Visit Product Page:
Mythos:
The Rakshasa were a powerful tribe of demons. At the height of their power, under the leadership of their immortal king, Ravanna, they terrorized Earth, Heaven and Hell, conquering gods and demons alike, until they were defeated by the avatar, Rama, and his army of Vanara and arsenal of divine weapons. The Rakshasa were man-eaters who devoured humans and other sentient lifeforms for their food. They had razor sharp fangs, and venomous claws. Rakshasa were also masters of magic, specializing in illusions and shape-shifting. But not all Rakshasa were evil and bloodthristy. The Rakshasa general, Vibhishana, understood the wrongful of their deeds, and turned his back on Ravana. He and his soldiers would fight on the side of Rama, and after the death of Ravana, Vibhishana and his followers would establish a new Rakshasa civilization that lived in harmony with other races. As humankind began to thrive and outnumber other races, the Rakshasa used their shape shifting abilities to become human, and merge with human society. A human descended from a Rakshasa bloodline might be blessed with their supernatural agility or magical talents, or if unlucky, with their unholy craving for flesh and blood.
Alt Names: Rasetsu, Asura, Luo Sha, Rakh-khosh, Man-Eater, Demon,
The Rakshasa were a powerful tribe of demons. At the height of their power, under the leadership of their immortal king, Ravanna, they terrorized Earth, Heaven and Hell, conquering gods and demons alike, until they were defeated by the avatar, Rama, and his army of Vanara and arsenal of divine weapons. The Rakshasa were man-eaters who devoured humans and other sentient lifeforms for their food. They had razor sharp fangs, and venomous claws. Rakshasa were also masters of magic, specializing in illusions and shape-shifting. But not all Rakshasa were evil and bloodthristy. The Rakshasa general, Vibhishana, understood the wrongful of their deeds, and turned his back on Ravana. He and his soldiers would fight on the side of Rama, and after the death of Ravana, Vibhishana and his followers would establish a new Rakshasa civilization that lived in harmony with other races. As humankind began to thrive and outnumber other races, the Rakshasa used their shape shifting abilities to become human, and merge with human society. A human descended from a Rakshasa bloodline might be blessed with their supernatural agility or magical talents, or if unlucky, with their unholy craving for flesh and blood.
Alt Names: Rasetsu, Asura, Luo Sha, Rakh-khosh, Man-Eater, Demon,
Insight:
One of my all time favorite ancient stories is the Ramayana, the story of how the Avatar, Rama, assembled a group of rag-tag bears and monkeys to defeat a powerful demon-lord who had conquered heaven and hell alike. Way better than Lord of the Rings. Imagine if Frodo pointed a nuke at the ocean and demanded that it let him cross or he would destroy all marine life. Yeah, Rama does that. Anyways, the Rakshasas, the key antagonists of this tale, are pretty cool baddies. They eat people, not because they are some kind of ruthless barbarians, but because they consider themselves so genetically advanced that humans are like animals to them. And with all their super powers and luxuriant super city, they might be right. Rakshasas tagged along with Buddhism and feature somewhat in East Asian mythology as well, but despite being so widespread, I had a really hard time nailing down any specific look for Rakshasas. They are either depicted as normalish humans, or wildly distorted caricatures. Eventually I scooped together enough viable references and exercised my creativity a little, and came up with a useful version.
If you're curious, a Rakshasa is not an Asura in the original Indian lore. They are a completely different race with different abilities and lineage. In Buddhism though, the word "Asura" or some cognate became a catch-all term for various kinds of demons.
I also get crazy mad at Dungeons & Dragons for their version of a Rakshasa. I know that they aren't as fond of genuine mythology as I am, but if you're to completely make up your own race of demon-things, don't use a genuine mythological name for it. You've got plenty of great made up names like Githyanki or Aasimar or Kenku, you don't need to put un-made up names on made-up monsters spreading disinformation.
One of my all time favorite ancient stories is the Ramayana, the story of how the Avatar, Rama, assembled a group of rag-tag bears and monkeys to defeat a powerful demon-lord who had conquered heaven and hell alike. Way better than Lord of the Rings. Imagine if Frodo pointed a nuke at the ocean and demanded that it let him cross or he would destroy all marine life. Yeah, Rama does that. Anyways, the Rakshasas, the key antagonists of this tale, are pretty cool baddies. They eat people, not because they are some kind of ruthless barbarians, but because they consider themselves so genetically advanced that humans are like animals to them. And with all their super powers and luxuriant super city, they might be right. Rakshasas tagged along with Buddhism and feature somewhat in East Asian mythology as well, but despite being so widespread, I had a really hard time nailing down any specific look for Rakshasas. They are either depicted as normalish humans, or wildly distorted caricatures. Eventually I scooped together enough viable references and exercised my creativity a little, and came up with a useful version.
If you're curious, a Rakshasa is not an Asura in the original Indian lore. They are a completely different race with different abilities and lineage. In Buddhism though, the word "Asura" or some cognate became a catch-all term for various kinds of demons.
I also get crazy mad at Dungeons & Dragons for their version of a Rakshasa. I know that they aren't as fond of genuine mythology as I am, but if you're to completely make up your own race of demon-things, don't use a genuine mythological name for it. You've got plenty of great made up names like Githyanki or Aasimar or Kenku, you don't need to put un-made up names on made-up monsters spreading disinformation.