Post by Not A Wizard on Jul 20, 2015 0:17:16 GMT
RAKSHASA INTRODUCTION
Rakshasa are a form of ancient Hindu Domestic Demon, one of the oldest known races of Mystic Kind. They are often considered distant cousins to both Ogres and Vampires in the rather mysterious field of Mystic Kind genealogy. They are one of the few races that has changed very little in the past several thousand years, but with their age does not come particular notability or global presence. While it is speculated they were once a mighty faction that ruled a part of the globe before the rise of the Mystic Courts, they as a species have very rarely risen to global prominence in human history. Their numbers have dwindled even further over the years, with only a few hundred to maybe a thousand left on the globe in the current day. As such, even many prominent scholars and experts on Mystic Kind usually do ever delve into the area of this dwindling species.
Rakshasa are inherently prejudiced against human kind, as they often devour them for sustenance. While they are capable of eating basically any form of meat for nourishment, devouring human corpses seems to be their preferred diet. As such it is not uncommon to find Rakshasa lurking about graveryards or battlefields, feasting on the dead. The more aggressive of them however will go hunt humans, either to eat their corpse or devour them while still living. For this reason humans often label them cannibals, although this term is not technically accurate as Rakshasa are a different species. With the rise of humanity and their ability to defend themselves, more and more Rakshasa have chosen to simply eat only those whom are already deceased, or sustaining themselves on animal meat, to avoid the risk. It should be noted that there are many Rakshasa whom overcome their natural inclination against humans and learn to peacefully live alongside them, and in recent years this trend has been increasing as those whom still intend to prey upon humans are often quickly exterminated.
There is a common stereotype that male Rakshasa are usually brutish and ugly, while the females [Rakshasi] resemble incredibly attractive human females. While there is some merit to this theory, it is not technically true as the beauty of the Rakshasa or Rakshasi is determined more by lineage than by gender. Famous Rakshasa such as Ravana or Vibhishana were noted to be incredibly beautiful, and there are several cases of Rakshasi being just as brutish and deformed as their male counterparts, and they merely shapeshift into an attractive human form. As such it is usually impossible to gauge the true nature of most Rakshasa.
Rakshasa society is rather splintered at this point. They live more in families than tribes, usually only tiny nuclear ones of direct relatives. They once lived in kingdoms with Monarchs overseeing them, but this has not been done for ages. A traditional Rakshasa family consists of a mother and her children, as Rakshasa males are stereo typically loners and will often not stay with their families, or care much for their children. However with the recent changes in Rakshasa attitudes, this is not always the case and sometimes a Rakshasa father will stay with his family. Often however the the mother will end up as the Matriarch of her Children, until the children decided they are old enough to set out on their own or the mother dies and the children scatter.
It should be noted that Rakshasa hybrids are actually fairly common considering the low numbers of Rakshasa themselves. There are several notable examples of Rakshasi reproducing with human males, often resulting in half breeds who themselves have hybrid children and give birth to families of hybrid Rakshasi. These hybrids intermingled to the point where their population could be said to be a race of it's own to rival the number of Rakshasa left in the globe.
Rakshasa are inherently prejudiced against human kind, as they often devour them for sustenance. While they are capable of eating basically any form of meat for nourishment, devouring human corpses seems to be their preferred diet. As such it is not uncommon to find Rakshasa lurking about graveryards or battlefields, feasting on the dead. The more aggressive of them however will go hunt humans, either to eat their corpse or devour them while still living. For this reason humans often label them cannibals, although this term is not technically accurate as Rakshasa are a different species. With the rise of humanity and their ability to defend themselves, more and more Rakshasa have chosen to simply eat only those whom are already deceased, or sustaining themselves on animal meat, to avoid the risk. It should be noted that there are many Rakshasa whom overcome their natural inclination against humans and learn to peacefully live alongside them, and in recent years this trend has been increasing as those whom still intend to prey upon humans are often quickly exterminated.
There is a common stereotype that male Rakshasa are usually brutish and ugly, while the females [Rakshasi] resemble incredibly attractive human females. While there is some merit to this theory, it is not technically true as the beauty of the Rakshasa or Rakshasi is determined more by lineage than by gender. Famous Rakshasa such as Ravana or Vibhishana were noted to be incredibly beautiful, and there are several cases of Rakshasi being just as brutish and deformed as their male counterparts, and they merely shapeshift into an attractive human form. As such it is usually impossible to gauge the true nature of most Rakshasa.
Rakshasa society is rather splintered at this point. They live more in families than tribes, usually only tiny nuclear ones of direct relatives. They once lived in kingdoms with Monarchs overseeing them, but this has not been done for ages. A traditional Rakshasa family consists of a mother and her children, as Rakshasa males are stereo typically loners and will often not stay with their families, or care much for their children. However with the recent changes in Rakshasa attitudes, this is not always the case and sometimes a Rakshasa father will stay with his family. Often however the the mother will end up as the Matriarch of her Children, until the children decided they are old enough to set out on their own or the mother dies and the children scatter.
It should be noted that Rakshasa hybrids are actually fairly common considering the low numbers of Rakshasa themselves. There are several notable examples of Rakshasi reproducing with human males, often resulting in half breeds who themselves have hybrid children and give birth to families of hybrid Rakshasi. These hybrids intermingled to the point where their population could be said to be a race of it's own to rival the number of Rakshasa left in the globe.
RAKSHASA LIMITATIONS
- Cannot be turned into any other supernatural kind.
- Can learn Ki Arts.
- Can learn Magecraft.
- Like Vampires, Rakshasa are vulnerable to daylight. However, Daylight will not kill them, just cause severe discomfort and limit many of their abilities.
- Rakshasa are vulnerable to brass objects in much the same way Faeries are vulnerable to iron, and werewolves are to silver.
- Rakshasa eat people. In some cases they can substitute other meats for the flesh of human kind, but more often than not prefer to feast on humans. They don't seem to particularly care if the meat is living or long dead though.
- Rakshasa are vulnerable to holy objects and rites, specifically those of the Hindu variety. Other cultures can work, but are not as directly effective.
GENERAL RAKSHASA SKILLS/ABILITIES LIST
Please do note you can make your own Skills and Abilities. These are just suggestions.
Skills: You may take up Skills from the Human list from here.
Abilities:
Name: Maya
Description: A very old art practiced by a variety of Indian supernatural creatures. It isn't tied exclusively to Rakshasa, but they are known to be very skilled with it. What this does is allow for "Maya" techniques to be used. These are old, nontraditional abilities that manipulate the world around the user, causing illusions and disruptions. These abilities are strengthened when used at night. Note: Maya techniques are usually much faster than traditional magecraft, but are often limited to illusions, shape shifting, disrupting magecraft, and stealth.
Rank: S~E
Name: Shadow Stalking
Description:Famed for lurking about in the night, Rakshasa are capable of slinking around in the shadows undetected and masking their presence. Can be done anywhere where darkness falls and there are sufficient shadows to hide within, but this skill is most effective under the cover of night.
Rank: S~E
Name: Flight
Description: The capacity of supernatural beings to fly via physical or magical means; but without the aid of spells. Lower ranks cover basic gliding and simple aerial mobility, while higher ranks allow for high-altitude adjustment and grandiose aerial man oeuvres.
Rank: A~E
Name: Shapeshift
Description: While Rakshasa are usually incapable of imitating specific forms or shapes, they are often capable of changing their shape into other species. Unlike their illusions, these are physical changes and so the Rakshasa will truly be as they appear to change. Often times however they have trouble repressing their Rakshasi features even while under the guise of another form, and will use illusions to mask these give-aways.
Rank: C~E