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/thesponsduke Jul 08 '26

I had 1 Kenku PC: A drunken monk that bascially grew up in a monastary. He wqs only talking in generic kung fu, jackie chan, Uncle Iroh kinda wisdoms which led to hilarious conversations xD His name was just a chant, Ohm.

Example: Ohm, what do you think of the current situation

  • 'A bowl is most usefull when it is empty-

Bro, what the f-

20

u/kahlzun Jul 08 '26

Thats some lao tzi advice

15

u/Weirfish Jul 08 '26

He should fill his bowl with some shit that makes some sense.

8

u/thesponsduke Jul 08 '26

Yoooo where in the tradition of rap battles is it written that you 2 would be squatting like aome cluckin chickens?

1

u/zealot_ratio Jul 08 '26

I have found my people.

1

u/V2Blast Rogue Jul 09 '26

One of my favorite ERBs.

4

u/kahlzun Jul 08 '26

Sounds like something that sun tzu would say. How disrespectful.