Rakshasa

Rakshasas were a type of evil outsider from the lawful evil regions of the Outer Planes, though most lived on the Material Plane.

Description
The true form of a rakshasa was almost never seen due to their ability to assume almost any humanoid figure, but their lavish taste ensured they were almost always wearing the finest garments and most precious jewelry. Their true forms were most commonly humanoids with the heads of Bengal tigers and luxurious fur to match their attire, although it was not unusual for them to possess the heads and features of carnivorous apes, crocodiles or mantises, with high ranking rakshasas being rumored to have multiple heads.

The eyes of a rakshasa could range from gold and black slits for felines to protruding, multifaceted spheres for insects but always contained a fiendish glimmer of disturbing, infernal intellect. However, their most unnerving and unique feature was their reversed hands. The palms of a rakshasa faced out from the body when the arms were at rest and the finger joints bent backwards to grasp and manipulate objects.

Rakshasas stood tall, with those of lower rank being shorter. Their build was typical for a human of their size and they weighed between.

Personality
Unsettling others with their eerily structured hands demonstrated a mere fraction of a rakshasas true maliciousness, as their wickedness rivaled that of devils and their avarice surpassed them. Their animalistic appearance disguised a sophisticated personality with an unstoppable lust for influence and material wealth.

They combined the habits of a predatory aristocrat with those of an indolent cat, savoring the finest art, music, literature, clothing, weapons and armor while spending large amounts of time lazily resting in their comforts and prowling unseen. Powerful magic, lost spells arcane tomes and secret lore, particularly those of the evil variety, were of special interest to the born sorcerers. Slaves were collected the same as any other form of art, and were expected to indulge every whim of their cruel master. This served to bolster the already overinflated ego of the rakshasa, a haughtiness they displayed to all who knew their true identity.

Rakshasas used their transformative abilities to appear as nobles, cardinals, merchant princes, crime lords and other beings rich in power. They used their natural charisma to form vast arrays of minions, lackeys, servitors and henchmen, and despite their pride were masters of deceit. Rakshasas disguised themselves not only their forms but their very involvement in events, pulling political strings, creating vast intrigues and instigating government corruption to secure their safety. Their innate cleverness was enhanced by their supernatural abilities and yet countered by their strange sense of honor, as like devils they would hold to the letter of an agreement while ignoring the spirit to double-cross their supposed allies.

Rather than steal from other powerful beings, they favored robbing the poor and needy, using their assumed authority to obtain riches and items from those that needed them most. Their ability to gain dominion and rise to power while causing others to fall was a source of pride and joy for rakshasas. They plotted the death of mortal's family, took everything they had and ruined their reputation through vicious slander, but nothing brought them more pleasure in this regard then turning a model citizen's society against them by exposing hidden truths.

Activities
Upon reaching independence, rakshasa usually attempted to establish their own territories as far away from any other rakshasas as possible, utilizing their mastery of disguise to carefully investigate a region for years while staying insignificant. They instinctually sought out hideaways, safe houses and secret lairs from which to conduct their schemes and display their opulence, their lives often shifting between periods of hedonistic pleasure and unyielding discipline. Thieves' guilds, mercenary companies, business fronts or temples to neutral deities were suitable covers and if no such thing could be found, the rakshasa would be forced to create one itself.

At the same time, they searched for those of weak wills, dark secrets and crippling fears, collecting every possible detail about their hidden vices through their thought detection ability and preestablished connections. If bribery and temptation were not sufficient, they would use extortion and slander, threatening to ruin the target's life if they refused to comply. Spies and informants were monitored by more reliable and easily controlled servants and as their cruel criminal empires spread, subjects under their control, whether a victim of their greed or a knowing servitor, found the rakshasa's demands grow more unreasonable and time-consuming.

Most rakshasas that focused on self improvement, despite already being leagues behind ordinary mortal casters, tried to improve their sorcerous abilities. If not personally studying magic or attempting to discover sources of arcane power, some sponsored adventuring parties under the guise of an interested individual or organization, sending such groups on quests to obscure locations or supposedly dangerous regions.

Abilities
Rakshasas were naturally adept sorcerers, able to use a wide variety of enchantment and illusion spells to beguile their enemies and detect the thoughts of others at will. Most magic was of no use against rakshasas, as only some of the most powerful spells were able to affect them unless they allowed it. Only potent, enchanted weapons were capable of properly harming them, but piercing weapons that had been blessed, or potentially those wielded by good creatures, were particularly effective. Blessed crossbow bolts and arrows were said to instantly kill them, but it was said they had to be pierced through the heart with such weapons to truly slay them.

Rakshasas could shapeshift as long as they desired and their new forms could not be magically dispelled, although truesight could pierce their guise and they reverted to normal upon death. Their claws contained a magical curse that plagued the minds of those struck with nightmares and terrifying figments, preventing them from resting properly unless the curse was removed.

Combat
In the repertoire of a rakshasa, their most powerful weapon was their mastery of misdirection as they used their expertise in deceit they entangle their enemies in webs of mistruths. Their illusory powers and vast array of potential identities made even recognizing their existence a struggle and even then it took skill and careful planning to defeat them. Powerful divination magic was required simply to dispel their supernatural deceptions but they nonetheless had many ways to win without fighting.

Rakshasas had entire networks of corrupt officials and powerful bodyguards at their disposal, and only allowed their most loyal and trustworthy minions near them. Only a small number of their closest aids knew of their true form and so enchantment magic was often needed in order to prompt a betrayal by such servitors.

Rakshasas fought as cravens when behind their numerous protections, using magic to enhance their speed or defenses, attempting to use their enchantment magic to dissuade combat and targeting spellcasters due to their typical inability to harm them. Often times they would attempt to masquerade as an ally of their prey, waiting for the right moment to strike them down.

Unless protected by a spell such as mind blank or nondetection they would instantly sense the location of thinking creatures, but would need to focus their efforts on a specific area for a few seconds in order to decipher a potential adversaries surface thoughts, forcing them to stay nearby while attempting to discern intentions. When under attack, rakshasas rarely used their mind reading in the open, instead using hit and run tactics to maneuver to an area of safety and read the enemies' plans, allowing strategies to be changed when needed. Offensive magic was normally saved as a last resort and most disdained physical fighting as ignoble.

In contrast to their typically elusive nature, rakshasas when cornered fought valiantly and fiercely, proving themselves to be dangerous melee combatants in addition to being powerful spellcasters. Their reversed hands gave them no trouble in terms of dexterity, allowing them to wield weapons with dangerous effectiveness, a necessary skill as their shapechanging prevented them from using their teeth and claws. Rakshasas trained as warriors pounced like tigers with their blades while archers were just as deadly. However, most rakshasas took every measure needed to prevent physical altercations and, if the opportunity presented itself, would immediately abandon melee in order to continue casting from afar, attempting to blind and confuse current assailants to escape.

Subraces

 * Ak'chazar
 * These rakshasas had the heads of white tigers and were skinnier than the common breed. They were unusually powerful spellcasters and specialized in necromantic magic. To use their necromantic powers to their full potential, the ak'chazar rakshasas often used graveyards or old battlefields as their headquarters. When working on one of their dark schemes, they often let their undead do the physical work while they stayed behind the scenes themselves.


 * Naityan
 * These rakshasas were shapeshifters with the ability to utilize different supernatural combat styles based on their current forms.


 * Naztharune
 * Naztharune rakshasas had the heads of black tigers and were covered in black fur. They had few magical powers but compensated by being strong fighters, specializing in assassination. They lacked most rakshasas' need to be the leader of any organization that they were part of, often working for other rakshasas.

Tieflings
Tieflings who had cat eyes were descended from rakshasas, as were some of those who had fur.

Society
Rakshasas were solitary beings, although they did occasionally cooperate with each other.

Rakshasas worshipped Ravanna, a ten-headed lesser deity.

History
Rakshasas were thought to have originated as the result of a ritual conducted by devils from the Nine Hells in an attempt to acquire the ability to travel to the Material Plane.

Notable Rakshasas

 * Kalkan, nemesis and old enemy of Demascus the Deva.
 * Valantajar, an inhabitant of Waterdeep who worked as a private investigator under the disguise of Vincent Trench.

Appearances

 * Curse of the Azure Bonds
 * Waterdeep: Dragon Heist