Tengu

Hanataka Tengu.webp
Karasu Tengu.webp

Tengu Info

In the sprawling forests that clothe the land from frosty mountainside to fertile shore, verdant life is cultivated and protected by a race of aloof guardians: the tengu. Mischievous, prideful, and territorial, tengu are a race of long-lived yokai. They make their home in the treetops, nimbly navigating precarious pathways as noiselessly as a shadow passes along the forest floor. Although typically reclusive, younger tengu have a sparkling curiosity toward the outside world, taking earnest interest in those who visit their domain. To all who trespass, however, a subtle threat is ever present. Harm not the forest, lest the wrath of the tengu fall like a crushing oak.

Yokai Warriors

As yokai, tengu are innately magical. Their natural powers lean towards trickery and illusion, allowing them to strike both the mind and body in a dazzling battery of lethal force. To many tengu, swordplay is a way of life—both a meditative practice and a form of self-defence. The resolute tengu swordmaster, a crackling visage of shadowy magic and slashing steel, is one found throughout the folklore and legends of many other peoples.

The Tengu Code

Tengu draw upon an ancient legacy of proud tradition and discipline. Funerals, births, and tournaments are all governed by a strict cultural code, a way of life passed down from generation to generation. Tengu weddings are among the most spectacular sights in the realms, transforming entire forests into beautiful, shimmering forums of magic and light. Each moment of such a ceremony is dictated by long standing traditions brimming with significance, and every tengu is raised to understand the value of such rituals, embracing the unbroken line of wisdom that stretches to time immemorial.

Tengu Traits

As a tengu, you have the following traits:

Feature Description
Ability Score Increase Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Age Tengu reach maturity at around 16 years of age, and go on to live for up to 400 years.
Anatomy You have two arms and two legs.
Size You are Medium. Tengu are typically a little larger than humans, standing between 6 and 7 feet tall.
Speed Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Creature Type You are a Humanoid.
Lethal Masters You have proficiency with one simple or martial weapon of your choice.
Languages You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your GM agree is appropriate for your character.
Subrace There are two primary tengu variations: the hanataka and the karasu. Choose one of these subraces.

Hanataka Tengu

Less ferocious and impulsive than the karasu, hanataka are widely regarded as the “higher” lineage of tengu. With the patience and tenacity of a flowing river, they live, train, and meditate in the towering trees of their mountain home. Hanataka tengu are swiftly provoked by vanity and are quick to humble the arrogant and foolish. To those who show respect, however, elder hanataka tengu make sage counsellors and guides, imparting the wisdom of age and yokai magic. Legend tells that the great warriors of old honed their swiftness of blade and sharpness of mind under the guidance of hanataka masters.

Feature Description
Hanataka Ability Score Increase Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Hanataka Master of Craft You are proficient with one kind of artisan’s tools of your choice. When you make a Crafting check using this tool, you can add 1d4 to the result of the check.
Hanataka Nature Guardian You gain proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Arcana, Nature, Religion, Stealth, or Survival.
Hanataka Shadowcaster You learn the prestidigitation and thaumaturgy cantrips. In addition, you can cast them without components while you are in dim light or darkness. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait (choose when you select this race).
Hanataka Whirlwind Onslaught After you take the Attack action on your turn, you can use your bonus action on that turn to cast a cantrip with a casting time of one action or make a number of melee attacks equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded up). Each of these attacks must target a different creature. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a short rest or long rest.

Karasu Tengu

Deceptive and witty, cunning and dangerous, karasu tengu are tricksters at heart. They take great joy in pranks, be they simple or elaborate, and cackle gleefully at the humbling of others. Karasu have many avian qualities, including vestigial, feathered wings and powerful, snapping beaks. As bursting with life as their forest homes, and as volatile and passionate as the tempestuous winds, the friendship of a karasu is one of staunch trust and joy. Those who insult them, however, find karasu grudges run long, deep, and deadly.

Feature Description
Karasu Ability Score Increase Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Karasu Fortified Mind You have resistance to psychic damage.
Karasu Prankster You gain proficiency in the Deception and Stealth skills.
Karasu Psychic Battery When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one of your attacks with a dizzying psychic assault against a creature you can see within 15 feet of you. That creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus) or suffer the effects of the confusion spell until the end of its next turn. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a short rest or long rest.
Karasu Skyrider When you fall at least 10 feet and aren’t incapacitated, you can use your reaction to extend your vestigial, feathered wings to glide. You take no damage from that fall, and you can move horizontally 2 feet for every 1 foot you fall. While gliding in this way, you can fall no more than 100 vertical feet on a turn.