Shoony

Shoony

Rare Humanoid Shoony

Diminutive humanoids who resemble squat, bipedal dogs, shoonies are sometimes mistaken for weak and insular pacifists. However, their sheer perseverance, incredible work ethic, and resourceful use of Diplomacy make shoonies far from helpless.

According to shoonies, Aroden created their kind to provide him with pleasant company soon after he created the Isle of Kortos. Shoony culture is rooted in this myth and its implications, which help to explain the ancestry's long reputation for hospitality, good will, and pacifism. War is antithetical to the shoony way of life; shoonies rely on cooperation and persistence to make their way through a world that can seem at times hellbent on destroying them. Shoonies are unflappable in their optimism and always see the best in others, even when faced with frequent subjugation and exploitation that might create bitterness or xenophobia among other societies. To shoonies, peace is a goal always worth striving for, and no villain is beyond redemption, so they aim to resolve problems with peaceful solutions.

You might...

• Fight to protect those you care about and strive to do the right thing.
• Work hard for long hours in a focused pursuit of distant goals.
• Provide comfort, necessities such as food, and a sense of kinship to those in distress.

Others probably...

• Involuntarily fawn over (or recoil from) your physical appearance.
• Protect you from scary situations or terrifying phenomena, out of either friendship or overprotectiveness.
• Appreciate your pragmatism and natural ability to care for others.

Physical Description

Shoonies are squat, furry humanoids with flattened canid faces and wet, black eyes. Their fur can be a variety of hues and patterns, with the most common colors being fawn or black, and their loose skin gives even the fittest shoony a pudgy appearance. Shoonies have short, curly tails that sometimes wag involuntarily when the shoony is content or particularly excited or pleased. Like canines, shoonies cannot sweat
they pant to mitigate heat and exertion, and it is not uncommon to see a shoony with a perpetually lolling tongue.

A shoony reaches maturity after just 8 to 10 years, and the elders of their villages rarely reach the age of 50. Little differentiates male and female shoonies except during the late stages of pregnancy, and as they age, both sexes develop graying facial fur, wrinkled skin, and frail joints. The average shoony is 3-1/2 feet tall and weighs 100 pounds.

Society

Despite the shoony drive toward communal living, most shoony settlements are farming villages with populations of no more than a hundred. Shoonies work hard to make their lands bountiful and recognize that large, dense populations can negatively affect the ecosystem. Monster attacks, natural disasters, and exploitation from stronger cultures have all also limited the spread of shoonies across the Inner Sea region.

Despite their short lifespans, shoonies are happy-go-lucky people with an irrepressible love for the land and their fellow shoonies, and remain optimistic even under the worst circumstances. The simple pleasures of living on this beautiful world, engaging in hard work, and surrounding themselves with loved ones motivate shoonies to push through the hardships that all too often befall their people.

Alignment and Religion

Most shoony societies encourage empathy and loyalty, so they're rarely evil, but they're also practical, traditional, and timid. Most shoony adventurers are neutral good or lawful good. Religion is a cornerstone of shoony village life
shoonies primarily worshipped Aroden until his apparent death. In his absence, many shoonies have adopted Erastil as their patron deity because his emphasis on family, community, and living off the land naturally meshes with typical shoony values. Noble shoonies especially warriorssometimes look to Iomedae as an exemplar of integrity, hard work, and sacrifice.

Names

With their strong family values and emphasis on found friends, it's no wonder that shoonies take particular pride in naming their children after other loved ones. Shoony names are short, guttural, and often sound like loose strings of unassociated vowels and soft consonants to people of other ancestries. Shoonies value names and take great care to learn and speak the correct pronunciations of their friends' names.

Sample Names

Ahogo, Arnbin, Bighmor, Bondin, Domwurd, Ebmeur, Gopor, Gurna, Hiemgur, Mufurlo, Oriog, Pulumar, Raliamar, Ruggion, Uhulrig, Ungrin.

HERITAGES

You select a heritage at 1st level to reflect abilities passed down to you from your ancestors or common among those of your ancestry in the environment where you were born or grew up. You have only one heritage and can’t change it later. A heritage is not the same as a culture or ethnicity, though some cultures or ethnicities might have more or fewer members from a particular heritage.

Bloodhound Shoony

Your ancestors were famous trackers, and you carry in your blood that same gift of the hunt. You gain a special sense: imprecise Scent with a range of 30 feet. This means you can use your sense of smell to determine the location of a creature, but it remains Hidden. In addition, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Survival checks to Track creatures that you have previously sensed with your scent.

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Source: Pathfinder #153: Life's Long Shadow pg. 71

Fishseeker Shoony

You come from a long line of fisherfolk and have inherited the quick reflexes necessary to nab and reel in big game. If you roll a success on an attempt to Grab An Edge, you get a critical success instead; if you roll a critical failure, you get a failure instead. A creature that rolls a failure on a check to Disarm you gets a critical failure instead.

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Source: Pathfinder #153: Life's Long Shadow pg. 71

Paddler Shoony

You hail from shoonies who have lived long and successfully among the reeds and cattails of swamps and marshes, and have adapted to the challenges of living near waterlogged areas. You ignore difficult terrain and greater difficult terrain from bogs. When you roll a success to Swim, you get a critical success instead.

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Source: Pathfinder #153: Life's Long Shadow pg. 71

Thickcoat Shoony

You are a rare Shoony who hails from colder climes. You gain cold resistance equal to half your level (minimum 1), and you treat environmental cold effects as if they were one step less extreme (incredible cold becomes extreme, extreme cold becomes severe, and so on). You don't need to succeed at a flat check to target a Concealed creature if that creature is concealed only by snow. Unless you wear protective gear or take shelter, environmental heat effects are one step more extreme for you.

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Source: Pathfinder #153: Life's Long Shadow pg. 71

ANCESTRY FEATS

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th levels). You select from among the following ancestry feats.

		Name	Level	Prerequisites	Benefit
		Dig Quickly	1	—	—
		Esteemed Visitor	1	—	—
		Handy with your Paws	1	—	—
		Improvisational Defender	1	—	—
		Scamper Underfoot	1	—	—
		Shoony Lore	1	—	—
		Loyal Empath	5	—	—
		Practiced Paddler	5	Paddler Shoony	—
		Tough Tumbler	5	Scamper Underfoot	—
		Improvisational Warrior	9	Improvisational Defender	—
		Sodbuster	9	Dig Quickly	—
		Steadfast Ally	13	Loyal Empath	—
		Unrivaled Builder	13	Handy With Your Paws	—