They were very good in 3.5. Mechanically, they felt like actual crows: play- and resourcefully clever (with their Mimicry ability), but insanely good at teamwork (+3 to Aid Anothers, +4 to flanking), as well as purpose-designed to rock and roll as Rogues (in addition to the superior flanking, they came with a DEX bonus and two 1d3 claw attacks for free, no penalty Two-Weapon Fighting from the get-go), and work well as stuff like Beguilers (a good thematic fit).
Spoiler: rant, which I appreciate the emotion behind
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[RANT YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD BEFORE]Sadly, the 3.5 Kenku is, nevertheless, one of the reasons why I came to believe that official WotC lore is garbage that shoul BURN. They made something cool and cute that, once more, actually is a lot like what a bipedal HUmanoid crow would be like. And what did they come up as fluff for them? "Kenkus are all useless, fodder-level lowlife criminals who can't build cohesive societies of their own and so parasitize those of other races, but despite that, still have a racial language." **** you, WotC. Just… **** you.
When I learned that the original 5e version was also cursed and couldn't even speak but was, rather, forced to communicate in undiluted cringe clownery that I imagine hit their appeal in live games hard outside silly one-shots… I wanted to kick so many faces.[/RANT YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD BEFORE]
Originally Posted by Metastachydium
They were very good in 3.5. Mechanically, they felt like actual crows: play- and resourcefully clever (with their Mimicry ability), but insanely good at teamwork (+3 to Aid Anothers, +4 to flanking), as well as purpose-designed to rock and roll as Rogues (in addition to the superior flanking, they came with a DEX bonus and two 1d3 claw attacks for free, no penalty Two-Weapon Fighting from the get-go), and work well as stuff like Beguilers (a good thematic fit).
Re: what makes a d&d sub race stick?
What a shame that they boned it. (Darnit, Roy will be so upset with me, I used bone as a verb).
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