Naityan rakshasa

❌

Naityans were bloodthirsty cousins of the rakshasas that were incapable of spellcasting. Instead of sorcerous power, naityans were born with inherent martial prowess and unrivaled shapeshifting ability among their kind.

Description
Naityans in their true forms were black-furred humanoids covered in bright red stripes with the heads of tigers, approximately as tall as humans with added muscle mass contributing to their slightly greater weight. In addition to the mastery of disguise found in normal rakshasas, they possessed a variety of specialized forms with unique abilities. In order to transform, they quickly assumed their natural appearance again before shifting into their desired alternate state, causing fur to rapidly grow and vanish and their bones to visibly crack and twist.

The alternate forms of a naityan included an armed, serpentine creature with gray, stone-like scales; a humanoid hell hound; a horrifying, humanoid eel with slick, black skin; and an entity with the head and fur of a displacer beast, tentacles for arms, and hook-covered hands. Outside of death, which caused them to revert to their true form, only truesight could reveal a naityan's natural form, but all forms shared the iconic backwards hands of the rakshasas.

Personality
All rakshasas loved the taste of humanoid flesh, but their blood in all its form was considered an unrivaled delicacy by naityans. For many naityans, the craving could become a crippling addiction, driving them to bottle the blood of various humanoids and even enslave menageries of humanoids specifically to drink their blood, a habit that typically led to the failure of their plans.

Abilities
By changing form, naityans gained access to the martial maneuvers of certain fighting styles while keeping their claws and fangs, but they would revert to normal if unable to hold their stance. Their snake-like form, the earth serpent, could be an unstoppable force or an immovable object, with its tough, rocky scales protecting it from harm. Their hellhound form, the hellfire hunter, gained the hellhound's affinity for flames and their keen sense of smell. Their eel-like form, the night creeper, was skilled at moving unseen and striking their enemies' vitals, as well as being able to swim. Their displacer beast form, the elusive adversary, was the fastest and most evasive of their transformations.

Combat
Despite their natural weaponry and myriad of alternate forms, naityans attempted to conceal their true nature for as long as possible, changing to the form best suited to the task at hand only when pressed. Foes with fire-based abilities or methods of evading detection met their hellfire hunter form while the elusive adversary was used for defense or in order to escape. The night creeper form was saved for underwater combat or when flanking enemies while the earth serpent was for one-on-one encounters.

Naityans often underwent the training to become swordsages, combining the inherent combat skill of their other forms and true training in order to adopt two martial stances at once. Whenever possible, they wielded enchanted weapons and other tools to enhance their fighting ability, but shunned armor too heavy to suit their preexisting style.

Society
Although large gatherings were rare, naityans never operated individually, instead cooperating in small teams under the leadership of the strongest naityan in the group, or occasionally another type of rakshasa. Such teams often consisted of blood relatives but the common need for support drew most naityans that met each other together. Naityans not currently in a group, either due to rivalry, a personal desire for power and influence, or outside parties separating them still typically tried to keep in contact with one another and their relationships could last for years under positive circumstances.

Otherwise, naityans operated like normal rakshasas, taking over or creating organizations through deception, disguises, and their ability to detect thoughts. The leadership positions they occupied were typically more focused on physical skill, such as thieves' guilds, assassin clans, martial orders, and military forces.

Ecology
Naityans made up a fraction of the already few rakshasas thought to exist, their numbers being so minuscule that some individuals believed they were the last of their race. They were capable and were required to mate with humanoids while in a compatible form in order to perpetuate their race, a practice that often resulted in stillborn children or offspring so malformed they normally died soon after being born.

Even the rare, beautiful children were born with backwards hands and kidnapped by their naityan parents before others learned of their fiendish heritage. Most were born and raised on the Material Plane because of their low numbers and despite being separated at birth they still lived close to humanoids. Naityan juveniles did not instinctively know of their true form and had to be taught how to adopt it and of their true origin by their parents, gaining more control and variety as they matured.

Naityans did not require food in order to live, indulging in bloodlust simply for the flavor.

History
While all rakshasas were said to be an embodiment of evil, the naityans' link to humanoids led them being considered to be specifically the evil of humanoid nature. They were said to be a kind of punishment sent by deities to the Material Plane.