# Long-tailed Phlanish Rabbit ![[Long Tail Phlanish Rabbit.png|250]] - name: *Long-tailed Phlanish Rabbit* - climate terrain: Temperate plains, scrub, and ruins (Phlan and Moonsea region) - frequency: Rare - organization: Warrens (wild) or pairs (domesticated) - activity cycle: Dawn and dusk (crepuscular) - diet: Herbivore - intelligence: Animal (1); Low (3) (glowing variety ) - treasure: Nil - alignment: Neutral - no_appearing: 2-12 (2d6) - armor_class: 7 - movement: 15 - hit dice: 1-2 hp - THAC0: 20 - no of attacks: 1 - damage/attack: 1-2 (bite) - special attacks: Nil - special_defenses: Nil - magic_resistance: Nil - size: Small (2' long, plus 4-6" tail) - morale: Unsteady (4) - xp value: 7 The long-tailed Phlanish rabbit is a hefty, long-bodied lagomorph native to the shores of the Moonsea and the reclaimed lands around [[Phlan]]. Resembling an overgrown barn rabbit, some 15-20 pounds of dense muscle and fur, it is distinguished by its long, expressive tail, some 4-6 inches in length. The tail is prehensile only in the most trivial sense (it can hook around twigs and grass), but it is remarkably expressive, twitching and flagging with the animal’s mood. Coat colors follow those of common rabbits—browns, agouti, blacks, whites, and mottled patterns. A rare few exhibit a faint bioluminescent glow when under moonlight or starlight: a soft, firefly-like radiance that seems to suffuse the fur rather than shine from any one point. This glow is extremely dim, barely enough to mark the rabbit’s outline in deep darkness. --- ### Combat Long-tailed Phlanish rabbits are not aggressive and will almost always flee rather than fight. They attack only when cornered or trapped. - **Bite:** If forced into combat, a rabbit bites for 1–2 points of damage. - **Flight:** Their true defense is speed. A startled rabbit can make a prodigious leap as part of its movement, clearing low obstacles and making it difficult for attackers to close to melee range. In game terms, the rabbit can cross small ditches, rubble piles, or similar minor obstacles without penalty and suffers no movement reduction for rough ground that a human would treat as broken terrain. - **Surprise:** Due to their constant wariness, wild rabbits are surprised only on a roll of 1 (on 1d10), provided they are in their natural environment and not confined. Domesticated rabbits lose this edge and are surprised on a 1–2. --- ### Habitat/Society In the wild, long-tailed Phlanish rabbits dwell in warrens dug along the higher, drier banks of streams and in overgrown rubble around ruined farmsteads. They prefer mixed scrub and grasslands where cover is plentiful but escape lanes are open. Their tunnels are somewhat more extensive than those of common rabbits, with multiple bolt-holes to the surface. Domesticated strains have become increasingly common in and around [[Phlan|New Phlan]] since the city’s reclamation. They are prized as meat and fur animals, their size making them efficient livestock in small courtyards and on rooftop hutches. Their long tails and occasional glowing individuals have also earned them a place as curiosities and pets among the wealthier citizens and visiting adventurers. The phenomenon of glowing individuals is known to a handful of sages and high-ranking priests, but reliable information is jealously guarded. Among the learned, they are sometimes called “warren hares.” Most people simply refer to them as “moon-tails” or “ghost-bunnies” and treat them as good-luck omens. Rangers and mages who discover a glowing rabbit often attempt to befriend or capture it for use as a familiar or animal companion. The animal itself bonds in the same manner as any normal rabbit. --- ### Ecology Long-tailed Phlanish rabbits feed on grasses, leaves, bark, and garden crops. They are voracious but not particularly destructive on a large scale, as their population remains limited by predators and the scarcity of safe warrens in the contested ruins around Phlan. Natural predators include foxes, wolves, owls, and small dragons. In the city, feral dogs and hungry humanoids pose the greatest threat. Adventurers’ camps near Phlan often find their saddlebags gnawed upon if food is left unguarded. The bioluminescent glow of some rabbits has no known natural function and is invisible in bright light. Only in full darkness does the faint aura become apparent. It sheds illumination equivalent to a single firefly spread over the rabbit’s surface—enough to be noticed within 10 feet, but not enough to read by or ruin infravision. --- ### Lore & Rumors 1. **“Some of them can hold the souls of the dead, and a high priest can call that soul back into a new body.”**  2. “Their glow comes from eating ghostly moss that grows only in the Valhingen Graveyard; anyone who eats their flesh can see ghosts for a year and a day.” 3. “If a glowing Phlanish rabbit looks you in the eye, you will dream the manner of your own death that very night.” 4. “They always glow when danger is near—like a living warning lantern. Any that don’t glow are just common rabbits.” 5. “The tails aren’t natural at all; they are tiny parasitic worms that whisper secrets into the rabbits’ ears, which is why wizards like them.” 6. “Killing a glowing rabbit without first speaking a blessing draws the attention of vengeful spirits (giving you a permanent –1 penalty to all saving throws vs. death magic).” 7. “If you gently pull the tail three times under moonlight, the rabbit will speak with the voice of its former life and answer three questions.” 8. “Their fur, when spun into thread, can hold a spell indefinitely, making Phlanish rabbit yarn more precious than mithral.” 9. “Long-tailed Phlanish rabbits are fragments of an ancient moon goddess, and each glowing rabbit is a piece of her memory fallen to earth.” 10. “Any wizard who takes a glowing rabbit as a familiar will never again age naturally; the years all pass into the rabbit instead.”