Fox Magic: Feats
Kuniyoshi's woodblock print of the legendary kitsune Kuzunoha.
Most of the fourth-edition races boast race-specific feats. Even the half-elf has one or two, in addition to being able to choose from among the elf- or human-specific feats. The only races presented as potential player-character options that don’t have feats associated with them are the ones from the back of the Monster Manuals — and those are incomplete writeups, not suggested for open PC use, which are slowly getting fleshed out and given the full treatment in Dragon and future rulebooks. The lack of racial feats is often cited as a weakness of these races. The strength of the humans’ feats — particularly Action Surge at the heroic tier — is considered one of their biggest plusses.
Clearly, racial feats are of some importance. So it’s only fitting that kitsune should have a few of their own.
Heroic Tier
Divine Guidance
Prerequisite: Kitsune celestial
Benefit: You and all allies within 5 squares of you gain a +1 bonus to initiative checks. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus to Reflex defense.
Foxfire Focus
Prerequisite: Kitsune wilder
Benefit: Your fire attacks ignore 5 points of the target’s fire resistance. This increases to 15 points at paragon tier and to 25 points at epic tier.
Vulpine Agility
Prerequisite: Kitsune
Benefit: When you would be knocked prone and you are in humanoid form, you can use an immediate action to change to fox shape. Instead of shifting 1 square as part of this form change, you can choose to remain standing.
Paragon Tier
Breath of Inari
Prerequisite: Kitsune celestial
Benefit: When you use favored of Inari, you can spend a healing surge as a free action.
Dance of the Fox
Prerequisite: Kitsune wilder
Benefit: When you are pushed, pulled, or slid, you may shift one square at the end of the forced movement.
Kitsune Shapeshifter
Prerequisite: Kitsune
Benefit: You can use your fox shape ability to take the form of any Small or Medium humanoid that is not undead. When you do so, your clothing, armor, weapons, and possessions do not change and do not meld into your new form; you remain able to use weapon- and implement-based powers, as well as weapon and implement powers and properties. You can assume the form of a unique individual whom you have seen. Other creatures may attempt an Insight check opposed by your Bluff check in order to penetrate your disguise; you gain a +10 bonus to this Bluff check. This increases to a +20 bonus at the epic tier.
Epic Tier
Nine Tails
Prerequisite: Kitsune
Benefit: When you attack with a daily power and miss all targets, you can recharge one expended encounter power.
(I’m considering making the Kitsune Shapeshifter feat epic as well… it’s a little tricky to judge, though. On one hand, it’s quite powerful; on the other hand, it’s pretty central to kitsune folklore, plus the doppelganger gets it from level one.)
Related posts:
- Fox Magic: Arcane Feats
- Fox Magic: Martial Feats
- Fox Magic: Kitsune
- Mythic Japan: the Tengu
- Fox Magic: Allies and Adversaries
Categories: Mythic Japan, Original Game Content | Comments (3)
Maybe reduce the Bluff check bonus a bit, or have it scale by level? Then you could drop it in as low as heroic probably.
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Really hope you’re going to collate this into a pdf. I’ll pay!
@Wyatt: That’s an excellent idea. Right now I’ve changed it to +10/+20… if I do make it heroic, that will be +0. It makes the ability a little different from the standard change shape, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m leaning toward keeping the feat at paragon to avoid stepping on the toes of the doppelganger, though.
@Greywulf: I’ve been thinking it over. I have a couple more feats lined up (the class-specific ones, as seen in the Power line), but I’ve been turning over the idea of coming up with a line of sorcery powers and bundling the whole thing together. Might take a little while to accomplish, though.