Complete 4E Kender Writeup

D&D 4e Rules

by Tavin Springfingers

Kender

Childlike and curious,
with a strong sense of friendship,
and a knack at finding trouble

RACIAL TRAITS

Average Height: 3' 6" to 5'
Average Weight: 80 to 100 lbs.
Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma (True Kender) / +2 Constitution (Afflicted Kender)
Size: Small
Speed: 7 squares
Vision: Low Light
Languages: Common, Kenderspeak, and choice of one other
Skill Bonuses: +3 Thievery, +1 Acrobatics, +1 Stealth

RACIAL POWERS

Fearless:

It's not that a kender can't feel fear,it's simply that the idea of being afraid is a foreign concept to them
  Effect:You are completely immune to regular manifestations of feelings of fear. Against magically induced fear effects you gain a +7 racial bonus to saving throws.

Taunting:

No insight is so cruel, no barb so painful, as that of the observation of the innocent mind
At-Will(Daily) / Minor Action(Full Action) / Ranged Sound
  Effect: You may taunt a single enemy per attempt by making an opposed Charisma vs. Will check. If successful, the taunt enrages the target and causes him to attack the offending kender with a -1 penalty to attack and Armor Class caused by his intense fury. The target is allowed a saving throw each round to shake off the effects.
  Special: As a daily power, a kender may choose to use a full action to automatically succeed in a Taunt attempt or to negate an already enraged target's save to shake off the effects for that round by further taunting him.

Second Chance:

The annoyance of a kender is only surpassed by his incredible luck
Encounter / Immediate Interrupt / Personal
  Effect: (See Player's Handbook)

Kender are a race that's short on stature and big on trouble making. Born with a natural childlike innocence and exuberance into a society with loose standards on the definitions of personal property, the fiercely loyal and adventurous kenderkin are equal parts hero and hazard to the folk of Krynn. A party with a kender is one that will never be dull.

Play a kender if you want...

• to be an instigator of adventure and trouble
• to go places and do things that others normally wouldn't dare
• to play a race that favors the Handler or Rogue classes

BEING SMALL

(See Player's Handbook)

INNOCENCE SOURED

Becoming an Afflicted Kender:

There is no loss so poignant or so tragic as the loss of a child's innocent smile

On occasion, through tragedy or predisposition at birth, a kender does not embrace the childlike nature enjoyed by his kin. These aberrants are known as Afflicted Kender. The afflicted know fear, and are generally more cautious than their brethren. A prime example of a cause of affliction would be the Great Red Marauder, Malystryx. The behemoth dragon descended upon the kender homeland of Balifor and laid waste to it, obliterating hundreds of thousands of kender in the process. A great many of the survivors could not cope mentally, leaving their homeland with terror and anguish still fresh in their hearts and minds.

Playing an Afflicted Kender:

If your DM agrees to it, you may choose to play an afflicted kender as a starting character. The DM may also allow you to change from a normal (or "True") kender to Afflicted mid game, given sufficiently tragic circumstances have befallen him. The final choice in the matter should always be the player's, though, as changing to an afflicted kender means permanent changes to scores and powers. Once a kender becomes afflicted, they can never go back to being a normal kender again.

When afflicted, the following stat changes occur:

• the character permanently loses the Fearless racial power
• the character permanently loses the +2 gain to Charisma
• the character permanently gains a +2 bonus to Constitution
• the character gains access to the Tragic Endurance racial power outlined below

Tragic Endurance:

When one endures the most terrible of things, one endures all other things with ease
  Effect: After surviving the most horrendous of events, the Afflicted kender finds a great many things far easier to bear, giving him a permanent +2 bonus to Fortitude.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES

Generally standing between 3 1/2 to 4 feet tall and weighing in at between 80 to 90 pounds, kender are typically short and slight in stature. They are also remarkably nimble. With eye colors ranging from blue to hazel, hair from blond to brown and worn long or short, the only real constant is that a kender will decorate his or herself with all sorts of knick knacks. Feathers and beads tend to be braided in the hair and worked into clothing, and the clothing itself tends to be patchwork from various fabrics of varying colors. Another definite is that any kender will be sporting a great many pouches and pockets, in tune with their inquisitive and larcenous nature. Kender can live to be well over a hundred years old, naturally.

PLAYING A KENDER

True Kender are social creatures, almost universally chatterboxes. They are constantly seeking attention and excitement, in any form they can get, generally without regard to consequences. Raised in a society with a large emphasis on inquisitive nature and very little on the meaning of personal property, kender have a tendency towards taking things without asking. This isn't thievery, it's curiosity. A kender doesn't steal for personal gain, only due to his interest in the object itself. However, when coupled with the fact that a kender tends to be genuinely inquisitive about almost everything, it becomes easy to see how many other races view them as criminals. It's said that a kender will always take a shiny glass bead over a dulled steel coin, but given the opportunity, both will go missing.

Kender are steadfast and fiercely loyal friends and allies, willing to take great risks and go to great lengths to aid and protect a friend in need. This is a good quality for them to possess, seeing as how the trouble likely stemmed from the kender himself. They tend towards being cheerfully optimistic about the world at large, but quick to trade quips and insults.

Kender adventurers are usually those struck by Wanderlust, a condition that affects the majority of the population in their latter juvenile years. The condition compels them to take up traveling, either for adventure or to meet people, to map things or to collect fairy tales. The constant being that they all tend to travel abroad until later in their adult lives, when the urge finally subsides and they settle down. A small portion never lose the urge. Known collectively as the Wanderlost, these kender live out their entire lives moving from place to place in a constant need to keep traveling the world.

The True kender's afflicted brethren tend to show more versatility. As it is impossible to tell how tragedy will affect an individual, so too is it impossible to tell how a kender's personality will change. Many afflicted retreat into themselves, become sullen or morose. They tend to be less open and carefree than their cousins, less trusting of people in general. Some begin to borrow things from people out of suspicion or paranoia and some have even been known to start pilfering simply to turn a profit, something unthinkable to kender society as a whole.

These are not absolutes, however. Some afflicted deal with the pain genuinely and retain their optimism or good nature. They may even adopt a more palpable good natured attitude to compensate for their loss. There are no rules, but one thing is true of all afflicted kender- their nature has been drastically affected in some way that makes them stand out from typical kender society, even to the casual observer. In fact, many afflicted willingly choose not to reintegrate with true kender society, either living with other races or settling into communities of other afflicted.

Kender Characteristics: Inquisitive, adventurous, troublesome, social, lucky, devoted, winsome, larcenous, childlike.

Male Names: Aleic, Callind, Kaelin, Kipper, Lan, Rellik, Tasslehoff, Tavin.

Female Names: Allyana, Belladonna, Blister, Cricket, Felia, Halinth, Jacynth, Merrith.

KENDER ADVENTURERS

Following are three examples of kender adventurers.

Daleyn Pickwillow is a kender handler. With great exuberance he's set off on his own with a goal in mind for his adventuring days: To log the local tales of every race and society living on Ansalon. A shockingly good listener for a kender, Daleyn has imposed himself on a group of traveling performers, whom he has grown fond of and who have now started to become rather attached to him as well. He travels with them acting as scout and chef for the crew, in exchange for the protection of traveling with a group and an advantageous position from which he can learn about the local legends he's pursuing.

Belian Swallowstrike is a Knight of the Hoopak. Amicable and trustworthy, with an easy grin and a laugh on his lips, he wanders from town to town in search of good people with bad problems. He finds joy in helping others the best he can, regardless of race, and while many are put off by the idea of a kender helping them with their problems, Belian's determination and infectious good nature wins the hearts and minds of many that he comes across.

Jace Pouchsnipper saw her village burned to the ground and her family killed in a raid by the Knights of Neraka when she was still young. Alone and without a home the now afflicted Jace, or "Jacky" as she's known to her few friends, makes her living as a rogue for hire out of the city of Palanthas. While the horrors of her childhood have ruined her innocence, they have not dulled either her racial adeptness at thievery or her quick wit, the latter only growing more acerbic as a result. Her talents have made her a local legend, something that she's grown proud of, and the Palanthan underground knows well that if the price is right and the challenge interesting, Jacky will sell her talent to any bidder. Any, that is, but kender- whom she will not work for and will not work against under any circumstances.

*A special thanks to Kevin for helping me talk this out and for offering ideas and suggestions. No rights reserved. Contents of package may shift when settling.

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