Homebrew Tengu (Medium Variant) Species Details

Tengu are winged humanoids hailing from the archipelago of Tenguko, whose breezy forests make a perfect home for their kind. They are often polite and reserved at first glance, but their kind as a history of vicious ambush tactics and subterfuge. This variety are taller than the base tengu, and more like those seen in popular culture.

Grace in the Air: Tengu borrow the gift of flight from their avian friends, though to a lesser extent than their fully-feathered bird companions. While Tengu are able to glide from high surfaces and raise their elevation from that point slightly, most cannot take off from solid ground to the sky above without the use of magic. As such, their people are often experts at wind-affinity magic, letting them soar to their heart’s content.

 

Solemn Subterfuge: Although most foreigners know Tengu to be the more reserved and polite people that they are today, in ancient times their relations with outsiders were anything but. Such suspicion of outsiders led to many covert operations, gathering intel on foreigners in the dead of night, not daring to make a sound. Such spywork carries on into the present day, though mostly in modern media depictions of tengu “ninja”; the best of the best spies and operatives.

 

Windborn: Tengu are the children of Haruhi, the goddess of the wind and sky. Born to human parents, Haruhi soon gained the ability to fly from the crow-feather blanket she was swaddled in as an infant. She’s free-spirited and a bit mischievous, but devotes herself almost fully to her role as messenger of the gods. She does, however, take frequent breaks to celebrate with her children during the seasonal festivals, which bring with them new winds.  

Appearance: Tengu are short, feathered humanoids. Their pinky fingers have grown into extended wing-like appendages, allowing them to glide through the air, though they cannot propel themselves up on their own. These feathers can be black, white or tawny in color. They have taloned feet, able to grasp at objects with ease, and they have a small set of tail feathers. Their most striking facial feature is their large, hawkish nose, which is a remnant of their ancestors’ full beaks. Their eyes can be any spectrum of color, from black to brown to red to blue, and anything in between. Their ears are very small, and only slightly pointed, almost bearing no outside cartilage at all.

Tengu (Medium Variant) Traits

As a medium-sized Tengu, you have the following special traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age

Tengu reach maturity in their late teens, and can live up to 300 years.

Size

This variety of tengu are taller, standing between 5 to 7 feet tall and weighing up to 150 lbs, though still light enough to glide. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet. 

Feathered Glide

While true flight is not possible for you, you can still use your light frame and winglike appendages to your advantage. When you fall and aren't incapacitated, you can subtract up to 100 feet from the fall when calculating falling damage, and you can move up to 2 feet horizontally for every 1 foot you descend. To use this feature, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor. 

Talons

Your talons are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Auran.

Wind Magic

 You learn the Gust cantrip at 1st level. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability modifier for this spell.