HENKEI Unlike most of the creatures of the Akashic Records, the henkei were neither created nor brought to the Records by the kami. The first henkei arose from the mingling of life and tama during the early years of the Records, appearing soon after the Records were first connected to an outer world. Because they came about in such away, the henkei have no set purpose within the Records, and are free to do whatever they want. This lack of a purpose prevents them from being taken seriously by the Records' other denizens.
Personality: A henkei's personality is a mutable as its form. A henkei can be quick to anger and quick to laugh one moment, and strict and studious the next. In general, henkei tend to be easygoing, curious, and a bit childish, but there is so much variation that any definitive statements are impossible.
Physical Description: Fundamentally, a henkei is a large mass of slime. This slime performs most of the henkei's bodily functions, from breaking down food to sensing the henkei's surroundings. All henkei can manipulate their slime though a sort of natural magic, allowing them to take nearly any shape imaginable. They can even alter their color and consistency, creating parts that resemble skin, hair, or eyes. However, a henkei cannot perfectly replicate a member of another race. Henkei have a hard time creating fine details or thin body parts, so a henkei's hair tends to clump together and their eyes don't quite appear the way they should. In addition, henkei are naturally translucent, and slender body parts, like fingers, will remain translucent no matter how much a henkei wants them not to be. It can be very hard to tell one henkei from another if they desire it to be that way, but identifying who is a henkei and who is something else isn't terribly difficult.
Relations: Henkei get along well with anyone, and the other races of the Records get along well with henkei. Many of the denizens of the Records don't take henkei very seriously, so henkei have free reign most places they go. Henkei are well received in the outer worlds, but only because they are thought to be humans, elves, etc. This relationship would likely shift if their true natures were known, so henkei in the outer worlds go to great lengths to stay undercover.
Alignment: Henkei tend towards no particular alignment, not even neutral. The best and the worst are found among them.
Henkei Lands: Henkei have no lands of their own, but they can be found throughout the Records. Many henkei live in the City of Marrow, and there is a sizable henkei population amongst the noin. There is a decent population of henkei in the outer worlds, though no major henkei settlements.
Religion: Henkei, like most of the creatures in the Records, worship the kami.
Language: Henkei, like most of the creatures in the Records, speak Moji. Henkei player characters speak Common, and henkei living in the outer worlds speak whatever language is used around them.
Names: Henkei names mimic the naming conventions of the race they are pretending to be. Amongst themselves, henkei use a pheromone-based naming system which serves to identify them no matter what form they are in.
Adventurers: Henkei rarely have any plans for their lives, and so they occasionally wander into what others would call adventures. There are few henkei who would call themselves career adventurers, but the description certainly fits many henkei. In the outer worlds, most henkei are adventures, as the fluid lifestyle most adventurers lead can keep a henkei from being discovered.
HENKEI RACIAL TRAITS- Ooze Type: Henkei are oozes. As an ooze, a henkei has the following traits.
-- Unlike other oozes, a henkei is not mindless.
-- Blind (but have the primitive vision racial trait), with immunity to gaze attacks, visual effects, illusions, and other attack forms that rely on sight.
-- Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, polymorph, and stunning.
-- Not subject to critical hits or flanking.
-- Henkei eat and breathe, but do not sleep.
-- Although oozes do not need to sleep, a henkei wizard must rest for 8 hours before preparing spells. - -2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution: Their flexible forms and tama-based origins make henkei more resilient than most, but they share the ooze's sluggishness.
- Primitive Vision (Ex): While blind, a henkei possesses a number of other senses that, all together, approximate vision. A henkei can see out to 30 feet as if she had darkvision, but possesses no other innate forms of vision. This vision is black-and-white only, and does not allow the henkei to see anything she could not see otherwise. Invisible objects are still invisible, for example.
At 5 HD, the henkei's darkvision extends out to 60 feet.
At 10 HD, the henkei gains blindsense out to 30 feet.
At 15 HD, the henkei gains blindsight out to 15 feet. - Medium: As Medium creatures, henkei have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
- Henkei base land speed is 30 feet.
- Protean Body (Ex): A henkei can manipulate her body into nearly any imaginable shape. She can freely alter her size, body type, apparent gender, etc., limited only by her mass (due to this limit, a henkei cannot use this ability to change size categories). Any leftover mass forms a puddle of slime at the henkei's feet, which travels with her. A Henkei can even change their coloration and translucency. A henkei cannot make any part of their body thinner than 1 inch fully opaque, so fingers, hair, and similar body parts will always be somewhat translucent. A henkei can change the texture and consistency of her body, but can't make any part tougher than thick skin.
While a henkei can easily give herself more than two hands, she only possesses the coordination to use two at a time. Likewise, a henkei can give herself multiple limbs, but lacks the skill to use them in any manner that would give her mechanical benefit. While a henkei can make parts of her body very thin (fingers, hair, etc.), she cannot make her entire body so thin. A henkei can only pass through holes or openings as narrow as 2 inches. In addition, henkei have a difficult time moving in such slim conditions, and take penalties for squeezing normally. - Engulf (Ex): A henkei can simply mow down creatures whose size is at least 1 size category lower than hers as a standard action. The henkei merely has to move over the opponents, affecting as many as she can cover. Opponents can make opportunity attacks against the henkei, but if they do so they are not entitled to a saving throw. Those who do not attempt attacks of opportunity must succeed on a Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + Strength modifier + 1) or be engulfed; on a success, they are pushed back or aside (opponent's choice) as the henkei moves forward. A henkei can engulf as many creatures as can fit in its space.
Engulfed creatures are considered grappled and trapped within the henkei's body and take an amount of acid damage equal to 1d6 + the henkei's Constitution modifier every round. The henkei heals 1 point of damage every round in which it deals acid damage to a creature this way. - +4 racial bonus on Disguise checks: A henkei's protean body makes disguising herself easy.
- Automatic Languages: Common and Moji. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic).
- Favored Class: Mamono. A multiclass henkei's mamono class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.
