Hsing-sing

Hsing-sings were a race of reclusive ape-like humanoids native to Kara-Tur.

Description
Hsing-sings had bulky, ape-like bodies that were covered in long white fur and had long arms that extended nearly to the ground. As they aged this fur darkened into a more golden hue. Their faces were hairless and reminiscent of a human; their faces had smooth skin, small noses, and eyes of a blue or brown hue. However, their teeth were longer and sharper than that of a human, with fangs reminiscent of a carnivorous ape.

As their long fur naturally protected them from the elements, hsing-sing were generally not known to wear clothing. However, females were known to weave wild flowers into the fur of their arms and legs. Tribal leaders sometimes wore armbands of intricately woven vines as a sign of authority.

Personality
Hsing-sings were generally peaceful outside of their "war-season," during which they behaved more savage and aggressively. Those that lived in the Azuma and Suddai provinces of Shinkoku were known to be especially violent.

Combat
Hsing-sings were known to fight with blowguns with poison-laced darts, parangs, and spears. They typically defended themselves with shields made out of wicker. They were known to use two types of poisons, one being fatal and the other a paralyzing muscle relaxant.

History
In the mid-14 century DR, due to the violent behavior of hsing-sing who lived in the provinces of Azuma and Sudai provinces, human inhabitants of Shinkoku organized to wipe out their local population. As a result, violent clashes between them became increasingly common in the mountains of central Shinkoku.

Society
Hsing-sing typically lived in tribes of two to twenty men and women, with the oldest male among them serving as the leader. They often kept small creatures as pets, such as parrots and rabbits.

Outside of their knowledge of crafting weapons, wicker shields, and simple tools - hsing-sings knew no special crafts. They preferred to live a simple life, spending most of their days hunting, wandering, telling stories, and collecting small treasures to trade with humans later.

Once per year, typically at the onset of spring, the males among the normally peaceful hsing-sings would organize themselves into raiding bands and attack settlements that bordered their territories. During this "war-season," hsing-sings did not care whether the settlements they attacked were those of good or evil-aligned creatures. However, they avoided attacking the same settlements they had attacked a year prior.

Diets
Hsing-sings subsisted primarily on a diet of fruits and grains indigenous to their territory. This would be supplemented by small amounts of hunted fish, deer, and various other wild game. They were also known to have a penchant for strong alcohols, which often drove them to do trade with humans.

Lairs
In their forest territories the hsing-sings typically laired in sleeping platforms atop the tallest branches of large trees, with each platform housing a single family. These platforms typically had thatched roofs to further protect them from the elements. Near their sleeping platforms they would stash their treasures within hollow branches.

Homelands
Hsing-sings typically inhabited subtropical, mountainous regions. They were known to inhabit the southern forests of Kabudono, the high mountains of central and southern Shinkoku, and the mountains of Akari.

Languages
Hsing-sings spoke their own unique language, though they often knew how to speak Common as well.

Relationships
Hsing-sings spent much of their life away from other races, but traveled to human villages to do trade. In such cases they brought with them exotic goods from their forests, such as parrots, feathers from exotic birds, exotic fruits, and scented roots or woods. In exchange they typically took pottery, rice, wine, or forged metal. Humans were sometimes known to track down and kill hsing-sings for their fur, with the golden pelts of an elder being the most prized.

Outside of their relationship with humans, hsing-sings held great enmity towards tasloi as they occasionally suffered raids from them.

Some scholars in Kara-Tur praised them as being creatures who perfected the principles of non-action and living in harmony with nature.