The worst punishment one can inflict on a kender is to lock him up. The worst punishment one can inflict on anyone else is to lock him up with a kender.
Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
Kender are generally considered the most annoying race in the entire world. They have shrill voices and are childlike in appearance. Kender are most recognizable by their Wanderlust, their curiosity and their "borrowing". Kender appropriate anything that they find interesting, regardless of its monetary value and who owns it. This habit has not made them popular with other peoples.
A kender's curiosity knows no boundaries. Kender firmly believe in the motto that no door should be left unlocked, no dark cave undiscovered and no chest unopened. Combine this with their fearlessness and you've got a combination any adventuring party will fear. Although, kender do have some instinct for self-preservation, they are often reckless and will act against their common sense (if they have any). The biggest enemy of every kender is boredom and if a kender gets bored, beware! Bored kender often decide to do something interesting, commonly with dire consequences. Nothing is as dangerous as a bored kender and a kender saying "Oops!" is often the herald for something terrifying.
Despite their recklessness, kender can be useful at times. Their lockpicking skills are second to none, they are fearless scouts and they are fiercely loyal to their friends. Though, becoming friends with a kender does ask for a lot of patience on the part of the non-kender.
A good place to find kender in every city is the city jail. Often, a kender is locked up for a while after he was caught "borrowing". It makes little sense to keep the kender for a long time though as they don't change their ways and they are usually released the next day.
Basic Information
Kender can become up to 200 years old but rarely do so. Their curiosity ensures that relatively few kender survive their period of Wanderlust. When Kender do reach the age of 70, they start thinking about settling down though some never do.
Kender mature at 20 years old
Additional Information
Kender are short, generally with light eyes. They often wear their hair in topknots.
Kender can be found everywhere in the world. Sometime after becoming an adult, Kender start to feel the urges of Wanderlust. Wanderlust is the intense journey of discovery almost every kender feels and leads to many becoming adventurers for at least some time.
Civilization and Culture
Male Names: Arlie, Buckeran, Jackin, Kronin, Malon, Pentrien, Tarli, Tasslehoff, Tekel, Tobin
Female Names: Amari, Amber, Athola, Catt, Emla, Ethani, Juniper, Mela, Paxina, Teeli
Chosen Names: Kender usually pick a more descriptive name as their last name. This name describes their own characteristics, exploits or achievements but can also be the name of a famous hero so the kender can inherit the good reputation of that hero. Examples include: Burrfoot, Deeppockets, Flamehair, Lighteyes, Nimblefingers, Quickstep, Redfeather, Riddler, Softtread, Thistleknot.
Kender characters start out with a backpack, a
Hoopak and a set of kender pouches.
There is no real common sense of fashion among kender. Generally, they wear whatever they like and what they find comfortable. However, all kender clothing has a wide variety of pockets and pouches for the kender's favourite trinkets.
Upon meeting someone new, kender straighten their clothes, brush themselves off and extend a hand in greeting. If this other person is another kender, the two begin in an extensive greeting process that includes trying to find out whether they are related and showing each other their trinkets as well as giving them as gifts.
Kender are infamous for their "borrowing". Kender investigate everything to satisfy their unending curiosity and this includes other peoples possessions. They approprate anything that catches their eye, uncaring of their monetary value. If a kender "borrows" something from someone else, they fully intend to return it but they just forget to do so. Thus, kender always have good excuses when someone accuses them of thievery. Favorites include:
"It must have fallen in my pocket"
"You dropped it and I picked it up so I could give it back"
"I was just keeping it safe, you never know when someone might try to steel it"
"Didn't you mean this as a gift"
Kender are not particularly religous and respect every god (to avoid hurting their feelings) but rarely venerate a god actively. If they do, gods involved with travelling are particularly popular.
Thievery is not done for kender and they are greatly offended when someone accuses them of thieving. The difference between thieving and "borowing" is very important to kender and also unknown to anyone but the kender themselves.
Kender get along with everyone they meet though they are quick to dislike someone who threatens or hurts their friends. Other races don't think of kender the same way though. Most consider them thieves and annoyances although some think of them as an amusing people. Generally, dwarves dislike kender because they are too chaotic and do very little usefull. The two races kender can associate most with are the halflings, due to their shared travelling lifestyles, and gnome, because of their shared curiosity. Ogres, goblins and such are great fans of the kender with regard to one aspect: roasted kender tastes quite good apparently.
RPG Datasheet
+2 dex, -2 str, -2 wis: Quick and agile, the mall and wiry kender are built for nimbleness rather than brute strength. Driven by insatiable curiosity, kender lack the ability to think things through or to consider the consequences of their actions
Small: as Small creatures, kender gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls and a +4 size bonus on Hide Checks, but they must use smaller weapons than humans use, and their lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of Medium characters.
Base speed: 20 feet
+1 racial bonus on all saving throws. Perhaps through their eternal optimism and their inherent belief in the goodness of all people, kender manage to survive and thrive in a world that is often hostile to them.
+2 racial bonus on Spot checks. Kender have remarkable eyesight.
+2 racial bonus on Open Locks and Sleight of Hand checks. All kender have an instinctive curiosity when it comes to finding out what lies behind closed doors and inside pockets and pouches. Kender can use these two abilities as though they were trained, even if they have 0 ranks in the skills
Lack of focus: Kender have a -4 racial penalty on Concentration checks. Kender don't necessarily lack magical talent, but their general lack of focus discourages them from pursuing careers in magic.
Taunt: Kender have an uncanny insight into the motivations and characteristics of other races. They can use this insight to unleash a verbal barrage of sarcasm, insults and crude comments that cause the targeted victims to lose their temper. Kender receive a +4 racial bonus on all Bluff checks used to taunt someone. Using the taunt in combat works as following: The target of the Bluff check must be able to able to see and hear the taunting character and must be an intelligent creature who understands the taunting character's language. Creatures that are immune to mind-affects are immune to this use of the Bluff check. To taunt an opponent in the combat, make a Bluff check opposed by a Sense Motive check by your target. If your Bluff check exceeds your target's Sense Motive check, your target is nettled by your taunts and suffers a -1 penalty on his attack rolls and AC until your next action. An enemy distracted by your taunts is likely to direct his next attack to you but is by no means compelled to do so. Using the Bluff skill to taunt a foe is a standard action but does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Fear: Kender are immune to fear, magical and otherwise
Languages: Kenderspeak and Common. Bonus languages: all others
Favoured Class: Rogue
Alignment: Kender tend toward neutrality. They don't consider themselves lawbreakers and are disgusted by thieves. However, if they feel a law is unjust, they just ignore it. Kender are rarely evil as they hold life and liberty in high regard.
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