Page 111 - Volo's Guide to Monsters

CHAPTER 2 ! dll.ARAC'T'ER

ideas or create new things. Kenku can copy existing
who overhear them mistake them for common animals.
By the same token, kenku have no ability to invent new
manner, kenku can call out to each other while those
and sound effects to convey their ideas and thoughts.
noises, typically those common in urban settings. In this
Most kenku use a combination of overheard phrases
Kenku thieves, con artists, and burglars adopt animal
can communicate only by using sounds they have heard.
and Basher.
side. However, kenku cannot create new sounds and
of this type of name include Smasher, Clanger, Slicer,
ling's voice to the noise of rocks clattering down a hill-
refer to the kenku by describing this noise. Examples
can perfectly mimic any sound they hear, from a half-
or the sound made by a breaking bone. Non-kenku
Although unable to speak in,their own voices, kenku
by weapons, such as the clang of a mace against armor
term schemes.
Kenku thugs, warriors, and toughs adopt noises made
but they fail at effective planning or crafting long-
female names.
leaders enforce discipline and minimize conflicts,
categories that make no distinction between male and
comfortably as minions of a powerful master. Flock
phrases. Kenku names tend to break down into three
As, a r~sult of their lack of creativity, kenku function
are drawn from a staggering variety of noises and
HOPELESS PLAGIARISTS
Given that kenku can duplicate any sound, their names
KENKU NAMES
highest levels and to keep watch on the city below.
towers the guild controls, allowing them to lurk in the
and words of its chosen companion.
sengers. The kenku dwell in the tallest buildings and
emulate and follow. A kenku loves to mimic the voice
Some thieves' guilds use kenku as lookouts and mes-
dence, still have a tendency to seek out a companion to
man or an ore.
Kenku adventurers, despite their relative indepen-
in rickety structures that would collapse beneath a hu-
and find a method to break it.
Even so, their light weight and size allow them to dwell
to master magic, or to uncover the secret of their curse
strike out on their own in search of the secrets of flight,
more ambitious and daring than their fellows. Others
has grown weary of a life of crime. These kenku are
that has sustained heavy losses, or a rare kenku who
Kenku adventurers are usually the survivors of a flock
KENKU ADVENTURERS
kenku produce perfect copies of whatever they hear.
or phrases and garble a message inadvertently, but the
in meaning. Human messengers might switch words
messages they carry rarely suffer degradation or shifts
Since kenku can precisely reproduce any sound, the
trol or signaling a prime opportunity for a robbery.
city, alerting their allies to the approach of a guard pa-
kenku can relay a bird call or similar noise across the
guilds, bandits, and other criminal cartels. A network of
serving as messengers, spies, and lookouts for thieves'
For this reason, many kenku make an easy living
derlings can follow orders to the letter.
sets multiple plans in motion at once, confident that un-
the talent to improvise or alter a plan, but a wise Master
by other creatures can put them to use. The kenku lack
kenku who learns of clever schemes and plans devised
bitious kenku can excel as superb spies and scouts. A
talent for learning and memorizing details. Thus, am-
Although kenku can't create new things, they have a
store of knowledge to draw on, often called Master.
the oldest and most experienced kenku with the widest
Kenku gather in groups called flocks. A flock is led by
IDEAL MINIONS

settle into a routine.
quest for the freedom of flight makes them ill-suited to
items. Few kenku find this work satisfying, since their
tions where they can produce large numbers of identical
make replicas of objects, and otherwise thrive in situa-
excellent artisans and scribes. They can copy books,
items with exceptional skill, allowing them to become