The kenku in the Dungeons and Dragons game are fun and interesting.
I’ve put a lot of thought in to how the kenku curse manifests and how I play the details of how it works. I haven’t done a lot of research into the background of the characters, this is all personal headcanon.
I understand the kenku’s curse not to just be on their ability to literally speak, but to clearly or intentionally communicate. They can’t make their own words, or write or spell out what they want to say clearly or concisely, but they can use mimicry to convey the general idea. So let’s say a kenku is hungry and they want a sandwich. They can’t straight up say “I’m hungry and I would like a cheese and tomato sandwich with mustard”, but they could mimic the person in line before them asking for a meal, point to it, make hand gestures, etc. Remember of course they cannot speak in sign language – that is a language and thus falls under the curse.
Because of their inability to intentionally communicate they’re therefore unconsiously expressive with body language. While playing a kenku I spend a lot of time describing their expressions and body language, more so than other characters as it’s more relevant and important. Startled jumps, little noises of concern or alarm, wing flaps, coos, nervous preening, all of these are subconscious and uncontrollable ways the kenku betray their thoughts.
If you passively read a kenku’s mind, you might get a glimpse of their real thoughts, but I think because of the curse they don’t think in clear words anyway. As soon as the kenku tries to communicate even telepathically, the curse kicks in and it’s only mimicry, as again, this allows for clear language to be understood. As a GM, I would describe the kenku’s thoughts as images and senses, so their telepathic view of the bandit’s camp would be sensory: the smell of the unwashed bandits, the feel of the rough tent fabric, the bright glint of their treasure chest, the sound of their voices, the taste of a stolen wine bottle. You can still get across what the bandits were doing and where they were, but in a more roundabout way.
This is of course one of the reasons I enjoy playing a kenku, when the scene isn’t serious you have time to get creative with your expressions, and in a serious moment it challenges me as a player to get across important information in an indirect way. Kenku speak with their behaviour as well.
“Don’t ask a kenku whose side they’re on, but watch whose back they stick a knife in when the time comes.”
Pencival Teawater, innkeeper.
When it comes to everyday play, I think about how the character was raised for what common phrases they would have in their repertoire. I think they can only long-term remember phrases they hear daily for years (wash your hands, close the door, eat your dinner), otherwise after a few days it’s gone. If they didn’t ever forget any sound their brains would be overloaded, even with a high intelligence, and it seems more fair. Everyone forgets. I think they can learn to read and understand language, but again the curse comes in to effect when they try to intentionally communicate. They can write words, but only words they’ve repeatedly learned to write.
On their abilities – I think the mimicry of abilities works the same. My kenku character Qala (trickster rogue/trickster cleric) likes to cook, but they can only make the recipes their adoptive parents taught them. If you put Qala in a kitchen with unfamiliar ingredients and said “Make whatever” the poor thing would be lost. I also play that the recipes they made often are they ones they remember, they could be taught a new one, but if they weren’t repeatedly shown how to do it over time, they’ll forget after a few days.
Also on gendering kenku – ravens don’t have outward gender presentation differences like other bird species (peacocks for example), you have to get rather personal with a raven to learn their sex. With no visible gender differences, I play all kenku as gender neutral until they tell you otherwise (and of course they may not).
Your takeaway if you want to play a kenku this way:
Make a list of their common phrases/sound effects they learned growing up (spoken and written)
Consider what specific things they would learn to make & do repeatedly over time.
Put time & thought into body language & non-verbal expression
You’re only going to be able to get general concepts across, specifics will take work.
You are going to get misunderstood, or have moments where you desperately want someone to quickly understand you and they won’t. It’s okay to handwave this if you like for the sake of making the game go forward, but if you’re wanting the challenge, be aware these situations might come up. Awareness in advance will remind you to switch to another tactic or way of communicating.
Ideas? Thoughts? Questions?
Ivaebhin 