Copyright 2009 Wizards of the Coast

Kenku are raven-people, humanoid and human-sized but covered in feathers and with raven heads. They organize themselves into clan-like groups called flocks. Your typical kenku flock is tightly knit but very distrustful of outsiders, including kenku from other flocks. Each flock follows no laws but their own. Despite this, most of them live on or near major cities, and engage in a variety of illegal activities to survive.

So yeah. Crime birbs.

Kenku criminals tend to prefer non-violent activities such as grifts and cons, where their natural ability to mimic sounds and voices comes in handy. They can still fight pretty well if forced to. And despite the stereotyping they’re typically Unaligned, which means it’s definitely possible to find nicer individuals and flocks out there. Rural kenku can easily fill the same “isolationist but ultimately nice” role as cliche elven villages, and an urban flock could be predominantly performers or even a legitimate company for a nice change of pace.

The Numbers

Kenku are Medium Natural Humanoids. They have low-light vision, a ground speed of 6, and no innate flight speed despite being birds. They possess two interesting signature abilities.

Flock Effect makes them good at teamwork: they gain a +3 attack bonus when flanking and grant a +3 when using Aid Another, instead of the usual +2 to both activities.

Mimicry allows them to mimic any sound or voice. You have to win an opposed roll of your Insight vs. their Bluff to realize the sound is fake. Not all kenku in this entry are trained in Bluff, but the sneakier ones are.

Their levels are all in the early-to-mid Heroic tier, which in my mind means they’d be about as common as elves or halflings. They get playable stats at the end of this book, but I’m not sure if they ever got a full writeup later on.

Kenku Ruffian

Your typical crime-birb-on-the-street is a Level 3 Minion Skirmisher. They only have a basic club attack and the universal signature abilities, so they’re pretty much civilians despite the name “Ruffian”. If forced to fight they rely on numbers to hold the line while one or two of them go get help.

Kenku Warrior

Formally trained in a mobile fighting style, the warrior uses paired daggers and moves in a seemingly random pattern about the battlefield. Warriors are Level 3 Skirmishers with 44 HP.

Their daggers can be used as melee or ranged attacks (they carry 6). The Fluttering Attack maneuver allows them to shift 4 squares and make a dagger attack during the movement, and Combat Advantage gives them a damage bonus. They also have the universal traits, so combat advantage is even better for them and they have an easy time acquiring it.

Kenku Ringleader

Ringleaders lead small gangs of kenku in heists or raids, though they have enough sense to sound a retreat if guards or rivals show up in force. They’re Level 4 Soldiers with the Leader tag and 54 HP. They’re trained in Bluff and and Intimidate.

They use a spiked chain in melee and a sling at range. The chain attack is Reach 2 and marks on a hit. They Press the Attack maneuver is a chain strike that targets a marked enemy, does the usual damage, and knocks them prone on a hit.

They have the two standard kenku traits, and they can use Flock Reaction (minor; recharge 4+) to allow every ally in a close burst 3 to shift 1 square. Perfect for allowing them to disengage and retreat, or finish setting up a flanking maneuver.

Kenku Sneak

The first actual rogue in the crime birb entry, Sneaks are Level 4 Lurkers with 42 HP. They have a higher than usual speed of 7, and they fight with daggers both in melee and at range. They’re trained in Bluff, Stealth, and Thievery.

As the name implies, the Sneak engages with 4e’s Stealth rules, which dictate when someone can make a Stealth check to become “hidden” during combat and how fast they can move while hidden. I think that by default your speed is limited to 2 in that case - move faster and you’re detected.

Kenku sneaks have an advantage here in that they can move at speed 4 while hidden. Their Disappear into the Flock trait allows them to make those Stealth checks while they have cover from other kenkus, Hidden Strike gives them a hefty chunk of extra damage if they attack from hiding, and Sniper allows them to remain hidden if they miss with a ranged attack.

The tactics outlined by these traits are nifty. A sneak will always appear accompanied by a number of warriors or a huge band of ruffians. They’ll hide among the crowd and move it with, throwing daggers at the squishier PCs for big damage from a safe distance.

Kenku Wing Mage

Though kenku are flightless, it seems they have a magic tradition that seeks to correct that injustice. Wing mages practice this tradition, and as a result they know a lot of air and force magic as well. They’re Level 5 Artillery with 50 HP. Wielding daggers as weapons and implements, wing mages fight with spells that create wind and summon flocks of crows made of pure force.

Those force crows can be used in the Murder of Crows at-will attack (Ranged 20 vs. Reflex) which does force damage and makes the target grant combat advantage to the wing mage (save ends). They can also be used in the Death Flock encounter power (area burst 1 within 20 vs. Reflex) which does force damage and dazes (save ends).

Their main keep-away spell is Hurricane Blast (close burst 3 vs. Fortitude; recharge 5+), which does force damage and slides targets 3 squares. And finally, Wings of the Flock (minor; encounter) gives them a flight speed of 6 until the end of the encounter.

The wing mage is going to take off as soon as the fight starts, and will rain force crows upon the PCs from a safe elevation. Most ranged magic has a range smaller than 20, so the party better have some archers with them.

Kenku Assassin

Either an actual killer-for-hire or an elite combatant. Assassins love poison and unlike most other kenku they rarely surrender. They’re Level 5 Elite Skirmishers with 126 HP. They fight with envenomed daggers and a shortbow with envenomed arrows, both of which slow the enemy on a hit (save ends).

They have the same Fluttering Attack as the warriors, and when attacked they can use Gouging Talons as a reaction to hit back. If surrounded, Feather Burst (close burst 2; encounter) can automatically blind every enemy in the area for a turn, allowing them to escape.

Assassins prefer to stay at range, but once in melee they fight much like warriors. Their “elite extra attack” is a reaction, so they have an incentive to stay in the thick of it. Two of them, or one of them plus a squad of warriors, makes for an interesting encounter where no one stands still. They also go well with monsters that can exploit the “slowed” status, since they cause that at will.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

We have quite a few kenku encounters here, showcasing the sort of monster they keep as pets and the sort of allies they make into honorary flock members.

  • Level 2: 2 kenku warriors, 2 bloodseeker drakes, 1 pseudodragon. Hunters… or bounty hunters.

  • Level 3: 1 kenku ringleader, 8 ruffians, and 2 warriors. The whole gang’s here!

  • Level 4: 1 human berserker, 1 ringleader, 6 ruffians, 2 sneaks. Another gang, this one with an adopted member.

  • Level 5: 1 half-elf bandit captain, 2 human berserkers, 1 kenku assassin, 1 kenku wing mage. And this one works the other way around.

I like these kenku, though as usual I’d make their description as dastardly criminals less universal than the book seems to imply. A setting where they’re as common as the more traditional haflings and elves would be a cool place.