As a fan off the dragonlance series i've always loved the kender - with them its a hate em' or love em' thing, no inbetween - but I also considered them to be a joke race, because frankly, they were. They did however come out of the first dragonwar victorius, having singlehandedly destroyed an invading army supported by dragons and killed their general (a dimwitted hobgoblin but still). They also fought ferociously enough during the second invasion of kendermore by the black knight, that the evil order decided to spare them from their planned genocide in the hope that they could be brought into the service of evil. This seemed a little strange on the face of it, so I dug into it a bit. According to the wiki - always an uncertain source - the kender army had the collective ability to taunt enemy armies into charging them. The military potential of being able to turn the opponents welltrained troops into an angry mob of fighters should be obvious and probably explains some of their success. Another part would be them being a race of adventurers, which is pretty OP. Just look at shinecatcher. So the question becomes, do the kindir have the kender's ability to taunt? Could they exploit it to lead bands of enemies into traps? Unfavorable conditions? Breaking ranks?
so far the only usage of kinders I considered up to now was using them as auxilary troops/ slingshotters. Not sure how well a roman legion type of formation would work with multiple diversity creatures: elfs/gnomes/ humans/ kenders... shield wall might have problems.. Perhaps scouts/ spies..
They could be fair "field medics" as long as don't need to carry anyone. Another aspect of this ...medic is to put the suffering to rest...yes. Then don't forget to relieve the injured enemies of their weapons. This would also let them hit at range while hiding by the big Bugbear body. Can the kender do anything better than sprites in an army in the woods? No I don't think so. But if there aren't enough sprites to do a thing, then they could be supplemented with kender, especially in a non wooded area.
I'm fairly sure they would be better at disengaging during pursuit. 4 of them took out entire strike teams while who knows how many bugbears were in pursuit. Sure they went down eventually, but I think sprites would have gone down a lot faster in that situation. I imagine kindir would be good skirmishers. Better taunters, but skirmishers as well.
Dragonlance kender are cousins to dwarves and gnomes, except they take the curiosity of gnomes to the extreme, have no concept of fear, are as loyal as dwarves, quite ferocious sling staff users (they have their own version which can be used as a capped staff as well as a giant slingshot), but they are not nearly as serious and orgainized as their brother races. A kender in many ways has the mentality of a 4-year old child combined with the intelligence and insight of an adult, meaning they truly intend no harm except to those who hurt them or others. There are no evil kender and only a few that count as neutral. Which is the reason that rather than kill them or imprison them as they might a human, kender are normally driven out of town. Usually with a beating in the hope that they won't come back, innocent or not their uncontrollable taunting and thieving abilities ensure they are not welcome to stay for long in most places. I believe they are based off of another race in a different world (different publisher) which in turn made a knockoff version off the hobbits. But kender are much more unique and interesting than halflings.
I don't know if the kinder would be especially powerful taunters...but they could definitely be used for it. They are lightweight, quick, nimble, and quick with a laugh. A light skirmishing force of taunters...I like it. If they can be used to lead forces away, and into a trap or traps, that would be well worth it. Spoiler: I could see kinder finding away to taunt a force of blood thirsty goblinoids to attack
Kender (Dragonlance) were created by the Grey Gem, the Prison Gem of the Chaos Father, one of the Great Creator OverGods that over see normal Gods and Create Worlds, like the Forgotten Realms OverGod Ao.
From what I have seen so far Kinder would make excellent spies, theives, and rogues. They definitely have the ability to escape and evade. They are a people known and punished for their ability to relieve others of their property. Kinder having a natural resistance to alcohol and poison would fit them well in these type services.
That’s because Caulder didn’t know the number one rule for Zombie rules of the apocalypse. Rule Number One CARDIO!
Hmm add a few mages to the squad with grease, and some nice traps.. then perform kiting retreat while shooting slings.. good early-mid game strategy.. not sure about end game here
End game is even better. Have the kindir focus on pissing off the powerhouses on the other side so they make mistakes. Even the strongest can go down if they get isolated and swarmed, especially if they are taunted and keep trying to get at the kindir instead of fighting back.
You think? Hmm I was thinking skirmishers, short engagements and rapid retreats. Hopefully they'd be able to taunt some of the bugbears into following them or at least damage their morale. I could also see them being usefull against enemy scouts. Even with the bugbears having a few hundred yards of sight their scouts should have a hard time communicating what they find.
I wouldn’t use the Kinder for skirmish lines. I would only use humans and dwarves with golems as centers for skirmish lines. I would use Sprites and Kinder for their ranged weapons and fast flanking abilities.
Yeah skirmisher is the wrong word. I'm thinking light, fast moving troops that avoid getting into meeles but instead try to pick off as many scouts and stragglers as possible ( if given the opportunity launching a few volleys into the bugbear ranks could be well worth it. They might not die from getting a sling bullet in the face, but its no laughing matter even with magical healing), while gennerally being a massive nuisance. It won't stop invaders, but they should be able to buy time.
Not sure about your EndGame Drago. But mine is beeing a NecroLitch - Immortal, no need for food, sleep etc.. cant drink potions but added AC & magic resistances + immunity to poison. And throwing Firestorm spells -> death in 100m^2, by fire, and fire vortexes moving in every direction stopping monsters and blocking them and burning...
