Kender: D&D 5e (2014) Race Optimisation Guide

Taunt and steal stuff with this extremely curious race from the Dragonlance setting.

The world of Krynn (the planet of the Dragonlance setting) is home to many different races. However, only one of these is unique to the world of Krynn (at least among D&D’s playable races). They are the Kender.

Created by Reorx, the god of craft, Kender are an offshoot of Gnomes, granted an irrepressible curiosity and fearlessness. Despite their Gnomish heritage and curiosity, Kender are perhaps most like Halflings in their cheerful nature and small height. The most well-known Kender is probably Tasslehoff, one of the main characters of the Dragonlance Chronicles series.

Kender are perhaps best known for their inclination towards kleptomania. Kender have little comprehension of concepts like “possession” and will often find themselves pocketing trinkets that do not belong to them.

When it comes to playable traits, Kender are very difficult to frighten, are a little more skilful than most and have an aptitude for taunting their enemies.

If you want to play a Kender, then read on for advice on optimisations and tactics.

Is a Kender the right species for me?

Choose a Kender if you want to…

Be fearless
Taunt people
Steal things
Be cheerful and carefree

A Kender might not be for you if…

You like to be cautious
Don’t like to rub people up the wrong way
Respect people’s property

Kender traits

Ability score increase	Increase 1 ability score by 2 and another by 1 or increase 3 ability scores by 1
Languages	Common and 1 other
Creature Type	Humanoid
Size	Small
Speed	30ft
Traits	Fearless, Kender aptitude, taunt
Resistances	None
Proficiencies	One of insight, investigation, sleight of hand, stealth and survival
Darkvision	No
Innate spellcasting	None
Book found in	Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

Tactics

Kender are the last to run away and the first to hurl abuse at their enemies. In some respects, this makes them a little unique as a race and I’d consider using some of the following tactics if playing one:

Difficult to frighten: Kender are a great option to throw in front of terrifying creatures (like dragons). If you know a creature is likely to try to frighten the party, a Kender is a good choice to throw at the front to tackle those effects as they are particularly resilient to the frightened condition.

Roguish skillset: Kender have quite a large range of skill proficiency options to draw from. Most of these are quite good options too, especially if you happen to be a rogue (or filling the role of a rogue). If you plan on being the party’s source of sneaking, scouting or investigating, then a Kender is a good option to broaden that skillset.

Taunting: Taunting is a great option for a couple of builds. You can play a tank that draws attacks to them and away from allies, making the likes of paladins and rangers good options. Alternatively, you can go for something evasive like a rogue or a monk. Launch your tirade of insults then skulk somewhere out of the way or hide while the flustered creature is forced to attack your allies with disadvantage. You will need a decent spellcasting ability score to make this work though.

Choosing a class for your Kender

Below I’ve scored how well each class works with a Kender:

Artificer⭐⭐⭐

Barbarian ⭐⭐

Bard ⭐⭐⭐

Cleric ⭐⭐

Druid ⭐⭐⭐

Fighter ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Monk ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Paladin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ranger ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rogue ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sorcerer ⭐⭐⭐

Warlock ⭐⭐⭐

Wizard ⭐⭐⭐

*Star ratings scored out of 5

Best classes for a Kender

The best trait a Kender possesses is their taunt trait. This can cause some serious problems for enemies. It needs a high spellcasting ability score to work though and either a tanky class or an evasive class to implement well.

The skills are widely helpful enough that most classes will find something useful here, though some a little more than others. Fearless is going to be better on tanks who are likely to be closer to frightening effects and will struggle more if prevented from moving closer into the fray. It is handy on anyone though.

For these reasons I think the best options for a Kender are:

Any paladin or ranger works here but fighters and rogues don’t always have a high intelligence, wisdom or charisma. However, it’s easy enough to build one that does. For starters, the likes of psi warriors, eldritch knights and arcane tricksters all require investment in intelligence anyway. Many rogues fit a charisma build too, especially subclasses like the swashbuckler, assassin and mastermind.

While a monk generally fits the bill here for a top option, their struggle is their reliance on their bonus action and just how much they lose from not using flurry of blows. They’re still a good option for a Kender, just not one of the best.

Worst Kender classes

While barbarians make a great taunter (due to their high resilience) and do well being fearless, it’s just too difficult to build them with a good spellcasting ability in mind. This makes taunt a bit redundant on them.

Clerics also struggle with taunt as they often go close to danger, but lack enough resilience or evasiveness to make taunt work.

About Kender

Appearance

Kender have pointed ears and a short height. They’re descended from Gnomes, but don’t necessarily have the bearded or stockier frames that many Gnomes possess. Other than this, they tend to have very diverse appearances in the same way Humans do with varying colours of skin, hair and eyes as well as differing features.

How to roleplay a Kender

Kender are intrinsically curious. This is probably the most important aspect to embody when playing a Kender. This curiosity often leads them to test and try things without thinking the consequences through carefully. If you do play a Kender, be precocious, throw caution to the wind, and survive by sheer luck rather than common sense.

Many Kender also have little concept of property and possession. Pick things up and keep them. It’s not stealing, just borrowing. All Kender do it, so why not the other races too. Don’t be afraid to grab something that isn’t yours, I’m sure there’ll be no bad consequences as a result…