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View Full Version : Pathfinder Kender Done... Right? [P.E.A.C.H.]



Elricaltovilla
2015-05-10, 09:19 AM
So this is my first real attempt at making a monster. I most likely messed up some of the math, and my CR-ing of the creature might be off, please let me know what you think!
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Kender CR 2

XP 600
CE Small Fey (Evil)
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +8

DEFENSE

AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 14 (4d6+0)
Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +3

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft. (15 ft. in armor)
Melee mwk short sword +3 (1d4-1/ 19-20/×2)
Ranged sling +5 (1d3+1)
Special Attacks Charming, Deft Fingers, Disguised Alignment

STATISTICS

Str 8, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 15
Base Atk +2; CMB +3 (Steal +5); CMD 10
Feats: Agile Maneuvers, Improved Steal
Skills: Acrobatics +9, Bluff +9, Diplomacy +9, Escape Artist +9, Perception +8, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +4 (untrained)
Languages: Common, Kender

Charming (Su): The natural effervescence of the kender is actually a side effect of their magical nature, this effervescence can invade the minds of others, making them more susceptible to the Kender's manipulations and more protective of their new "friend." Kender radiate a constant charm person effect out to 30 ft. Any creature within 30 ft. of a Kender must succeed on a Will Save (DC 14) every hour or become charmed by the Kender as per the spell. Good aligned creatures take a -5 penalty to this save, and Evil aligned creatures gain a +5 bonus to this save.

Deft Fingers (Ex): Kender are incredible thieves, so good in fact that they can steal without even knowing they've done it, or so they say. Whenever the kender makes a melee attack against a creature, the kender can make a free Steal combat maneuver attempt against that creature.

Disguised Alignment (Ex): Kender are treated by all spells and spell like abilities as if they were good aligned. They can qualify for classes, feats and abilities that require a good alignment regardless of their actual alignment.

ECOLOGY

Environment: any land
Organization: solitary, pair, family (3–6), troop (11–20 plus 2 Wanderers of 3rd level and 1 Chief of 3rd–6th level), or caravan (30–100 plus 50% noncombatants plus 1 Wanderer of 3rd level per 20 adults, 5 Chiefs of 5th level, and 3 Elders of 7th level)
Treasure: Standard plus small short sword, small leather armor, sling

Kender are small, halfling like fey that are native to the material plane. They are often considered hyperactive, outgoing, and fearless, and these qualities earn them many friends among the goodly aligned races. These small fey travel in family bands and caravans across the countryside, trading and getting involved in silly misunderstandings that invariably end in laughter and lessons learned all around.

The truth though, is something much more sinister. Kender are a vile breed of manipulative and greedy fey spirits that delight in tricking good and kind people who extend hospitality and trust to the Kender. Their roving caravans often enter a town and when they leave, nearly everything of value is taken with them, and the citizens don't even mind or notice. Kender are master thieves, and their natural abilities allow them to ingratiate themselves to anyone with even an ounce of trust.

Many kender enjoy playing the victim to ingratiate themselves with powerful heroes, sometimes cruelly antagonizing beasts or other sentient creatures until they lash out at the Kender, just in time for the adventurers to stumble across the poor "victim." Once integrated into the group, the Kender proceeds to manipulate them and cause mischief, sowing distrust and discord wherever they go and relying on their powerful new "friends" to protect them. All the while, the Kender presents an innocent face, and a near perfect defense and alibi for their actions.

Eventually though, the Kender grows tired of its toys and leads the group to take on challenges they are ill-equipped to handle. With their patsies dead (and hopefully the target as well) the kender and their clansmen are ready to swoop in and loot the bodies. And it's only a matter of time before they find yet another group of suckers to play.

Extra Anchovies
2015-05-10, 09:30 AM
So this is my first real attempt at making a monster.

I definitely appreciate your using the proper term for them. However, just looking at its numbers, I'd put its CR at only 1. Charming mostly just means it gets the first hit, and the Steal maneuver is going to probably have less than a 50% chance of success.

Red Fel
2015-05-10, 09:30 AM
On the one hand, this is amazing and silly, and gives us yet more reason to love to hate Kender.

On the other hand, that Charm Person aura freaks me out. Yeah, it's a low save, but as a rule I find that using mind-affecting spells and effects on the PCs to make them act in certain ways skirts a very fine, dangerous line. Look, it's one thing if you make them hallucinate, or if you slip them a note that says something like "You're Evil now, roll with it." It's another if you say "Suddenly, this NPC seems like a really nice guy and you want him to be your friend." So from a pro-player-agency perspective, this little bugger gives me the willies.

Then there's the stealing, one of the most hated Kender traits. You manage to capture it well. And I don't have to tell you why that's a very dangerous thing. One thing as a DM that you never do unless you really, really want your players to feel HATRED is to mess with their shinies. That's part of why Kender are so hated - your shinies are never safe around them.

You're basically setting up a situation where a Kender is going to rifle through their pockets for shinies, and, if caught, is going to give an excuse that the PCs, being under the effect of the aura, are going to be forced to accept and let him go.

Or one in which all Kender will be summarily shot by a sniper at a range outside of 30 feet. Either or.

All said? Well done.

Extra Anchovies
2015-05-10, 09:34 AM
On the other hand, that Charm Person aura freaks me out. Yeah, it's a low save, but as a rule I find that using mind-affecting spells and effects on the PCs to make them act in certain ways skirts a very fine, dangerous line. Look, it's one thing if you make them hallucinate, or if you slip them a note that says something like "You're Evil now, roll with it." It's another if you say "Suddenly, this NPC seems like a really nice guy and you want him to be your friend." So from a pro-player-agency perspective, this little bugger gives me the willies.

You're basically setting up a situation where a Kender is going to rifle through their pockets for shinies, and, if caught, is going to give an excuse that the PCs, being under the effect of the aura, are going to be forced to accept and let him go.

Eh, it's only a charm person effect, which isn't that bad. If one of your friends walked up to you and just started going through your stuff without explanation, you'd (hopefully) try to stop them. Also:

Any act by you or your apparent allies that threatens the charmed person breaks the spell.
Considering how murderhobo-ish most PCs are, there's a good chance that rifling through someone's pockets would be definitely seen as a threat.

Elricaltovilla
2015-05-10, 09:36 AM
Kender aren't supposed to be combat encounters, and I didn't really build them to be ones either. If you can actually get around their abilities, they're made of paper and I think that's a good thing.

I kind of expect them to be used to manipulate the party over a long period of time and slowly drive them crazy. I want people to hate them.