Kobolds

“Sleeping on a dragon's hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself... In spite of the pain, his first feeling was one of relief. There was nothing to be afraid of any more. He was a terror himself now and nothing in the world but a knight (and not all of those) would dare to attack him. He could get even with Caspian and Edmund now...”

-- C. S. Lewis, Voyage of the Dawn Treader





Screams echo through the dungeon corridors, those injured by trap-shrapnel slowing their comrades as an ambush is launched from hidden corridors. A scaled god slumbers amidst its treasure, waking to find a fortress dug around it and hissing hosannas sung in its name. An underclass of reptilian labourers spills from the sewer gates each night, shunned and cursed as they navigate the night with wide cave-dweller's eyes.

A World of Giants

Small and slender, kobolds have thick digitigrade legs ending in clawed feet, bodies covered in smooth scales, and a lithe tail that sways back and forth as they move.

A long, snub-nosed snout lined with sharp teeth continues this reptilian theme, and though most kobolds have vestigial horns, crests, or ear-like flaps of skin, it would be extreme flattery to compare one to a dragon.

Flattery a kobold would encourage, for a great and terrible tyrant lurks within each of their tiny frames. The kobold's draconic ego has warred with its survival instincts for millenia, and though they've developed a reputation for cowardice and grovelling submission, there are few things crueler than a kobold with the advantage.

For the most part, however, kobolds content themselves with admiring power from outside, burnishing it like a golden cup and basking in its reflected glory. A kobold's admiration is hard to shake, once won, and blinding in intensity.

Be the dragon. And if you can't, love the dragon.

Slaves to the Dragons

Kobolds believe themselves to be true children of the dragons, born from drops of their steaming blood at the dawn of time. Indeed, most kobolds are possessed of an instinctive awe of the great drakes, and serve their every whim with a religious fervor. Many of the elaborate dungeons that guard dragon nests began with a simple kobold tunnel.

Kobolds admire strength even in the absence of a dragon, adopting new idols from the mighty and the cruel. Spirits are seldom heeded, but material beasts like sphinxes, krakens, hydras, and even stranger monsters can win a kobold's undying devotion, finding themselves co-opted into a role of patron and guardian in exchange for sycophantic service.

Some kobold adventurers strike out from this role, resenting their own weakness in the face of these monstrous gods. Others simply tag along, idolizing a fellow adventurer as dauntless and powerful.

Diggers of Dungeons

Kobolds live in patrilineal clans called gens, led by the oldest of the brood in the absence of a dragon's interest. Each kobold has their own specialized role in the gens which they guard jealously, even against co-operation or assistance.

Though kobolds place absolute faith in their superiors, they are more stand-offish with their peers. Old comrades hardly hesitate to sacrifice each other for the greater good.

Perhaps as a result of their origins as draconic servitors, kobolds have a great respect for rules and declarations, no matter how arbitrary. This can lead to odd conflicts if a gens is assimilated into a larger society.

Male and female kobolds do not much differ in size, though other races can distinguish females by their shorter horns and wider hips.

Something to Prove

A kobold's admiration is fundamentally rooted in envy, however good-natured. Each kobold is acutely, painfully aware of their own weakness, and so they seek to hide in numbers, impress others with pomp and plumage, and take pains to repay any slights once they have the chance.

This, more than their hatred of gnomes (shared by many civilized beings) is the reason for their scarcity in urban society. Kobolds don't forgive or forget, and their wrath can be unreasonably vicious... when they feel safe to unleash it.

Kobold Names

Kobolds usually have short, snappy names, with the dizzying heights of two syllables reserved for females. Anything longer is far too presumptuous.

All kobolds in a gens share the same second name, one signifying their clan. It usually refers to their home or master, though gens are known to adopt names given by their enemies if they find them suitably fearsome.

Male Kobold Names: Arx, Dok, Dron, Eks, Erit, Gar, Gon, Hox, Irt, Kin, Molo, Ram, Rung, Sik, Sniv, Tes, Urak, Varn

Female Kobold Names: Ancal, Driri, Ett, Galax, Hisil, Kashak, Katla, Lak, Ohsoss, Rezzic, Rotom, Sagin, Tintag

Kobold Gens Names: Bloodstone, Cliff-Watcher, Copper Scale, Drakeguard, Gate Watch, Gnomefoe, Owl Tamer, Red Foot, Swampsnake, Treestump, White Fang