## Vastaya _She felt her 9 bushy tails glide past the lianas as she wandered through the forests of Ionia. His fur stood on end as he smelled the creature that had taken his eye. With undoubted elegance he leapt into the air and used his feathers to glide the remaining distance to the stage._

~Eduard Santangelo, _Vastaya Field Journal_

No folk is as diverse and volatile as the Vastaya. As different as the outward appearance of the different tribes are the manners and customs. Some may greet every guest with a cosmopolitan and cheerful attitude, others live a secluded life and have never been visited before, while others see visitors more as a welcome target for a fight to the death or even their dinner. The first Vastaya probably saw the light of day in northern Ionia and even today most of their species can be found there. But Vastaya are also at home in the deserts of Shurima, the icy cold of Freljord or in the seas west of Targon and Demacia. Originally the Vastaya originated from people who fled from the Void Wars to Ionia and an ancient race of shape-shifters known as the Vastayashai'rei. The Vastayashai'rei had an intimate connection to the magic of nature itself and passed this on to the Vastaya. Over the years, human genes became more and more mixed with those of the Vastayashai'rei and later with those of the Vastaya. This and the various environmental influences created the variety of mixed beings as we know them today. ### In all shapes and colors The Vastaya can be divided quite roughly into 3 types: 1. Beast-Like: Animal with humanoid traits, such as upright walking 2. Human-Like: Very human-like with occasional animal characteristics, like fox ears or feathers 3. Shape Shifter: Can switch freely between a purely human and a purely animal form and anything in between The transitions between the 3 species could not be more fluid and even the ability to change shape can disappear and emerge during the life of a vastaya. For the sake of clarity, only the most important strains are listed here, which are listed as subspecies: 1. Kiilash (Lion-like beings with upright walk) 2. Oovi-Kat (Human with features of a chameleon) 3. Lhotlan (Human with feathers and birdlike legs) 4. Shimon (Ape-Like) ### Vastayan Names The Vastaya do not know the principle of first and last names. A Vastaya has only one name and accordingly it can be creative and unique. It is also a pure gamble to deduce the gender from the name of a Vastaya. ``` ``` ### Vastayan Features **Ability Score Increase:** Your Wisdom and Charisma scores increase by 1. **Proficiencies:** You are profient in Animal Handling, Nature and Survival. **Age:** Vastaya easily live to be hundreds of years old and there are very few documented cases of a Vastaya dying of old age. **Alignment:** Following their animalistic nature the Vastaya are mostly chaotic and tend to be neither good nor evil. They are rarely attracted to other races but they also never harbor unfounded hatred. **Subrace:** The subraces of the Vastaya really determine who your character is. There are the 4 major tribes of the Kiilash, Oovi-Kat, Lhotlan and Shimon. #### Kiilash The Kiilash are probably most comparable to lions. Despite its upright walk, its cat-like descent is not to be denied on the basis of the typical muzzle, the ears and the fur. They form one of the first vastayan tribes, that live completely outside Ionia. Their hunting grounds extend from the northern Kumungu jungle over the outskirts of the Shuriman desert to the borders of the former Icathia. Their very strong urge to hunt makes them cover this large area despite their comparatively small numbers. At these hunting desires one can recognize their descent of cats: They mercilessly kill every living creature - whether human or animal - which they have chosen as a target. Only a few creatures have managed to escape the pursuit of a Kiilash. **Ability Score Increase:** Your Strength or Dexterity score increases by 2. **Size:** Kiilash stand between 6 and 7 feet tall and average about 200 pounds. Your size is medium. **Speed:** Your base walking speed is 45 feet. **Born hunters:** Thanks to your natural hunting talents, you have proficiency in Stealth and Perception. You also have darkvision and can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray. **Master of Camouflage:** You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.

\page #### Oovi-Kat The Oovi-Kat are an almost extinct tribe whose origins goes back to an island far behind all known lands of Ionia and Bilgewater. Although this island is not mentioned on any known map, its existence cannot be denied. The history of the Oovi-Kat tells about the destruction of their home by humans, just a few decades after the Oovi-Kat settled there. Of all still living tribes, the Oovi-Kat are closest related to the Vastayashai'rei. They all have the ability to transform into any being they can remember. Among the Oovi-Kat themselves, however, this transformation of their appearance does not play a role, since they can all see the so-called Scho'ma - the spiritual essence of life. This makes it almost impossible to deceive or lie to an Oovi-Kat. They are also able to judge a living being purely by its character and inner values. The Oovi-Kat are in their natural form mainly human, but their long tail, their partly scaled skin and their eyes they show that they are descended from chameleons. **Ability Score Increase:** Your Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma score increases by 2. **Size:** Oovi-Kat stand between 5 and 6 feet tall and average about 150 pounds. Your size is medium. **Speed:** Your base walking speed is 30 feet. **Perfect disguise:** Your attachment to the Vastayashai'rei brings you the ability to transform into any living being you know. You take over all the physical characteristics of this being, but you cannot maintain the transformation in battle. You will change back as soon as you receive or deal damage. After each transformation you have to stay in your true form for one minute before you can transform the next time. Also, you can only use the swimming speed of your transformation from level 5 on and the flying speed from level 10 on. **Scho’ma:** By being able to feel and see the spiritual essence of a living being, you are trained to recognize motives and have advantage when trying recognize lies. Furthermore, you cannot be surprised as long as you are conscious. This ability does not work against constructs and can also fail against undead. #### Lhotlan The Lhotlan are the Vastayan tribe that you think of first when the word Vastaya is mentioned. In their homeland Ionia they are as normal as humans and nobody notices that they are actually Vastaya. This fact is certainly partly due to their very human appearance. But their open and justice-loving nature has also contributed a lot to this. Although their appearance still shows clear traces of their relationship to birds, their behavior is more human than that of all other Vastaya. They lack the deep connection to the magic of the Oovi-Kat or the animal instincts of the Kiilash. However, they make up for these deficits through the inventiveness and versatility of the humans. The Lhotlan grows a kind of cape of long, broad feathers from the upper back/neck and shoulder area. This is not enough to fly like a bird, but they are able to glide through the air. Members of this tribe have very fine down instead of hairs. For these down Lhotlan are hunted, pursued and sold outside of Ionia. Their feathers fetch horrendous prices on the black markets of Zhaun and Bilgewater. **Ability Score Increase:** All your ability scores are increased by 1. **Size:** The Lhotlan grow between 5 and 6 feet tall and weigh about 130 pounds. Your size is medium. **Speed:** Your base walking speed is 30 feet. **Featherfall:** You can slow down falls and glide through the air instead. You can fly a maximum of 10 feet per vertical 5 feet and you will not be able to climb up again on your own. **Sharp Feathers:** You can use up to 10 feathers from your feather dress on the back to shoot them down one by one. Your feathers will grow back completely after a long rest. However, you will become very hungry. When you shoot a feather, make a ranged weapon attack using your dexterity. Feathers cause 1d4 piercing damage and have a range of 20/60. You are considered proficient for this attack. #### Shimon The Shimon tribe is the most adventurous of the Vastaya and, like the Lhotlan, is native to the forests of Ionia. However, even in Ionia, their acceptance reaches its limits faster than that of their feathered relatives. The cheeky nature of the Shimon is also to blame for this. Too gladly they play tricks on humans and take advantage of their higher speed and dexterity. The ape-like Shimon prefer to live on trees and can become aggressive quickly if they see their habitat threatened. Their ancestry from the monkeys is reflected in a fur-covered skin, a monkey tail, longer arms and strong muscles. This physical advantage makes them excellent warriors. Their ferocity is both a curse and a blessing. On the one hand, this unpredictable species can provide good moments of surprise, on the other hand they often lack the patience and precision of an experienced, trained fighter. **Ability Score Increase:** Your Strength, Dexterity or Constitution score is increased by 2. **Size:** The Shimon grow between 6 and 7 feet tall and weigh about 200 pounds. Your size is medium. **Speed:** Your base walking speed is 30 feet. **Climbing Talent:** You are proficient in the acrobatics skill and may use twice your proficiency bonus when climbing using acrobatics. **Natural wilderness:** You have advantage for saves against beeing Grappled, Stunned, Paralyzed, Restrained and Unconscious when the source of the effect is non magical. **Raw fighter:** Your bludgeoning damage causing attacks deal an additional 1d4 damage.

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