Physical Description of Kender

by Kipper Snifferdoo

by Brandon Erwin

Kender typically stand no more than 3 to 4 feet tall, with the males usually being taller than the females, and weigh from 80 to 100 pounds. Half kender can reach between 4'6" and 5'6" tall. Obese kender only show the weight in their stomach usually, giving them a pot-bellied appearance, but kender metabolism usually tends to run very high, so this keeps most of them from becoming overweight until they reach their older years. Adult kender are also well muscled despite being so thin and light of build.

Most kender are usually mistaken for young humans upon first glance, but a closer inspection will reveal pointed ears, face wrinkles, and pouches that indicate this is actually a kender. Kender find these face wrinkles, (also called crows feet or laugh-lines) highly attractive. The older a kender is the more complex the lines become and over time they give a kender a "wizened" appearance. Kender continue to look young their entire life despite this network of wrinkles and some kendermaids even try to cause wrinkles by drying out their skin with mudpacks. Kender are fair-skinned, but tan very quickly becoming dark in the summer and lighter in the winter.

Their hair color can range from light blond to deep brown to black with a few sporting red-orange hues. Whatever the color it is usually light from the amount of time spent outside. Most kender wear their hair long. The most common hair style among kender is the topknot. A topknot is made by allowing the hair to grow to a very long length and then tying it up on top of the kender's head. There are numerous combinations of this style. Some will wear their topknot in one braid or many braids. Sometimes colored ribbons will be braided into the hair for decoration. In the kender city of Kendermore this is the most popular. In the other major kender city of Hylo, the style of the hair is as variant as human's styles. One fashion among the noble class of kender is to braid the sideburns or cheek hair or even have a "bowl cut" or "short shag" haircut. Kender do not grow facial hair. As kender get older their hair turns gray usually beginning with the sideburns.

Kender eye color varies from pale blue, sea green, olive, light brown, and hazel. They have almond shaped eyes and pointed ears that give them and "elfish" appearance, although most elves would tend to disagree, since beyond the eys and ears kender do not have the slanted and delicate features that all elves possess.

Intense facial expressions are another trademark of the kender. Most of the time kender have a wide-eyed look of an inquisitive child and sport an infectious smile that causes friends spirits to lift and others to automatically suspect the kender is up to no good. When a kender is happy the whole world knows it, and when they are sad it's enough to make you cry. A kender that is taunting an enemy appears most impish and verbally assault their opponent with a screeching or grating tone of voice.

Kender have a wide range of voice pitch ability. They tend to talk in relatively high tones, but their vocal chords allow them to speak in low tones as well. They can usually imitate animal sounds very well. Children speak in shrill high pitched voices while older kender will tend to have lower gruff voices. When kender become excited, they tend to speak very quickly, loudly and rambling all at the same time, making it hard to follow what they're trying to say.

Kender typically favor bright colors and gaudy apparel that is at the same time rugged a rustic. Most kender add accents to their clothing and weapons by tagging on ribbons, feathers, beads or colorful scarves. Males wear shirts, pants and soft leather boots or sandals. Females wear a tunic or dress, pants and soft leather boots or sandals. Whatever a kender is wearing you can be sure it will contain pockets somewhere. They hide pockets in the lining of coats, vests, and belts. A staple of all kender clothing also includes many pouches. A kender is rarely ever seen without at least two or more pouches. If they are seen without a pouch they must be in dire straights indeed. Kender will also "borrow" bits of the fashion of the current location he or she is wandering around in.

Kender live to around 100 years old. They reach adulthood around 20 (starting at the time of wanderlust) and reach old age at about 70, but never once giving into old age and loosing that lust for life.