Tengu (Ten-goo)
Humanoids with bird-like characteristics, the tengu are spread throughout the realms and are just as varied. Materan tengu resemble crows or ravens, and are gifted linguists and often work as information brokers and spies.
Basic Information
Anatomy
The tengu have long feathers in on their arms that often grow into vestigial wings, and with training and grooming can grow enough to function as true wings, granting the tengu limited flight.
Biological Traits
While quite observant one their own, with training, many tengu are able to temporarily increase their perceptive capabilities and innate intuition for a short burst of time. With mastery of ancient techniques, some tengu can even temporarily transform into smaller birds, such as ravens and crows, to move quickly and unobserved.
Genetics and Reproduction
A tengu usually lays a single large egg, but occasionally are able to lay them in pairs. Their eggs usually incubate for a year before hatching.
Growth Rate & Stages
Tengu reach adulthood at 15 years of age, and molt their feathers much more often then the annual molting of adult tengu.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Most tengu primarily eat meals consisting of insects, but can be found partaking in most types of food. They often have many different ways and styles to prepare food, often combining lots of different things to extremely exotic dishes. Such dishes are often viewed with disgust by other races, often due to inclusion of the aforementioned insects.
Biological Cycle
Adult tengu molt their feathers annually, a process that usually takes around a month. While times differ, most tengu molt in the summer, when their bodies don't need to worry about extreme cold.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Tengu society is diverse based on region and tribe, but for most, power is gained mostly through garnering public opinions. Villages and cities often acting similar to large tribes, with various tengu competing for seats of power in various factions. While often divided internally, the tengu are quick to unite and work in tandem when faces with external threats.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Many tengu often keep old, molted feathers as writing quills, and will occasionally gift such items out to close friends. Tengu's that are born into slavery are prized for their infiltration abilities, as they are well known to be excellent spies. Keeping the loyalty of such tengu when they infiltrate an enemy nation is quite a difficult task however, and many slave-spies quickly defect in order to escape their chains.
Facial characteristics
Tengu have avian heads, complete with a sharp beak that they can utilize for defense in a pinch.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
While tengu can be found scattered throughout the Nine Realms, most Materan Tengu are found in the nation of Gurlen, located directly north of Ygg, the World Tree.
Average Intelligence
Tengu are cunning and perceptive, and are well trained in the ability to read people
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Tengu can see in low-light conditions, and are quite versed in noticing minute details and reading body language.
Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms
All types of tengu often train or keep birds as pets, often leaning towards birds of a similar type to themselves. Tengu governments always have extensive and effective courier bird systems to relay messages.
Civilization and Culture
Beauty Ideals
The tengu love shiny things, and thus often keep their feathers well groomed and gleaming, as well as adorning themselves with copious amount of jewelry.
Gender Ideals
Male and female tengu are relatively equal, with power gained through an individuals contributions to their group. The only exception to this is that mother tengu have absolute authority to veto the advancements of a male to one of her daughters.
Courtship Ideals
Male tengu almost always are the ones who initiate courtship in tengu society, but each often try various different things in pursuit of mates. Common in tengu courting are elaborate gifts and invitations to perform in a personal dance. Powerful families rarely allow their members to marry anyone bellow their status, and often make arraigned marriages with families of similar status.
Relationship Ideals
Tengu are shifty and untrusting, as they realize that information is power, and friends are either a enemy in disguise or a weakness for rivals to extort. Due to this, they prefer to keep most of their interactions purely business, and thus have little to no true friends.
Average Technological Level
Tengu are always on the lookout for new technologies to acquire.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Most tengu are naturally gifted when it comes to learning new languages, and can be found speaking a wide variety. Nearly all tengu speak Tengu and the Common varient of their realm, with Alka, Aquan, Auran, Ignan, Neko, Terran, and Ursan being the most common languages a tengu picks up.
Common Etiquette Rules
The tengu are well trained in the manners of polite society, with innuendo and wordplay the standard. A trade of gifts is often expected meeting with someone about important matters.
Common Dress Code
Most tengu have many outfits, each for different occasions. They often wear baggy clothes, able to easily conceal items, and most always carry another set of clothing, so they can always have a disguise to change into.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
When sending notes via messenger bird, a tengu always sends a raven when relaying bad news.
Many tengu take up the way of the sword, training extensively in the use of many different types of bladed weapons.
Common Taboos
A tengu who gives away personal family secrets is quick to find themselves the target of assassination attempts, and tengus never give things away for free, especially information.
Historical Figures
One of the members of the legendary adventuring group, the Band of the Sunlit Sword, was a tengu hunter named Darhuk.
Common Myths and Legends
A majority of tengu worship a member of the tengu pantheon, with most Materan tengu venerating Hunginn, the first ascended tengu and the deity of messengers and spies.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
The tengu have mostly good relations with other races, although rarely particularly close ones. Tengu are considered very efficient and reliable at their particular jobs, but flighty and unreliable at tasks outside of their usual work. They get along rather well with Humans, but have little in Common with other beastmen. Most Enthos races fear the tengu, due to their avian appearance, of which most tengu find hilarious and do little to dissuade rumors about them to the insect-folk, with some more evil-leaning tribes actively hunting and eating certain Enthos. The Nezumi harbor a deep hatred for the tengu, as they believed that the tengu god betrayed and abandoned their own deity in the distant past.
Racial Table - Tengu: Hit Dice: D8; Class Skills: Appraise, Fly, Perception, Profession, Stealth; Skill Ranks Per Level: 2 + Intelligence modifier; Weapon Proficiency: Simple, plus natural attacks, longswords and shortswords; Armor Proficiency: Light
| Level | BAB | Fort | Reflex | Will | Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Animal Minded, Bite, Gifted Linguist, Sneaky |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Swordtrained, Vestigial Wings |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Bite Increase, Owl's Wisdom |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Flight, +1 Dexterity, +1 Wisdom |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Bite Increase, Raven Form |
Random Starting Ages
| Adulthood | Intuitive1 | Self-Taught2 | Trained3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 years | +1d4 years (16 - 19) | +1d6 years (16 - 21) | +2d6 years (17 - 27) |
Random Height and Weight
| Gender | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 4 ft. | +2d6 in. (4 ft. 2 in. - 5 ft.) | 65 lbs. | +(2d6x3 lbs.) (71 - 101 lbs.) |
| Female | 3 ft. 10 in. | +2d6 in. (4 ft. - 4 ft. 10 in.) | 55 lbs. | +(2d6x3 lbs.) (61 - 91 lbs.) |
Tengu Aging Table
| Middle Age (-1 to Str, Dex, and Con, +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha) | Old (-2 to Str, Dex, and Con, +2 to Int, Wis, and Cha) | Venerable (-3 to Str, Dex, and Con, +3 to Int, Wis, and Cha) | Maximum Age (GM secretly decides maximum age) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 years | 53 years | 70 years | 70 + 2d20 years (72 - 110 years) |
Random Tengu Homelands
| % Rolled | Homeland | Trait Gained |
|---|---|---|
| 01-30 | Forest | Harvester |
| 31-60 | Swamp | Corpse Cannibal |
| 61-90 | Mountain | Resilient |
| 91-95 | Non-tengu Settlement | Adopted or Canter |
| 96-00 | Unusual Homeland | (Roll on Unusual Homeland Table) |
Random Tengu Families
| % Rolled | Parental Status |
|---|---|
| 01-40 | Both of your parents are alive |
| 41-60 | Only Father is alive |
| 61-80 | Only Mother is alive |
| 81-00 | Both of your parents are dead. |
| % Rolled | # of Siblings |
|---|---|
| 01-50 | 1d2 Siblings |
| 51-00 | No siblings |
Lifespan
72 - 110 lbs
Average Height
4 ft. - 5 ft. 2. in
Average Weight
61 - 101 lbs.
Average Physique
Tengu are fast and graceful, however they have hollow bones like actual birds. This causes them to have less body strength and low stamina, and many tengu hire others to do manual tasks for them rather then do it themselves.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Nearly all materan tengu are some form of black, but lighter tones of brown and and grey do occasionally manifest.
Related Organizations
Tengu
Type
Humanoid (Tengu)
Ability Score Modifier
+2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Constitution. Tengus are fast and observant, but fragile.
Size
medium
Speed
Tengus have a base speed of 30 feet.
Language
A Tengu begins play speaking Common and Tengu. A tengu with a high intelligence score can choose from any of the following languages: Alka, Aquan, Auran, Ignan, Neko, Terran or Ursan.
- Materil: A Materan Tengu can be tied to any of the Materils, although the racial variants are tied to the Materil of their realm. Materan tengu tend towards Windcallers.
- Animal Minded: Tengus gain a +2 racial bonus on Handle Animal and wild empathy checks on avian creatures. This bonus increases by 1 for every two hit dice beyond the 1st the tengu possesses.
- Bite: A tengu has a bite attack that deals 1d3 points of damage. This bite is a primary natural attack. The bites damage increases to 1d4 points of damage at 3rd racial level and 1d6 at 5th racial level.
- Gifted Linguist: Tengus gain a +4 racial bonus on Linguistics checks and learn two languages every time they put a rank in Linguistics instead of just one.
- Sneaky: A tengu gains a +4 racial bonus to Stealth checks. This bonus increases by 1 for every two hit dice beyond the 1st the tengu possesses.
- Swordtrained: At 2nd racial level, a tengu gains proficiency with all sword-like weapons.
- Vestigial Wings: Starting a 2nd racial level, a tengu gains a +4 racial bonus on Fly checks. This bonus increases by 1 for every three hit dice beyond the 2nd the tengu possesses.
- Owl’s Wisdom (Sp): Starting at 3rd racial level, 1/day a tengu can cast owl's wisdom on itself as a spell-like ability, using its total hit dice as its caster level. At 5th racial level, they can use this ability on other creatures, acting as mass owl's wisdom, targeting a number of creatures equal to 1/2 its hit dice.
- Flight: At 4th racial level, a tengu can fly at a limited capacity. They gain a Fly speed of 10 feet with clumsy maneuverability. This imparts a -8 penalty to Fly checks (although this penalty will be lessened by the vestigial wings trait) .
- Raven Form (Su): Starting at 5th racial level, a tengu can transform itself into a tiny sized raven or similar bird. This ability functions as beast shape II using the tengus total hit dice as their caster level. This increases the tengus fly speed to 60 feet with good maneuverability, granting the tengu a +4 size bonus to Dexterity, a -2 size penalty to Strength, and a +1 natural armor bonus to AC.
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