Animal Spirits (Article Race)

:From Dragon Magazine 202
These beings are similar to the henge-yokai of Kara-Tur of the FORGOTTEN REALMS® setting. The African continent also plays host to these enigmatic shape-changers. The shamans call them loa-legba, those mastered by the spirits. These spirits are more commonly known as components of the Voodoo religion of the Caribbean islands, but Voodoo was developed by Africans, who escaped slavery there, from beliefs they brought with them from their homeland.
They tell of a god who made the animals and whose identity differs according to which witch doctor is telling the story. This god gave the beasts intelligence and speech.
The god left the earth after a time, some say because the animals had displeased him and some say because he was called back to heaven to be with his brother gods. After he left the animals spirits were locked up inside their bodies, where they could neither speak nor think except in terms of hunting for game. These spirits were still aware, but couldnt affect the bodies they were trapped inside of. Although the reason for the nonsentient nature of animals has been explained by the actions or will of the later gods of Africa, the belief in their spirits was engendered by the much older animist religion that still pervades much of Africa. This religion proposes an animating lifeforce in all creatures and things. This force of spirit sometimes manifests itself by taking over shamans in order to grant them visions. This force also occasionally inhabits the bodies of unborn babies.
When the animals die, they either become animal spirits and are worshiped as gods, as mentioned above, seek out children in the bellies of human females, enter them, and become loa-legba.
Unlike their oriental cousins, loa-legba may speak with animals or with humans in any of their forms. They may be any class or kit allowed to humans, but they must earn 5% more experience points per level than humans to advance, as they rely more on their racial abilities and less on their class abilities. They must learn the languages of animals in a manner similar to learning human languages but always start with the language of the animal spirit who possesses them. (Subtract one nonweapon proficiency if those rules are used.) This possession is not hostile and a loa-legba is completely merged with his host so that there is no duality of consciousness.
Except as noted in this article, treat all loa-legba as if they were hengeyokai from the Oriental Adventures tome. If this tome is not available, then treat them as a form of lycanthrope that cannot pass on the disease, is not immune to magical weapons or especially vulnerable to silver, and is in complete control of his three forms. These three forms are: a purely human form, a humanoid animal form, and a purely animal form.
==Animal-men==
Animal-men usually have the bodies of men and the heads and claws of animals. Sometimes, however, an animal-man will have all the characteristics of an animal, but in a humanoid shape. Unlike the animal-spirits, animal-men have only one form; they live apart from human communities in their own tribe; and they are more distinct from one another than the animal-spirits: Although they are associated with the Egyptian mythos, these races are based on earlier, more primitive religions that were replaced by the more human gods as the Egyptians gained dominance over the tribes around them.
Unless otherwise noted, animal-men may be any class with no level limits (as the DM permits), but must earn 10% more experience points than normal to advance, as they rely on their racial abilities more than their class abilities. Certain kits described in prior African articles (warrior kits in DRAGON® issue #195 and mage kits in issue #200) may be inappropriate to animal-men, most notably those kits ascribed to a particular culture. The DM must use her discretion in this, and may substitute kits from the PHBR series to flesh out the choices available. Such kits include:
: Fighter: Barbarian, Beast-rider, Outlaw, Savage, Wilderness warrior.
: Thief: Adventurer, Assassin (in cities only), Bandit, Bounty hunter, Scout.
: Priest: Barbarian, Outlaw, Prophet, Savage.
: Wizard: Anagakok, Militant wizard, Mystic, Savage, Witch.
: Bard: True, Jongleur, Meistersinger, Herald and Loremaster (in cities only).
: Peasant and Amazon kits of any class are only appropriate to humans, animal-spirits, bat-people, and chameleon-men.
Note: To use their claws in combat, animal-men must pay a weapon proficiency slot for them. Claws do 1d3 damage each and half the normal off-handed weapon penalties apply when only claws are used to make two attacks per round.
==Ape-men==
These are intelligent, talking gorillas. They have brown, orange, or black fur, brown eyes, and long arms. Ape-men are slow to anger and quick to forgive. All apemen climb walls and trees with a base chance of 25%, or with +25% bonus if a thief. They also move by swinging from tree to tree at a 15 MV but on the ground only move at 12. Ape-men never wear armor. They start adventuring at around age 15 and live to be as old as 110. They stand about 72 tall and weigh an average of 300 lbs. They start at +1 to their initial Strength, Dexterity and Constitution, and a -1 penalty to their Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores.
==Bird-men==
There are two main types of bird-men, the ibis-man and the hawk-man. Although these are the most common forms of bird-men, others have been reported. The differences are mostly cosmetic, however.
Ibis-men have a long, curved beak that does 1d6 damage. They cannot fly as they lack wings (their arms are feathered, but not capable of lifting them), and have ability adjustments unlike other bird-men, as they are considered the wisest of the African bird-men. Ibis-men have a +1 bonus to their initial Wisdom and -1 penalty to their initial Constitution scores. They are associated heavily with the Egyptian god Thoth. They may be confused with messengers of that god in Northern African and Egyptian settings, and as such may receive treatment befitting such a station.
Hawk-men have wings growing from their backs and appear as humanoid hawks. They have two claws and a beak that each do 1d4 damage. When diving in attack, they may do double damage with their claws at the expense of their beak attack. They may only do this once every three rounds with no attacks the round prior to the dive, it is used to regain altitude. Hawk-men are +1 to their initial Strength and -1 to their initial Intelligence scores.
Those bird-men who have wings will never wear armor, but wingless bird-men may wear any type of armor allowed by culture and campaign. Bird-men tend to be friendly, helpful, and generous, but they can be elusive, mischievous, and sometimes deceitful. They are flighty. Those bird-men who can fly do so as easily as they can walk, and they may carry up to half their maximum encumbrance in flight. They are maneuverability class D and have an 18 flight speed. They also must earn 5% more experience than flightless bird-men (total +15% above normal). All bird-men have a hollow bone structure and so take half damage from falls if a save versus petrification is successful.
All bird-men have a bonus of +1 bonus on attacks vs. saurial creatures, including lizards, nagas, snakes, chameleons, and crocodiles due to ancient racial enmity. Bird-men start adventuring at about age 15 and live to be as old as 110. They are about 72 tall and weigh 90 lbs.
==Cat-men==
There are two distinct races of cat-people, the smaller cat-people known as the Felaks and the lion-men.
Felaks: There are as many subspecies of Felaks as there are of domestic cats. There are Siamese felaks, Calico felaks, Persian felaks, etc. They are spontaneous, independent, and indifferent toward others. In fact, they seem rather self-interested. Felaks have infravision out to a 60' range, they surprise others as elves do, and share that races ability to detect secret and concealed doors. They have a +1 on attack rolls vs. canines, rodents, werewolves, and wererats due to ancient enmity with those races. They also have the uncanny ability to land on their feet and so take half damage from falls if they make a successful Dexterity check. Felaks seldom wear armor. They begin adventuring at around 16 years of age and live to a maximum lifespan of 110. They average around 60' tall and 140 pounds. They have a -1 penalty to their initial Wisdom score and a +1 bonus to their initial Dexterity score. Felaks and all domestic cats were worshiped as holy by the ancient Egyptians and were treated with respect and awe by most northern tribes.
Lion-men: This race also is known as leonaks. They usually have a gruff, fierce demeanor that hides a warm, compassionate side rarely shown to outsiders. Leonaks seldom do anything today which can be put off until tomorrow. They have a sleepy, languorous demeanor that conceals a quick mind and quick reflexes. Leonaks surprise in a manner identical to elves. They may attack in a blinding burst of speed that allows them to modify their first rounds initiative roll in combat with a +1 bonus. Leonaks seldom wear armor of any kind. They age and are of similar stature to felaks, but they gain an initial bonus of +1 to their initial Strength scores and -1 to their initial Intelligence. They are heavily associated with the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet, who often takes the form of a lioness-woman.
==Elephant-men==
Elephant-men appear as humans with gray, wrinkled skin, flat, malletlike hands with small fingers and opposed thumb, and an elephants trunk protruding from their faces. Their trunks may wield a
Small-sized weapon at a penalty of -6 to hit, modified by Dexterity and combat style. If used to strike without a weapon, the penalty drops to -4 and does damage as a club. The trunk also can strangle a man-sized or smaller being by rolling a called shot to hit. This does 1d4 strangling damage automatically in each round unless the victim escapes with a successful Strength check. The elephant-men's leathery skin provides AC 6 protection, but they may never wear any armor. Their flattened hands can be used as clubs. This structure also means that they have a lot of trouble holding small objects. They cannot be thieves and suffer a -2 to all attack rolls with any weapons. They may never use bows. Elephant-men have large ears that allow them to hear noises (as a thief) at a base chance of 25%. Because of a racial fear of rodents, they have a -4 attack penalty against these creatures. They receive a +2 bonus to their initial Strength, a +1 bonus to Intelligence, a -1 penalty to Dexterity, and a -2 to their initial Charisma. They start adventuring at about 100 years old and may live to as old as 750 years. They stand about 72' and weigh about 350 lbs. on the average. They may swim at a movement rate of 6.
==Mantis-men==
The mantis-men are similar to their northern cousins the thri-kreen, but are called Kaggen in Africa. Kaggen are associated with the god Cagn, said to be the creator of the Kaggen, so much that the two terms are interchangeable among the Bushmen of the Kalahari in South Africa and nearby lands. The worship of the Bushmen and their neighbors is as often directed toward the Kaggen in general as it is to their god Cagn in particular, and thus the Bushmen have a healthy respect and superstitious dread of this race.
Kaggen have a tough exoskeleton that provides them with a natural AC 5, but they never wear armor, rings, girdles, or cloaks. They are only at a -2 penalty on attack rolls due to blindness or darkness because of their motion-detecting antennae. Kaggen do not sleep and can operate well at night or in the day. They have a bite and four claws that can be used each round. Each claw does 1d4 damage and the bite does 1d4 + 1 damage. If using a weapon, a mantis-man may only bite in addition to its weapon attacks. Kaggen cannot speak human languages and no one but a Kaggen or a scorpion-man may learn to speak the Kaggen language. Kaggen are hunters who are constantly on the lookout for food. As humanoids and most animals fall into this category for Kaggen, the Kaggen are generally feared and avoided by other races. A Kaggen has a +1 bonus to his initial Dexterity and -2 penalty to his initial Charisma. They stand about 84 high and weigh about 180 pounds on the average. They take damage from weapons as if they were large-sized creatures and start adventuring at age 12. They may live as long as 70 years of age.
There are more stories about the Kaggen in African folk-tales than any other race. Kaggen are to the Africans what ogres are to other lands: boogie-men who come in the night and steal children to gobble up.
==Scorpion-men==
The scorpion-men are centaurs with the bodies of scorpions instead of horses. This race is called the Scoraks by most tribes, as their name in their own language is unpronounceable by humans. Scoraks are loners by nature and are suspicious and paranoid of others intentions toward them. They surprise in a manner similar to elves, but their main special ability is their poison stinger. The stinger may be used in place of any normal melee attack, does 1d4 damage and necessitates a saving throw versus poison to avoid unconsciousness that lasts 1d4 hours. Scorpion-men may never wear armor, but their chitinous exoskeleton provides a natural AC 8. They start adventuring at about age 15 and may live to be as old as 110. They stand about 84' tall and weigh about 200 pounds, and are considered large-sized for the purposes of damage. They gain a +1 bonus to their initial Constitution and a -1 penalty to initial Charisma. They may move at a rate of 18.
==Snake-men==
The snake-men of Africa are of two distinct races. The first is the African naga that has a snake-like head, scaly body, and huge serpentine tail where his legs should be. The second is the boa (no relation to the boa constrictor found in South America) which has a muscled, flexible torso with arms, a long, thick, snake-like tail, slitted eyes, and a forked tongue.
African naga: The African naga is green in complexion and has slitted yellow eyes. African naga are arrogant in the extreme, but not necessarily evil. They may use their tail to attack in place of any normal melee attack. This does 1d4 damage on a successful hit and constricts the victim. Constriction has a 20% chance of pinning the victims weapon arm and does 1d4 damage per round automatically until the victim escapes by making a Strength roll. The victim cannot do anything else on the round he attempts to escape.
Nagas may never wear armor but have a natural AC 7. Nagas are considered Large creatures for damage determination as they stand about 84 tall on the average and weigh about 300 pounds. Naga have a bonus to their saving throws versus poison as a dwarf and they receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls versus avian creatures due to racial enmity. Nagas start adventuring at about 20 years of age and may live to be as old as 200. They have a +1 bonus to their initial Strength and Constitution scores, but a -2 penalty to their initial Charisma. There are rare nagas with human faces. These nagas have no penalty to initially generated Charisma, but must pay an additional 10% to earned experience (+20% total).
Boa: The boa have the same tail attack, saving bonus versus poison, and bonus on attack rolls against avians as do nagas, but they gain no armor class bonus and may wear any armor allowed by culture and campaign. They are less arrogant and more paranoid than their cousins above. They are Medium-sized for damage determination and average about 72 and 200 pounds in height and weight respectively. They age in the same manner as do nagas. They gain a bonus of +1 to their Intelligence and Dexterity scores and a -1 penalty to their Charisma and Wisdom scores. Boa only have to pay a 5% penalty to earned experience, however.
==Zebrataur==
A zebrataur is a centaur that has a zebras body rather than a horses. The upper torso is a deep black humans and the lower half alternates black and white stripes. Zebrataurs are fierce and proud, but friendly to others. They gain a +1 bonus to Strength and Constitution and a -1 penalty to Intelligence and Wisdom scores. They calculate their weight allowances and chances to open doors as if they had a Strength one class higher than they possess. They may make two hoof attacks for 1d6 each in place of all normal melee attacks allowed. They are Large-sized for purposes of damage determination. They gain the saving throw bonuses allowed versus poison and spells that are allowed to dwarves and gain hit-point bonuses for high Constitution scores as if they were fighters due to their large size. A zebrataur stands about 84' tall and weighs about 400 pounds. They start adventuring at around the age of 15 and may live to be as old as 90. They have a movement rate of 24.
==Demihuman races==
===Bat-men===
These bat-people resemble normal humans, except for huge black wings of leathery texture that grow from their backs. These allow them to fly as easily as they walk, carry half their usual encumbrance in flight and move at an air speed of 18 with maneuverability class B. Because they may rely upon their flight abilities more than class abilities in many circumstances, they must gain an extra 5% in experience to advance a level. The batmen live in their own tribes in high mountain caves or in the tropical jungle. They are otherwise like normal humans. They usually subsist on fruits, vegetables, and some insects. They may wear any armor permitted by class and campaign, but seldom do so, because it must be custom-made and will cost double the normal amount.
Magical armor, cloaks, robes, etc., will never fit a bat-person unless the item was specifically made for them, unless the dweomer of the item allows it to fit any wearer.
===Chameleon-men===
Chameleon-men appear as normal humans, except that they can change their skin color at will. They may blend into their background for 90% concealment and a -6 penalty to enemy surprise rolls. They may change their skin color to match that of any other race, and they may even synthesize the appearance of clothes and tattoos by coloring different parts of their skin. In order to do this, however, they must never wear armor. Their thick skin provides them with a base AC 9, however. Since they often use their chameleon abilities more than their class abilities, they must earn an extra 5% of experience points to gain a level.
===African dwarf===
African dwarves look more like golems made of obsidian than traditional dwarves. They have the same stature and lifespan as their flesh and blood cousins, but that is where the similarity ends. African dwarves have shiny black skin. They have no head or body hair, but sometimes have wiry, black beards that are greased so that they shine like the rest of their body. They twine these beards up in black wire so that they stick out like extended chins. Even their eyes have no whites in them, but are merely the same shiny black that covers the rest of them. These unusual eyes enable them to see perfectly in both the brightest day and the darkest night. Blindness, light or darkness spells cast upon their eyes will not affect them.
These dwarves are associated with the Egyptian god Ptah, the seeker of hidden ways, in Northern Africa, both for their resemblance to him and their hidden homes and underground tunnels. They are found under the jungles of the central Congo and the Sahara Desert but smaller tribes are known to exist all over (or rather under) Africa. They are sometimes called Ptahs seekers.
African dwarves never wear armor and have none of the racial abilities of other dwarves, but their extremely hard skin gives them a natural AC 6. They gain a +1 to their Constitution score and a -1 to their Intelligence score. Because they tend to rely on their special racial abilities, they must earn 15% more experience than normal. African dwarves may be of any class, even mage (maximum level for mages is 12). African dwarves are very secretive and seldom speak even amongst themselves.
==Conclusion==
These races can enliven and flesh out any African campaign setting with mythically appropriate races. For more races (and monsters) suitable to an African campaign, see "The Dark Continent" by David Howery in DRAGON issue #189. These races also can be used by imaginative DMs in any campaign setting that the DM deems them appropriate for.
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