Rakshasas were a dignified race of duplicitous outsiders that mostly dwelt on the Material Plane. They were reviled as devious sorcerers, political puppeteers and thought to be an embodiment of evil.
The true form of a rakshasa was almost never seen due to their ability to assume almost any humanoid figure, but their lavish taste ensured they were almost always wearing the finest garments and most precious jewelry. Their true forms were most commonly humanoids with the heads of tigers and luxurious fur to match their attire, although it was not unusual for them to possess the heads and features of carnivorous apes, crocodiles or mantises, with high ranking rakshasas being rumored to have multiple heads. One rakshasa known to Inther Blackfeather of Luskan even possessed a scorpion-like tail.[
The eyes of a rakshasa could range from gold and black slits for felines to protruding, multifaceted spheres for insects but always contained a fiendish glimmer of disturbing, infernal intellect. However, their most unnerving and unique feature was their reversed hands. The palms of a rakshasa faced out from the body when the arms were at rest and the finger joints bent backwards to grasp and manipulate objects.
Rakshasas stood 6‒7 ft (1.8‒2.1 m) tall, with those of lower rank being shorter. Their build was typical for a human of their size and they weighed between 250‒350 lb (110‒160 kg).