Black-feathered flightless copycats, the kenku have for eons lived in the shadows of other creatures. By their nature, unable to produce their own voices, but able to replicate the voices of others without flaw, most kenku survive around fringes where their "unique" talents can thrive.
Kenku resemble corvids; all-black beaks, feathers, eyes, and skin, though they have no wings and instead bear four-fingered talon-like hands. Likewise their sharp lower talons grip the earth where they walk. Their tailfeathers are long and pointed, like a raven's. Male kenku tend to be slightly larger than females - about the same height as a tall dwarf or a short human - and the feathers upon their neck are often fluffy, somewhat like a beard.
Kenku mothers lay singular fertilized eggs which hatch four months later. Infant kenku have been described as eerily silent, by some; newly observing the world around them, a blank slate of sorts, they remain almost completely silent until they learn to mimic sounds they enjoy. Some kenku parents believe that singing or talking to an egg as it is incubated will help to teach the child vital knowledge before they take their first breaths.
A kenku's most notable trait is their inability to make any sounds other than those they've heard before. Voices of other people, cries of animals, or the sounds of nature or machinery - kenku can mimic these with incredible acuity. Theories abound about why the species can only vocalize sounds they've heard before; some attribute it to an ancient curse, others to simple evolution related to their far-distant avian cousins. Most kenku learn words the same way other people do - as children, they observe people such as their parents speak, and eventually gain understanding of the meaning behind the sounds. Unlike other people, since kenku can only copy sounds they've heard, their voices invariably sound like the voice of some other person; if a kenku learns to speak from their parents, and their parents from their grandparents, their speaking voice will tend to sound like a cacophony of ancient voices passed through the generations.
Kenku can mimic individual words and sounds, so contrary to popular misconceptions, a kenku does not need to hear someone utter a complete sentence or phrase to repeat it - by stringing together basic sounds like "oh" "vv" "err" "th" "aer", a kenku can easily produce the phrase "over there" on their own power. It might simply sound stilted, or like three different people said it.
These clever birdfolks' talent is not limited to speech, either. Many kenku find they are able to replicate just about anything with great accuracy - writing, sketching, carving, music - anything that can be observed can be replicated. While not a ubiquitous trait, kenku are well-known for many members of their species having photographic memories, allowing them to not only replicate skillfully but do so with very limited glimpses of their target.
Kenku in the World
In Des Forabis, kenku are a fairly rare sight. It is an unfortunate truth that due to their staggered speech and natural talent at skills which could be considered duplicitous, kenku have a long history of being used by villainous organizations as servants and slaves, and likewise considered pests by civilized folk. As a result the species is scattered and few.
Most kenku today prefer to live in large urban areas where they can interact with many people, allowing their vocabulary to grow and become less-stilted as they hear more and more words and inflections. Kenku are still often recruited by criminal organizations as spies and forgers, but you may also find more honest kenku working as detectives or librarians. Some kenku are even hired to find forgeries of documents or works of art themselves, likely made and disseminated by other kenku.
Some people - powerful nobles or genius wizards or wealthy ambassadors - will take on a kenku as an apprentice, commonly called an Emulator. An Emulator's traditional goal is less to learn from their master, and more to become them. A diplomat with many connections and getting on in years might take on an Emulator to shadow them wherever they go, learn their habits and relationships, learn their opinions and strategies, and eventually, when the diplomat dies, the Emulator will be able to continue their work as though they never left. Decades later, the Emulator may take an Emulator of their own, and so a certain persona might become nearly-immortal. This odd method of preservation is rarely perfect, and some Emulators in history have grown notorious for certain megalomania, believing they're the true original through-and-through, and collapsing whatever system they were meant to preserve.
Kenku Player Characters
As a kenku, you are defined by your mimicry. You are a full and complete person, but you are able to communicate only in the sounds others have made. Some kenku prefer to sprinkle the sounds of animals or their environment into their speech, but in general, you can speak relatively normally as you've heard various words throughout your life - it might simply sound like four or five different people spoke the words in a sentence you speak.
You also have an innate talent for copying other things, like music or sketches. Consider how you've used this ability in your life so far; do you visit traveling bards so you can sing their songs for your friends? Perhaps you have worked for unsavory organizations to spy on people and report back with perfect memory, or to forge letters from certain senders. Even kenku working an honest living make good use of their skills - a kenku studying under a cobbler will carefully observe and copy their master's movements to make new boots just the way their master does.
Think about how you might intend to use this skill as an adventurer. Being able to memorize & replicate specific details is a valuable skill in many trades; wizardry, archaeology, diplomacy all benefit.
Kenku Traits
Ability Score Bonus. You gain a +2 to Dexterity and a +1 to Wisdom.
Age. Kenku are a shorter-lived species, reaching maturity 12 years after their hatchday, and living to just about 60 years.
Size. Your size is Medium. Kenku stand about 5 feet tall and weigh between 90 and 120 pounds.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Expert Forgery. You can duplicate other creatures' handwriting and craftwork. You have advantage on all checks made to produce forgeries or duplicates of existing objects.
Eidetic Memory. You can easily recall accurate details about any creature or object you've had the chance to observe for at least one minute.
Mimicry. You can mimic sounds you have heard, including voices. A creature that hears the sounds can tell they are imitations with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check opposed by your Charisma (Deception) check.
