Kitsune
On the torii or temple gates of the Shinto Fortune of Rice, Inari, there are always depicted two foxes; one black, one white. These foxes are the kitsune; revered and feared in equal part. There are countless stories about them in both Japan and China. Fox spirits, ghost foxes, demon foxes--these names and more are the kitsune called.
They are kin to the hengeyokai, the shapeshifter, except that they do not have a hybrid form; they have their fox form and their human form, and that is all. They are not a combination of spirit and human, like the Spirit Folk--they are kami, spirits themselves, powerful ones. They can and often do have mortal forms; kitsune that are not in mortal forms have somewhat different powers and restrictions than stated below. A kitsune in a mortal form is not a powerful as one in spirit form, but has far more chances to experience pleasure.
It is said that the Celestial kitsune, or myobu, swore ten oaths to Inari and have since become his faithful servitors. It is also said that though the Celestial kitsune are the most numerous, there are also Void kitsune (called nogitsune), and kitsune of each of the other eleven elements: Wind, Spirit, Fire, Earth, River, Ocean, Mountain, Forest, Thunder, Time, and Sound.
Many things about the kitsune are mercurial, from their moods to their treatment of humans, to even the abilities some possess. They are roughly equivalent to the Western concept of the succubus--beautiful, seductive, and able to draw life force out of their chosen victim. They are, down to the last, true hedonists.
Kitsune are not truly good or evil. Quite literally, as spirits, they embody the concept of the amoral, those who do not accept, or understand, the idea of Good or Evil, instead, paving the way of balance between the two.
With the kitsune, instead, the concept of right and wrong becomes the deciding factor. What they consider 'right', or 'wrong', though, depends on the culture, the region the kitsune's in, what type of kitsune is there... many different factors.
Kitsune follow their own code of ethics, though they adapt the morals of those around them, more for the sake of being accepted than for any other reason. Unless they are myobu (Celestial kitsune), they can be both allies and enemies to the mortals around them. If someone offends what a kitsune considers 'correct', they can become evil, malicious, and disruptive. If someone behaves according to their ethics, they will become polite, kind, and helpful.
New kitsune are born from liasons between kitsune and mortals. A child born to a kitsune and a mortal will take completely after one or the other of their parents, they will be either fully kitsune or fully mortal, not half of either. Generally speaking, a kitsune's daughter will be a kitsune, and a kitsune's son will be human. Several noble family lines have kitsune blood in them.
Personality: Kitsune are tricksters, mercurial and wise in equal parts. Even the most mild-mannered of them enjoy playing tricks on the mortals around them. The evil-hearted ones enjoy tricks that may be fatal to the subjects if the trick is not detected and averted in time. They enjoy nothing more than to seduce those around them with their wiles. A kitsune, above all, loves having people love her, despite or perhaps because of the fact that everything around her tends to either fall apart or explode.
Kitsune are notorious for seeing a weakness in someone, and aggravating the weakness until others see it. To those who are 'immoral', they tend to 'help', making the person more immoral, or guiding the person down the path of self-distruction. To the ones they consider 'moral', they become friendly, and helpful, though they may still play a trick, or show a small flaw in the person, to teach them humility.
Physical Description: Kitsune have two forms: a fox form and a human form. The fox form may be male or female, but the human form is almost always female. Both forms are supernaturally attractive. The fox form may be black, white, red, or silver; the human form is usually small-boned and gives off an overall impression of delicacy. Their human form, unless they have chosen to change it, reflects their fox coloration. A red fox will have russet hair as a human; a white fox will have snow-colored hair. Eye color is variable, though as a rule black foxes have brown eyes, red foxes will have green eyes, and silver and white foxes often have blue eyes.
Their fox form can be told from a normal fox, usually, by the fact that the fox form will have multiple tails, from two to nine. The more powerful the kitsune, the more tails. There are tales of a ten-tailed kitsune (in some stories, thousand-tailed), but these are regarded as mere rumors.
In human form, kitsune can only be told from a human by viewing their reflection in running water, which will betray their tails and their ears.
Kitsune are naturally affectionate, and think nothing of draping themselves all over their favorite people, even if they're not sleeping with them. This has the potential to cause misunderstandings, particularly in those segments of society where friendly touch is restricted or forbidden.
Kitsune Vampirism
At their core, kitsune are vampires. All of them feed on intangibles: words, knowledge, writing, music, the land, and the people around them. The most common way for a kitsune to feed, however, is through sex. As kitsune are quite fond of physical pleasure, this only makes sense--and, besides, they reason that they are giving in equal measure to what they take, that way.
How often a kitsune needs to feed depends on how active they have been in using their powers. If they have been not active at all, they may need to feed only once a month; if very active, they may need to feed once a day. Kitsune will not die if they're unable to feed, but they will experience great pain, and their powers may stop working, causing them to fall back on non-magical seduction to tempt a lover into their bed.
A kitsune who is feeding does temporary Con damage to their target. They can draw as many Con points as they like from their partner, including draining them to death. A kitsune who is starving (has for some reason been kept away from people) will sometimes accidentally kill their partners. This is seen as seriously bad form, so the normal kitsune pattern is to have one or more steady lovers, and take only one or two Con points from each feeding. The target will recover from this damage at the rate of one point per week. The long-term lover of a kitsune may find their Con permanently lowered, particularly if they're the kitsune's only lover.
Kitsune who deliberately kill their partners are rare but do exist. They are known among the fox spirits as Twisted Ones, and are usually outcasts from kitsune society.
Kitsune require willing partners in order to feed. These partners don't usually know that it's a kitsune they're sleeping with, and most will attribute the fact that they feel a bit run-down the next day to lack of sleep.
Relations: Kitsune love to torment and seduce humans. They will often live among a community for a while, picking out just the right person to seduce, playing tricks on everyone else. Their affairs tend to be light-hearted, but when a kitsune does find someone who can capture her heart, it is always for keeps. Because kitsune are immortal, falling in love with a mortal is regarded as a reckless act--and because of their vampirism, it sometimes results in the death of the mortal.
Kitsune enjoy the company of spirit folk, but feel they have little in common with them, even though both are embodiments of kami. They feel they have more in common with hengeyokai, since both are shapeshifters. A fox hengeyokai may occasionally be mistaken for a kitsune, and kitsune often live among fox hengeyokai--or give their children to the hengeyokai to raise.
Kitsune tend to live in family groups when they're not living among humans. They enjoy each others' company tremendously, but a hapless human who comes across a gathering of kitsune may well be in very, very deep trouble.
One-tailed kitsune often live among fox hengeyokai if they're not living in a group of their own kind. The kitsune may be open about what she is with them, or be living among them in secret; aside from their vampirism and their lack of a hybrid form, they're very much like the fox hengeyokai.
The Kitsune's Ball
Kitsune have things called kitsune balls. This appears to be a small white ball. It doesn't glow, does not appear to be magical (usually), and doesn't appear to have any powers. The kitsune guard this ball closely, and if you can get your hands on one, you can have the kitsune promise to aid you.
Most kitsune use the ball just like it appears, a normal children's ball. One theory, though, is that the kitsune places a portion of their power or their soul into this item. Another theory is that this ball keeps within it the mortality of their bodies, and part of the purpose of kitsune vampirism is to feed that magic.
A kitsune's ball is the only physical object that kitsune can take with them when they take fox shape. Unlike many shapshifters, they do not have the ability to shift their clothes along with themselves.
Kitsune Tails
No two sources agree how or why kitsune gain more tails, but all agree that the more tails, the more powerful the kitsune. kitsune start as one-tails and can have up to nine. It is thought that the tails are a show of prestige and honor.
In game terms, a kitsune starts out as a one-tail and gains a tail every five levels. A two-tail is fifth level, a three-tail tenth, a five-tail 20th, and a nine-tail 40th.
Alignment: Any non-lawful. Myobu tend to be chaotic good, nogistune tend towards chaotic neutral or chaotic evil.
Religion: Because kitsune are kami, they do not have anything approaching religion. They do, however, have a special connection to certian ancestor spirits. A kitsune with a strong spiritual gift may even become spirit-ridden, a kitsune shaman. Like other nonhuman shamans, a kitsune shaman may attract spirits that are not related to her at all.
Kitsune do believe that their race is ruled by a kitsune who has either ten or a thousand tails, depending on the legend. Such a kitsune, should she exist, is probably a goddess of some sort. Kitsune consider her the mother of their race.
Kitsune Racial Traits:
+2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength, -2 Constitution: Kitsune are known for being wise and charismatic, but they are, generally, not strong. They live by their wits and their charm, not by their force of arms.
Alternate Form: Kitsune have a fox form that they can change to and from three times a day until 10th level, ten times a day thereafter. Unlike hengeyokai, kitsune do not have a hybrid form. Their fox form can be red, white, black, or silver; myobu tend to be white or silver, nogistune tend to be black or red.
Supernatural abilities: As a kitsune gains in levels, she gains certain spell-like abilities. All divine spellcasters (clerics, shamans, shugenja) get a +5 to their saves against kitsune spells, in addition to any other bonuses.
5th level: Charm Person, three times a day
10th level: Polymorph Self, three times a day
15th level: Major Image, three times a day
20th level: Passwall, three times a day
Favored classes: shaman, rogue, sorceror, wu jen, Void Disciple (Void kitsune only)
Kitsune NPCs: Fox spirits are rare, and it's even rarer that anyone will know who they are. A kitsune will often work her way into a position in society where she can feed as she chooses. Many are courtesans, but others hold varied positions, anything that brings them into contact with many people: physician, herbalist, merchant, soothsayer. In Japan in 1583, kistune are so rare (perhaps a couple of dozen left in the world) that the average PC will never meet one.
Other: kitsune will never wear metal armor unless it can be hidden under clothing, and prefer to wear no armor at all. They can be proficient with any martial weapon, but prefer daggers. kitsune avoid melee like the plague. If they must be involved in combat, they prefer to use distance weapons or cast spells.
My major resource for kitsune lore are half-remembered stories and Foxtrot's Research on kitsune Lore.