part of human society, and are accepted as equals in human communities, even when their true ancestry is known . They are members of human clans, citizens of human nations, and have blood relations who are entirely human . At the same time, they are part of the spirit world, and never feel completely at home in the mundane life of a human village .

As spirits, spirit folk often get along well with hengeyokai, and they may have friends and allies among other spirit races as well .

Alignment: Perhaps because of their strong ties to the natural world, spirit folk tend to seek balance between extremes . They tend toward neutral alignments .

Spirit Folk Lands : Spirit folk live among humans, but usually near regions of untouched wilderness-uncut bamboo groves, pure streams and rivers, and deep ocean waters . Unlike hengeyokai, they are more tightly integrated into human communities, bound by family ties . They do not usually join in communities with other spirit folk .

Religion : Spirit folk share the religious habits of humans, venerating a host of spirits and Fortunes . They typically venerate their human ancestors as well as their spirit forebears .

Language : Spirit folk speak Common in their human communities, but can also converse in the Spirit Tongue that is used among spirit creatures.

Names : Spirit folk usually have human names, though their given names often reflect their ancestry.

Adventurers : Some spirit folk feel their difference from their human neighbors more acutely than others of their kind, and take up the life of an adventurer in order to find their own way in the world. Sometimes, sheer wanderlust drives a spirit folk to explore the world .

SPIRIT FOLK RACIAL TRAITS

These abilities are common to all three subraces of spirit folk .

Medium-size : As medium-size creatures, spirit folk have no special bonuses or penalties due to size .

Spirit folk base speed is 30 feet .

Low-light Vision : Spirit folk can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination . They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions .

Spirit Subtype : Spirit folk have the spirit subtype, which means they can be affected by spells that specifically target spirits, such as protection from spirits and invisibility to spirits. Their human ancestry makes them humanoids, however, so they are also affected by spells such as hold person and charm person .

Automatic Languages : Common and Spirit Tongue . Bonus

Languages: Aquan, Giant, Goblin, Hengeyokai, Nezumi .

Favored Class : Any. When determining whether a multiclass spirit folk suffers an XP penalty, her highest-level class does not count.

BAMBOO SPIRIT FOLK

Bamboo spirit folk have these additional characteristics . " +2 racial bonus on Wilderness Lore checks . +4 racial bonus on Hide checks when in woods or forest.

Trackless Step : Bamboo spirit folk leave no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked .