Kender are a minor spacefaring race native to Krynnspace in the Spelljammer campaign setting,[3][1] and can be selected as a player character race.[4]
"All kender must be accompanied by at least two responsible non-kender guardians. Any legal penalties assessed against the kender as a result of his/her actions will also be visited upon those guardians"
- Port Regulation 2784/C/22, Lirak's Cube[5]
Overview[]
Kender are diminutive humanoids who are insatiably curious and utterly fearless, with an uncanny knack for getting into trouble.[4] Occasionally, their insatiable curiosity leads them to cities where spelljamming vessels dock, providing the fearless kender the opportunity to voyage into wildspace.[3] Kender have occasionally run into lakshu, who have become quite fond of kender-made hoopaks, which they acquire when they visit Krynn.[6]
Description[]
Kender resemble human children, though they are more heavily muscled. Males are typically between 3 to 4 feet tall and weigh 75 pounds, while females are slightly smaller. Adult kender rarely exceed four feet tall or weigh more than 100 pounds, and have distinctively pointed ears that give them an elven appearance. Their hair can be sandy blonde, light brown, dark brown, copper-red, or red-orange in color, and is usually worn long with many varieties of braids and ponytails. Feathers, ribbons, flowers, and other colorful items are often woven into their hair. Kender are fair-skinned, but they tan quickly, becoming dark brown in direct sunlight. Their eyes are variously pale blue, olive, light brown, and hazel. Beginning at age 40, kender develop a fine network of fine lines that crease their faces, giving them a wizened appearance.
Kender wear clothing that tends to be colorful and bright. They particularly favor soft leather, especially if it is dyed bright colors and tooled with designs. Kender carry a mind-boggling assortment of small items in their pockets and belt pouches, such as bird feathers, animal teeth, rings, string, handkerchiefs, small tools, pet mice, oddly shaped twigs, foreign coins, and bits of dried meat. Anything that conceivably could hold a kenders attention for more than a few seconds will likely find its way into their pockets, with or without the actual owners permission.[4]
Personality[]
Kender can be endearingly charming or shockingly vulgar. They are natural extroverts and enjoy making new acquaintances. Though most are personable and friendly, they can also be obnoxiously talkative and nosy. Since kender do what they want when they want, they resent being given orders. At the same time, kender are quite sensitive and can be easily hurt by indifference or intentionally cutting remarks.
The concept of delayed gratification is alien to kender. They thrive on excitement and yearn for new adventures. A kender's innate fearlessness gives them remarkable confidence. They remain calm and carefree even in the most life-threatening situations. The combination of fearlessness, uncontrollable curiosity, and impulsiveness invariably gets them into trouble, as they are forever peeking into dark corners and forging ahead into unexplored places. Kender often allow their curiosity to overcome what common sense they have, especially when encountering an unusual monster. When a kender displays an uncommonly sensible attitude in a dangerous situation, it is probably because they realize that death means never doing anything interesting again.
Kender have a unique approach to personal property and theft. Their intense curiosity feeds their desire to open locks, to listen in on other's conversations, and to reach into peoples pockets to find interesting things to look at. Thieving comes naturally to kender, and they see nothing wrong with it; what others might call "stealing", kender call "handling". Kender do not steal for the sake of profit, since they have little concept of value; they are just as happy with a chunk of purple glass as they are with a glittering diamond. Often they pick up an item out of curiosity and forget to return it, known as "borrowing". If caught red-handed with another's property, they offer an amazing range of excuses: "I forgot I had it.", "I found it.", or "I was afraid someone else would take it." More often than not, kender believe their excuses to be the truth. Ironically, kender dislike the idea of someone deliberately taking an item without the owner's permission; to be called a thief is considered a base insult.[4]
Combat[]
Kender are relentless foes, and sometimes come up with unexpected tactics that can carry the day for their companions. Kender are immune to all forms of fear, including magical fear, and are resistant to the effects of magic and poison. A kender's most effective defense is their ability to enrage opponents by taunting them with verbal abuse.
Kender are incredibly stealthy, and prefer not to wear armour heavier than leather. Some may use ring mail or studded leather, but only for short periods of time. Kender employ a variety of weapons, but are especially skilled with bows and slings. Their favorite weapon, however, is the hoopak, a weapon that combines a bo staff and staff sling. Made from resilient wood, one end of the hoopak is forked like a slingshot and has a leather pocket mounted between the forks. The other end is pointed and shod with metal or hardened by fire.[4]
Society[]
At the heart of kender society is the family unit, consisting of a couple and their children. Children stay with their parents until their early 20's, at which time they are overcome by wanderlust. A kender experiencing wanderlust is overwhelmed by their natural curiosity and desire for action, and are compelled to wander the land as far as they can go. Wanderlust may last until the kender reaches their 50's or 60's, at which time they enter a phase known as "rooting" - a compulsion to settle down with a mate and to raise a child or two. This cycle of wanderlust and rooting is responsible for spreading kender communities across their homeworlds.
Kender communities are democratic to the point of anarchy - every citizen is more or less allowed to do whatever they please. Kender see no reason to impose their views on anyone else, and since there are few evil-aligned kender, there is little need for laws or a formal government. When an emergency arises that requires cooperation from the kender, they do so naturally, with minimal preparation. The kender have experimented with every conceivable form of government and are more than willing to give any new idea a chance. They are also willing to follow a leader for as long as they remain interesting. Owing to the kender's low tolerance for boredom, a new government or new leader seldom holds their attention for more than a few days.[4]
Notable Kender[]
- Gaeadrelle Goldring was a half-kender explorer and one time companion of Teldin Moore, the Cloakmaster.[7][8]
Signature Spelljammers[]
None currently. Although kender have occasionally voyaged into wildspace, spelljamming vessels have yet to visit the kender city of Kendermore. The Port officials at Palanthas have advised spelljammers against making landfall there, but such a visit is only a matter of time. Once a ship visits Kendermore, it will inevitably be "borrowed", and kender will be let loose on the spacelanes.[3]
Appendix[]
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Kender article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
- Kender article at the Dragonlance Wiki, a wiki for the Dragonlance campaign setting.
- Kender article at the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Wiki, a wiki for official Dungeons & Dragons content from 2nd edition AD&D.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jean Rabe, SJR7 Krynnspace, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Krynn chapter, pages 26-41
- ↑ Jean Rabe, SJR7 Krynnspace, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Chislev chapter, page 45
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Curtis M. Scott, CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook, 1992, (TSR Inc.), chapter 1: Groundlings in Space, page 11
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Rick Swan, Bill Connors, Troy Denning, Bruce Nesmith, James M. Ward, Steve Winter, MC4 Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix, 1990, (TSR Inc.), Kender entry
- ↑ Curtis M. Scott, CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook, 1992, (TSR Inc.), sidebar, page 78
- ↑ Jean Rabe, SJR7 Krynnspace, 1993, (TSR Inc.), Wildspace Societies section, Sphere Overview, page 5
- ↑ Roger E. Moore, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Maelstrom's Eye, 1992, (TSR Inc.), pages 9-14 (first appearance)
- ↑ Curtis M. Scott, CGR1 The Complete Spacefarer's Handbook, 1992, (TSR Inc.), sidebar, page 2