Snallygaster

Snallygasters are a mysterious race that exists in the shadows of the Mersan Union. Communicating in a language unlike any other, they are popular to use as agents and assassins among the crime lords of the Union’s larger cities. They are known as thieves and tinkerers, and have a constant rivalry with gnomes in the Apps mountains, and a hatred of the small beings that runs ancient and deep. They appear as bird-like individuals, often with the heads of ravens and wing-like arms, but are incapable of flight. They are frequently black or gray in coloring, sometimes with a mix. They possess lizard-like feet and claws, while nearly having something like a fur upon their stomachs and backs.

Snallygasters in D&D Fifth Edition

For the creation of a Snallygaster, simply use the character creation and statistics provided for kenku in Volo's Guide to Monsters. The single exception to this is that your character speaks Chirper, which is an actual language that can be used to communicate, along with mimicry. Snallygasters can also speak Common, though they tend to do so in snippets of conversation they've heard from other creatures.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Snallygasters typically use their own naming conventions that are incomprehensible to most humanoid races. They use a series of chirps and beeps to make the noises of their own names. To avoid confusion, the Snallygasters usually end up coming up with a more human sounding name when talking with other humanoids, or if they have to spend more than an usual amount of time among human populations. Sometimes they simply take a human word that they like the sound of and use that to identify themselves.

Relationship Ideals

Snallygasters have a different view on rules between relationships, and while a handful adopt more human culture patterns of relationships, those in an environment with more snallygasters have an opportunity to embrace more traditional roles. In these situations, snallygasters instead of being monogamous typically adopt a familial relationship that is more akin to a circle of friends than a human family.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

The snallygasters speak a language that many humans simply call "Chirper," as it consists of sounds and exclamations that sound significantly like the chirping of birds and lizards. The intricacies of the language are lost to most humans, as the language is used to connect the snallygasters, regardless of where they are from.

History

Snallygasters are native to the Apps Mountains and are believed to have an even older ancestry. They are common in ancient folklore and stories, but were absent for a long time. Ancient stories claim that they were long ago wiped out by a race other than humans well before the wars between humans and elves. This seems possible to have been gnomes due to the strange enmity that snallygasters have towards the diminutive race. Snallygasters strictly make their homes within the Mersan Union, where they have been welcomed by the local leadership. Their talent for agility and climbing have made them prized in the Apps Mountains that make up the western border of the nation. There are rumors that some hidden communities of snallygasters exist throughout the mountains, but none have ever been found by human explorers.

Lifespan

60 years

Average Height

5 - 6 ft

Average Weight

150 - 180 lbs