Kobold

History

Kobolds are aggressive, inward, yet industrious small humanoid creatures. They are noted for their skill at building traps and preparing ambushes, and mining. They are distantly related to dragons and urds and are often found serving as their minions.

Description

A kobold is a reptilian humanoid, standing between 2' and 2'6" (60cm – 75cm) tall, weighing 35 to 45 pounds (16 – 20kg), with scaled skin between reddish brown and black in color and burnt orange to red eyes. Their legs are sinewy and digitigrade. They have long, clawed fingers and a jaw like a crocodile. Small white or tan horns protruded from their head and they have rat-like tails. They often smell of wet dog and stagnant water. Kobolds like to wear red or orange garments, which are usually ragged.

Subraces

• Aquatic kobold
• Arctic kobold
• Desert kobold
• Dragonwrought kobold
• Earth kobold
• Jungle kobold

Personality

Kobolds are resentful of their short stature and hate members of other races who poke fun at them for this. Most feel as though they ought to compensate for their small size in other ways, such as humor or aggression. They naturally tend to hate larger creatures, and although they show respect and obedience if required, they always look for ways to display their resentment.
The ultimate goal of the kobold race is to conquer as much land as possible. They plan and dig mines industriously, while laying cruel traps for interlopers, preferring an ambush to direct confrontation. If they ever confront an enemy, they try to overwhelm foes with sheer numbers. Among the monstrous humanoids, they are known for cunning plans, and unlike many others, also share those plans among the entire tribe. General plans and goals are common knowledge, and detailed plans are shared with all who ask to allow them to work fruitfully for the good of the tribe. Their society is influenced by their lawful evil alignment.
Kobolds are confident and happy to remain separated from the other races. A kobold saying states:

The dragon scale toughens our skin. The dragon bone adorns our skull. The dragon heart flames our sorcery. We are the dragon, and for the dragon we live. Long live the dragon.

Where other races consider heroes to be those who enact great feats of strength or military prowess, kobold heroes are those who show great prowess in trap setting, torture, and ambush.

Biology

Reproduction

Kobolds are extremely fecund egg-layers, having the highest birth rate among humanoids. A pregnant female lays her egg within two weeks. About one in ten pregnancies lead to two eggs. An egg needs incubation for about two months, but the newly hatched kobold can walk in mere hours. The eggs are particularly sturdy, and the young inside can survive even if the egg breaks as much as fifteen days early. Kobold young mature quickly, reaching young adulthood in six years. They often lay eggs in a common nest, with specialized foster parents watching over the eggs and wyrmlings.
Some kobold children are dragonwrought, and it is possible to tell this because the egg is speckled with flecks of the dragon's color, which become more numerous throughout the incubation period. These kobolds possess wings like those of a dragon, and some even allow flight. Ritual demands that the egg be taken to a sacred hatching place, and dragonwrought kobolds are raised above ground if they are able to fly, so they can learn to use their wings.

Shedding

Like other reptiles, kobolds shed their skin periodically. A growing kobold might do this as frequently as weekly, but a developed one usually sheds once per season. Unlike snakes, kobolds do not shed their entire skin at once; they instead shed portions of it over a period of time, similar to lizards. The process is usually accelerated by rubbing. Bitterleaf is often applied after shedding to help the new scales acquire strength and shine.

Lycanthropy

At some point in time, kobolds learned to domesticate dire weasels to serve them as guards and hunters. This resulted in lycanthropic kobold dire weasels. Around one in ten thousand kobolds is a natural lycanthrope in this manner.

Combat

Kobolds use their cunning and sheer weight of numbers to defeat enemies. They prefer to lay traps or ambushes, and only engage a foe directly after it is weakened. If their numbers are diminished such that they have less than a two-to-one advantage, the group usually flees. Kobold traps include spike pits, tripwires, flaming oil, and poisonous vermin. They dislike gnomes, however,  to such an extent that they attack on sight.
Kobolds usually loot what treasure they can carry from their defeated enemies, who are usually killed. Occasionally, kobolds enslave their foes, who then can be sold on, unless they are gnomes, which kobolds always kill, but never eat.

Society

Kobolds are a lot less cute when they learn how to cast fireballs. — Volothamp Geddarm 

Kobolds live in the dark, ideally underground or thick forest, in tribal societies. Their lairs are often overcrowded, although when one tribe becomes too numerous, it splits into numerous smaller ones. The overcrowding eliminates the concept of privacy, so kobolds sleep in communal areas where nudity is not regarded as shameful or offensive, even to the opposite sex. Kobolds wear clothing for function or ritual, but not to prevent nudity. The common overcrowding often leads to conflict, and two kobolds will fight to settle their differences, although these fights are not usually lethal. This has resulted in a lack of deep-rooted divisions or grievances in kobold society. They are respectful of authority figures, and obey diligently, particularly when their ruler is of lawful evil alignment.
Kobolds have specialized laborers, yet the majority of kobolds are miners. They possess darkvision and are particularly sensitive to bright light. Kobolds prefer exile to execution, and in some disputes, kobolds have split tribes in order to spread their kind over a larger region. Kobolds have natural tendencies towards sorcery. They can live up to 135 years, and dragonwrought even longer. Kobolds are similar to dragons, but while dragons have warm blood, kobolds are cold-blooded. Due to this, they are susceptible to cold, especially if it was brought on quickly. They enjoy swimming and gather to bathe together, especially after shedding (see below). Kobolds take a lot of care maintaining their claws and teeth, using smooth stones to polish claws and chewing roots to clean teeth.
It is unknown how kobolds are of dragon heritage. While each kobold values its own life, the tribe comes first. They consider the success of their tribe to be their own success.

Mating

Kobolds do not maintain monogamous relationships, and due to the importance they placed on propagation, they choose mates by practical measures rather than love or other emotions. Mating is an impersonal act for kobolds.

Language

Kobolds speak Yipyak, a version of the Draconic language, with a yipping accent. Some also speak Undercommon.

Mining

Kobolds often create their lairs by mining them from the rock. Mining is a meticulously planned and conducted process where nothing is left to chance. Divination magic is used to locate ore and mineral deposits. A high proportion of a kobold tribe are miners. Each family group is expected to cut its own room, the walls of which they adorn with a pictorial history of the family.

Crafting

The greatest art for kobolds is trapmaking. The use of invention and cunning in traps is the mark of a good trapmaker. The other art form is the pictorial representation of the tribe's history, created on the walls of a specially created room in every lair. Kobolds enjoy making jewelry from the gems and precious metals they unearth while mining. They can be possessive of their personal jewelry collections, and put great effort into crafting beautiful jewelry, unlike other items, which are functional rather than aesthetically pleasing.

Fashion

Most kobolds are miners and dress in sleeveless tunics and breeches; but kobolds enjoy dressing in more elegant clothing for festivities. These include clothes made from silk or leather, but tailored clothes are only common among leaders. Garments are often made to compliment the wearer's eyes, which involve the use of orange or red dyes. Other garments might be dyed to demonstrate the wearer's affinity to a particular kind of dragon. Kobolds require the dexterity of their feet too often to wear footwear, and the soles of their feet are hard enough to cope with most surfaces. Due to the amount of time kobolds spend mining, gemstones are readily available, and they use these to adorn their clothing, and to make jewelry.

Religion

The main deity of the kobolds is Kurtulmak, the god of war and mining, who hates all living things besides their kin. A main part of their religion is to seek out magic items that they believe may help free Kurtulmak from his eternal prison. The other main god worshiped by the kobolds is Gaknulak, the god of protection, stealth, trickery, and traps. A lesser-known kobold demigod is Dakarnok. The remainder of the kobold pantheon is comprised of deified kobold heroes.
Kobolds are also known for serving dragons and praising them as gods. A kobold tribe will present a dragon with tributes and sacrifices and whatever else they think it may like - they might have see it as a great honor to be devoured by the creature. If a kobold tribe is not accepted by a dragon, they might start working for it in secret. Once a tribe decides to serve a dragon, their entire existence is to serve their god in every way.

Diet

Kobolds are omnivorous, eating plants and animals. They will even eat intelligent creatures if the opportunity presents itself. They are able to eat just about anything when the situation becomes desperate, even tree bark or bone. Due to their cold-blooded nature, kobolds that spend time in a warm place do not need to eat for days.

Relations

Kobolds hold a hatred for nearly all other humanoid races and enjoy killing and torturing them, in particular brownies, gnomes, pixies, and sprites. They are known to use dire weasels as mounts.

History

Time of Dragons

Kobolds were the first of the dragonspawn and were created by Asgorath (another name for Io) alongside urds around −24,500 DR.
They lived under Kurtulmak in Darastrixhurthi, a vassal state of Darastriverthicha, a nation ruled by the green dragon Caesinsjach. They found the gems in which the souls of the gnomes waited to be turned into living creatures and enslaved those who already lived. When the elves caused the Rage of Dragons their dragon turned on them and Garl Glittergold took this chance to kill Kurtulmak and the kobolds by collapsing the cavern in which their nation lay.
A blue dragonwrought kobold, or an urd, called Kuraulyek fled out of egoism to the Thunder Peaks against Kurtulmak's orders to protect the kobolds against their mad master. This led to the near extinction of the entire kobold race and Io elevated Kurtulmak to deity status, but also Kuraulyek - both as reparation and to ensure the continued existence of the race.
Kurtulmak learned about Kuraulyek's actions and since then, the latter has been hiding from the former out of fear of reprisal. The kobolds, however, mostly don't know that an urd was responsible for saving urds and tell the story that Kuraulyek was hiding from Kurtulmak because he stole a pair of artificial wings from him.

Notable Kobolds

Deekin Scalesinger: This kobold bard adventured in the north during the 1370's DR, until becoming a shopkeeper some years later.