# Race: Vulpin > [!info] Quick Facts > | | | > |---|---| > | **Rarity** | Very rare | > | **Perception in Gryth** | Negative. Secretive, hard to read, and known shapechangers. | > | **Subraces** | [[#Desert Vulpins\|Desert Vulpins]], [[#Jungle Vulpins\|Jungle Vulpins]] | > | **Guide Section** | Very Rare Races | ## Overview Vulpins are fox-folk of [[Continent - Iros|Iros]], found in both its barren rocky deserts and its lush jungles. They are crafty, secretive, and quick, with a gift for illusion and a sharper gift for conversation. Most are shy with strangers and disinclined to explain themselves, which has done nothing to help how they are regarded elsewhere in Gryth. ## Desert and Jungle Iros is a continent of extremes, and the vulpins have taken to both ends of it. One population holds the deep inland sand, where the heat kills most things and the horizon cannot be trusted about distances. The other holds the jungle canopies, where nothing stays visible for long. The two are the same people with different habits, and a vulpin of either kind can live comfortably in the other’s. Vulpin settlements are small and easily moved. They are sited with great care, well away from roads and rivers, and a traveller who stumbles on one has usually been allowed to. ## The Trouble with Shapechangers A vulpin can wear another face, and everybody in Iros knows it. That single fact sits underneath every dealing they have with anyone, and no amount of good conduct has dislodged it. A vulpin who has traded honestly for thirty years is widely held to be a vulpin who has not been caught yet. The vulpins do not argue the point. They are private by disposition and dislike explaining themselves, so an accused vulpin tends to go quiet and leave. This satisfies nobody and confirms everybody, and the pattern has repeated itself for several hundred years without moving an inch in either direction. A minority have given up on the argument and taken the work their reputation offers them. The syndicates of the [[Region - The Amber Coast|Amber Coast]] pay well for a face that cannot be relied upon, and vulpins are said to be common in the Gecko’s organisation and in the assassin guilds of Redtower. Every one who takes that work makes the position of the rest a little harder. ## Taken North Vulpins are trafficked, as every beastfolk people is, and the trade runs from the Irosian coasts up into the north and west. They fetch high prices for what they are rather than for what they can lift, since a slave who can hold another shape is bought by people who intend to use that, and vulpin servants in the great northern houses are kept for work their owners do not write down. The largest of these populations is in Bonedagger, where vulpins are held alongside the chained kenku and the other exiled beast races. The two peoples have an understanding there, built over generations in a place that regards both as property. They keep it quiet, and they keep it from their owners. ## Vulpin Traits **Ability Score Increase.** Your Charisma score increases by 2. **Age.** Vulpins reach maturity around the age of 20 and live between 120 and 150 years. **Creature Type.** You are a Humanoid. **Size.** Vulpins are slender and slightly shorter than humans, standing between 4 feet 10 inches and 5 feet 8 inches. Your size is Medium. **Speed.** Your base walking speed is 35 feet. **Darkvision.** You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You cannot discern colour in darkness, only shades of grey. **Shapechanger.** As an action, you can magically assume the shape of a specific Medium humanoid. Your statistics are the same in each form, and any equipment you are wearing or carrying is not transformed. The shape lasts for 1 hour, until you revert to your true form as an action, until you are incapacitated, or until you die. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. **Silver-Tongued.** You gain proficiency in the Deception or Persuasion skill. **Vulpin Magic.** You know the *minor illusion* cantrip. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it. **Languages.** You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan. ## Subraces ### Desert Vulpins Adapted to the endless sand and scorching heat of inland Iros, desert vulpins are masters of the mirage, turning threats aside with an illusion rather than meeting them. **Rarity:** Very rare **Perception in Gryth.** Negative. As vulpins generally. #### Desert Vulpin Traits **Ability Score Increase.** Your Wisdom score increases by 1. **Desert Born.** You are immune to the harmful effects of extreme heat. **Mirage Weaver.** You can cast the *silent image* spell once with this trait. When you reach 3rd level, you can also cast the *blur* spell once with this trait. You regain the ability to cast these spells when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for them. ### Jungle Vulpins Dwelling in the dense canopies and humid undergrowth of Iros, jungle vulpins are ambush hunters and are gone the instant they are seen. **Rarity:** Very rare **Perception in Gryth.** Negative. As vulpins generally. #### Jungle Vulpin Traits **Ability Score Increase.** Your Dexterity score increases by 1. **Canopy Stalker.** You have a climbing speed of 30 feet. **Mask of the Wild.** You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena. **Secretive Step.** When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the *pass without trace* spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it. ## Connections - [[Continent - Iros]] — Homeland; deserts and jungles - [[Region - The Amber Coast]] — Its syndicates, the Gecko’s organisation and the assassin guilds of Redtower employ vulpins --- ## Gallery ![[Race - Vulpin.jpg]] --- *See also: [[Races]]*