Welcome to Cast Party’s actual play podcast. In PodCast Party: Descent Into Avernus, Dungeon Master Matt Gordon leads players Tal Aviezer, Andy Cannistra, Carolyn Fox, and Rachel Tamarin from the shadows of Baldur’s Gate to the front lines of the Blood War.
In episode 12, the adventurers follow the trail of the Vanthampur conspiracy to the lair of their erstwhile benefactor.
Some music and sound effects in this episode are from the Monument Studios Fantasy Pack.
Level Up: Kenku
In this episode, the party meets some unusual bartenders at the Low Lantern. Kenku can mimic the sound of anything they hear. A kenku asking for money might make the sound of coins clinking together, and a kenku referring to a busy marketplace can reproduce the cacophony of hawking vendors, barking dogs, bleating sheep, and the cries of street urchins. When mimicking voices, they can only repeat words and phrases they have heard, not create new sentences. To converse with a kenku is to witness a performance of imitated sounds and almost nonsensical verse.
Kenku speak to one another in much the same way. Because they are adept at interpreting one another’s glances and gestures, the sounds they make to communicate complex ideas or emotions can be succinct. Groups of kenku also develop secret codes. For example, a cat’s meow might be the secret code for “Prepare to attack!” or “Flee for your lives!”
Their talent for mimicry extends to handwriting, and criminal organizations often employ kenku to forge documents. When a kenku commits a crime, it might forge evidence to implicate another creature.
You can make a kenku player character in Dungeons & Dragons 5E using rules found in Volo’s Guide to Monsters. In the third episode of Cast Party’s bonus Discord audio show, POWER WORD TALK, Tal Aviezer admits he is too intimidated to play a kenku.