Tengu
Tengu are avian humanoids whose features strongly resemble crows. They have broad beaks and both their arms and their legs end in powerful talons. Tengu live in carefully regimented societies, and greatly value honor and integrity. They are able to find a place in most cities they stay in, and they oversee the Order of the Scales, a group of samurai marshals who enforce contracts and bring in more dangerous criminals. Tengu live up to 60 years, and are considered adults at 12, middle-aged at 30, old at 40, and venerable at 50. Tengu males average 4'10" and 80 lb, while females average 5'1" and 90 lb.
Base Racial Traits
Ability Score Racial Traits: Tengus are fast and observant, but relatively fragile and delicate. They gain +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, –2 Constitution.
Type: Tengus are humanoids with the tengu subtype.
Size: Tengus are Medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Speed: Tengus have a base speed of 30 feet.
Languages: Tengus begin play speaking Ippan and Tengu.
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Sneaky: Tengus gain a +2 racial bonus on Perception and Stealth checks.
Gifted Linguist: Tengus gain a +4 racial bonus on Linguistics checks, and learn 2 languages each time they gain a rank in Linguistics rather than 1 language.
Offense Racial Traits
Swordtrained: Tengus are trained from birth in kendo, and as a result are automatically proficient with katana, no-dachi, and wakizashi.
Natural Weapons: A tengu has a bite attack that deals 1d3 points of damage.
Senses Racial Traits
Senses: Tengus have low-light vision allowing them to see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
A Tengu ronin, practicing his kata in a snowy field.
Tengu in Society
Tengu have a natural bent towards militarism and a strong sense of honor. Their societies are built on the concept of the city as a fortress, and their people live their daily lives working to safeguard the places they live. Tengu train extensively in the blade, and the very best among them are appointed to the ranks of the samurai. These warriors make up most of the military force the tengu can bring to bear. A war between tengu is very different from other wars - each side brings an equal number of samurai, and those samurai fight each other in rounds of single combat until all of one side's troops have been defeated. Rarely are more than a few hundred warriors in any given army.
Tengu care little for the political aspect of society; indeed, they find the intrigues and backstabbing inimical to their natures. It is said the best ways to make an enemy of a tengu are either to lie to him, or to question his word. Unfortunately this means that most tengu have little interaction with other civilizations, preferring to maintain a cordial distance rather than risk ill feeling. The greatest exception to this is the Order of the Scales - this sect of samurai can be found on every world in the Endless Frontier, but it is based on Ikkai, and most of the members are tengu. The Order of the Scales act as travelling justices and lawyers, as well as agents of the Frontier Assembly, seeing that the objectives of the overarching government of the Frontier are attained.