Long oppressed as a poor underclass within human nations and viewed as thieves and dishonorable scoundrels, many raven-headed tengus yearn to break free of these caste-restrictions and stereotypes.

Physical Description: Tengus are roughly humanoid in shape, save that they possess heads akin to those of ravens or crows. Like those birds, they have a coat of deep black feathers, though color variations of brown and blue-black exist. They have the scaled, clawed feet of their avian forebears and scaly but humanoid hands to match, though they lack wings and only their beaks possess the capacity for use as a natural weapon. Tengus often dress in loose, simple clothing bound tighter around their arms and ankles, with only a small bit of adornment. Among their own kind they relax these styles and flaunt whatever adornments they can find, purchase, or pilfer, especially favoring rings on both fingers and toes.

Society: Long oppressed and relegated to the margins of larger, multi-species societies, tengus remain an insular and secretive people. Though rarely sharing their culture and its workings with outsiders, they happily integrate aspects from other cultures in the same way crows pilfer bits of twine and shiny baubles. Tengus revere their elders, and when they gather together, they defer leadership to age just as much as to experience. The tengu homeland is the nation of Kwanlai, a land still struggling with its independence after the fall of imperial Lung Wa.

Relations: Long after the fall of imperial Lung Wa, many other races still view tengus as petty thieves, compulsive liars, and sinister conspirators, even though that perception is largely a survival of Lung Wa’s history of oppression and social abuse of its tengu citizens.

Alignment and Religion: Tengus usually have a neutral component to their alignment, with a fairly even spread between law and chaos or good and evil. Hei Feng, the Duke of Thunder, is the patron deity of the tengu race.

Adventurers: Tengus typically become adventurers who seek wealth and glory beyond the poverty of their roots. However, while many assume such lifestyles to escape the stereotypes of their race, just as many do so to revel in the role of the “shifty, sneaky tengu rogue.”

Female Names: Aikio, Cheetchu, Kankai, Mikacha, Zhanyae

Male Names: Chuko, Pezzack, Taicho, Tchoyoitu, Xaikon

Random Starting Ages

¹ This category includes barbarians, oracles, rogues, and sorcerers.
² This category includes bards, cavaliers, fighters, gunslingers, paladins, rangers, summoners, and witches.
³ This category includes alchemists, clerics, druids, inquisitors, magi, monks, and wizards.

Random Height and Weight