This is one entry from One Page Lore: Fantasy Folk, which provides one page breakdowns for 21 different folk, highlighting what makes them unique. It releases June 8th, and is 50% for those interested. https://rexiconjesse.itch.io/one-page-lore-fantasy-folk. If you’re an essential or frontline worker of any kind, send me a DM and I’ll email you a copy on release day for free. My way to say thanks.
I love when the animal form of shapeshifting characters rely on cunning and cleverness instead of power. Foxes, cats, possums, pangolins. Those are most fun shapeshifting forms.
I also enjoy when a character has a one alternate form they can take, allowing them to fully explore its strengths rather than shifting into whatever critter best suits the moment. It also helps with balance when used in games. So enjoy endracot, a folk inspired by other single-form shapeshifters.
PDF:
Raw text:
ENDRACOT
Possessing dual spirits, endracot can be unpredictable. The dual nature of their alter and human forms can cause conflict, but other times the two sides of their spirit exist in peaceful equilibrium.
Physicality
Endracot have two forms: their alter form and their human form.
Their alter form can be a cat, fox, binturong, raccoon, red panda, possum, or another mammal roughly that size. Each endracot has one alter form and cannot change into a different animal. Likewise, their appearance in this form is constant. If their alter form is a tortoiseshell Maine Coon with brown eyes, that is always how they will appear. Endracot in their alter form cannot speak. They can only make the sound their alter form could normally make.
Their human form and alter form always share motifs that connect them. An endracot whose alter form is a fox with red fur, a white belly, and green eyes could have a human form with red hair, pale skin, and green eyes.
Some endracot keep features from their alter form in their human form, such as ears or a tail.
Fae Realm Quirks
Given their Fae Realm origins, endracot can see things folk from this realm cannot. For instance, when an endracot witnesses someone aiding them, the endracot’s perception of that person changes, distorting some of that person’s features in subtle ways to reflect their act of kindness. Likewise, if they see someone has hindered or harmed them, they see them differently as well.
Duality
Their goals and ideals in both spirits may align or complement one another, and even the most conflicted spirits are still one person, always knowing what the other is doing and having a level of influence.
Endracot can change from alter form to human form at any time, though not without difficulty. In order to change, they must fully step into the Fae Realm. Once there, they can switch spirits and return to this plane in their other form.
While the transformation requires time and effort, some endracot master transformation, doing it nearly instantaneously.
Reliquary
All endracot have a reliquary: a small, physical item they must keep in their possession in both forms. This can be a jewel, an ornament, or another small object. The reliquary houses the spirit and body of the form the endracot is not currently embodying. If they are not in possession of their reliquary, they cannot transform into their other form. How the endracot displays or hides their reliquary—such as hanging from a collar in alter form and an amulet in human form—is up to the individual.
With their other self in the reliquary, they cannot access anything in their other form’s possession unless they switch to it.
Innate Magic
Like most creatures with a connection to the Fae Realm, endracot have innate magical abilities, though these abilities tend to favor subtlety. Subtly conjuring illusions and creating false sounds are some of the first spells endracot can cast. Endracot who study and practice magic can learn to do far more.
Life Cycle
Endracot begin life in the Fae Realm as two swirling spirits. When they shift to our plane, they have one form for each spirit. The reason for their two forms is lost to a time before life as we understand it.
While their life expectancy in the Fae Realm is unknown, they can live up to 60 years in this plane.
Qualities
- Alter Form – Your smaller form offers new opportunities
- Alter Form Sense – Even in human form, you keep a heightened sense from your alter form
- Magic in Your Blood – Magic is an inseparable part of you
- Trick the Eye – You can trick people into seeing something that isn’t there
- Swift – Natural mobility keeps you safe from harm
- Agile – Simple obstacles mean little to you
- Chaotic Origins – Your Fae Realm origins allow you to keep a level head when everything around you is chaotic
- Fae Realm Sight – You see beyond the physical makeup of an object
- Subtle – You know how to avoid being obvious
- Sleight of Hand – Nimble fingers are hard to track
Drawbacks
- Alter Form – Without your reliquary, you cannot transform into your other form
- Alter Form Sense – You’re sensitive to things that affect that sense
- Fae Realm Sight – It’s hard for you to ignore those you trust
- Fae Realm Sight – Sometimes you miss the obvious for the obscure
- Magic in Your Blood – Things that dampen magic may cause you harm
I’m intractable on
RexiconJesse - Jesse Galena 