Kobolds

Physical Traits

Description

Kobolds are short humanoids, growing to a maximum height of three feet. Kobolds are vaguely dog-like in their appearance and have two small horns on the top of their head. They have rough, almost scaly hides of varying shades, from dark brown to rusty black which is covered in short, rigid needlelike hair. Kobold faces are dog-like in appearance, having snouts ranging from elongated (like a terrier) to pug-nosed (like a bulldog), and eyes of various metallic colors, including yellow, silver, gold, gray and ice blue. Kobolds carry a naturally acrid odor with them where ever they go and their voices are high pitched when speaking their "yapping" language.

Racial Traits

 Kobolds are nimble and quick but are weak in power and health.

+2 Dexterity

-4 Strength

+2 Constitution

Small: +1 size bonus to AC. +1 natural AC due to tough hide, +1 AC due to Dex. +4 size bonus on Hide checks, must use smaller weapons than humans use and their lifting and carrying capacities are 3/4 of those of Medium size creatures.

Kobold base speed is 30 feet.

Dark vision: Kobolds can see twice as far as humans in starlight, moonlight, torchlight and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish detail under these conditions. Range is 60’

-1 to attack rolls made in sunlight. Kobolds are sensitive to bright light and their eyes have problems adapting to these conditions to such an extent it causes serious distraction during intensive activities, such as combat.

Feat: Alertness: They are constantly paranoid.

Hide, Listen, Move Silent, Search, & Spot are always class skills

Personality

Kobolds strive to be taken seriously by the larger races. They hate jokes directed at their size and strength, and seek to make up for their shortcomings through ferocity and tenacity. Unfortunately for the kobolds, few larger races take them seriously unless they are in large numbers.

Kobolds are masters of trickery and capable fighters, but they prefer tactics which can provide overwhelming odds in their favor. Kobolds will never attack any human or demi-human (other than gnomes) unless they outnumber them at least two-to-one. They use swarming tactics, throwing themselves at opponents in large waves. They rejoice in stripping a land of its resources and they love to accumulate power. Kobolds tend to be mean spirited, even when giving a compliment (usually pairing a subtle slight with any compliment).

Relations

Most strangers are not trusted. Kobolds have an intense hatred for gnomes, and kobolds will show no quarter when engaged with a gnome. Kobolds hate gnomes so much, they will not even eat them. If not for their relative distrust of other surface-dwelling races, Kobolds would be the most likely to survive and flourish in dealings with humans, elves and the like. Unfortunately, their darkling heritage and their desire to shelter and seclude themselves from the abuses of the other larger races has only made this fate more unlikely.

Alignment

Kobolds tend to follow a structured way of life, and therefore follow lawful tendencies. They have less than scrupulous ideas about survival and conquest, and often commit evil acts. Kobolds seldom show indifference in anything - they always have their "two cents" to pitch in. Kobolds with a less oppressive demeanor tend to be Lawful neutral, abiding by the law and only doing what is necessary to show others that their way is the right way.

Names

TBD

Adventurers

Kobold adventurers are the most courageous (or foolhardy) of the kobold race. These stalwart individuals break off from the tribe and the communal life in a vain effort to prove to the other races that kobolds are capable of greatness. Adventuring kobolds are probably the boldest of all adventuring races, acting belligerent, making wise-cracks, being pushy and talking large to make up for their meek presence any way they can. What’s worse is that some of these ferocious little beasts will often back it up if given no other alternative. They are so determined to prove their race worthy that they will put themselves into deadly situations and push themselves to their limits.

Culture

Homelands

Kobolds set up lairs in shallow underground locations and in deep overgrown forests. They are good miners, often settling into areas that show mining promise. They are primarily a foraging race, gathering plants, hunting for meat and trapping animals using their cunning, though their diet is not restrictive at all, as kobolds will eat anything except carrion and gnomes. That means other kobolds as well. Kobolds waste nothing. The conquest of land is the goal of all kobold tribes.

The chain of command in Kobold society is a geritocracy (based on age). The oldest kobolds are the leaders. They direct battles, get first pick of the women and inhabit the best living spaces. The youngest kobolds, often called hatchlings, are always at the front lines. In kobold society, the longer you survive, the more benefits you receive and the more valued you are by the tribe as a whole.

Kobolds reach maturity in their tenth year and until then serve as hatchlings should, undergoing "battle training" as soon as they leave the nest. During their hatchling years, they also serve as menial servants for the tribe. Battle training consists of psychological conditioning, teaching kobolds to quietly whip themselves into a frenzy of rage, erupting in little more than a blood-curdling scream and an uncontrolled charge. Battle training does indirectly teach a kobold much about survival and cunning, developing skills in ambushes, traps, and pilfering. A kobold will go on hunting and gathering expeditions, often led by older kobolds, to learn the ways of these kobold "survival" tactics. Gathering expeditions often focus on the more "enjoyable" aspects of a kobold’s existence - stealing from others. Kobolds on these expeditions will often infiltrate the lairs of Giant Weasels, Otters and Boars to steal their young. These wild animals are then trained as pilferers, guards and mounts for the kobold raiding parties. The taming of these animals falls on the females of the tribe once they are captured. As a hatchling, a kobold is at the lowest station in the tribe. To elevate in status, a kobold must participate in and survive as many battles as possible. That is the kobold way.

Male adults find that once they reach maturity, little changes in their lifestyle. Oh yes, they get better quarters, more food, etc., but instead they participate in the daily ritual of training hatchlings. Through this, they gain more experience and develop leadership skills. They still go raiding, hunting and gathering as their tribe needs them to, only to go on to lead larger groups as they continue to survive.

One kobold tradition which gives them an advantage over other racial cultures is that they treat their females as equals. Hatchling females are trained and fight right along side the males, dying or surviving during their first ten years. Once they reach maturity, they are seperated from their male counterparts and become part of the female hierarchy.

Females play a pivotal role in the kobold tribe. They are responsible for raising and training all captured animals for use by their male counterparts, maintaining the lair, handling the tribal wealth and managing the nests of newborns. This leaves the males to preparing each member of the society for their days of conquest. All mature females live in the lap of kobold luxury, and they are provided the best possible care by their male counterparts. This does not mean they control the males, merely that the males provide well for them and the females do not take it for granted. They continue to pull their own weight in the tribe. The female hierarchy is no different than that of the males. Female kobolds have almost no respect for other females however, as the competition for mating with elder males is fierce. Often, this results in the female elders meeting out harsher punishments to younger females.

Were it not for the lawful nature of kobolds, their societal structure would crumble. Their brutal tendencies are often the best and only deterrents they have for disobedience. Kobolds that disobey are handled by the "training corps" and often punishment involves torture and mental abuse. Kobolds in general are rather practical to a flaw, and they tend to waste nothing. Kobolds are also meticulously clean creatures, though by their odor, any outsider would be hard pressed to believe such a claim.

Religion

Kurtulmak is the chief racial god, and is worshipped by all four tribes in the Kornoth Woods

Language

To other races, the Kobold language sounds like the yapping of a small dogs. Kobolds use the regional dialect for their written script.

Cultural Traits

+2 to all checks involving the Mining Profession skill.

+2 to all checks involving Craft ( Trapmaking  ) skill

+1 cultural bonus to attack rolls against Gnomes.

+1 Save bonus vrs poisons due to thier constant handling of poisons

General Alignments: LE ( common ), NE & LN ( very rare )

Favored Class: Any rogueish class.

Automatic Languages: Common, Draconic; Bonus Langauges: Gnomish, Elvish, Sylvan, Undercommon