DESCRIPTION

Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure NPC gear (masterwork studded leather, masterwork rapier, masterwork light crossbow with 20 bolts, potions of cure light wounds [2], potion of invisibility, alchemist's fire, antitoxin, smokesticks [2], tanglefoot bag, thunderstone, other treasure)

Perhaps nowhere in the region are tengus a more common sight than aboard a pirate vessel. Superstitious by nature, many sailors in this region have assigned to these feathered humanoids the dual role of good luck charm and mascot, based on the misguided belief that tengus can absorb ill omens and bad luck. Where this notion came from is anyone's guess, though some scholars have suggested that tengus may have been confused with the chickcharney, with whom they have nothing in common aside from their feathered forms. While this old sailor's conceit may earn such tengus, referred to as “jinx eaters,” some special treatment aboard ship, perhaps exempting them from the rough bullying so common in pirate crews, it does not mean they do not have the same responsibilities and duties of all mariners engaged in piracy. Jinx eaters must be able to hold their own in a fight, though most adopt methods of avoiding such conflicts altogether, honing their skills of guile and misdirection instead of brawn and steel.

Jinx eaters are typically mad for plunder, especially seeking out jewelry and other such baubles, at times even lifting them from unsuspecting shipmates. Such pilfering inevitably leads to angry confrontations onboard, and the kleptomaniacal tengu must rely on his reputation as a source of good luck if he is to be spared a severe beating at the hands of his cohorts.

Several settlements host rookeries of decent size, and it is common to find retired jinx eaters in such districts; often these are particularly boastful individuals who have given up on the life at sea or have been ousted from their old ship by their increasingly jaded crew members.