The Avian Assassins

## General Overview

The Avian Assassins are a formerly secretive organization comprised of political assassins, thieves, criminals and masterminds. They are stationed worldwide and their main base in housed in Phandelver.

"*Birds of the feather, assassins forever" -* Avian Assassin motto

## History

Since being introduced, not much information is known about the particular group, however many of its staff and notable members have been introduced, albiet briefly, in the city Black Hallow. According to Charlie, they are a crime syndicate with a goal that believes that people cannot e trusted to govern themselves, that the 5 major rulings of Phandelver will eventually be the downfall of the whole continent. it is up to them to take over and restore order to the continent and the world.

The bird motifs are yet to be explained, but it seems to be a common trait amongst their ranks. Members with higher power have more unique designs, like that of Thunderbird or Magpie, while lower working members are like drones to them with uniforms that have a mundane black and white color scheme with a uniform bird mask that resembles that of a swallow bird.

According to Charlie, they were a top secret group who worked in the shadows until 6 years ago where they became slightly more active in both their goals and their actions. This change came about when their new leader stepped up and changed everything. Why this happened is unknown.

## Ranks

As any organization goes, there are ranks amongst the assassins to delegate tasks and oversee the whole operation to ensure it runs smoothly. Listed below are the ranks from the highest to the lowest ranks in descending order:

- Phoenix

- The Talon

- Nest Directors

- Beaks

- Winged Operatives

- The Nest

- Swallows

- captured/hired workers

### Phoenix

The Phoenix is the lone head of the Avian Assassins and the one in charge of the whole syndicate. there have been 3 people in the history of the assassins who have held the title of Phoenix.

The Red Phoenix was the first to hold the title, but his role and impact is currently unknown.

The Blue Phoenix was the second and previous leader who led the assassins for a considerable amount of time before being killed.

The Yellow Phoenix is the current leader and assassin of the Blue Phoenix. He is an enigmatic figure that controls the Avian Assassins and supposedly is responsible for making them go public and the creation of the Beaks rank.

### The Talon

The most elite members chosen for their incredible skill in their own respects and their loyalty to the Avian Assassins. Few of the Assassins are promoted to Talon and those who do usually answer directly to the Phoenix. Most of the time they oversee operations and train new recruits. It's one of the more important roles to the syndicate. Currently they are led by Thunderbird, or Gwen Skie, who is a powerful warlock in her own right and one of the few members who is capable of wielding a Divine Hand.

### Nest Directors

High rank individuals who are in charge of manning the dirty work for operations. Directors are normally in command, order recruits, send out operatives, etc. Unless a Talon member takes over their job. Operatives and the Nest report directly to the Nest Directors.

### Beaks

The most public members with few members, the Beaks are the mouthpiece to the public who addresses them about either demands or other such orders for the Assassins. While some are very skilled criminals, they normally do not perform jobs. And while they do technically outrank the Winged Operatives, they essentially are on the same level.

### Winged Operatives

The most well known division, Winged operatives are the more skilled and better trained version of the Feather Agents. They do elite field work such as recognizance and are on the front lines during operations. While Nest Directors are in command for how an operation works, Winged Operatives are in charge during the mission and only take orders from the Nest Director.

A tradition for the Assassins is that the Winged Operatives must have a partner to hold them accountable and aid them in missions. A saying amongst the other operatives is that "A bird cannot fly without both it's wings."

### The Nest

The most active members, the Nest is a collective group of three subdivisions that all play a part in the whole of the syndicate.

#### Feather Agents

The Feather agents are the most abundant in the Nest and act as the field agents for the assassins. They perform duties given to them which are usually low priority by either Winged Operatives or Nest Directors. They mainly gather intel, spying, and doing errands.

#### Eyes in the Sky

The overwatch of the assassins, they utilize and compile data received by the agents to help plan out operations and guide operatives and swallows during a mission.

#### Eggheads

R&D department, they are in charge of developing new equipment and weapons as well as reverse engineering any new equipment they may have stolen. There are also departments in the Eggheads that do research on historical artifacts, art history, and other such subjects that can help identify if something is worth stealing, killing, or demolishing.

### Swallows

The lowest rank possible within the Avian Assassins. Swallows are the most common members and are usually people who have signed up or were captured to work for the assassins. Since the veil of secrecy was open, the swallows numbers rose up to the hundreds of thousands. They do minimal tasks and low priority missions.

### Captured/Hired

Technically not part of the organization, just anyone forced to work for the assassins. They answer to anyone of any rank.

### Notable Members

- Magpie: (Met) Thieving Rogue ; Rank: Talon Member ; Name Unknown

- Songbird: (Met) Sophisticated Bard ; Rank: Beak ; Name Unknown

- Thunderbird: (Encountered) Warlock ; Rank: Talon Leader ; Name: Gwen Skie

- The Yellow Phoenix: (Mentioned) Unknown ; Rank: Current Leader

- The Blue Phoenix: (Mentioned) Unknown ; Status: Deceased

- Mockingbird: (Met) Unknown ; Rank: Winged Operative; Name Unknown

- Flamengo: (Met) Pyromancer ; Rank: Winged Operative ; Name Unknown

## Trivia

* The Avian Assassins were originally created as a group my character Blue Jay would be a part of in the original Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign, which was DM'd by a different person.
* Whether or not Blue Jay will make an appearance as a member is TBD.
* Gwen Skie is currently the only known member who is using a homebrew warlock patron: The Living Storm.
* A mistake was made when first meeting Gwen, as she is capable of both summoning her scythe and causing thunder, which should be impossible in Black Hollow since it's a magic dead zone.
* Magpie is, or was, a trained psychiatrist.
* The Avian Assassin's logo is a silhouette of a bird carrying a dagger.
* Magpie is a spy for Hecate, but she became more insane undercover over the years as she was under a contract with her.
* Credit to original creator, me, DoctorJay03.