Thrimble's Badgers

We'll go down there an' clean 'em out real good, that we will, that we will...well, so's long as you can be compensatin' us appropriately for our time, as it were.

— Thrimble Lowfoot, Captain of the Badgers

Background

Kobolds are known to infest most major cities in Faerun, and they often are little more than a nuisance and at times can even be helpful. They keep the sewers running, expanding new tunnels as their populations grow, and all they do is nick the odd bit of coin or trash. Sometimes, however, kobolds become a problem. They may have fallen in with an evil dragon, or perhaps they're occupying a temple complex that needs to be reclaimed. Whatever the reason, occasionally the larger races need to clear out a tribe of kobolds.

Normally, when you have a monster that needs slaying you hire some adventurers. Few are the adventurers who will willingly delve into a kobold's lair, however, and fewer still live to tell the tale. Kobolds are weak and cowardly, but they are surpassingly cunning & work extremely well as a team. Their lairs are textbook examples of guerilla warfare, filled with ambushes, blind corners, and traps so diabolical that even seasoned warriors have been known to run when they hear the dreaded kobold war cry: "Yip Yip!"

That's where Thrimble and his Badgers come in. Thrimble is a halfling mercenary who saw a need. See, most kobolds plan the defense of their lairs under the assumption that the invaders will be much larger and stronger than they are. A halfling or gnome, however, can fight the kobolds on an even footing. Thus, the Badgers were born. They are a mercenary company that specializes in one thing, and one thing only: Clearing out kobolds. And they are very good at their jobs.

Organization

The Badgers consist mostly of halflings, though they have a fair number of gnomes as well and even a few goblins. Any creature of the appropriate stature and temperament is allowed to try their hand in the Badgers. They tend to fight as small squads which operate independently in the tunnels, each with at least one engineer to deal with the more dangerous traps.

They also have an elite force of gnome fighters who wear heavy armor specially designed to emphasize the fact that they are gnomes. The purpose of this group is simple: They enrage the kobolds with their presence, capitalizing on the kobold's ancient hatred of all things gnomish. This can lead the kobolds to make mistakes, even draw them out from hiding, which can be necessary for particularly tricky parts of a lair.