Kenku

**Kenkus** are a race of flightless bird-like humanoids. They tend to be one-track minded and have minds completely alien to that of other humanoids. Once the guardians of knowledge on Sahul they have since fallen into decline. Nowadays they operate in small gangs and often live in large human cities, where they worked as spies, assassins, or thieves.

## Description

Although kenku look like crows, they are not related to them. Kenkus have no wings or capacity for flight. Instead, they have densely feathered arms and bird-like talons for hands and feet. They do share some similarities with crows thou, such as black and beady eyes and a long dark-hued beak. Their head and torso are covered with soft feathers, a dark shiny black colour, while their scrawny limbs are bare and scaled like those of other birds.

Kenkus tended to be slightly taller than an average dwarf, standing at around 1.5 metres. Because they have partially hollow bones, they are extremely light, averaging only 33 kilograms.

## Abilities

Kenkus don't think in the same way as normal creatures. Their brain works in the form of flowcharts, similar to a computer program, with thought patterns such as **"If see creature, cat; go into sneak mode; sneak to creature, cat; exterminate creature, cat; EXTERMINATE"**. Because of this way of thinking, kenkus are incapable of forming a single unique sudden though, and as such cant really speak. Instead they learn to associate sounds to thought patterns and as responses to input. This causes their voice to switch between different pitches, volumes, and accents with every word, imitating the first person they have heard say it, and in some cases it even causes them to use sounds to describe things instead of words.

Almost a century ago, the kenku used to work in a massive library called Frroep where they tirelessly collected and copied great works of writing from across Sahul, some even older than the disappearance itself. Now, even when Frroep is long gone, the kenku still program their chicks to copy documents, writing style and all, that they come across; a skill valued by the criminal underbellies of big cities. Kenkus in general are loves by criminal organisations for their dexterous movement and their deadly silence when stalking a target, their light feathered bodies allowing them to fall softly on the ground. A group of kenkus is often a sight of dread for debtors and criminals, suddenly appearing silently without a sound and striking without a word. This utter silence is because each kenku know exactly which series of actions they have to follow, removing the need of communication between members of the group.

## Names

**Names**: Assim, Beeb-beeb, Crasher, Damned-birds, Eaglescreams, Flut, Grogbarrel, Haka, Iritat, Joye, Klingklang, Loof, Miaunomore, Nyan, Ohno, Prroeoe, Quick, Robotnic, Skrattt, Tailonsharp, UK-twoseven

## Ingame-statistics

Your Kenku character shares certain traits with other kenku.
***Ability Score Increase.*** You can increase one of your ability scores by 2, and another one by 1. These increases can’t raise a score above 20.
***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 understand Primordial and Common, but you can only speak words you have heard before through your Mimicry trait. The words you say sound disconnected and constantly change pitch, as if each word is from a different conversation. Words that you don't know the word for will be replaced with the sound they make, such as the ringing of a bell for bell or the barking of a dog for dog.