Description
The birds without wings, the birds that can't fly. Feathered folk who resemble ravens, Kenku are blessed with keen observation and supernaturally accurate memories. They feature black, grey, or dark blue feathers and legend has it that they once had wings. Whether that is true or not, is hard to tell as the incident happened at the early periods of the 1st Era where written records did not exist and it's extremely rare for any being to be alive since then and actually remember. However the story that any Kenku will tell you, is that they were proud ravenfolk, with large ebony wings that soared the skies faster than any other. Their purpose was to observe, spy and learn about other races and report back to the Shadow Realm where the Mistress of Schemes was working on her own version of humans. But the Kenku, which were masters of mimicking, started to spend more and more time with their targets, attempt to mimic their habits even further and failed to report back in time, something important. The Mistress of Schemes, furious of them failing their most important task, tore apart their wings and left them to walk. This story, with a bit of variation here and there, is what each kenku passes to their offspring along with the reminder to never displease the Mistress of Schemes in their life, or terrible things will happen to them.
Origins
Kenku were created by Izalith.
Genetics
Kenku have an innate tendency for mischief and more often than not are greedy. The fact that are birdfolk without wings, drives them to strive for monetary wealth or power to look better in other races' eyes.
Lifespan
Kenku have shorter lifespans than humans. They reach maturity at about 12 years old and can live to 60.
Homeland
Also found in
Eratus, Outcast Island, Fairy's Rest
Reputation
Kenku's excellent memory makes them popular assassins, bankers, treasury advisors and guides. They are known always to charge higher than any competition.
Alive/Extinct
Kenku are alive until the 4th era.
Kenku Traits
As a kenku, you have the following racial traits.
Ability Scores: Increase your Intelligence by 1.
Creature Type: You are a Humanoid.
Size: Your size is Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.
Speed: Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Expert Duplication: When you copy writing or craftwork produced by yourself or someone else, you have advantage on any ability checks you make to produce an exact duplicate.
Kenku Recall: Thanks to your supernaturally good memory, you have proficiency in two skills of your choice.
Moreover, when you make an ability check using any skill in which you have proficiency, you can give yourself advantage on the check before rolling the d20. You can give yourself advantage in this way a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Mimicry: You can accurately mimic sounds you have heard, including voices. A creature that hears the sounds you make can tell they are imitations only with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check against a DC of 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier.
Languages: Your character can speak, read and write (writing requires INT score 6 or higher) Goblin and one other language of your choice that you and your DM agree is appropriate for your character's backstory. A list of languages and their regions can be found in Languages.