Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Deep in the isolated Marak valleys of the Steamwall mountains lives a subrace of kender completely unlike any others on Krynn. Buy Time of the Dragon: dmsguild.com/en/product/16960/time-of-the-dragon-2e?affiliate_id=50797
Dragonlance Setting Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ZMN0IxDq3TskP0Q7VT1Jx9merNoBdBj
Thank you to Creator Patrons Aaron Hardy & D. Robert Handy, Producer Patron David Galindo, Developer Patrons Chris Androu & Sam Ruiz, and all of the YouTube Members!
Like, Subscribe & Click The Bell
Patreon: patreon.com/AdamPC?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Play TTRPGs: https://startplaying.games/referral/cmjfslgm6004fjx045w45tt8n
Merchandise: dlsaga.com/shop
Membership: youtube.com/@DLSaga/join
Twitch: twitch.tv/dlsaga
Dragonlance Books: dmsguild.com/en/browse?setting=45354-dragonlance&src=fid45354?affiliate_id=50797
Dungeons & Dragons Products: amzn.to/3Wq7ZYA
Audible: amzn.to/4o4q9N7
#Dragonlance #Kender #Taladas #Lore #TTRPG #DragonlanceSaga #Krynn #DungeonsAndDragons #TimeOfTheDragon #DndMonsters #DLSaga
Transcript
When the apocalyptic fury of the Cataclysm shattered their peaceful valleys, this unique group of kender came to a terrifying realization: the gods were no longer their protectors, they were the ultimate threat.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam, and today we are heading into the lower slopes of the Steamwall mountains to talk about the Marak Kender. I'd like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members and Patreon patrons, and invite you to consider becoming a member or patron — you can even pick up Dragonlance media or get $10 by signing up to StartPlaying.Games using my affiliate links. I'm referencing the Time of the Dragon boxed set for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below.
Discussion
Physically, the Marak kender look like the rest of their race, though they are notably longer in the face. Their environment has completely dictated their appearance and gear. To blend into the gloomy, rocky walls of their canyon homelands, they completely forgo the bright, mismatched colors of traditional kender, dressing strictly in somber grays and blacks. A typical outfit consists of a simple shirt, heavy trousers, and hard-soled moccasins, topped with a hooded half-cape coated in wax or fat to keep out the foul, constant mountain rain. They still grow their hair long, but instead of wild topknots, they bind it in tight, spiraling buns or head-hugging braids.
Their weaponry has adapted to the mountains as well. Lacking the straight-limbed wood needed to craft a traditional hoopak, they harvest the springy, twisted wood of the Steamwall forests to construct the hoopaui, or stone-bow. Operating exactly like a heavy, mechanical crossbow, this weapon fires hand-selected stone pellets with deadly accuracy. Because of their obsessive hoarding tendencies, Marak kender carry an unusually high number of magical short swords, daggers, axes, and spears. They wear no standard armor, relying on natural camouflage to disappear into the stone, but when war comes, they present an incredibly bizarre sight. They girt themselves in a mismatched, chaotic collection of stolen and scavenged pieces—a League legionnaire's helm, a Thenolite breastplate, a hobgoblin bone plate, or a full suit of ancient dwarven plate armor packed with pillows so it doesn't fall off their slim frames.
To understand why these kender are so different, we have to look at their history. Before the Cataclysm, the Marak kender lived in idyllic, sheltered valleys. The human Aurim Empire lay to the north, and the elves lived to the east, neither bothering the kender. They possessed an absolute, childlike trust that the good gods loved them and would protect them from all evil.
Then came the Cataclysm. The smiling kender were subjected to horrors no mortal army could inflict: volcanic fires lit the skies, weeks of toxic ash poisoned their water, and rivers of lava scoured their villages. The Marak kender realized that only the gods could unleash such localized cruelty. They didn't view it as an accident; they believed the gods had actively betrayed them.
This trauma completely broke their cheerful nature, replacing it with deep, survival-driven paranoia. They are still incurably curious, but it is a curiosity born of fear. When a Marak kender meets a stranger, they don't want to make a friend—they want to know exactly who you are and what you are carrying to determine if you are a threat to their valley.
This paranoia completely reframed the classic kender habit of "handling" items. Their absolute lack of a moral concept regarding personal property didn't change, but their excuses did. Marak kender now steal items explicitly to "check them out" for danger...
Deep in the isolated Marak valleys of the Steamwall mountains lives a subrace of kender completely unlike any others on Krynn. Buy Time of the Dragon: dmsguild.com/en/product/16960/time-of-the-dragon-2e?affiliate_id=50797
Dragonlance Setting Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ZMN0IxDq3TskP0Q7VT1Jx9merNoBdBj
Thank you to Creator Patrons Aaron Hardy & D. Robert Handy, Producer Patron David Galindo, Developer Patrons Chris Androu & Sam Ruiz, and all of the YouTube Members!
Like, Subscribe & Click The Bell
Patreon: patreon.com/AdamPC?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Play TTRPGs: https://startplaying.games/referral/cmjfslgm6004fjx045w45tt8n
Merchandise: dlsaga.com/shop
Membership: youtube.com/@DLSaga/join
Twitch: twitch.tv/dlsaga
Dragonlance Books: dmsguild.com/en/browse?setting=45354-dragonlance&src=fid45354?affiliate_id=50797
Dungeons & Dragons Products: amzn.to/3Wq7ZYA
Audible: amzn.to/4o4q9N7
#Dragonlance #Kender #Taladas #Lore #TTRPG #DragonlanceSaga #Krynn #DungeonsAndDragons #TimeOfTheDragon #DndMonsters #DLSaga
Transcript
When the apocalyptic fury of the Cataclysm shattered their peaceful valleys, this unique group of kender came to a terrifying realization: the gods were no longer their protectors, they were the ultimate threat.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam, and today we are heading into the lower slopes of the Steamwall mountains to talk about the Marak Kender. I'd like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members and Patreon patrons, and invite you to consider becoming a member or patron — you can even pick up Dragonlance media or get $10 by signing up to StartPlaying.Games using my affiliate links. I'm referencing the Time of the Dragon boxed set for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below.
Discussion
Physically, the Marak kender look like the rest of their race, though they are notably longer in the face. Their environment has completely dictated their appearance and gear. To blend into the gloomy, rocky walls of their canyon homelands, they completely forgo the bright, mismatched colors of traditional kender, dressing strictly in somber grays and blacks. A typical outfit consists of a simple shirt, heavy trousers, and hard-soled moccasins, topped with a hooded half-cape coated in wax or fat to keep out the foul, constant mountain rain. They still grow their hair long, but instead of wild topknots, they bind it in tight, spiraling buns or head-hugging braids.
Their weaponry has adapted to the mountains as well. Lacking the straight-limbed wood needed to craft a traditional hoopak, they harvest the springy, twisted wood of the Steamwall forests to construct the hoopaui, or stone-bow. Operating exactly like a heavy, mechanical crossbow, this weapon fires hand-selected stone pellets with deadly accuracy. Because of their obsessive hoarding tendencies, Marak kender carry an unusually high number of magical short swords, daggers, axes, and spears. They wear no standard armor, relying on natural camouflage to disappear into the stone, but when war comes, they present an incredibly bizarre sight. They girt themselves in a mismatched, chaotic collection of stolen and scavenged pieces—a League legionnaire's helm, a Thenolite breastplate, a hobgoblin bone plate, or a full suit of ancient dwarven plate armor packed with pillows so it doesn't fall off their slim frames.
To understand why these kender are so different, we have to look at their history. Before the Cataclysm, the Marak kender lived in idyllic, sheltered valleys. The human Aurim Empire lay to the north, and the elves lived to the east, neither bothering the kender. They possessed an absolute, childlike trust that the good gods loved them and would protect them from all evil.
Then came the Cataclysm. The smiling kender were subjected to horrors no mortal army could inflict: volcanic fires lit the skies, weeks of toxic ash poisoned their water, and rivers of lava scoured their villages. The Marak kender realized that only the gods could unleash such localized cruelty. They didn't view it as an accident; they believed the gods had actively betrayed them.
This trauma completely broke their cheerful nature, replacing it with deep, survival-driven paranoia. They are still incurably curious, but it is a curiosity born of fear. When a Marak kender meets a stranger, they don't want to make a friend—they want to know exactly who you are and what you are carrying to determine if you are a threat to their valley.
This paranoia completely reframed the classic kender habit of "handling" items. Their absolute lack of a moral concept regarding personal property didn't change, but their excuses did. Marak kender now steal items explicitly to "check them out" for danger...
