YEAH trying to redo this to make it not as... nitpicky as I was going to make it before. Still a looooot of info I'm trying to organize and condense in a smart way but I'm trying to have these guys more open and flexible. Also letting it be known I don't mind people making their own, just let me know so you can be kept up to date on major developments and are on the same page as everyone else.

Oh and THIS IS ALL STILL A WIP and everything is subject to change either due to my own changing opinions on what is and isn't working or based on suggestions I get that I couldn't think of.

• 3 major "subspecies" that come from different regions in their homeworld. (Mountian/Forest, Grassland, and Marshland/Swamp). Each subspecies has their own peculiarities and abilities that make them unique.

• Omnivorous. Prefers fish over any other meat they might eat, however.

• Coat colors/patterns tend to be mainly natural, neutral colors (whites/creams, gray, browns, and black), but also will have different undertones depending on the individual's heritage and the region they originated from. Their coats also feature accent colors of less natural colors (such as reds, blues, purples, and especially greens).

• Males have longer fur around their necks/chests, with longer hairs on the bottom and creating a flashier "mane" than the female's. Deer beards galore. Females have more fur around their shoulders/withers and rumps in comparison.

• Fawns are green boogers before their adult coats come in. They're also typically born in the same season, though there are outliers. It's easier to deal with their magic puberty all at once rather than having Jimmy over there starting the process right when Susie finally got through it.

• Antlers have their first tines growing together out of separate bases, good for stabbings and pretending they're unicorns. Shapes vary widely and are one of the few things that can't be determined based on subspecies. They also don't shed and the antlers will continue to grow incredibly slowly over time. Can be damaged and can be broken, but it's definitely not fun trying to grow them back.

• On the plus side, they can naturally live pretty long lives due to magic influence. Up to 50 years at the oldest atm! They grow a little slower, though, reaching young adulthood at about 1.5 years and full adulthood at 2 - 2.5 or so.

• Typically choose long-term romantic/reproductive partners since the species isn't fully dependent on instinct and are considered sentient. Females have a "cooldown" period of about two years after giving birth. Natural twins are rare. Any more than that is unheard of.

• Ears are looooooooong and end in a noticable sharp point when compared to the average deer's.

• Interbreeding is not really uncommon, though fawns tend to take after one or another in appearance/abilities.

• Magic is unstable until they're able to physically handle it (or they get to practice in a safe environment) while fawns are growing up. Bad Things (tm) can happen if a fawn doesn't have the right guidance when new magic starts showing up. On the other hand, fawns that have little interest with magic may not be affected as much, though they will still have unstable or very weak magic later on if they don't practice during this stage of their growth.

• If a subspecies has more than one special ability, an individual will almost always only be able to use one. The few who can use more than one (or have found the ability to use more advanced versions of it) are often only able to do so after years of training.

• Mountain/Forest Erdhuf: Strong builds, dark and warm toned coats (lots of red undertones), lots of fur, tend to be the largest subspecies. Strong physically but aren't as heavy magic users. Special abilities include tree striding (teleporting using larger trees) or stone melding (able to move through stone ethereally). Often take the role of protectors and combatants, many of the clan leaders are known for the valor in battle. They live in caves and structures made from living trees that are shaped as they grow.

•Grassland Erdhuf: Lean builds, lighter colored coats (plenty of yellow/gold undertones, or light greens), less fur overall, sizes can range from being some of the smallest to be fairly tall but still lean. Known for their speed and agility. Special abilities include wind walking (able to become like mist/dust and move across large areas very quickly but cannot stop or else they'll drop the form, some forms of damage can't hurt them in this form). Most messengers originate from this subspecies, and they are well known for their diplomatic tendencies. Live in elaborate tents or half-buried structures that poke out of hillsides.
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• Marshland/Swamp Erdhuf: Very average in terms of build/fur volume, but tend to be a bit stockier and their coats often lean towards cooler undertones. Known for being reclusive and scholarly, and are seen as some of the strongest magic users. Though they keep to themselves, they do get along with the other subspecies/clans and are often called on when someone who has more spiritual or magical knowledge is needed. Have the waterwalking or the waterbreathing abilities. They live in caves carved out by flowing water or build impressive structures out of different types of stone. A notable fact about these structures is that they have a tendency to decorate walls with carved images of historic or religious events/legends as a sort of "storytelling" medium.

• Outside of the three major region-based subspecies and their clans, there are also smaller, nomadic clans that consist of much more diverse members, though their heritage can still be gleaned from their abilities and appearances. These clans either look to work alongside the structured society of the major clans, or have problems with such authority and choose to survive on their own.

• Clans are highly structured and though many are encouraged to pursue their interests and what will make them happy, the ability to also contribute to the clan's survival is almost paramount and is something that carries a heavy weight when it comes to deciding the role an individual will take on. Some find comfort in this and some come to resent this, with the latter often leaving their clans as a result to join one of the nomadic ones. This is usually not met with any negative social stigma unless this Erdhuf was playing a crucial role and did not leave behind anyone fitting enough to take their place.

• Polytheistic: pantheon consists of a "mother" goddess and a handful of patron ones governing different aspects or regions/clans. Lot of legends talking about infighting because there's all kind of sibling level rivalries.

• True source of their magic is still unknown to them, though it ranges from "gift from the gods" to "magic experiment gone wrong" so that's a major point of contention.

• Magic is getting a major rework atm but in essence it's pretty open-ended on the kind of spells that an individual can learn (or the level of magic they use compared to other abilities) but the general consensus is that they tend to focus in one area of interest if they're more drawn to working with magic. Currently debating on if they should go the D&D magic route or the skill tree style route.

• Their biggest vices are still vanity, pride, and stubbornness. The vanity in particular results in lots of accessories, both physical and magical, and sometimes things like antler or fur modifications of sorts.

• Different clans have their own traditions and social practices, but all of them are typically led by elders and the most notable of these elders will come together to a large multiple-clan council should the need every arise.

• Clan politics is essentially just siblings yelling at each other, it's great. Very few genuine clashes happen, thankfully. They're all more concerned about outside threats.

• Names tend to either be based off nature or are related to aspects/theme that the family are particularly fond of. Not all, but a good majority do.

• Tie a weapon to their tail. Now they have a deadly tail whip.