Taking 20 Podcast - Ep 99 - Monster Series - Kobolds

Episode Date: November 14, 2021

Kobolds are just moronic annoying little tunneling monsters who are just goblins in a different body, right?  WRONG!  Kobolds aren't like other monstrous humanoids.  They build complicated lairs, work with other races, and are masterful hit-and-run combatants.

This week on the Taking20 Podcast. When something needs to be done, like the expansion of a tunnel in their lair or the build-out of an additional chamber, kobolds instinctively work together, filling whatever role is needed many times without a word being said. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Episode 99 of the Taking20 Podcast, continuing the Monster Series, this week all about kobolds. This week's sponsor, tubers. I like to grow my root vegetables inside abandoned furniture. You really should try my recliner yams and my couch potatoes.

I want to talk about the contest. November 19th is the deadline on the contest for a $50 gift card. That's this Friday. Just need an email from you to contest at taking20podcast.com with either a suggestion of a topic you want me to cover or a suggestion to improve or expand the podcast. Get it to me by 12.01 a.m. on that date to be entered. Good luck.

Second announcement is that my very good friend and Pathfinder 2nd Edition GM, Tom Robinson, released his first written adventure called The Hive of Corruption. It's a multi-session adventure that takes the characters from level 1 to level 3. He did a great job on the graphics and the adventure's compelling, challenging, and most importantly, fun. The synopsis is that a month ago, a red spike appeared in the night sky and grew, finally splitting into five parts and crashing to earth, leaving destruction in its wake. The party has been selected by the Institute of Magical Arts and Astrological Examinations in the

elven capital of Ayadara. They want the party to travel to the region of Galt and investigate one of the landing sites of the Starstone, returning with any relevant information. The Starstone, however, was not alone, and now a deadly fungus has begun spreading into the surrounding countryside, affecting beasts and plant life, causing them to grow in enormous proportions. Please consider purchasing a copy on PathfinderInfinite.com. I think as of this recording, it's the fifth bestseller right now. Full disclosure, Tom did not pay me to plug his module. It's just written by my friend. I think the module is fantastic, and I think you'll love it too. Last announcement. There's some quick interesting news that came out this week. In early November, Paizo is releasing the adventure

Doorway to the Red Star. In it, Paizo explains that they are discontinuing the use of the word phylactery. Their reasoning is that starting with the Lich Dwan deck in this particular adventure, we're making a long overdue terminology change. The use of the word phylactery as an item in which a Lich stores their soul is both inaccurate and inappropriate given the evil nature of Liches and the word's connotation with real-world religious practices. Instead, liches in Pathfinder 2nd Edition store their souls in objects called soul cages, an act that liches see as the ultimate act of defiance

against the cycle of life and death. Liches consider their souls not as things to cherish, but as weaknesses that, once locked away in in a cage allow for eternal undeath. Apart from this change in name, the mechanics for how liches function remain unaltered. A phylactery on this planet is a small leather box containing Hebrew texts on vellum. It's worn by Jewish men at morning prayer as a reminder to keep the law. It's worn by Jewish men at morning prayer as a reminder to keep the law. To be absolutely honest, I had never researched the real-world use of the word phylactery until this announcement was made, and I have used that word phylactery for years. Given the dichotomy between the real-world use of this word and its negative connotations

in Pathfinder, I think this is a positive change that will remove any sort of negative association for those of the Jewish faith. I learned something this week. Thank you very much, Paizo. That's it for the announcements. Now on to kobolds. In 5th edition and Pathfinder 2nd edition, kobolds as depicted are just so adorable. They're about the size of a small child with cute little teefees and usually in ill-fitting clothes. Sometimes they have long tails and little rusty swords that they wave feebly in front of them. Oh, they're just so cute. You know who else thinks that kobolds are cute? Dragons. And dragons aren't cute. They like being worshipped as gods by the little reptilian

humanoids who vaguely resemble them. And dragons will clean their teeth with your femur if you fuck around with their flock of worshippers. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I once heard kobolds described as little dragonettes, by which I assume they mean little dragons and not the Canadian EDM band known for pairing with Martin Solvig on the song Hello. No, not that Hello, the other one. The one you're thinking of was by Adele. Not Adele. Adele is a singer. Sorry, Adele is a PC made by a company named Dell. And not PC as in political correctness. I meant personal computer. You know what? I'm starting over. Kobolds are small-sized reptilian humanoids that have dragon-like heads and live deep underground where the sun doesn't shine. That's right. They live right there in the earth's taint.

What is wrong with you? A lot is the answer. A lot is wrong with me. Kobolds were first seen in Dungeons and Dragons in 1974, where they were called creatures similar to goblins. Well, that's no damn good. We need more information than that. They were further explained in the Monster Manual in 1977, where they were described as hairless humanoids with small horns that are aggressive tribal creatures living in dark forests or subterranean settings. There was an adventure in Dragon Magazine in 1987 where a group of kobolds used guerrilla tactics to harass a powerful adventuring party. That adventure helped shape the future of how kobolds acted and fought. Starting in 3rd edition and carrying forward all the way through 5e today, kobolds have been described as being similar to dragons in some respects.

They both have scales. The scales can vary widely in color. They both have draconic-like head and teeth. But kobolds are small-sized, humanoid, walk upright, and have hands that can grip tools and weapons. Kobolds claim they share a heritage with dragons because they look similar, and they believe that they spawn from dragon's blood, they just happen to be smaller. Kobolds are only 2.5 to 3.5 feet tall, fully grown, but they are quite dexterous and intelligent, but physically weak. Kobolds are superb tunnelers and builders. They build large underground layers with passageways sized for them. So we larger creatures have to squeeze and

crouch and puts us at a disadvantage, whereas the kobolds can fight standing up. Kobolds farm mushrooms and breed animals to be guards, maybe even food. Kobolds are excellent trap builders. Their 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. This tunneling ability has been put to good use by some of the other ancestries to help build the sewers underneath their cities. They will actually contract out with these city kobolds, which sounds like a derogatory term, but I don't think it's meant to be. They pay them to connect sewers to freshwater sources, helping to keep the city free of disease while giving purpose and pay to the tribe. If the pay is good and the city continues to need them,

many times kobolds will build their lairs right under the city, expanding the sewers as the city expands. Many of the people living their entire lives within the city will never know there's an entire tribe of kobolds underneath keeping the sewers working. Kobolds are sensitive to light. How sensitive they are is up to you. Whether that sensitivity level is that only takes effect in bright sunlight or they can't stand being in sunlight at all. Whatever that light level is, whenever the kobolds are in that level of light, they take disadvantage on attack rolls in 5e, and they take a penalty to attack rolls in Pathfinder. City kobolds will only venture out at night, and how much they do so depends on how accepted they are by the other citizens. Volos talks about sometimes years will pass between actual kobold sightings in some of these cities. Kobolds are fiercely

tribal with strong social connections and structure. They work together to accomplish amazing things that other ancestries just may struggle to accomplish. When something needs to be done, like the expansion of a tunnel in their lair or the build-out of an additional chamber, kobolds instinctively work together, filling whatever role is needed many times without a word being said. They know what needs to be done, and they just do it. Kobolds have an ancestral hatred of gnomes and, to a lesser extent, dwarves. In some areas where the two have to live close to one another, kobolds will rarely outright attack the other group, but they will sometimes play pranks that can annoy or maybe even injure the other ancestries, but generally stop short of anything that would make the gnomes or dwarves outright hunt the kobolds down.

Kobolds, when they're born, they grow rapidly. They're born from hard-shelled eggs in clutches typically from one to six eggs in size. They will double in size every year until age three, and they're considered fully mature at age 10. When it comes to kobolds, there's very little difference between the genders, and it's almost impossible to determine visually without getting really, really up close and personal. Like, all up in their cloaca kind of personal. Humans, dwarves, and other ancestries may have a kobold friend their entire life and not be able to tell whether it was born male or female, not that it matters.

Generally, kobold genders are treated the same across the board, especially while they're young, but elder egg-laying females have a position of importance in the tribe. These elder females are hidden and fiercely protected in the deeper parts of a lair. They're the future of the tribe and have a better chance of laying multiple eggs at once. Similarly, the tribe's clutch of eggs are kept in a hidden location until hatching. This location is even kept secret from most members of the tribe to ensure that if one gets captured and interrogated, they won't reveal the location of the eggs. Kobolds are a very common opponent for low-level adventuring parties. Some group of kobolds is raiding our outlying farmlands at night, and we need you, level 1 adventuring party,

who are greener behind the ears than Kermit the Frog, to go clear them out. So let's talk game-specific. In 5th edition, kobolds are described as craven in the opening sentence of the entry in the 5e Monster Manual, but that's largely due to their hit-and-run combat tactics and their groveling when one is captured or cornered. Kobolds have 60 foot of darkvision, so they see very, very well underground. They speak common and draconic.

It's said they worship a minor god named Kertelmach who used to attend a Tiamat, but was tricked by the gnome god Garol Glittergold. And that's why kobolds hate gnomes, kids. Kobolds are subterranean creatures and sensitive to sunlight, as we've discussed. They hunt in packs and have advantage on any attacks against creatures that are threatened by an ally. Kobolds also embrace arcane magic and treat it as proof that they're similar to dragons. While divine magic isn't unheard of for kobolds, it is rarer since the god they prefer to worship, Kertelmach, is trapped for all eternity and struggles to give divine spells to worshippers.

Ever since Volo's Guide to Monsters came out, there are defined rules for kobolds as player characters. They get a bonus to dexterity, so they make great rangers and agile fighters. Their pack tactics make them much stronger fighting in a group, and if they get cut off from the rest of the party, they are much, much weaker. 5e kobolds will occasionally come into conflict with other tribes of kobolds, though. If it comes down to a fight between the tribes, they will usually fight until one side kills the other's leader. At that point, the losers become slaves to the winners.

In Volos, there are eight full pages of details about kobolds. They're tunneled out lairs, they're societies, details about how they scavenge, fight, and rarely leave anything behind after they kill something. They bring all the meat home to eat and use the bones and anything else as tools or trinkets. There's so much there, and I'd love to go over all of it in detail, but man, we don't have the time. Let's jump over to Pathfinder. It's similar to 5th Edition, except there's more of a delineation between what's called underground kobolds and forest kobolds. If you play on Galarian, kobolds are most populous around the democratic nation of Andoran, but they can be found in the sewers of the cities of Absalom, Vyre, and various other underground and forest locations. They use tools and traps in novel ways, and the cowardly moniker has been largely abandoned. Kobolds are instead viewed as

resourceful survivors who know how to use their natural surroundings to their advantage. Unlike 5th edition, though, kobold tribes in Pathfinder rarely fight for long. The elders of the two tribes will get together and negotiate a truce and may even wind up working together for a common good. Kobolds believe they are the double-plus-mostest-superioriest race on the planet. Just ask them, they'll tell you. Despite this, they usually wind up as minions, slaves, or thralls to more powerful creatures. Despite this, they usually wind up as minions, slaves, or thralls to more powerful creatures. If they're subject to another humanoid, they will try to find a way to escape and or kill their captors.

But if they're minions to a dragon, they will fawn over and worship the great beast and will enthusiastically take on dangerous tasks to try to impress their draconic master. Kobolds are beings of extreme power, just in tiny little bodies. They've been known to keep dire weasels as guards and hunting animals the way we do with dogs. They use dire boars as mounts on the surface and either slurks or giant ants as mounts underground. Just like in 5th edition, there are now rules defined for playing a character as a kobold in Pathfinder 1e. Edition, there are now rules defined for playing a character as a kobold in Pathfinder 1e. Likewise, they're also a playable ancestry in Pathfinder 2e. Kobold adventurers are most commonly looking for power, lore, and treasure that they feel they deserve. Largely, they've left the same in 2e as they were in 1e. There are variant kobolds, however. 5th Edition has

a variant kobold with wings called an errd. Other kobolds are envious of these winged kobolds because they're looked at as a gift from Tiamat. Some Pathfinder kobolds have a breath weapon that they can use that corresponds to the color of their scales. It matches the dragons of the same color. Fire for red, electricity for blue, and so forth. So how can DMs use kobolds in their game? Well, kobolds are guerrilla fighters who work well in groups. They mostly do hit-and-run attacks with squads of them participating simultaneously. You won't see an army of them charging through the forest to end the rule of the elves, but they will strike and retreat.

Strike and retreat. Wait for the right moment, then strike and retreat. Steal, loot bodies, get stuff for their warren, retreat again. Kobolds aren't afraid to suffer heavy losses if they're winning. Stories are told in 5th edition of two kobold clans fighting it out in the winter suffering 50-70% losses and enslaving the losing clan. Kobolds with wings and breath weapons are looked on as a mix of awe and disdain. Sometimes they can be kicked out of their clan just because they have these gifts.

Encounters with these individual kobolds can make for really good social NPC encounters. Kobold leaders and special members of the tribe will likely have class levels. It makes sense for kobolds to have rangers and alchemists, fighters, clerics, oracles, and nearly any other class that you can think of. If your party gets overconfident around kobolds, a sudden fireball may make them re-evaluate how tough this fight is going to be. There are a few cautions about kobolds, though. Kobolds can almost be treated like re-skinned goblins if you're not careful. Both have trapped homes, both are small in size, both are clever and resourceful. Do what you can to make their cultures distinct and different. The one thing that jumps out to me is that in their default descriptions, kobold children

are better cared for and protected than goblin children. So I'd say look for differences that you can highlight to show that kobolds aren't just goblins with a dragon suit on. Light sensitivity is brutal depending on how you want to work it as a DM or GM. Either be really lenient with what that means for your PCs or be ready to compensate the player with situations that doesn't necessarily always put them at a disadvantage or give them more or better items to be able to counter this disadvantage. You could say it only takes effect, for example, if you're exposed to bright noonday sun, but when you're in the forest with a canopy overhead, there's no game penalties for it. Kobolds are not rolling masses of chaos.

They tend towards evil, but not chaotically so. They will use bait to lure a party into an area where the kobolds are prepared and have an advantage. They will prepare and use tactics if they have to attack the tall folk, or gnomes, because Fark gnomes, right? Kobolds are not homogenous. They have different colors, come from different clans, the clans have different purposes and different desires and different strengths, and all of them can serve different roles in combat. Make different types of kobolds so that they do different things,

whether it's ranged or alchemy or sorcery or what have you. It keeps fights with kobolds from becoming samey. Players. If you're roleplaying a kobold, you know you are smaller than most of the other ancestries, but you are dexterous, resourceful, and hardworking. You know you probably couldn't win a fight one-on-one, especially when you're starting out, so you like to stay pretty close to the group.

You will retaliate against slights or jokes against you with practical jokes of your own. You take pride that you're related to dragons, no matter how distantly that is, and may even like to collect treasure and trinkets just like dragons do. Kobolds are common cannon fodder in low-level campaigns, and many DMs treat them as fairly stupid underground dwellers who don't have much of a plan beyond where their next meal is coming from. But that does them a disservice. Kobolds are masters of engineering. They create tunnels and work together as a tribe. They hunt and attack in packs and make great and interesting player characters.

Give them more of a personality and a connection to dragons, even if it's only in the kobolds' minds, and you and your players will have fun doing it. Please give me a follow on Twitter at Taking20 Podcast or search for me on Facebook. I have an Instagram, but I don't show pictures of this face. You really should thank me for that. I look like I lost an extended fight with an ugly stick. Thank you for listening. Tune in next week where we'll discuss starting your campaign anywhere but a tavern. Oh, and we may also give away some $50 gift certificate or something. Once again, I want to thank this week's sponsor, Tubers. When I met my wife, she owned three french fry factories. I was really impressed, but to her, it was just small potatoes. This has been episode 99, continuing the Monster Series,

this week all about kobolds. My name is Jeremy Shelley, and I hope that your next game is your best game. The Taking 20 Podcast is a Publishing Cube Media Production. Copyright 2021. References to game system content are copyright of their respective publishers.