Aven

What I would give for feathered wings,
to match my feathered body.
As I watch birds fly it does sting,
to be a lesser copy.

— Akrachia, Collected Poems

Birds of a Feather

In the time before the Promise, aven societies were kind to everyone within but cruel to those outside. Avens possess a heightened sense of empathy which lead them to help out those in need but when things were tough during the Time of Darkness and humans were fighting for the same resources, the harm to those they cared for led them to fight back. Then when one aven - Erlik - felt for and helped a Human they started something that changed society on Breharan forever.

Anatomy

The aven body has two arms, two legs, a torso, and a beaked head. Notably unlike other birds they have no wings - a subject of many myths. Their bodies, heads, and upper arms and legs are feathered in a variety of colors. Their hands and feet end in small talons which are far more useful at accomplishing a variety of tasks than the fingernails of a Human.
Avens have beaks in a vast array of shapes each one with a specific function. Some are better at breaking hard objects while other are effective at catching fish from within the water.
There are different types of feathers on an aven body. The outermost layer serve to repel water and keep the layers underneath dry. The middle and under layers are much softer and help insulate the body by trapping air between the skin and outer layer of feathers. Other feathers - often ones located around the head - serve no role other than appearance.
Within their tough beaks and feathered heads lies a very effective olfactory sense. Some avens can smell danger a mile away. However this does make them vulnerable to very pungent scents within a short range of them.

Life Cycle

Aven hatch from eggs as small featherless babies. Quickly they are able to walk around but remain vulnerable to the elements. Their mental and physical development is mostly in line with that of human children without some of the quirks. Within a season babies begin to develop their first coat of feathers. This first coat is puffier and less water resistant than an adult coat of feathers but is much more effective in keeping the much smaller body of the baby warm.
On average avens live to be fifty years old. It is often said that avens do not age but they do. The signs are less visible than in humans whose skin wrinkles and hair thins. In most cases an elderly aven will look like they did when they were younger - perhaps with a few more white feathers - but will still be more vulnerable to disease, injury, and will be experience decline in the functionality of their bodies.

Stub Article

This article is just a stub for now and will be expanded upon later.

Old Article

This article was written in the past and does not meet my current standards for any number of article quality, layout, or content.

In-Progress Article

This article is being worked on, perhaps not at this very moment, but it is being worked on.

Aven Stereotypes

As there tends to be with most things there are things that people believe about avens that may not be true. -Sensitive. -Weak.

Game Statistics

Brawn 2; Agility 2; Intellect 2;
Cunning 1; Willpower 2; Presence 3
Wound Threshold: 9 + Brawn
Strain Threshold: 11 + Willpower
Starting XP: 95 XP
Special: Avens begin the game with one rank in Perception. They still may not train Perception above rank 2 during character creation.
Beak and Claw: Avens can use their beaks or claws as weapons (Brawl, Damage +1; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]).
Flock Instincts: When performing the assist maneuver, Avens grant bb instead of b.