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

Introduction

Kender is the only new playable race in Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen, and it reads as a support-leaning Small race built around one useful control trick: Taunt, a bonus action that punishes an enemy for attacking anyone but you. Add immunity-adjacent frightened protection and a free skill proficiency, and Kender is a solid pick for a character who wants to redirect danger onto themselves without spending a full action or maintaining concentration to do it.

This guide covers every trait, the ability score math behind Taunt's save DC, which classes get the most from it, and the one trait every reader assumes Kender has and is wrong about.

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Disclaimer

Ratings use a four-color system reflecting overall power in the context of the 2014 rules:

• ● Red - Poor. Avoid or situational at best.
• ● Orange - Situational. Useful in specific builds or campaigns.
• ● Green - Good. Reliable value in most builds.
• ● Blue - Excellent. Best-in-slot or near it for the right build.

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Racial Traits

Kender has no subraces. Every trait below applies identically to every Kender character.

● Ability Score Increase: Floating +2/+1 or +1/+1/+1

Kender uses the post-Tasha's customizable format: +2 to one score and +1 to a different score, or +1 to three different scores. No wasted bonus regardless of class or build.

● Size and Speed: Small, 30 Feet

Kender are Small but walk at 30 feet, faster than most Small races. Small creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls with heavy weapons, so a Kender martial should use a longsword, rapier or hand crossbow rather than a greatsword or longbow. The hoopak, the kender's signature weapon, has no heavy property.

● Fearless

You have advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the frightened condition on yourself. When you fail a saving throw to avoid or end the frightened condition on yourself, you can choose to succeed instead. Once you succeed on a saving throw in this way, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

A strong passive: advantage against frightened outright, plus a once-per-long-rest guaranteed save when advantage isn't enough. Frightened shuts down melee approach and imposes disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while the source is visible, so a race that largely shrugs it off is a real defensive upgrade for any front-line build.

● Kender Aptitude

You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice from the following list: Insight, Investigation, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, or Survival.

A free skill proficiency from a list that covers both social/perception play (Insight, Investigation) and physical stealth-adjacent play (Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival). Every option on the list is broadly useful, so this trait has no dead pick.

● Taunt

As a bonus action, you can target one creature within 60 feet of you that can hear and understand you. That creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than you until the start of your next turn. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier (your choice when you gain this trait). You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

The headline trait. It's a bonus action with no concentration requirement that forces a save-or-suffer effect punishing an enemy for not attacking you - functionally a tanking tool that works from any class, not just a Fighter or Paladin with a subclass mark feature. See the dedicated section below for how it compares to existing mark/taunt effects in the catalog.

No Darkvision

Kender's trait block stops at size, speed and the three traits above. There is no darkvision line. This is the trait most players assume a Small race carries by default, and Kender simply doesn't have it - plan a light source, a party spellcaster, or another race's darkvision to cover the gap.

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Ability Scores

Floating +2/+1 (or +1/+1/+1): No wasted bonus regardless of class. Since Taunt's save DC keys off Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma (your choice, locked in at character creation), a build that already wants a high score in one of those three gets a compounding benefit: raise the same stat for both your class's needs and Taunt's DC. A Cleric or Bard already investing in Wisdom or Charisma gets the most direct overlap; a Fighter or Rogue investing in Strength or Dexterity should still pick whichever of Int/Wis/Cha they plan to raise second, since a flat 10 in that score caps Taunt's DC at a mediocre 8 + proficiency bonus.

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Is Taunt a Real Tanking Tool?

Worth examining directly rather than taking the "tank trait" framing on faith.

What makes it strong: it's a bonus action like hunter's mark or hex, but it has no concentration requirement and costs no spell slot, so it stacks freely with a concentration spell you're already maintaining. The save DC scales with proficiency bonus exactly like a spell DC would, and the number of daily uses scales the same way, so both halves of the trait improve together as you level.

Where it falls short of a true tank mechanic: the punishment for ignoring the Taunt is disadvantage on attacks against other targets, not an inability to attack them at all, and a high-Wisdom enemy or one with advantage on the save can shrug it off entirely. It also doesn't stop an enemy from moving away the way compelled duel does, or punish the attack with a free strike the way the Cavalier's Unwavering Mark does. It only affects the attack roll, not the target choice itself.

The honest verdict: Taunt is a useful redirect tool for any class, strongest on a character who can afford to be attacked (high AC, high HP, or both) and wants to protect a squishier ally without spending their action or a spell slot to do it. It's not an unconditional lockdown, but a free bonus-action save-or-suffer effect available from level 1 to any class holds up on its own.

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Best Classes

● Fighter

A Fighter's action economy already leaves the bonus action free most turns, and a Fighter's typically high AC and HP make them a credible target for Taunt to redirect attacks onto. Kender Aptitude's Insight or Investigation option also patches a Fighter's usually thin skill list.

● Paladin

Fearless covers the frightened condition until Aura of Courage makes you immune at 10th level, and Taunt gives a Paladin a bonus-action option that doesn't cost a spell slot. Divine Smite uses no action at all, so the two never compete. Taunt does compete with bonus-action smite spells like searing smite.

● Cleric

A Wisdom-based Cleric gets the strongest possible overlap between class stat and Taunt's DC, and a support-leaning Cleric build already wants tools that protect squishier allies without spending a spell slot.

● Bard

Charisma-based Taunt DC lines up with a Bard's primary stat, and Kender Aptitude's Insight or Sleight of Hand option reinforces a Bard's usual face-and-skill-monkey role.

● Rogue

Workable, since Kender Aptitude's Stealth or Sleight of Hand options fit a Rogue's identity directly, but a Rogue's typically lower AC and HP make it a worse candidate to actually absorb the attacks Taunt redirects - use Taunt reactively to protect an ally rather than to draw fire onto yourself. Taunt also competes with Cunning Action for your bonus action.

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Worst Classes

● Wizard / Sorcerer

Both classes have low AC and HP by default, which makes actively drawing enemy attacks with Taunt a bad trade even when it succeeds. Fearless and Kender Aptitude still function normally, so the race isn't a poor pick outright - just skip using Taunt to bait attacks onto a squishy spellcaster.

● Monk

Not a poor fit, but a Monk's bonus action is already heavily contested by Flurry of Blows and Step of the Wind, which puts Taunt in real competition for the same resource turn after turn.

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Best Feats

● Resilient (Wisdom)

Resilient (Wisdom) stacks with Fearless for a character who is close to immune to the frightened condition in practice, useful in any campaign that leans on fear effects.

● Tough

Extra hit points directly support a build planning to use Taunt to draw fire, since the trait only reduces the odds an enemy attacks you - it doesn't reduce the damage when they do anyway.

● Skilled

A reasonable pick for a Kender character built around Kender Aptitude's skill-monkey identity, though it competes with any other feat plan for the same limited ASI slots.

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Common Mistakes

Assuming Kender has darkvision. It doesn't. Confirm your party's light coverage before assuming a Small race automatically sees in the dark.

Picking Taunt's ability score without checking your build's actual investment. The Intelligence/Wisdom/Charisma choice is locked in permanently at character creation - pick whichever of the three your build is already raising, not a stat you happen to like thematically.

Using Taunt on a low-Wisdom-save enemy without checking their stat block. A high-Wisdom monster or one with advantage on the save can shrug off Taunt reliably; save the daily uses for enemies you have reason to believe will actually fail the check.

Treating Taunt like a hard lockdown. It only imposes disadvantage on attacks against other targets - a determined enemy can still attack someone else at a worse chance to hit. Don't rely on it as a guaranteed redirect against a boss-tier enemy with legendary resistances or an unusually high Wisdom save.

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Campaign Fit

Kender fits any 2014 campaign without modification - Fearless, Kender Aptitude, and Taunt are all setting-neutral mechanics. It naturally belongs in a Dragonlance campaign, where kender are Reorx's transformed creation and carry a signature weapon, the hoopak, but nothing stops a DM from dropping a Kender character into any other setting. For the full Dragonlance backgrounds, feats, and setting material this race pairs with, see the Dragonlance guide.

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Multiclassing Considerations

Fighter + Cleric: Fighter's action economy and Cleric's Wisdom-based Taunt DC combine into a durable, redirect-capable front-liner who can both absorb hits and heal through the ones that land anyway.

Paladin + Bard: Both classes want Charisma, which lines up Taunt's DC with the build's primary stat twice over, and Fearless reinforces a Paladin's usual fear-resistant identity.

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Example Build: Kender Fighter (Levels 1-10)

Race: Kender (+2 STR, +1 CON) | Class: Fighter (Battle Master) | Background: Knight of Solamnia

Starting Stats (Point Buy, 27 points): STR 15 (+2=17), DEX 13, CON 15 (+1=16), INT 8, WIS 12, CHA 8. Taunt uses Wisdom. Being Small, fight with a longsword and shield (Defense style) rather than a heavy weapon.

Key Tactics:

• Open a fight by Taunting the enemy's biggest threat, then use Precise Strike (granted free by the Knight of Solamnia background's Squire of Solamnia feat) to convert your reliable hits into extra damage.
• Save one Taunt use in reserve for a squishier ally who draws unwanted attention mid-fight rather than spending every use on your own opening turn.
• Fearless's guaranteed once-per-long-rest save covers the one fight where advantage alone isn't enough against a powerful fear effect.

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Example Build: Kender Cleric (Levels 1-10)

Race: Kender (+2 WIS, +1 CON) | Class: Cleric (Life Domain) | Background: Acolyte

Starting Stats (Point Buy, 27 points): STR 13, DEX 10, CON 15 (+1=16), INT 8, WIS 15 (+2=17), CHA 10. Taunt uses Wisdom, and 13 Strength lets you wear chain mail without a speed penalty.

Key Tactics:

• Taunt's Wisdom-based DC lines up directly with your primary casting stat, so every level of Cleric that raises Wisdom also raises Taunt's reliability.
• Use Taunt on the enemy most likely to target your squishiest party member, then spend your action healing or buffing rather than attacking.
• Kender Aptitude's Insight option reinforces a Cleric's usual social and perception role outside combat.

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FAQ

Do Kender have darkvision?

No - the trait most players assume a Small race has by default. Plan your party's light sources accordingly.

What is Taunt actually good for?

A bonus-action, no-concentration way to punish an enemy for attacking anyone but you, usable a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

What ability score should I use for Taunt's save DC?

Choose Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma at character creation - it's locked in permanently, so pick whichever score your build already invests in.

Is Kender a good pick outside a Dragonlance campaign?

Yes - every mechanical trait is setting-neutral. Only the flavor (Reorx's creation myth, the hoopak) is Krynn-specific.

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Final Notes

Hot Take: Taunt is strongest when the enemy can't reach you. The penalty applies to attacks against anyone other than you, so if you Taunt the ogre pounding your Wizard from 40 feet away, every swing it takes at the Wizard has disadvantage and it has no one else to hit. That makes Taunt a better tool for a back-line Cleric or Bard than for the front-line Fighter most guides pair it with. Uses equal your proficiency bonus, so two per day at 1st level: spend them on the enemy that is already next to your weakest ally.

Kender rewards a build that can afford to draw enemy attention - high AC, high HP, or both - and wants a free way to protect the party's weaker members without spending an action or a spell slot. Fearless and Kender Aptitude add reliable value on top regardless of build.

For the full race index, see the D&D 5e (2014) race guides hub. For the setting this race calls home, see the Dragonlance setting hub.

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