http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4wand/20130528 People have 4e Kenku characters so that should the version we lwan towards. Also in FR all these races are related to one of the creator races so careless retconing could make head aches for FR 5e designers. And Rapturians need to remain playable.
D&D 5E Wandering Monsters- Bird People
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
I honestly don't know jack about the old D&D Creature Catalog. The Gyerian sounds goof as frig, but whenever Wyatt starts talking about how stupid something is, I remember he's the guy that said D&D wasn't about traipsing through fairy rings and that talking to guards isn't the fun part of the game and I remember that James Wyatt clearly doesn't play the same kind of D&D that I enjoy. I could see the critters he describes as comic relief; more generally, I can see chicken-like critters related to ideas of the phoenix and the sun and the mythic resonance of the rooster. That's not what those critters are from his description -- pure comic relief -- but I honestly don't really trust Wyatt's view on what's fun for me in my games.
The nagpa sound kind of awesome....the cursed angle and the vulture visage is really cool. He describes them well; I'm into 'em.
The kenku/tengu distinction is something I end up agreeing with Wyatt about, here: they should be separate, with the thieving kenku as dirty little bird-rogues, and the tengu as the avian samurai. I would have no problems lumping Dire Corbies into this group, either; they seem to share some of the traits of both.
I'm not a fan of raptorians. The "make a pact with something" angle is trite, and the obvious "we have a mechanical niche, quickly, make a new race!" is obvious in them. They don't earn their place very easily, and their mechanical niche is something I disagree with: 1st-level flight is not inherently a problem in a game, any more than 1st-level teleportation is.
Aarakocra I like. Rather than a pact for control, I see them working with air elementals as allies and kindred, not master/servant. They're tribal and tense. They're ready-made for a good Interaction challenge in making peace with them, or in using them as allies. I also tend to think that they can be adventurers just like hobittesque halflings can: just because MOST of your race freaks out at the idea of being underground doesn't mean your character has to.
Lets just bite the bullet and allow aarakocra PC's that aren't super claustrophobic, but also aren't formed from a bond with air spirits. If 5e is fragile enough to break with flying PC's, it's too fragile to work for a variety of games.
If the raptorians can add anything beyond "flying PC!" to the mix, lets work with that. Maybe rather than a race, they can be a prestige class for elemental warlocks, or an organization of flying shamans, or something more distinct. They need to find their own reason for existing, and "FLYING PC, GUYS!" is not enough of a justification, because avariel, dragonborn, aasimar, deva, tiefling, pixie, the fly spell, etc....
As for the broader world context: lets stop swearing pacts to things, okay?! This is not a compelling hook for everything (*cough*Minotaur*cough*). Why can't bird people just fly without having to invoke magical air spirits? They're bird people, can't it be something they just do? Can't Dire Corbies be crazy little bird people of the underworld, without having to be linked to Pazuzu? It's like whenever the designers are out of ideas, they're like "lets have it swear a pact to something!" and/or "Lets make it a fey!"
Want these guys to get used more? Lets try something a little more authentic and a little less "throwing crap against the wall."
Aarkocra: Become a PC race, decrease the severity of the claustrophobia at least for PCs, they fly naturally. They're also friends with air spirits -- allies, not sworn servants. Sure, they can be friends with djinn, why not, but lets not have it define them to the point of hating fire, mokay?
Raptorians: Become a PC option -- a prestige class, organization, specialty, or somesuch. They learn to fly over time, and ARE the sworn servants of air spirits. They are how normal people learn to fly. Their 3e backstory becomes the story of how 5e PC's become one. These guys can maybe hate on efreet, they're already mentioned as being warriors for the air elementals.
Kenku: PC race of tricksy crow-people. There's a lot of weight in that archetype, all urban grit and survivalism. Make them a large population in a big city, and it should connect them well.
Tengu: Monster. Supernatural bird-samurai. Keep 'em mythic. There's a potential for these guys to be fey-related, too.
Dire Corby: Monster. One of the bizarre hoards of the Underdark. Keep 'em simple and weird and chaotic and animalistic. Meeting these guys should be like something out of Hitchcock, all beady eyes and blood-soaked beaks, black feathers boiling out of bolt-holes with echoing croaking cawing noises and the screams of your companions.
The nagpa sound kind of awesome....the cursed angle and the vulture visage is really cool. He describes them well; I'm into 'em.
The kenku/tengu distinction is something I end up agreeing with Wyatt about, here: they should be separate, with the thieving kenku as dirty little bird-rogues, and the tengu as the avian samurai. I would have no problems lumping Dire Corbies into this group, either; they seem to share some of the traits of both.
I'm not a fan of raptorians. The "make a pact with something" angle is trite, and the obvious "we have a mechanical niche, quickly, make a new race!" is obvious in them. They don't earn their place very easily, and their mechanical niche is something I disagree with: 1st-level flight is not inherently a problem in a game, any more than 1st-level teleportation is.
Aarakocra I like. Rather than a pact for control, I see them working with air elementals as allies and kindred, not master/servant. They're tribal and tense. They're ready-made for a good Interaction challenge in making peace with them, or in using them as allies. I also tend to think that they can be adventurers just like hobittesque halflings can: just because MOST of your race freaks out at the idea of being underground doesn't mean your character has to.
Lets just bite the bullet and allow aarakocra PC's that aren't super claustrophobic, but also aren't formed from a bond with air spirits. If 5e is fragile enough to break with flying PC's, it's too fragile to work for a variety of games.
If the raptorians can add anything beyond "flying PC!" to the mix, lets work with that. Maybe rather than a race, they can be a prestige class for elemental warlocks, or an organization of flying shamans, or something more distinct. They need to find their own reason for existing, and "FLYING PC, GUYS!" is not enough of a justification, because avariel, dragonborn, aasimar, deva, tiefling, pixie, the fly spell, etc....
As for the broader world context: lets stop swearing pacts to things, okay?! This is not a compelling hook for everything (*cough*Minotaur*cough*). Why can't bird people just fly without having to invoke magical air spirits? They're bird people, can't it be something they just do? Can't Dire Corbies be crazy little bird people of the underworld, without having to be linked to Pazuzu? It's like whenever the designers are out of ideas, they're like "lets have it swear a pact to something!" and/or "Lets make it a fey!"
Want these guys to get used more? Lets try something a little more authentic and a little less "throwing crap against the wall."
Aarkocra: Become a PC race, decrease the severity of the claustrophobia at least for PCs, they fly naturally. They're also friends with air spirits -- allies, not sworn servants. Sure, they can be friends with djinn, why not, but lets not have it define them to the point of hating fire, mokay?
Raptorians: Become a PC option -- a prestige class, organization, specialty, or somesuch. They learn to fly over time, and ARE the sworn servants of air spirits. They are how normal people learn to fly. Their 3e backstory becomes the story of how 5e PC's become one. These guys can maybe hate on efreet, they're already mentioned as being warriors for the air elementals.
Kenku: PC race of tricksy crow-people. There's a lot of weight in that archetype, all urban grit and survivalism. Make them a large population in a big city, and it should connect them well.
Tengu: Monster. Supernatural bird-samurai. Keep 'em mythic. There's a potential for these guys to be fey-related, too.
Dire Corby: Monster. One of the bizarre hoards of the Underdark. Keep 'em simple and weird and chaotic and animalistic. Meeting these guys should be like something out of Hitchcock, all beady eyes and blood-soaked beaks, black feathers boiling out of bolt-holes with echoing croaking cawing noises and the screams of your companions.
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Or, alternately, world-specific stuff could remain in world-specific books.
Making sure that kenku are a playable race seems like a reasonable goal to me, though.
Indeed! IMO, there has been too much of this kind of thing already.
For what it's worth, I think you've nailed it.
Raptorian-human-wanting-to-fly speaks to me of childhood dreams and Peter Pan and the Icarus myth.
Raptorian-bird-man-wanting-to-fly reminds me more of a penguin or turkey waiting to use an upgrade slot.
Jester David
Hero
I prefer the tengu to the kenku, as the former has a stronger connection to myth. Creatures that have legends and stories outside of D&D are more familiar to new players and monsters that have survived for generations are generally stronger as concepts than monsters created a few years ago.
Plus, the idea of a thieving crow people is fun and interesting. And they can easily be reflavoured as ravens (tied to the Raven Queen?). Plus crow-like kenku have been in two editon as PC races, so people might have beloved crow kenku PCs they want to upgrade to 5e. And having crow tengu allows this.
Crow kenku/ tengu also connect nicely with the ravenkin of ravenloft, a monster race forgotten in the article. Oops. (As were the kyrie of Dragonlance.)
That said, it's easy to have a less common vaiant of the tengu be the hawk-headed kenku.
Plus, the idea of a thieving crow people is fun and interesting. And they can easily be reflavoured as ravens (tied to the Raven Queen?). Plus crow-like kenku have been in two editon as PC races, so people might have beloved crow kenku PCs they want to upgrade to 5e. And having crow tengu allows this.
Crow kenku/ tengu also connect nicely with the ravenkin of ravenloft, a monster race forgotten in the article. Oops. (As were the kyrie of Dragonlance.)
That said, it's easy to have a less common vaiant of the tengu be the hawk-headed kenku.
Argyle King
Legend
I voted that I could do without Raptorans and Hawk-Headed Kenku and Tengu in the game.
I'd be ok with Aarakorca having a pact with a Djinn. I suppose I'd be alright with the elemental story as well.
I don't want Dire Corbies to have a connection to Pazuzu and be rivals of the Drow because I think that gives them a set-up and back story which too closely mirrors some Drow lore; I'd like to see something more creative done with them. I also do not want them to be associated with Drow breeding camps or Drow. It's a bit radical, but I'd prefer to drastically overhaul the creature. Turn them into quadrupeds and turn them into a bestial hunter of the Underdark; a predatory bird that evolved away from wings at some distant point in the past... for a good mental image, thing something like a griffon, but without the lion parts; just bird parts and razor sharp talons on each leg and a vicious beak made for ripping through flesh. Alternatively, I'd like to see the same idea I just mentioned, but make them quadrupeds who also have the capability of walking upright; in a manner similar to a bear... or perhaps they run in a manner similar to a gorilla; using the "knuckles" of their front claws to help propel themselves to faster speeds.
I prefer the crow-headed Kenku, and I would make an effort to connect the race as a whole to the world by combining the themes of thieves and samurai. Turn them into a race of pirates which have an oriental flavor. Back home -in their homeland- there would be more to them. While many people view them as marauding pirates, the truth is that not all of them are. In their homeland, there are many factions which are struggling to gain control of an island chain. Think Romance of The Three Kingdoms, but spread out across an island chain. This would allow for the Kenku to absorb the Tengu; make them simply different kingdoms of the same race with "Kenku" and "Tengu" actually referring to the name of their respective leader/nations.
Nagpa... I think the concept is cool, but possibly not for an entire race. Either sweep Nagpa into the Kenku description I have above by making a leader of one of the nations a cursed Kenku or go full on Skesis and blatantly rip off the story they had in The Dark Crystal.
I'd be ok with Aarakorca having a pact with a Djinn. I suppose I'd be alright with the elemental story as well.
I don't want Dire Corbies to have a connection to Pazuzu and be rivals of the Drow because I think that gives them a set-up and back story which too closely mirrors some Drow lore; I'd like to see something more creative done with them. I also do not want them to be associated with Drow breeding camps or Drow. It's a bit radical, but I'd prefer to drastically overhaul the creature. Turn them into quadrupeds and turn them into a bestial hunter of the Underdark; a predatory bird that evolved away from wings at some distant point in the past... for a good mental image, thing something like a griffon, but without the lion parts; just bird parts and razor sharp talons on each leg and a vicious beak made for ripping through flesh. Alternatively, I'd like to see the same idea I just mentioned, but make them quadrupeds who also have the capability of walking upright; in a manner similar to a bear... or perhaps they run in a manner similar to a gorilla; using the "knuckles" of their front claws to help propel themselves to faster speeds.
I prefer the crow-headed Kenku, and I would make an effort to connect the race as a whole to the world by combining the themes of thieves and samurai. Turn them into a race of pirates which have an oriental flavor. Back home -in their homeland- there would be more to them. While many people view them as marauding pirates, the truth is that not all of them are. In their homeland, there are many factions which are struggling to gain control of an island chain. Think Romance of The Three Kingdoms, but spread out across an island chain. This would allow for the Kenku to absorb the Tengu; make them simply different kingdoms of the same race with "Kenku" and "Tengu" actually referring to the name of their respective leader/nations.
Nagpa... I think the concept is cool, but possibly not for an entire race. Either sweep Nagpa into the Kenku description I have above by making a leader of one of the nations a cursed Kenku or go full on Skesis and blatantly rip off the story they had in The Dark Crystal.
Warbringer
Explorer
I'll say this for James, even I personally fell "what the hell does it matter", he is consistent in publishing, does an excellent job soliciting feedback and you get a very clear understanding of where he is coming from.
Re the topic at hand, they all taste good deep fried ...
Re the topic at hand, they all taste good deep fried ...
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