Nezumi

Nezumi are a race of rat like people who usually live on the fringes of society. Nezumi almost invariably arouse suspicion and mistrust any where they go. They are generally seen as thieves and criminals, and not without reason. Their ancient home of Takenuma was a treacherous place filled with great dangers, as a result the nezumi have evolved a culture where survival is the only goal. This conflicts with the codes of honor held in such high esteem by many humans and kitsune, for nezumi these are luxuries they cannot afford. Organised into gangs, nesumi have since spread throughout the world, usually living among the poor and destitute of the world.

Physical Characteristics
Nezumi have slightly hunched frames with rat like heads and a long tail. A noticeable difference between nezumi and humans are their legs, which in the case of nezumi are digitigrade, resting on their toes rather than the flats of their feet. Nezumi often to have slouched forms, though this is usually a result of habit, caused by constant crouching, hiding and skulking. Nezumi are covered in coarse fur, usually in shades of grey, brown or black. Females nezumi can grow longer hair on their heads much like human hair, this hair is of the same colour as their fur. The eyes of the nezumi are usually yellows, browns, blacks and dull reds. Nezumi are also more likely than other races to develop albinism, which results in white furred individuals with bright, blood red eyes.

Nezumi are taller than humans, however their tendency to slouch makes them appear roughly equal to the height of humans. Their builds are similar to humans under normal circumstances, but their skeletal structure is such that they can contort their bodies, allowing them to squeeze into smaller spaces easily. Like rats, their front teeth continue to grow and they often gnaw on various hard materials to wear down their teeth.

Lifespan
Despite the average lifespan of a nezumi being in the early 30s, they are actually capable of living close to 200 years. Most however die violent deaths well before then. The violence and danger of nezumi life is one of the only things keeping their population in control, as nezumi are born in litters or 5 to 8, most of whom die before they reach the age of twenty, often at their sibling's hands. Nezumi mature very quickly, usually by the end of their first decade. Those nezumi who do manage to live to old age will have long droopy whiskers, which continue to grow throughout the life of a nezumi. Old nezumi tend to retain their physical strength and dexterity, though they often are mentally unstable.

Culture
Nezumi do not possess what others would consider culture, instead what they do share is a strong instinct for survival, allowing them to adapt easily to whatever environment they find themselves in. This means that the nezumi have successfully adapted to all sorts of environments around Kamigawa and are often found outside their original home of Takenuma.

Nesumi social structure is normally in the form of gangs, those these structures are loose at best. Nezumi are instinctively social, seeking out groups for protection and safety. The exact social conduct of nezumi varies depending on the gang of which they are a part of. Some gangs are ruthless, cutthroat places where members regularly steal and cheat from each other and promotions are usually earned by murdering your superiors. Some gangs are more organised, some even have codified rules of conduct, these gangs tend to be rarer and fewer in number, though they tend to last much longer than more unruly gangs. Most gangs are lead by a boss, a nezumi more ruthless and cunning than the rest, who commands the respect or fear of the rest of the nezumi. The boss' personality has a direct effect of what type of gang it is.

In areas where nezumi are common, the gangs are almost invariably at constant war with each other, with bosses fighting for power. The gangs frequently split, merge or disband, as bosses are murdered, new bosses rise and powers shift. As a result it is common for a nezumi to be a part of multiple clans serving multiple bosses. Nearby lords seldom worry about the nezumi gangs, preferring to let them fight among themselves.

Nezumi also frequently find themselves in gangs which are not comprised exclusively, or even largely, of nezumi, with criminals of other races valuing the nezumi for their stealth and willingness to do work others may find unpleasant. Nezumi in areas largely populated by other races often find themselves as part of these criminal gangs as most consider nezumi untrustworthy and dishonorable, and thus refuse to hire them, at least openly.

An exception to this gang structure are the dark shaman of the nezumi. These individuals are mostly isolated hermits living in dark swamps and other treacherous places, studying dark magical arts, with necromancy and insect magic being the most common. Even other nezumi avoid these shaman, with most of them being slightly unhinged and all of them carrying a foul stench with them.

Names
Nezumi almost never recieve a name at birth, as most are expected not to survive for long. As a result a nezumi's name is usually some type of descriptor for their physical or behavioral characteristics, given to them as they develop to identify them, like nicknames. As a result nezumi names are fairly fluid and distinguish little between gender. Some nezumi opt to continue using previous nicknames while others decide their own name. Also Nezumi can often have names similar to humans if they live in human dominated regions.

Names: Rot-Tooth, Short-Tail, Three-Paw, Cackler, Bog-Snout, Slender-Bones, Six-Toes, Rust-Blade

Traits
'''Ability Score Increases. '''Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1

'''Age. '''Nezumi reach physical maturity by the end of their first decade. The lifespan of a nezumi can be as long as 200 years old, though nezumi over 50 are considered old as their lives tend to be short and violent.

'''Alignment. '''Nezumi tend not to be lawful, following their own survival instinct rather than any code of honor, though some can show remarkable discipline. Altruistic nezumi are also rare, though this is not a result of innate leanings as much as a life of mistrust.

'''Size. '''Nezumi standing at full height average around 1.9 m tall, though many slouch to about 1.8 m. Your size is medium.

'''Speed. '''Your base walking speed is 30 ft.

Darkvision. Coming from the dark bamboo swamps of Takenuma, your eyes have adapted to the darkness. You 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 i darkness, only shades of gray.

Nezumi Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.

Shadow Skulker. You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by dim lighting.

Contorting Frame. You can move at your base walk speed when squeezing through a space that is large enough for a creature one size smaller than you. You can only use this feature when you are in your normal form.

Scavenger. You cannot contract diseases from food you eat. Add your proficiency bonus to saving throws against disease.

'''Survival Instinct. '''Whenever you make a Dexterity saving throw against a trap or natural hazard, add your proficiency to the saving throw, if you are already proficient in Dexterity saving throws you may add double your proficiency to the saving throw, instead of you normal proficiency.