It’s Midgard Monday! Each week, we visit a corner of the wide world of Midgard. Look for standalone content you can drop into your campaign—whether it’s in Midgard or your own homebrew. Find new inspiration each Midgard Monday!

As we continue our tour of Midgard lineages for Tales of the Valiant RPG (on sale now!), we visit the ravenfolk. This installment of the series also includes a heritage and a background that ravenfolk characters (or any character!) might use.

Ravenfolk

Living in rookeries within every major city across Midgard are the ravenfolk, humanoid creatures with the feathers and features of wingless ravens. Often the subject of suspicion, ravenfolk bear the reputation of solitary wanderers and treacherous thieves, despite their attempts to mimic the cultural identity of wherever they live in an attempt to fit in with the locals.

Legend has it that the origin of the ravenfolk ties back to Wotan the Rune Father, who plucked feathers from his two pet ravens and let them drift down to Midgard, becoming his spies across the world. In truth, the ravenfolk hold the secret knowledge of the branches of Yggdrasil, the world tree, and consider themselves the bridge between everyday life and the realm of the gods.

Ravenfolk culture is built from the surrounding society their rookery is in. Using building materials, mannerisms, languages, and ideals taken from those around them, their homes and culture look like a rough mimicry of the world around them. This reflects their curiosity and their love of taking and keeping the secrets of others.

RAVENFOLK LINEAGE TRAITS

Your ravenfolk character has certain hereditary traits dictated by their lineage.

Age. Ravenfolk reach adulthood at 10 years old, and can live to be 110.

Size. Your size is Medium. Ravenfolk range from 4 feet to just shy of 6 feet tall.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Mimicry. You can mimic any sound you’ve heard. When attempting to fool a creature into thinking the mimicked sound is real, make a CHA (Deception) check opposed by the creature’s WIS (Insight). On a success, you fool the listener into believing that the sound you have created is real.

Secretkeeper. Creatures have disadvantage on Insight checks made to intuit what you are thinking or discern your motives.

Snatch. After a creature within 5 feet of you makes a melee attack against you or another creature, you can use your reaction to make a DEX (Sleight of Hand) check to pick the pocket of the attacking creature a number of times equal to your PB until you finish a long rest.

Vidim Perch Heritage

You grew up amid the tangled poles and tarps of the Perch within the city of Vidim. Its upper reaches are exclusive to the ravenfolk who built it due to the nature of its construction and the acrobatic skill needed to traverse it. Here, the ravenfolk are raised away from the skeptical and judging eyes of the other Vidimites. Wotan the Rune Father is the object of worship of the ravenfolk within the Perch, who employ his carved icons as magical wards and arcane sentries.

Ravenfolk raised here sometimes undergo what is called the Molting, in which the feathers around their head and shoulders are replaced with shimmering gilded ones. Those that experience the Molting find their dreams filled with divine portents and prophetic visions of Valhalla and the branches of the world tree, Yggdrasil.

Wotan Tact. You have proficiency in either Acrobatics or Religion.

Warding Charm. You can create a tiny magical trinket known as a warding charm. Over the course of a long rest, you can spend 5 gp worth of materials to craft one. You can only have one warding charm. If you make a second one, the first loses its magical effects. While carrying the warding charm, add your PB to your passive Perception. If you’re already proficient in Perception, double your PB instead.

Languages. You know Common and one additional language of your choice. Typical Vidim Perch heritage characters choose Huginn’s Speech.

Spy Background

You have trained in the ways of subterfuge and deception, selling your skills to those who want details on their enemies. Information is your stock in trade, and you know how to gather and take advantage of it.

Skill Proficiencies. Choose two from Deception, Investigation, Persuasion, or Stealth.

Additional Proficiencies. Gain proficiency with the disguise kit and a language of your choice.

Equipment. A grappling hook, documents to support the existence of a false identity, a dossier containing information from your latest job, a set of fancy clothes, a set of dark traveler’s clothes including a hood and cowl, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp.

Talent

As a spy, you take advantage of your natural resources to learn what others wish to stay secret. Choose a talent from the following list to represent your flexibility in gathering information and being where you are not supposed to be: Aware, Covert, or Polyglot.

Adventuring Motivation

Spies thrive in the margins of social circles, able to adapt and blend in to remain inconspicuous while gathering information. As such they are used to staying transient, comfortable moving around and changing their living conditions regularly. When beginning your adventures, determine what secrets you are after and who you know to extract them from.

Adventuring Motivation

d8	Adventuring Motivation
1	Adventuring is an excellent cover for my covert occupation.
2	Adventuring gives me access to people and powers that I would otherwise have a hard time contacting.
3	Adventuring serves as a healthy bankroll for the materials and favors I need.
4	Adventuring often reveals long-lost secrets from times past.
5	Adventuring is an excuse to stay on the move if things get too hot.
6	Adventuring keeps me from getting too attached to any one target or location.
7	Adventuring is my way of trying to live a more honest life.
8	Adventuring is my opportunity to be my true self.

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gives players plenty of room to run, and includes adventures within the Clockwork City itself!

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