Homebrew RAVENFOLK (Midgard) Species Details

Few races in Midgard live amid so much rumor, suspicion, and outright falsehood as the ravenfolk. They take their rookeries in every major city. Depending on whom you ask, they might condemn the ravenfolk as solitary wanderers bearing misfortune or praise them as messengers from the gods. Ravenfolk are loyal comrades and treacherous thieves, brave warriors and contemptible cowards. They are despised for their strange and secretive culture, and criticized for having no true culture of their own. The ravenfolk are a study in contradictions. These 
truths, half-truths, and lies conceal a greater mystery that few outsiders know. 

If the ravenfolk have a homeland, it is in Beldestan to the east; or a branch of Wotan’s tree to the North; or on a high cliff of Horus’ hidden temple in the South. They have settlements in Trollheim, Vidim, Domovogrod, Nuria Natal, and the Dragon Empire. None of these are large, but in Nuria Natal at least, they serve honorably as temple guards and as defenders of the faithful of Horus. 

Ravenfolk have no wings, but they do have tail feathers that sometimes flare out when they’re angry.

OF GODS AND MEN
The ravenfolk of Midgard (also known as the huginn) are wily scoundrels, tricksters, assassins, spies, and thieves. The oldest tales say that the god Wotan the Rune Father brought the clever ravenfolk into being when he plucked the feathers from his two pet ravens, Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory), and let the feathers drift down to Midgard. The feathers became ravenfolk, and they spread across the world as Wotan’s spies. 

In truth, the ravenfolk are a bridge between everyday life on Midgard and the realm of the gods. They share Wotan’s secret knowledge of the branches of Yggdrasil the world tree. In the far northern reaches, the huginn are both the embodiment of the gods’ will and a symbol of inevitable 
death in battle. 

THIEVES, ONE AND ALL
No matter what trade, role, or profession a ravenfolk takes up, they are all thieves. They build their rookeries from found items, and much like normal ravens, have a great fondness for shiny baubles. Beyond physical thievery, they live to steal secrets. Ravenfolk are naturally adept at being unobtrusive, and they use that trait to feed their insatiable 
curiosity. The Tsar of Vidim employs a great flock of huginn as his personal spies and assassins. 

Aside from their larcenous instincts, ravenfolk are scrupulous about keeping their word. That’s not to say they don’t lie; ravenfolk lie as much as anyone else, and maybe a bit more when the pressure’s on. But if a promise or vow can be extracted from one, it’s as reliable as gold—which may be why ravenfolk seldom make promises or vows. Otherwise, their personalities are as varied as those of other races. They adapt readily to whatever environment they occupy, from remote wilderness to big cities—although their presence in cities is not always welcome. They frequently take on local customs, traditions, and beliefs to fit in with the community.

RAVENFOLK NAMES
As with many other races whose native language is difficult for more humanlike vocal organs to deal with, ravenfolk tend to use different names among humans, dwarves, elves, and other humanoids than they use among their own kind. When choosing human-friendly names, ravenfolk borrow liberally from local traditions, mythology, and popular songs and poetry. They prefer names that invoke imagery (Starshadow, Moonglow, Rainshimmer) over more prosaic labels, but that’s as much consistency as it’s possible to define. Furthermore, since these aren’t their real names, ravenfolk have little attachment to them. They swap names whenever they feel like it, until they finally settle on one that really suits them.

RAVENFOLK (Midgard) Traits

Your ravenfolk character has certain characteristics in common with all other ravenfolk.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Age

Ravenfolk reach adulthood at 10 years old, and can live to be 110.

Alignment

Ravenfolk tend toward chaos thanks to their capriciousness and insatiable curiosity. Greed overwhelms some ravenfolk, drawing them toward evil.

Size

Ravenfolk are slighter and shorter than humans. They range from 4 feet to just shy of 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Huginn’s Speech and Northern Tongue.

Sudden Attack

You have advantage on attack rolls against a surprised creature.

Mimicry

Ravenfolk can mimic any sound they’ve heard. Make a Charisma (Deception) check against the passive Wisdom (Insight) of any listeners. Success indicates they believe the sound you created was real.

Trickster

You have proficiency in the Deception and Stealth skills.