Kender + the entitlement generation = nerdrage!
There was talk of putting kender in 5th edition D&D and on a certain board there was a tremendous outcry. Kender are really, really hated by a certain portion of the fanbase. As for myself, I consider anyone who doesn't like kender to not be suitable for my campaign.
For those who do not know, kender are the Dragonlance equivalent of halflings. They are quite different, however, apart from being little people. They have more human proportions and are more adventerous for one. The problem some people have is with their other traits, however. Kender have no sense of property and are serial kleptomaniacs, easily stealing from whomever is nearby and often not even realizing they've done so. What people often forget is that this also means that they have no attachment to objects on their own persons; so, it's less robbing people maliciously and more, "Oh, I took your ring of invisibility, but I'm done looking at it, so here you can have it back."
This leads to their being child-like in their curiosity and their complete fearlessness. This leads them to being very bold and sometimes thoughtless. It does not mean they are suicidally foolish. They can also naturally taunt people, possibly invoking a mindless rage.
The problem people have is that they consider that kenders exist only to be mean to their own characters. This is the same crowd that feels save-or-die effects (poison, etc.), rust monsters, level drain, magic-users that start weak but end up strong, and other such things are unfair. The same message boards I mentioned before has a long thread talking about how terrible the Complete Elves' Handbook is because the elves apparently think they're better than us! Such disgust over perceived imaginary racism! It's a really repulsive form of entitlement that has crept into the game design. Dungeon masters are no longer there to set up challenges for the players to overcome through wit and caution, but rather are there to enable the players to tell their stories and not interfere with them. There's nothing wrong with the latter type of game -- MUSHes are that way and the admins only really need to exist to handle apps and disputes -- but it's not D&D. Let the kender pick your pockets and smile, you pansies!
It reminds me of when one of my brother's friends started playing in my game. (I still hang out with him, by the way...) He brought a really negative energy to the game. With my original four players, I could have the Jester screw with the players and wreak havoc, and they would think it was funny. I could have the Black Knight beat them up or otherwise make their lives difficult, and they'd enjoy it. I could have the city guards throw them in jail, and they'd have fun escaping. It wasn't "me versus them" it was me setting up situations for them to deal with and them figuring it out and enjoying it. But when my brother's friend showed up, he had what I refer to as a "persecution complex" where he felt easily threatened and if I put adversity in his path, he'd take it personally and get mad. Instead of allowing the foils to have a supervillain-like relationship, where either they or the players would be defeated and slink off, vowing revenge, he'd try his best to kill them off. He had to win, and wouldn't tolerate any challenges to his security. He sucked a lot of fun out of the game, though he was really funny and entertaining when he was in a good mood. (Fusillade was like that on 2k5, too: I remember her getting really mad at me OOCly for IC things, over and over. A good excuse to stop coming IC altogether!)
(Note: I haven't forgotten you, jazzchyk, I just don't have your email and can't seem to find the private messages on here anymore... I need to sit down and figure it out, so I can send you a message with my email. Sorry!)
For those who do not know, kender are the Dragonlance equivalent of halflings. They are quite different, however, apart from being little people. They have more human proportions and are more adventerous for one. The problem some people have is with their other traits, however. Kender have no sense of property and are serial kleptomaniacs, easily stealing from whomever is nearby and often not even realizing they've done so. What people often forget is that this also means that they have no attachment to objects on their own persons; so, it's less robbing people maliciously and more, "Oh, I took your ring of invisibility, but I'm done looking at it, so here you can have it back."
This leads to their being child-like in their curiosity and their complete fearlessness. This leads them to being very bold and sometimes thoughtless. It does not mean they are suicidally foolish. They can also naturally taunt people, possibly invoking a mindless rage.
The problem people have is that they consider that kenders exist only to be mean to their own characters. This is the same crowd that feels save-or-die effects (poison, etc.), rust monsters, level drain, magic-users that start weak but end up strong, and other such things are unfair. The same message boards I mentioned before has a long thread talking about how terrible the Complete Elves' Handbook is because the elves apparently think they're better than us! Such disgust over perceived imaginary racism! It's a really repulsive form of entitlement that has crept into the game design. Dungeon masters are no longer there to set up challenges for the players to overcome through wit and caution, but rather are there to enable the players to tell their stories and not interfere with them. There's nothing wrong with the latter type of game -- MUSHes are that way and the admins only really need to exist to handle apps and disputes -- but it's not D&D. Let the kender pick your pockets and smile, you pansies!
It reminds me of when one of my brother's friends started playing in my game. (I still hang out with him, by the way...) He brought a really negative energy to the game. With my original four players, I could have the Jester screw with the players and wreak havoc, and they would think it was funny. I could have the Black Knight beat them up or otherwise make their lives difficult, and they'd enjoy it. I could have the city guards throw them in jail, and they'd have fun escaping. It wasn't "me versus them" it was me setting up situations for them to deal with and them figuring it out and enjoying it. But when my brother's friend showed up, he had what I refer to as a "persecution complex" where he felt easily threatened and if I put adversity in his path, he'd take it personally and get mad. Instead of allowing the foils to have a supervillain-like relationship, where either they or the players would be defeated and slink off, vowing revenge, he'd try his best to kill them off. He had to win, and wouldn't tolerate any challenges to his security. He sucked a lot of fun out of the game, though he was really funny and entertaining when he was in a good mood. (Fusillade was like that on 2k5, too: I remember her getting really mad at me OOCly for IC things, over and over. A good excuse to stop coming IC altogether!)
(Note: I haven't forgotten you, jazzchyk, I just don't have your email and can't seem to find the private messages on here anymore... I need to sit down and figure it out, so I can send you a message with my email. Sorry!)