D&D General Tasslehoff is A LOT less annoying than Flint

[Bedrockgames]

Maybe I need to reread the original trilogy. I don't recall Flint being particularly noteworthy, but it's been awhile. Now that I'm older (and supposedly wiser...yeah I doubt that) maybe my opinion will have changed.

My recollection was that he and Tasslehof were essentially an homage to Gimli and Legolas

 

[el-remmen]

Yeah, Tasslehoff isn’t the problem; he’s a fine narrative character. It’s basing a D&D character on him that creates problems. That’s a character archetype which works differently in different mediums.

There is nothing Tass has done as far as I have read that would be a problem at my table, nor does it seem so disruptive that it'd be a problem at most tables. It is actually quite restrained.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

There is nothing Tass has done as far as I have read that would be a problem at my table, nor does it seem so disruptive that it'd be a problem at most tables. It is actually quite restrained.

Well, that's sort of the issue, isn't it?

The PC option was written in such a way that it did not really encourage restraint, and in fact did rather the opposite, saying pretty much straight up that anyone who thought ill of kender was either mistaken or outright evil. That's the issue. When restrained and contrasted and such, it can be just fine, good even. When let loose with a moral imperative to cause chaos and a literal in the books "but it's what my character would do" excuse, that goes out the window.

 

[James Gasik]

there's a noodle incident referred to in Dragons of Autumn Twilight, as I recall, where he glued someone's sword into it's sheath, if that counts!

 

[Alzrius]

Tasslehoff never bothered me until he started appearing every time Weis and Hickman returned to Krynn. It was one thing when he tagged along during Caramon and Raistlin's time-traveling shenanigans. It was another when he reappeared after his own death during the War of Souls.

 

[Oofta]

It's been a long time since I read the books but the main problem was how people played Kender. Randomly steal stuff from other party members? Can't help it, I'm a kender! Do something stupid that endangers the entire party? Kender! Do stuff no sane adventurer would do in an inexpert attempt at being comic relief? Kender!

All while expecting the rest of the group to enthusiastic about your PC, and the DM not killing your PC when he does something idiotic. Because Kender!

 

[dave2008]

I always liked Tas myself, but I only ready the original trilogy, part of the twins trilogy (never liked Ras myself) and a few other books that he wasn't in. Maybe he gets worse in other books?

 

[dave2008]

It's been a long time since I read the books but the main problem was how people played Kender. Randomly steal stuff from other party members? Can't help it, I'm a kender! Do something stupid that endangers the entire party? Kender! Do stuff no sane adventurer would do in an inexpert attempt at being comic relief? Kender!

All while expecting the rest of the group to enthusiastic about your PC, and the DM not killing your PC when he does something idiotic. Because Kender!

Well the OP is about Tas, not kender, nor the game.

 

[Gadget]

My recollection was that he and Tasslehof were essentially an homage to Gimli and Legolas

Hmmmm...you must have read different books than I did. Maybe (and I mean a big maybe), that could kind of apply to the movie versions of those characters, but that came out almost twenty years later.

I always felt that Flint was another attempt at comic relief, along a different vector than Tas. In addition to being the (overdone) straight man for Tas, he always reminded me of BA Baraccus from the A-team, a popular show at the time. He had had a similar issue as Flint, but with flying instead of boats. It was a running gag on the show that they had to sedate/knock him out every episode when they needed to fly. Zany attempts at comedy with irascible character.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Hmmmm...you must have read different books than I did. Maybe (and I mean a big maybe), that could kind of apply to the movie versions of those characters, but that came out almost twenty years later.

I always felt that Flint was another attempt at comic relief, along a different vector than Tas. In addition to being the (overdone) straight man for Tas, he always reminded me of BA Baraccus from the A-team, a popular show at the time. He had had a similar issue as Flint, but with flying instead of boats. It was a running gag on the show that they had to sedate/knock him out every episode when they needed to fly. Zany attempts at comedy with irascible character.

Definitely read the same books (I actually am not a big fan of the Lord of the Rings movies: I just find them not entertaining for some reason). But it has been a loooong time since I have read either so maybe I am misremembering. I seem to recall Legolas and Gimli being foils and kind of an odd pairing. I don't think it was as comedic and I can certainly see the A Team thing (watched that show as a kid). But the last time I read the first two Dragonlance trilogies was in like '92, and the last time I read the Lord of the Rings was about 2001 or so. So it is entirely possible I am not recalling correctly or even mixing up memories from the film (I have never been able to get through any of those movies without falling asleep at the end: not sayin they are bad films or bad adaptations, they just were movies I didn't feel like watching after seeing them and even the first time I watched them I tended to bored by the end)