All kender are descended from gnommes who were magically and permanently changed by the artifact known as the Graygem, or the Greystone of Gargath. Gnomes were themselves descended from men who were magically altered by the deity Reorx. Kender thus came to possess most of the personality traits common to humans, though certain ones became much magnified and others disappeared.
Kender spread throughout Ansalon during the Age of Dreams, though little is said of them in official histories. The earliest known kender hero was Balif, a close friend of the elven lord Silvanos, who established the kingdom of Silvanesti. Balif fought in the First Dragon War and established his own kingdom of kender, called Balifor. Balif died in the year 250 of the Age of Dreams.
A second kender kingdom was established in northwestern Ansaloon in the year 400 of the Age of Dreams. Known as Hilo (because of the mountains and low plains), this second kingdom was brought into the empire of Ergoth in the year 800. Following the Rose Rebellion of Vinas Solamnus, Hilo again gained its independence and kas kept it to this date.
Tragically, Balifor was destroyed during the Cataclysm. The few kender survivors wandered north and eventually established a city at Kendermore, renaming the area around it Goodlund. Kendermore is only a short distance from the remains of what is rumored to be Towwer of High Sorcery called The Ruins by the kender, who explore it in droves. (It is said that finding artifacts in The Ruins is easy, but leaving with them is impossible because of the local kender.)
Many of the kender in Goodlund never returned to civilization, however, remaining in a state of semi-barbarism for centuries. One of these tribal kender, an unusually powerful and charismatic leader named Kronin Thistleknot, has begun organizing all local kender to combat the draconian and Dragonarmies sweeping the area. Kronin is unusually antagonistic for a kender, and those few who have met him have come away ahaken. Whether Kronin will have any effect on the current war remains to be seen.
The basic unit of kender society is the immediate family (parent and children). Because kender wander so much, extended families do not truly exist. A detailed discussion of kender politics, government, and society is beyond the scope of this essay. Suffice to say that kender society is unique and everchanging.
Kender society can also be hard to take. Non-kender visitors rarely stay longer than a week in any major kender town, unless tey have a sense of humor. "If an asylum had turned loose its inmates and a jail its thieves to run this city," wrote one traveler of Kendermore, "the end result could not have been more atrocious. I have been robbed a dozen timess today, twice by constables and once by a child who could barely reach my kneecaps. I have been tormented by ahundred thousand questions, told a million lies, and been run to exhaustion by my guide. Half the populations wants to make a gynosphinz their mayor on the grounds that they have never had one before, and the other half has left in search of one. Gods take me if I ever set foor in this land again!"
Four things make a kender's personality drastically different from that of a typical human. Kender are utterly fearless, insatiably curious, unstoppably mobile and independent, and will pick up anything that is not nailed down (though kender with claw hammers will get those as well).
The fearlessness that all kender possess gives them a strong sense of confidence. They are quite carefree or matter-of-fact about a situation, even if things look hopeless and grim. ("No sense in running away now. There's five hundred goblins surrounding us!") Kender reeact effectively to dangerous situations, fighting hard and fearlessly. They sometimes come up with some bizarre tactics that may carry the day in battle, and they don't let their fearlessness get in the way of self preservation most of the time.
Kender appreciate the need for caution, but their uncontrollable curiousity gets them into trouble on adventures. They forever have to check out unexplored places and peek into dark corners. They have no desssire to be the second or third person who ever entered the Caverns of Unspeakable Doom; they want to be the very first. Pointing out that no one returns from the Caverns of Unspeakable Doom has no effect. In fact, describing what makes the caverns so unspeakable might even excite the kender further and make him or her determined to go to the caverns at once. ("An evil archmage and an army of ogres? Wow! Let's go see 'em!") Some kender might allow their curiousity to overcome their commonn sense when facing unusual opponents, such as a dragon, though they eventually learn to run when running is best.
A kender's fellows are often in the position of haveing to teach him that certain things have big, nasty teeth and that avoiding these things if often in the kender's best interests, regardless of what the kender's opinions are in the matter. Whenever a kender displays an inordinately sensible attitude about danger, it is probably because the kender realizes that performing this dangerous action will ruin any further chances of doing exciting things ever
A few legends suggest that kender can actually be frightened, though only by creatures on the level of demon princes and archdevils. No one is willing to test out his theory, however, and most people believe that after the initial scare, the kender would be back to normal, pestering the monstrous prince with personal questions.
Kender are intensely curious about everything. Magic awes and fascinates them, as do any large, unusual, and dramatic creatures like chimeras, centaurs, unicorns, and, of course, dragons. Kender are drawn to beautiful things, but they may find certain things that others regard as disgusting to be intriguing or humorous in some way (even some gully dwarves).
Though strong-willed, kender are not prone to consider all the possible results of their behavior. A kender may quickly and impulsively paint herrself into a corner, then wait for someone else to come along and get her out of the jam. Sometimes this means that the kender's fellow adventurers are painted into the same corner. ("I guess I shouldn't have opened that locked door with the warning signs on it, huh?") Experienced adventurers quickly come to dread that most awful of kenderr sayings: "Oops!"
Another important point is that kender need action and they need it now. They thrive on excitement and yearn for new adventures. "I'm just along for the fun" is a common saying among wandering kender. It has been suggested that the worst torture that could be inflicted on a kender would be to lock him up and simply give him nothing new to do or look at. (Conversely, it is non-kender would be to lock him up in a bare cell with a bored kender.) Some kender believe that evil creatures are condemned to an afterlife where they will be eternally bored.
Most kender are encountered during wanderlust, a peculiar phase that comes on a kender in his early twenties. Apparently the kender's natural curiousity and desire for action suddenly go into overdrive at this time, and kender are driven to wander the land as far as they can go. Wanderlust may last for many years, and some kender have a habit of making maps of their travels during this time. Sadly, most kender are poor mapmakers, lacking the patience and skills to chart maps during this time to satisfy their curiousity about other places. This wanderlust is responsible for spreading kender communities across the continent of Ansalon.
Risky deeds draw kender as dragons are drawn to gold, but risk must be combined with action or else they'll lose interest. Gambling with cards wan't hold a kender's attention for long, but seeing if one can outrun a mad owlbear is another thing. Bravery is easily confused with recklessness where kender are concerned.
Kender are natural extroverts and enjoy making new friends and seeing new places. The majority of them are very personable and friendly perhaps too friendly for some peoople, who dislike their nosiness, their extreme talkativeness (which grows wors when they get excited), and their habit of pocketing everything that interests them. Kender also resent being iven orders; they want to do what they want to do, especially if they have their minds set on doing it. Telling them to do otherwise is worse than useless, as they will complain loudly and disrespectfully, using their taunting skills if they're mad enough. The best way to handle kender, say old adventurers, is not to give them orders, but to get them to volunteer.
Kender are sensitive and can be easily hurt by indifference or intentionally cutting remarks (triggering their taunting talents almost immediately). They treasure their friends; if one's friends are injured or slain, the kender may become very depressed and upset. Death only seems to affect a kender when it comes to one whom the kender know and loves, or when it is meted out by disaster or warfare to innocent beings (including any kender). In such cases, the distress that the usually cheerful kender feels seems extremely terrible. A story is told of a human ranger in the Age of Dreams who wounded a deer that was the pet of a kender community. The sight of an entire village of small kender crying their hearts out was so upsetting to the ranger that he quested until he found a druid who could heal the animal, then retired and took up fishing.
Kender are also masters of taunting, sarcasm, and outright rudeness when it suits them to use it. Their intense curiousity gives them shocking insights into the character and nature of other people, though such an awareness is generally shallow. It is acute enough, however, for a kender to forge an idea of another person's character flaws, giving the kender the ability to create the most stinging insults that can be imagined. Full scale riots have been reportedly started by irritated kender who opened up on someone with their veral guns.
The kender concept of personal property and theft deserves special attention. Because many kender develop thieving ("handling") talents, most people assume they are merely innocent looking but sneaky burglars. This isn't so. The intense curiousity that kender feel feeds their desire to know how locks can be opened, how to approach people unseen and listen in oon their conversations, and to reach into pockets or pouches to find interesting things to look at. Thieving comes naturally to them so naturally that they cannot see it as thieving.
Kender do not steal for the sake of profit. First of all, they have little concept of value. Faced with a choice between a huge diamond and a glittering chunck of purple glass, 90 kender out of 100 will take the glass. (The rest will take both but get rid of the diamond first.) They pick things up out of curiousity and wander off with them. Sometimes the owner of an item back, or else the kender becomes enchanted with the item and forgets to return it. If adventuring, a kender will regard anything found in a enemy strong hold as fair game for picking up, as such items are marvelous curios and might prove useful later on.
Even if caught taking an item red-handed, the range of excuses a kender will offer is amazing:
"Guess I found it somewhere."
"I forgot that I had it."
"You walked off before I could give it back."
"I was afraid someone else wouldd take it."
"You must have dropped it."
"You put it down and I didn't think you wanted it anymore."
"Maybe it fell into my pocket."
All of these lines are delivered with an innocent sincerity that is all the more maddening because the kender is sincere! A kender might not necessarily remember wwhere she found something, even if she picked it up half a minute before , and such responses are often deliverd as part of an unthinking defense mechansim. Intense curiousity is a trait ingrained in their souls and and minds from their racial creation by the Graystone of Gargath. They cannot be other than what they are natural thieves.
No regular thieves' guilds operate in kender communities, and kender would not belong to such guilds even if they did exist. Informal organizations for adventurous kender do exist, however, and thieving skills are taught as a matter of course to anyone who is interested in learnning along the knowledge of how to perform certain skills from generation to generation.
Kender, like everyone else, do not like the idea of someone deliberately taking an item from someone else without the latter's permission. To be called a thief is still considered a base insult. This assertation sounds remarkable in view of the fact kender constantly "borrow" things from each other and from visitors (without asking) in their home communities. Kender don't regard their idea of borrowing as stealing, however. If they need something interesting, they'll pick it up and pocket it. A popular proverb defines a kender heirloom as anything that reamins longer than three weeks inside a kender's home.
After their creation in the Age of Dreams, certain kender were gifted with clerical and druidic powers. These spellcassting kender roamed the entire length and breadth of the continent of Ansalon, spreading their various faiths. Clerical and druidic kender were either incapable of or had no desire for establishing fixed places of worship.
The clerical kender proved to be troublesome for the clerics of the more rigid established religions to govern. Aside from their wanderlust, which made it impossible to keep track of them and get them to settle down, kender clerics also displayed all of the less engaging traits shown by their people: petty theft, name-calling, and questionable wisdom in dealing with anger. Worse yet, kender clerics were quite good at seeing through false piety and sham, and their criticism of other clerics whether of their own religions or of others was stinging. Religious kender themselves were dedicated and sensitive, even if they were incapable of maintaining close relationships with their flocks for very long. Sooner or later, they would have to move on.
Clerical and druidic kender vanished from the world after the Cataclysm, as did all other clerics. Nothing is known of where they went. During the centuries after the Cataclysm, kender spent their time searching for their religious leaders and investigating the various false religions that sprang up across the changed world. Few kender joined such cults for long, and gradually they forgot about the old gods and created a number of theirown philosophies on life and the world philosophies insome ways as error-prone as the false religions of the land, but certainly more sincere and friendly.
The most highly favored of all gods amont the kender were Branchala, Chislev, Mishakal, and Gilean. A certain degree of homage was paid by all kender to Reorx, who indirectly caused the creation of kenderkind, and to Habbakuk, the Fisher King and ruler of animals and the sea. Branchala, the Bard King, appealed to the kender with his mastery of song, his love of stories and legends, and his wayward nature. All true bards among the kender held Branchala to be their lord, and they served him well on their endless travels. Clerics of Branchala often learned to play musical instruments or sing as a part of their religious training.
Chislev, the male/female deity who governs all the natural forces of Krynn, was served by many druidic kender. Chislev's worship involved immersing oneself in the harmony an dpeacefulness of nature, establishing a oneness with the earth and its seasons and cycles, and in the avoidance of judging things to be good or evil. If a thing was troublesome, it was dealt with, whether it was good or bad in nature. Peace and community were emphasized highly. Druidic kender were often accompanied in their wandering by reinues of wild animals (some under a charm and some merely friendly).
A small cult dedicated to Mishakal could always be found in a large community of kender. Clerical kender of this deity were known to be especially pleasant company, though they had not lost their faces. Kender who worshipped this deity wereless prone to wander than other clerics and druids, and often followed a circular trail around several small communities that they would periodically visit.
A minor cult among the kender devoted to the worship of Gilean was known from several parts of Ansalon. Kender who sought knowledge of the world's secrets sometimes took up the gray robes of Gilean's clerics and set out with pen and book, recording all they saw, heard, suspected, and imagined. Only a few diaries of these kender have survived; they make wonderful reading.
During the Third Dragonlance War, it was reported that a kender had encountered a true, good cleric, and, to the clerric's surprise, had gained a duplicate medallion of faith. Nothing more is known of this event, but it appears to foretell the return of holy spellcasters among the kender of Ansalon.
Kender are samll and resemble human children, though they are more heavily muscled. Males are typically 3'7" tall and weigh 75 lbs.; females are smaller. Adult kender are rarelymore than 4' tall, and their weight can be up to 100 lbs.
Kender typically have sandy blonde, light and dark brown, copper-red, or even red-ornage hair colors. Hair styles are usually long, with many varieties of braids and pony tails being popular. Cheek braids indicate a kender is of royal or noble blood. Often bits of colorful material such as bird feathers, ribbons, or flowers are carefully woven into their hair as well. Kender are fair skinned but tan quickly, becoming nut-brown by midsummer. Their eyes are variously pale blue, sea green, olive, light brown, and hazel.
Facially, kender are distinctive for their pointed ears, giving thema faintly elfin look. They are bright-eyed, and thir facil expreessions are quite intense. No one seems to look as happy as a joyful kender or as miserable as a crying one. Angry kender using taunts and insults against someone they particularly dislike can be shockingly vulgar, as noted above, and can look quite devilish for a few moments. This intensity of emotion can be infectious.
Kender have been called "wizened" because the fine network of lines that appears on their faces about age 40. These minute wrinkles give kender a curious appearance when seen close up though such lines are considered attractive by kender of all clans.
Kender have a wide vocal range, from deep and husky to high-pitched and squeaky. Older kender tend to have deeper voices, but they still maintain wide pitch ranges and can oten perform remarkable sound imitations. When excited, kender tend to speak very quickly and ramble at the same time, making it hard to follow what they're trying to say.
Because of their small size and low strength, kender prefer to travel light. Only small shields will be used, and leather or padded armor of furs make up the heaviest armor that most kender will tolerate. A few warriors may use ringmail or studded leather armor, but will generally take it off when traveling long distances by foot or when scouting an enemy position. Elfin chainmail (if somehow obtained) would be much enjoyed.
The hoopak is a special weapon developed and used exclusively by the kender, who are the right height to make the best use of it. Its origins are unknown, lying far back into the earliest years of the Age of Dreams. A hoopak is a combination bo staff and staff sling that all kender are able to use.
A hoopak is made from a springy, resilent wood; one end of the staff is forked like a slingshot, and a leather pocket is mouted tthere as the sling. The other end of the staff is pointed and shod with metal or hardened by fire.
Being fairly inventive, some kender have developed combination weapons similiar to the hoopak. A snapper is a hand axe, balanced for throwing, with an elastic-band slingshot mounted on the back of the axe hand. The kender using it simply points the shaft of te axe in the direction of an enemy and fires away. Other such devices, such as spears with removable spearheads (turning them into staves), have also been noted, but these are fairly rare. Kender also like adding extra things to their weapons such as whistles, notches for tying bundles to the weapon's shaft, or hollow shafts that allow the weapon to double as a snorkel or a blowgun.
All kender, whether theives or not, invariably have one or more makeshift lockpicking tools, often no more than a length of wire, hidden on their persons. Professional-quality theives' tools are made and sold (or picked up) at the same adventuring clubs that teach thieving skills.
Kender clothing is widely varied and tends to be colorful and bright. Even rustic clothing will have bits of brightly colored material woven into it. Soft,thin materials are much preferred, and soft leather is highly valued (especially if dyed and tooled with designs).
Beyond the above, a kender wil almost certainly have an assortment of other smallitems in his pockets or belt pouches that ere acquired in one manner or another. Bird feathers, odd stones, rings (possibly magical), string animal teeth, toys, whistles, scraps of paper, necklaces, tinderboxes, small tools, chalk, purses, figurines, charcoal sticks, handkerchiefs, gems, pet mice, glass marbles, unusual daggers, bits of dried meat or biscuits, foreign coins, and the like will fill a kender's pockets. Anything that could conceivinably hold a kender's attention for longer that two seconds and that can be quickly hidden on a kender's person will almost certainly be taken.
Kender have sometimes been known to make pets out of stray animals, particularly cats, dogs, and small, friendly rodents such as mice. a few stories are told of kender who managed to get even bigger andmore unusual pets; one peculiar tale is told of Tasslehoff Burrfoot and a woolly mammoth he freed from captivity, but this cannot be proven. Kender only rarely use mounts, preferring to walk even over long distances.
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