Calm and reserved, the field mice have a culture that goes back to almost the beginning of the world. They are unmatched in their martial prowess, but many are pacifistic. They wander through the Eastern Plains in search of enlightenment, making a sort of “walking monastery” of worshippers, each on their own quest.
Field mice stand at about 3 to 4 inches in height, with a slender build and a long, furrless tail. Their fur ranges from light gray to black, with brown field mice scattered around occasionally. An older field mouse’s fur around the snout might turn white, and they also have long whiskers that grow longer with age.
Field mice tend to congregate in groups that they call sanghas. Oftentimes, field mice are born, raised, and die in the sangha. The de facto leader of the sangha is a field mouse who is enlightened, or if the sangha does not yet have one, the oldest and wisest member will suffice. The typical sangha will walk in meditation all day, find a suitable campsite before sunset, and gather food for the next day while the pups learn martial arts from the leader. Thus, it is necessary to a field mouse to be able to carry whatever they need on their back.
Field mice are generally very accepting of most races, though they feel the hedgehogs are a bit brash. Tahey are intrigued by the frog’s obsessive studies of the arcane, and can coexist peacefully with the mole’s rigid lifestyle. They admire the timberlings, but they do feel, however, that like the squirrels, they have taken their faith too far.
Alignment and Religion
Field mice tend to lean toward lawful alignments due to their strict and orderly lifestyle. Also, most field mice tend to be good because of one of the Path’s main tenants, which is that everything deserves compassion. While this does not mean the field mice will not kill to survive, but if they do, they will give the creature proper respect. Field mice almost always are followers of the Path, but very rarely, a field mouse will defect to one of the other religions, mainly druidism.
Field mice will occasionally go off to form their own sangha after attaining enlightenment, and adventuring is a good way to meet like-minded individuals. Also, a field mouse will oftentimes adventure to test their martial prowess and skill.
Field Mouse Racial Traits
+ 2 Dexterity, + 2 Wisdom, -2 Strength: Field mice are nimble and wise, but their stature makes them weaker than other races.
Small: Field mice are Small creatures and gain a + 1 size bonus to their AC, a + 1 size bonus on attack rolls, a -1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a + 4 bonus on Stealth checks.
Slow Speed: Field mice have a base speed of 2 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Field mice can see twice as far as a race with normal vision in conditions of dim light.
Packrat: Field mice determine carrying capacity as if they were Medium creatures.
Plains-Walker: Field mice gain a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks while in the plains.
Swarm-Fighting: Field mice are used to living and fighting communally with other members of their race. Up to two field mice can share the same square at the same time. If two field mice that are occupying the same square attack the same foe, they are considered to be flanking that foe as if they were in two opposite squares.
Weapon Familiarity: Field mice are proficient with one monk weapon and treat any weapon with the word “field mouse” in its name a martial weapon.
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