Yeah, I agree that mixing up groups and turn them into motley crews can make them more interesting. I'll leave that to my players, but looking forward to hear what they are coming up with!
Beasts are a different story. As opposed to your preferences, I personally like my fantasy worlds to be as less Walt Disney-like as possible, and mallards are definitely something I would not enjoy. 😀
I'm also not a fan of magical communication in this case, I'd say I'm going with the different head/ throat physiology for Wolfkin to make them able to speak with a degree of verisimilitude. And I'll probably add the more feral wolfkin, who will be mostly hostile and unable/ unwilling to speak!
Hello there! I'm also craving for some more activity here. I'm running Forbidden Lands for the first time next week!