Fighting Guild

The map we found showed the entrance to the Priest King’s treasure cache right in the middle of the ruined section of the city. We approached our destination without issue, but as we arrived at the burned-out building, a sudden cacophony erupted around us. Birds squawked, cats hissed, and dogs growled. Lidda hustled us back to the city’s safer avenues. Only when we were back within the area patrolled by the guard did she explain that the noises indicated that the wingless folk had claimed that area, and that to trespass would be to court death.

— Gimble, Notes from a Treasure Hunter

Haunted by an ancient crime that robbed them of their wings, the kenku wander the world as vagabonds and burglars who live at the edge of human society. Kenku suffer from a sinister reputation that is not wholly unearned, but they can prove to be valuable allies.

An Ancient Curse

The kenku once served a mysterious, powerful entity on another plane of existence. Some believe they were minions of Grazz’t, while others say that they were scouts and explorers for the Wind Dukes of Aaqa. Whatever the truth, according to legend, the kenku betrayed their master. Unable to resist the lure of a beautiful sparkling treasure, the kenku plotted to steal the item and escape to the Material Plane.

Unfortunately for the kenku, their master discovered their plan before they could enact it. Enraged, the entity imposed three dreadful curses upon them. First, the kenku’s beloved wings withered and fell away from their bodies, leaving them bound to the earth. Second, because their ingenuity and skill had turned toward scheming against their patron, the spark of creativity was torn from their souls. Finally, to ensure that the kenku could never divulge any secrets, their master took away their voices. Once the entity was satisfied that they had been sufficiently punished, the kenku were set loose on the Material Plane.

Since then, the kenku have wandered the world. They settle in places that accept them, usually bleak cities that have fallen on hard times and are overrun with crime.

Dreams of Flight

Above all else, kenku wish to regain their ability to fly. Every kenku is born with a desire to take to the air, and those who learn spellcasting do so in hope of mastering spells that will allow them to fly. Rumors of magic items such as flying carpets, brooms capable of flight, and similar objects provoke a great desire for the kenku to acquire the items for themselves.

Despite their lack of wings, kenku love dwelling in towers and other tall structures. They seek out ruins that reach to the sky, though they lack the motivation and creativity to make repairs or fortify such places. Even so, their light weight and size allow them to dwell in rickety structures that would collapse beneath a human or an orc.

Some thieves’ guilds use kenku as lookouts and messengers. The kenku dwell in the tallest buildings and towers the guild controls, allowing them to lurk in the highest levels and to keep watch on the city below.

Hopeless Plagiarists

As a result of their lack of creativity, kenku function comfortably as minions of a powerful master. Flock leaders enforce discipline and minimize conflicts, but they fail at effective planning or crafting long-term schemes.

Although unable to speak in their own voices, kenku can perfectly mimic any sound they hear, from a half­ling’s voice to the noise of rocks clattering down a hillside. However, kenku cannot create new sounds and can communicate only by using 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 have no ability to invent new ideas or create new things. 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, since their quest for the freedom of flight makes them ill-suited to settle into a routine.

Ideal Minions

Kenku gather in groups called flocks. A flock is led by the oldest and most experienced kenku with the widest store of knowledge to draw on, often called Master.

Although kenku can’t create new things, they have a talent for learning and memorizing details. Thus, ambitious kenku can excel as superb spies and scouts. A kenku who learns of clever schemes and plans devised by other creatures can put them to use. The kenku lack the talent to improvise or alter a plan, but a wise Master sets multiple plans in motion at once, confident that underlings can follow orders to the letter.

For this reason, many kenku make an easy living serving as messengers, spies, and lookouts for thieves’ guilds, bandits, and other 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 guard patrol or signaling a prime opportunity for a robbery.

Since kenku can precisely reproduce any sound, the messages they carry rarely suffer degradation or shifts in meaning. Human messengers might switch words or phrases and garble a message inadvertently, but the kenku produce perfect copies of whatever they hear.

Kenku Adventurers

Kenku adventurers are usually the survivors of a flock that has sustained heavy losses, or a rare kenku who has grown weary of a life of crime. These kenku are more ambitious and daring than their fellows. Others strike out on their own in search of the secrets of flight, to master magic, or to uncover the secret of their curse and find a method to break it.

Kenku adventurers, despite their relative independence, still have a tendency to seek out a companion to emulate and follow. A kenku loves to mimic the voice and words of its chosen companion.

ROLEPLAYING A KENKU

If you’re playing a kenku, constant attempts to mimic noises can come across as confusing or irritating rather than entertaining. You can just as easily describe the sounds your character makes and what they mean. Be clear about your character’s intentions unless you’re deliberately aiming for inscrutable or mysterious. 

You might say, “Snapper makes the noise of a hammer slowly and rhythmically tapping a stone to show how bored he is. He plays with his dagger and studies the Lords’ Alliance agent sitting at the bar.” Creating a vocabulary of noises for the other players to decode might sound like fun, but it can prove distracting and could slow down the game.

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 break down into three categories that make no distinction between male and female names.

Kenku thugs, warriors, and toughs adopt noises made by weapons, such as the clang of a mace against armor or the sound made by a breaking bone. Non-kenku refer to the kenku by describing this noise. Examples of this type of name include Smasher, Clanger, Slicer, and Basher.

Kenku thieves, con artists, and burglars adopt animal noises, typically those common in urban settings. In this manner, kenku can call out to each other while those who overhear them mistake them for common animals. Non-kenku use names that refer to the sound made or the animal a kenku mimics, such as Rat Scratch, Whistler, Mouser, and Growler.

Some kenku turn their back on crime to pursue legitimate trades. These kenku adopt noises made as part of their craft. A sailor duplicates the sound of a fluttering sail, while a smith mimics the clanging of a hammer on metal. Non-kenku describe these folk by their trade sounds, such as Sail Snap, Hammerer, and Cutter.

Kenku Traits

Your kenku character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age

Kenku have shorter lifespans than humans. They reach maturity at about 12 years old and can live to 60.

Size

Kenku are around 5 feet tall and weigh between 90 and 120 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Expert Forgery

You can duplicate other creatures’ handwriting and craftwork. You have advantage on all checks made to produce forgeries or duplicates of existing objects.

Kenku Training

You are proficient in your choice of two of the following skills: Acrobatics, Deception, Stealth, and Sleight of Hand.

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.

Languages

You can read and write Common and Auran, but you can speak only by using your Mimicry trait.

The archetypal Champion focuses on the development of raw physical power honed to deadly perfection. Those who model themselves on this archetype combine rigorous training with physical excellence to deal devastating blows.

Improved Critical

Beginning when you choose this archetype at 3rd level, your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.

Remarkable Athlete

Starting at 7th level, you can add half your proficiency bonus (round up) to any Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution check you make that doesn’t already use your proficiency bonus.

In addition, when you make a running long jump, the distance you can cover increases by a number of feet equal to your Strength modifier.

Additional Fighting Style

At 10th level, you can choose a second option from the Fighting Style class feature.

Archery

You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

Defense

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Great Weapon Fighting

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Protection

When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.

Two-Weapon Fighting

When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Superior Critical

Starting at 15th level, your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 18–20.

Survivor

At 18th level, you attain the pinnacle of resilience in battle. At the start of each of your turns, you regain hit points equal to 5 + your Constitution modifier if you have no more than half of your hit points left. You don’t gain this benefit if you have 0 hit points.

The dragons are long gone and there is a portion of history that is completely missing from the timeline. No one is able to explain why the dragons are gone or what happened to them. It’s almost as if that portion of history was erased from memories and no one can find the ties as to why. That was until Divelinson invaded the land of Kawit and uncovered the Gorga Ruins. The ruins was the first signs of the draconic history that is missing.

Diana Voxville, a researcher is tasked in uncovering the information of the forgotten history. She is a newly graduated scholar and artificer hiring a team of individuals to escort her and protect her in the journey of her research. She has postings that she has everywhere and is conducting interviews on who she feels best suited to escort her. However, due to her royal status and her recent father’s invasion of another country she finds it hard to get that help. Most people shun her and do not acknowledge her despite her plea for help.

A large scale war involving a realm take over. Dragons who had hailed from Drakonias had worked out a partnership with Unknown. With his guidance he created a group of individuals who were referred to as Dragon Riders. They rode and worked with the dragons for a land take over creating bloodshed and trauma wherever they went. The war was successful for the Dragons and Menor raising the elven kingdom above all.