True Kender by Tavin Springfingers

True Kender are the children of Krynn. They are irrepressible, open-hearted, optomistic, carefree adventurers. They are boisterous travellers, whose intense curiosity almost always lands them in trouble.

Kender are socially like small children. They ask a lot of questions, run around like chickens with their heads cut off, and generally get into more trouble than they're worth. Like children, kender are intensely interested in the unknown, and also like children they are hard to keep still or quiet. Kender are always adventuring, always pressing to find out what magic lies just over the horizon and what mystery is kept locked behind that door. Another trademark of the kender is the race's inability to grasp the concept of ownership. When a kender takes a liking to something, whether it's a steel coin or a glass bead, it almost invariably ends up in the kender's pocket.

Kender typically stand just under four feet and weigh between eighty to one hundred pounds. While hair color varies greatly, most kender favor darker hues, both for their hair as well as their skin, a tribute to countless days out playing from dawn to dusk outside. Kender grow no facial hair. Kender resemble small elves with pointed ears, but lacking the slanted and delicate features that the elven possess. They portray their emotions openly, and there is no doubt as to when a kender is happy or sad. There is no typical fashion that kender favor except for gaudy and loud. Bright colors and coats and shirts and braids done up with beads and feathers are all kender trademarks. A kender usually pickes up bits and pieces of his clothing from the styles of the people he has met and the cultures he has seen. Kender typically live a natural life span of a bit over one hundred years, although usually their lives are cut short by something that they got into.

Kender get along well with everyone as they are taught to never form preconcieved notions about anyone, regardless of how mean or ugly they might first appear to be. Sadly, this openness if shunned by most races who could do without a kenders proclivity at finding himself in trouble.

Kender tend towards Chaotic Good. Their knack at accidentally picking up others belongings writes them of of the Lawful side of things, where their innocent nature strongly leads them towards the Good side of the alignment spectrum.

Kender have two homeland nations. The first and most popular is the nation of Hylo. Hylo was formed when a group of kender snuck aboard a prototype Flying Citadel. Somehow the kender managed to crash the flying fortress into an Ergothian mountain range, and the survivors of the crash decided to stay. After the Cataclysm, Hylo took up the eastern portion of the newly formed island of Northern Ergoth, and there it remains. The other kender nation was in fact the first one. Located north of the forests of Silvanesti, the land dubbed Balifor was given as a haven for kender by Sivanos in memory of Balif, a good friend and ally of the Elven king. After the Cataclysm, Balifor became a penninsula, no longer attached to the realm of Silvanesti, but instead opening up into the land known as Khur. However fate visited it's wrath upon the kender nation yet again around 3SC, when the Red Marauder, the massive dragon named Malystryx, obliterated almost all life on the penninsula and claimed it for her own.

Kender have no set religion. They worship freely the gods of good, nuetrality, and evil... often switching between them on a regular basis depending on the month or the weather. Kender have also been known to worship gods of their own creation, as well as potted plants amongst other things. One thing is for certain, they have a deep respect for nature, and although they do not as a race worship Branchala, the god of music is considered by other races to be the patron to these easygoing people.

Kender do not have their own nationally recognized language, as Common typically suits their purposes nicely. However, Elven, Gnomish, and Dwarven are languages that kender are often fluent in. The kender of Hylo also are typically fond of Goblin, with the semi-peaceful goblin nation of Sikk'et Hul nestled nearby.

Kender names are the single most convoluted thing in kender society. A kender may be have one name, or be named after a place, or be given the exact name of someone else (who may even still be alive). Some kender are given two different names, one from the father and one from the mother. Although typically kender incorporate a family name somewhere in the chaos, it is by no means a rule.

Male Names: Tasslehof, Kelvin, Tavin, Rusty, Haversham, Gilgi, Bobledoboingyberoo

Female Names: Allyana, Nikki, Belladonna, Lala, Billee, Cycillia

Family Names: Burrfoot, Trapspringer, Springfingers, Fleetfoot, Lighttoe, Swordflinger, Pouchwatcher

Kender typically decide on some grandiose ideal which is the basis of their wandering years. This may be to write a book on one's fantastic journeys, or to accurately map all of the interesting places on Krynn, or perhaps to get the autograph of every famous person in the world. Kender refer to this insatiable lust for adventure as Wanderlust. It is an affliction that EVERY kender gets without fail. There is no need for any other reason to set off in their minds. It simply is the way it was meant to be.

-2 Strength and Wisdom, +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence. Kender are slender built and so are naturally not as strong as others, this natural slenderness also means natural quickness and agility. Also, a kender's curiosity almost always overrides everything, including common sense. The more dangerous, the more exciting. However, a kender's childlike mind is very keen when it comes to observing things, many times picking up details that others miss and granting astounding insights into many things.

Small: Kender are of a small stature and therefore gain the typical advantages and disadvantages afforded them (+1 AC, +1 size bonus on attack rolls, +4 to hide checks..)

A kender has a base speed of 25

A kender recieves a +1 attack bonus when using a kender specific weapon, such as a hoopak or a whippik.

Taunt: Kender can drive an opponent into a rage by taunting him incessantly. If the opponent actively tries to ignore a kenders taunt, he must pass a willpower saving throw, with a -1 penalty induced for every five points of intelligence he posseses. Once driven into a rage, the opponent attacks the kender by any means possible, ignoring all other threats. Furthermore, the enraged enemy suffers a -2 penalty to all attack rolls, but the anger fuels him on to deliver a +3 bonus to all damage rolls. This rage lasts until the kender is out of sight or dead, or the opponent has been subdued for two rounds or 1d8 rounds pass.

Thief Bonus: Kender are naturally adept at getting into things and so naturally gain a +2 racial bonus to Disable Device, Open Lock, Search, and Pick Pocket. However, their oppenness and typical short attention spans do cost them. They may not become proficient at all in Decipher Script, or Use Magic Device.

Favored Class: Kender have a natural tendancy to become Handlers. Handlers are similar to Theives except for the fact that they do not take things for monetary gain, but instead out of intense intrest or curiosity

This document is copyright © Tavin Springfingers. Dragonlance is copyright © Wizards of the Coast.