Hengeyokai The hengeyokai ( also known as katanga in Malatra ) were an incredibly varied species of shapechanger s . They believed themselves descended from human s and shapeshifting animal spirits or fey versions of primal animals , though some scholars of Faerie instead believed them to be either " awaken ed " animals infused with the magic of that plane or creations of the fomorian s . Physical characteristics . In general , most hengeyokai were more agile than the average human . They were also quite long - lived — frequently living past the age of two hundred — though some seemed to mature slowly , not reaching adolescence until the end of their first century . Abilities . Despite their variety of appearances , each subrace had one feature in common — they had three forms : their animal form , a human form , and a bipedal form that shared features of both . The animal form of a hengeyokai subrace was thought to never be as big as an adult human , though rumors persisted , especially in the south , that there were some subraces that had animal forms that could be larger than most men . A hengeyokai ' s bipedal form gained some of the abilities and / or attributes of its animal form , such as a thicker hide or the ability to fly . Unlike lycanthrope s , which they superficially resembled in many ways , hengeyokai had no relationship with the moon , never changed forms unless they wanted to , were not especially vulnerable to silver , did not transmit their power through inflicted wounds , did not heal when they changed shape , and did not have to have a predatory animal form , though they did frequently take on a superficial likeness to their animal when in human form . Psychology . Most hengeyokai avoided contact with other sentient races with the exception of the spirit folk . They were a secretive race who preferred to live alone or in very small communities . Most would actively retreat from encounters with humans , realizing that they had more in common with spirits than they did with humanity , despite having the ability to appear just like a human . Good hengeyokai sometimes took it upon themselves to watch over and protect a human settlement , living on the fringes of the human community until it was in danger , whereupon they quietly moved to deal with the threat , oftentimes completely unbeknownst to the settlement ' s residents . Evil hengeyokai instead played cruel pranks on humans , extorting offerings from those they preyed upon in order to leave them alone . All hengeyokai were , to some extent , unpredictable and valued both their freedom and the freedom of others greatly . The greatest insult one could give to a hengeyokai was trapping them in a cage . Seeing a slave or a trapped animal was abhorrent to them . Hengeyokai also frequently shared personality traits with their animal . History . Being reclusive sorts , hengeyokai didn ' t have much of a cultural history . Native to Faerie , they first entered Toril in the wake of a massive war between the eladrin and the fomorians where evil hengeyokai served the fomorians as spies and assassins . After the eladrin emerged victorious , they went on an almost genocidal purge of all hengeyokai , causing the species to flee Faerie en masse . They then lived in peace on Toril for many millennia . When the Tuigan Horde threatened Kara - Tur and later , when Tan Chin attempted to invade Shou Lung , many hengeyokai emigrated west into Faerûn with yet more traveling west after the Spellplague . Many rat hengeyokai left the Tenmei province of Kozakura after a costly war with local korobokuru and during the Spellplague civil war in Kozakura , most of the hengeyokai population remained staunchly neutral , though some acted in defense of innocents caught between the warring factions . A section of Faerie moved closer to the Sheng Ti province of Shou Lung shortly after the Spellplague , which empowered the spirit folk and hengeyokai of the region , but despite this the two races remained completely loyal to the Emperor and , in gratitude , they were allowed to enter the civil service in 1396 DR , which had previously only been open to humans . Few actually took the opportunity but it remained nonetheless , despite groups who actively opposed the move . Homelands . Hengeyokai typically lived on the fringes of human civilization . They had particularly large populations concentrated in the Ama Basin of Kara - Tur , though they could be found pretty much anywhere in Kara - Tur where there was any wilderness area . In Faerûn , populations could be found living along the Golden Way in the Great Dale , Rashemen , Thesk and along the Dragon Coast . Almost every Shou town in Faerûn had some hengeyokai living in or near it ( though in places like Nathlan , hengeyokai were careful to remain in their human form ) . A rare few struck out away from familiar surroundings to live in Cormyr , the Dalelands , the Western Heartlands and the North . Subraces . There was substantial variety in the hengeyokai race owing to the variety of animal species in the world .