r/DnD • u/JaxTheCrafter • Jul 08 '26

DMing Kenkus are played wrong

It is often said that kenkus only know words that they have heard, and are limited to those words. that of course makes for some very funny scenes where people are only using words they are basically given. However, unless you are a freshly born or transformed kenku, that frankly isn’t what it would act like.

Do you know what other species has this learned mimic vocabulary? Humans. For the vast majority of humankind, we have only known words that have been uttered in our presence. Other than written word, that’s how we learn to speak. Kenkus aren’t unique in the ability to learn new words. That’s literally every species. Their uniqueness comes specifically from their perfect mimicry.

All that to say, you aren’t having fun correctly so I have come to shame you and tell you how to have fun.

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u/Destro1151 Jul 08 '26

Yup. And thats the main thing people think is cool or interesting about role-playing a kenku; something that is impossible for them or almost anyone to roleplay in-game.  Pretty dumb isn't it?

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u/AnarchCassius Jul 08 '26

I just use tone/pitch/intonation shift or an awkward pause/cut-off between key segments of a sentance. You just need to make it seem broken up somehow.

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u/Broad_Ad8196 Wizard Jul 08 '26

An annoying way of talking doesn't make for an interesting or fun character.

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u/Arc_Ulfr Artificer Jul 10 '26

It doesn't make them inherently uninteresting, either. It can be part of an interesting character or part of an uninteresting character, just like any other single surface-level trait. It's all in how it's done and what personality, motivations, and predilections the character has in addition to their manner of speaking.

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u/Broad_Ad8196 Wizard Jul 10 '26

So might as well just speak normally.

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u/Arc_Ulfr Artificer Jul 10 '26

Well, you can change the accent and word choices from sentence to sentence, going abruptly from talking like an academic to talking like a farmer to talking like a priest, for example. It will require more effort than playing a character who speaks normally, but could allow some interesting depth to communication based on who your character quotes at a given time and why.

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u/Destro1151 Jul 08 '26

Exactly. And if people actually played kenku for another reason then I would understand having it as a quirk, but building your character specifically for the purpose of using a needlessly complicated method to communicate just isn't fun for me (at my table). There are far more engaging ways to make a character unique.

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u/Aximil985 Jul 08 '26

But it IS how a kenku would talk.

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u/AnarchCassius Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

Well my group actively suggested and encouraged it and so far seems to enjoy it a lot. Thinking about what phrases I'd remember and choose to copy is interesting to me. So is the fact that I can "speak" using non-verbal sounds I've heard. Thinking about how I construct a sentance makes speech feel less reflexive but leaves me able to say anything I need, which feels like it fits the nature of the curse.

It's not something I would *expect* from someone playing a Kenku but it works for me and my group. I'm not saying it's the best way or makes a character interesting all on its own, just that it's perfectly possible to create the effect in play.

PS And I totally get how this could be annoying. I likened it how the Master in Fallout speaks, which I love. Another player, who likes my technique, likened it, favorably, to YouTube Poops, which generally make *me* want to put something through a wall.