Fox Magic: Inari

Today’s short article is a writeup of Inari, patron deity of the kitsune.

A small note first:  the previous post has been revised.  I reduced the power of the previously-existing racial abilities, and diversified a bit by adding additional minor abilities — the celestial got a bonus to save against charm and fear and a group insight modeled off the elf’s group perception; the wilder got a racial bonus to physical defenses against traps.

The wilder’s ability score bonuses also changed from Cha/Dex to Cha/Int; I’ve been vaccilating over this for a bit, but I’ve come to think the Int bonus suits the folklore better.  It also makes them very well suited for the fey warlock and illusionist wizard builds, both of which are also very appropriate for the kitsune of legend.  Of course, artful-dodger rogues would have been appropriate too, but so it goes.  With their skill bonuses, wilders should still make pretty good rogues.

Now, back on topic.

Inari in mythology is a little hard to grasp.  What’s not disputed is this:  Inari was a deity of rice whose portfolio expanded and grew to an impressive extent.  Over the years, Inari became not only the kami (divine spirit, but “god” works in this context) of rice, but of food in general, foxes, fertility, industry, money, and good fortune, as well as the patron of blacksmiths, warriors, prostitutes, and actors.  Inari is an extremely popular and well-known kami in Japan, although Inari did not appear in classical Japanese mythology.  At least not under that name.  Inari’s symbols are the fox, the wish-granting jewel, the rice sheaf, and less prominently the key and the scroll.  And above all, Inari is a benevolent god.

You might have noticed that I’ve avoided using pronouns for Inari, so far.  There’s a reason for that:  Inari has been depicted, on separate occasions, as male, female, or androgynous.  The name Inari is associated with numerous different kami — sometimes multiples at once.  At least one scholar has suggested that Inari is a name for any food- or agriculture-related spirit.  But just to complicate the matter, there’s also at least one myth where Inari is shown to change shape, becoming a spider.  One god, or many?  He (and I’ll be using masculine pronouns from here on, for ease of reading) seems like an appropriate god to govern the kitsune, who are given to such trickery.

And in game?  Well, a Player’s Handbook-style writeup might look something like this:

Inari

Good

Inari is the god of agriculture, fertility, money, and good fortune.  He lends his support to those in need.  He is obviously revered by farmers, but he is also the patron of actors, blacksmiths, and prostitutes.  He is most commonly worshipped by humans, and is widely respected by kitsune, many of whom — the celestials — serve him.  He is an easygoing and somewhat mischievous god who makes few demands of his followers, but among his strictures are these:

• Care for the land, that it may continue to provide for you.
• Act justly, particularly toward those less fortunate.
• Face temporary misfortune with good cheer, and you shall overcome it.

Of the PHB pantheon, Inari most resembles Pelor and Erathis.  He is essentially a civilizing force, but unlike Erathis, he is also a force for Good.  While he grants considerable leeway to his followers, he also recognizes justice as an important quality in and of itself, and not a simple outgrowth of civilization.  His alignment restriction on Divine followers is not as strict as that of many gods, however; Inari may be considered either a Good or an Unaligned god for the purpose of his clerics’, paladins’, avengers’, and invokers’ alignments.  His portfolio is broad enough to make this easily possible.

If you don’t care to add Inari to your game directly (and I wouldn’t recommend it, unless you’re actually using the Japanese pantheon or other real-world mythological figures), Pelor and Erathis are the most obvious choices for the patron god of the kitsune.  Melora, Moradin, or Corellon isn’t out of the question, either, depending on what aspects you choose to focus on.  Kitsune wilders who take up a divine class, or who just adopt a faith, would probably favor Avandra, Corellon, or Sehanine, with the more evil sorts gravitating toward the Raven Queen’s darker aspects, Lolth, or Vecna.

Related posts:

1. Fox Magic: Kitsune
2. Fox Magic: Arcane Feats
3. Fox Magic: Feats
4. Fox Magic: Martial Feats
5. Fox Magic: Allies and Adversaries