Tengu, Kawa Variant (5e Race)

Kawa Tengu

“

Leave the fish here and I will spare you.

”

Physical Description

By Chasmosaur

Kawa tengu, or river tengu, are a special type of tengu which make their homes along riverbanks and lakesides in eastern Japan. Rather than appear like the ascendant human tengu, they more closely resemble the karasu tengu. Their skin and feathers are typically very dark, with a bluish sheen. They prefer to wear fine clothes, like beautiful kimonos, and carry umbrellas when it rains or storms.

History

River tengu are known to come from the eastern and oriental continents. They are considered exotic creatures, likened to nature spirits. Some observe they have slight fey properties. Usually, they are seen as guardians of the rivers they are known to frequent. Being highly knowledgeable of the ecosystems, kawa tengu are known to attack people who over-fish and mistreat the river waters. Unlike their more unruly cousins, kawa tengu are more often pranksters of the harmless sort. While they are associated with rivers, kawa tengu do not actually swim.

Society

Most kawa tengu live in small communities near rivers. They spend their times in the day meditating and watching the rivers. At night, they fish. These duties are undertaken by both male and female tengu, who maintain their clans in a non-hierarchical structure. However, kawa tengu are ranked in the lower end of all tengu kind. While they are not hostile towards humans, they do bear animosity for the wanton expansions of followers of gods like Erathis. The river tengu do not follow a very religious lifestyle daily, but they pay their respects yearly to gods of nature and rivers in specially allotted months.

Kawa Tengu Names

Kawa tengu names are not allowed to have high honorifics like that of daitengu, who are superior in ranking. Their names will often share more semblance to that of the karasu, but with an emphasis in water and aquatic themes, as well as the names of famous bodies of water.

Male: Suidon, Heto, Gawamaru, Biwan

Female: Suiko, Kawako, Mizuki, Tama

Kawa Tengu Traits

Tengu who live by the waters
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age. Kawa tengu reach maturity at age 10 but can live as long as 80 years.
Alignment. Their tame nature means most kawa tengu are neutral. Things which disturb their peace incur their wrath.
Size. Like most karasu tengu, kawa tengu have a shorter stature than the average human, never reaching 6 feet. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Using your keen eyes, you can fish well, even at night. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Flight. You have a flying speed of 25 feet. You cannot fly higher than 20 feet. You must not be wearing medium or heavy armor to use this speed.
Fisher. You can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes at a time. Additionally, you are proficient in nets and have advantage in Wisdom (Nature) checks involving rivers and fishing.
Prankster. Choose a trick from the Tengu Tricks table below. You know and can cast the cantrip associated with the trick. You can only choose this trick once at character creation and you cannot change this choice.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Wa, a language of the eastern continent.

Tengu Tricks

Trick	Cantrip
Tengu-bi	You are able to create fires which can scare away unwanted attention. You know the dancing lights cantrip.
Tengu Tsubute	You can make stones a dangerous weapon. You know the magic stone cantrip.
Tengu Daoshi	Tengu are masters of winds which can blow people over. You know the gust cantrip.
Kara Kidaoshi	You can use sounds and illusions to trick unwary fishermen. You know the minor illusion cantrip.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
5′ 0''	+1d8	140 lb.	× (1d6) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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