Kenku

Commonly seen as thieves and pickpockets, kenku are flightless birds who live at the edges of most society. With their natural ability to copy someone's speech and writing, it's not difficult to see why they've earned an untrustworthy reputation, but they can prove to be valuable allies.

Dreams of Flight

Kenku, unlike their avian cousins aarakocra and otus, didn't retain their capacity for flight when they gained intelligence. This has led to a fascination among many kenku with returning to the skies however they can. Many kenku live in high up towers or in small rooftop apartments and use their wings to glide down to the city streets, recapturing the feeling of flight for only just a moment. Their light bones and fluffy coating of dark feathers still make kenku lighter and more nimble in the air than most species, and it's common to see them hopping large distances across the ground rather than walking.

Endless Mimicry

Although a kenku's vocal chords makes fluent speech in non-Aavak languages (including Common) difficult at best, kenku can perfectly mimic any sound they hear, from a leonin's roar to the noise of rocks clattering down a hillside. However, kenku have great difficulty combining sounds in new ways, and communicate most efficiently by repeating sounds they have heard. Most kenku use a combination of overheard phrases and sound effects to convey their ideas and thoughts.
By the same token, kenku can copy existing items with exceptional skill, allowing them to become excellent artisans and scribes. They can copy books, make replicas of objects, and otherwise thrive in situations where they can produce large numbers of identical items. Few kenku find this work satisfying for long however, and their curiosity drives them to try something new.

Memorizing Minds

Kenku have a talent for learning and memorizing details. For this reason, many kenku make an easy living serving as messengers, spies, or lookouts for businesses, wilderness outposts, bandits, or criminal cartels. A network of kenku can relay a bird call or similar noise across the city, alerting their allies to the approach of a foe or threat.
Since kenku can precisely reproduce any sound, the messages they carry rarely suffer degradation or shifts in meaning. Other messengers might switch words or phrases and garble a message inadvertently, but the kenku produce perfect copies of whatever they hear.

You can use the kenku memorization table to find or inspire something your kenku character has picked up over the course of their life.

d6	Memorization
1	Every recipe from a particular cookbook is in my head.
2	There's a song I can play flawlessly on one instrument.
3	I learned several knife tricks by watching someone at a bar.
4	I know how to make one piece of furniture or jewelry exactly the same every time.
5	I can perfectly re-enact the first play I saw.
6	I have a complete map of my hometown in my head, and can give flawless directions.

Kenku Names

Given that kenku can duplicate any sound, their names are drawn from a staggering variety of noises and phrases. Kenku names tend to be based on sounds that relate to their lives and make no distinction between male and female names.
Warriors may adopt noises made by weapons, such as the clang of a mace on armor or the sound of a snapping bone. Examples include Smasher, Basher, and Slicer. Kenku tradesmen adopt noises made as part of their craft. A fluttering sail on a ship, coins clinking in a purse, or a hammer striking metal. Examples include Chopper, Hammerer, and Sizzler. Kenku who find themselves living a life of crime may have names that can be mistaken for other common noises, such as Rain Drop, Whistler, Scratcher, or Growler.

Kenku Traits

Your kenku character has the following species traits:
Ability Score Increase Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age Kenku reach maturity around 12 years of age, and live nearly as long as the majority of species.
Alignment Kenku generally trend towards chaotic alignments.
Size Your size is medium.
Speed Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Expert Forgery You can duplicate other creature's handwriting and craftwork. You have advantage on all checks made to produce forgeries or duplicates of existing objects.
Mimicry You can mimic sounds you have heard, including voices. A creature that hears the sounds you make can tell they are imitations with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check opposed by your Charisma (Deception) check.
Corvid Skill 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.
Flutter Jump When jumping or leaping, you may flap your wings to increase the vertical or horizontal distance by a distance equal to your proficiency bonus x 5.
Language You speak Aavak.

Origin/Ancestry

Vittania

Lifespan

60

Average Height

5'

Average Weight

100

Related Organizations

• Vittania

Birds of a Feather

Kenku family units are extremely flexible, and generally don't have much to do with blood relation. A mixed group of family and friends is called a flock, and can consist of as many as forty individuals. The flock is informally led by the oldest or most experience kenku with the widest collected knowledge to reference. They typically only take a leading role when a decision needs to be made that could effect the whole flock. Kenku who become adventurers are generally looking to find a new flock, or hoping to provide something to their current one.

Kenku Festivities

Kenku holidays often involve costuming and mimicry of folk heroes and ancestral figures, alongside feasting and flock get-togethers. Siblings will often wear big, floppy hats and eyepatches on opposite eyes, the appearance of the brothers Thought and Memory. Bright red and white masks are common, typically with exaggerated and elongated features like the stories of the forest spirits. Others will wear cloaks to mimic rainbow colored feathers, evoking one of many creation stories - a kenku hero who once stole fire from The God's realm.

On the Origins of Kenku

It's often joked that there are as many stories of the kenku's origin as there are kenku. For a species with such remarkable capacity to copy and disseminate information, it surprised me to learn there is no singular, dominant origin myth like the Lagombi have.
"Some kenku claim they're a cursed people: a bird who can't fly, speak to other species, and endlessly bound to mimic rather than originate because of these limitations" an elderly Otus who studies myths at the Luneburg Institute translated for me. A kenku he'd been interviewing recently hopped alongside us, whistling and clicking in Aavak. "Some villages tell tales that claim their voices were stolen by wizards, and that some day a brave kenku will find the people's voices locked away."
We came to a stop in front of a painting. Its oils detailed the Moot in dazzling light and shadow. My kenku companion pointed her claw at a figure to the right side. The kenku who was present that day. Her people's representative. She spoke softly for a moment, a look of peace on her face.
"She says she has a preferred myth, the one she heard as a child. Her people were made to be the eyes and ears of The God. Here to listen, observe, and experience the World of its creation for it."
-Rodanté