Kobold
Kobolds are a small, craven, draconic race that dwells in places hidden from the sun, particularly subterranean caverns or densely wooded areas. The inherent cowardice of the kobolds has lent the schemers a bit of cleverness and ingenuity, especially when it comes to devising deadly traps. Despite the fact that kobolds believe they are, in fact, the most superior race in the world, they are commonly found in service to other, more powerful masters.
Appearance
A kobold is a small, lizard-like humanoid with a short, stunted snout and a long, slithering tail. Their hands and feet end in sharp, clacking claws, and their scales appear in a variety of colors, of which red, black, white, green, and blue are the most common. Less common scale colors include yellow, orange, purple and gray; other shades, such as pink and gold, are also known to occur. "Ghost kobolds" with translucent scales are also rumored to exist, but no sightings have been recorded in centuries. Their scales are quite thick, giving them a modicum of protection from damage. Despite their diminutive size (they generally stand about three feet in height and weigh about 40 pounds), kobolds are quite agile and quick, able to easily keep up with the average human. As with most other underground creatures, kobolds have darkvision, but are not well adapted to life on the surface, as they are quite sensitive to light.Ecology
Kobolds are omnivores and will eat almost anything their sharp teeth can chew and their strong digestive system can process. Like other reptilian creatures, kobolds have a slow metabolism, which means they require little food and drink to survive. This adds to their diligent work ethic, as they require few meal and water breaks, and increases their ability to survive in the nutrient-poor underground environment. Kobolds lay hard-shelled eggs that incubate for a period between 45 and 60 days, after which they hatch using their distinctive cranial horn buds. Although only six to eight inches in height at birth, neonatal kobolds are able to quickly take care of themselves, often spending the first hour after birth eating the remains of their shells. Cannibalizing other clutchmates is not unheard of and is seen by the adults as a sign of strength. Hatchlings grow quite quickly and double in size every year until achieving their juvenile state at around three. They are considered to be full adults around age 10. Sexual dimorphism is very limited, with non-kobolds rarely able to tell the differences between the sexes. Most kobolds are quite short-lived, with a typical life-expectancy of around 30 years before typically dying through violent means. However, when their lives are not cut off early, they have also been known to live for quite a long time, with the oldest kobolds claiming their age to be 140. Kobolds remain fertile throughout their entire adult lives, with females able to produce an egg once every 20–25 days. Given ideal conditions, however, females can lay a clutch of up to six eggs, and require a coupling only once every six years in order to produce viable eggs. Kobold females become more fecund as they age: a 40-year-old female may be able to lay 50 to 60 eggs per year, while an 80-year-old female may lay up to 100 per year. Occasionally, kobolds are born with stronger connections to chromatic dragons than others of their kind. These kobolds are distinguished by the ability to use the breath weapon of the dragon type whose scale color they have.Society
Kobolds typically live in hierarchical tribes isolated from each other and from other intelligent beings. When they encounter other societies, kobolds often make a habit of stealing resources and livestock from their neighbors, earning them their reputation as thieves. The possessiveness of their mineral resources also leads them to hostilities with other beings, as the kobolds view all minerals in their territory as theirs; when they discover others mining anywhere in their claimed lands, they view them as thieves and interlopers and respond violently. This holds true regardless of whether the other party settled the area before or after the kobolds did. When two kobold tribes come into conflict over resources, they typically engage in swift, violent clashes until one tribe's chieftain is slain, at which point the survivors are enslaved by the victorious tribe. Kobold settlements are usually complex systems of heavily trapped tunnels and warrens surrounding an inner core consisting of the tribe's living spaces, larders, workshops, and mines. The tribe's eggs are kept until hatching in a hidden location, which is kept secret from most members of the tribe to ensure that they cannot reveal it if captured and interrogated. Elder laying females are likewise hidden in the deeper parts of a warren and fiercely protected, as many tribes depend on their ability to lay numerous eggs in a short span of time to maintain their numbers. Although kobolds do not farm crops, they often keep domesticated animals for a variety of purposes. Dire weasels are kept as guard and hunting animals in a manner similar to how dogs are used by humans, while dire boars are used as war animals and mounts. When moving underground, kobolds instead use slurks and giant ants as mounts; giant ants are also used as pack animals, and as a source of poison for traps. Bats are trained to carry messages, which kobold tribes use to contact one another. On occasion, bulettes are trained to assist mining and tunneling operations. Kobold myth holds that they were the first culture to domesticate and raise animals, which they foolishly taught to humans. A second group of kobolds, the forest kobolds, exists separately from the more well-known subterranean kobold cultures, and instead inhabits deep forests. Forest kobolds are more barbaric than their kin, are rarely literate, and live predatory lives focused on hunting and eating any non-reptilian entity they encounter. Forest kobolds are typically green.Languages
Kobolds speak Draconic, the language of their ancient forebears. Educated or well-traveled kobolds speak the trade tongues of their homelands (Common or Undercommon), or the languages of their most-frequent opponents: Dwarven or Gnome.
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