Kender (updated for D&D 3.5)

The Kencyclopedia is an excellent resource about the kender race, although the racial features are based on D&D 2.0 and 3.0 rules, not 3.5.

Although the kender race from the latest Dragonlance Campaign Setting (DLCS) is compatible with D&D 3.5 rules, a kender is rather gimped when adapting it to a typical D&D campaign outside of Dragonlance. Kender have a combination of traits that don't bode well for the survival of their race: unbalanced abilities to the negative side, small size, lack of foresight, insatiable curiousity, easily distracted, and completely lacking fear or anxiety. The kender's fearlessness is different from a paladin's immunity to fear: a kender simply doesn't understand what fear means. A kender may understand concepts like failure, planning ahead, and morality if they have time to stop and think.

Because there is evidence that kender descend from Gnomes, a D&D 3.5 update for kender should include gnome attributes where DLCS doesn't specify any (such as visual acuity and weapon familiarity). In the list below, italicized text indicates something added to fill in a DLCS omission (added from the gnome race when possible), boldface text indicates something added or changed to balance a kender for D&D 3.5 campaigns outside Dragonlance, and struck out text indicates something removed from the DLCS description.

• Creature type: humanoid (gnome subtype)
• Alignment: usually non-lawful, always non-evil. Kender tend toward neutrality, but freely ignore laws they consider unjust. It is extremely rare for a kender to be evil, since they hold a high regard for life and are almost completely incorruptible.
• Abilities: Str -2, Dex +2, Wis -2. Kender are quick and nimble rather than strong. They are driven by insatiable curiosity and lack the ability to think things through or consider the consequences of their actions.
• Small size: +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, -4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits 3/4 those of Medium characters.
• Base land speed: 20 feet.
• Low-light vision. Kender descend from gnomes, which also have low-light vision (and gnomes have no special visual acuity in DLCS either).
• Weapon Familiarity: Kender may treat all kender weapons as simple weapons. A kender weapon in the hands of other races inflict a -2 penalty on attack rolls, even with the Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat.
• +1 racial bonus to all saving throws.
• +2 racial bonus on spot checks due to remarkable eyesight.
• +2 racial bonus on Open Locks and Sleight of Hand checks. All kender have an instinctive curiosity to discover what lies behind closed doors and inside pockets. Kender can use these two abilities as though they were trained, even if they have 0 ranks in the skills. These skills are always in-class skills, regardless of class.
• Lack of Focus (Ex): 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 (Ex): +4 racial bonus an all Bluff checks used to taunt someone. Taunting is opposed by Sense Motive and doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity. A successfully taunted opponent suffers a −1 penalty to attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks (this is a milder form of the "shaken" condition although not a fear effect), as well as a −1 penalty to AC, and becomes one degree more hostile toward and more likely to attack the kender, but is not under compulsion to do so. The effects last as long as the kender continues to insult the opponent plus a number of rounds equal to 1 + Cha modifier (minimum 1 round after the taunt).
• Fearlessness (Ex): Immunity to fear and fear effects, magical or otherwise. Kender fear nothing, instead, they are curious about everything (and about any enemy creature), which gets them into trouble.
• Kender's Luck (Ex): Once per day, a kender can reroll one roll he just made, before the Dungeon Master declares whether the roll results in success or failure. The character must take the result of the reroll, even if it's worse than the original roll. (From Chaos Gnome's Luck of Chaos in Races of Stone)
• Automatic Languages: Gnome, Kenderspeak, and Common. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Ergot Draconic, Elven, Goblin, and Solamnic Sylvan.
• Favored Class: Rogue.

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