Kobold

Kobolds, are a pest. This much is common knowledge. Known across the lands as petty thieves, they sneak into settlements and rob the inhabitants blind, focusing their attention on magical artifacts and reagents but making an effort to grab anything that sparkles as well. Once loaded down, they quickly race back to the dens of their tribes and add the loot to a growing pile of wealth, scattered across the floor and decorating the walls of whatever cave they've chosen as their home. For most creatures, this would be a prelude to a wild spending spree, trading their ill gotten gains for intoxicants, weapons, and affection, before venturing forth when supplies run low. Kobolds, on the other hand, hoard the wealth the acquire like the dragons that designed them. In fact, they hoard the wealth for the dragons that designed them, with intent of attracting one to serve!
Kobolds were designed by dragons to be the perfect servants. However, as many madmen and tyrants have learned over the years, designing something to serve you will not last without a little incentive for them to continue doing so. Chains break, devotion sours, and given enough pressure, even biological safeguards will be circumvented. The creator of the Kobold however, was wiser than those who followed in their footsteps. To serve a dragon provides a simple benefit to this symbiotic race: Power.
Kobolds are small, frail, and rarely capable of more than first or second level spells. They rely on stealth, teamwork, and elaborate traps to drive off threats to their dens. However, when a kobold is bound to the service of a dragon it becomes stronger in a multitude of ways. Elemental resistances, magical powers, physical strength, and a guardian for their dens that can kill even high level adventuring teams transform this subtlety specialist into an actual threat. Unfortunately, Dragons are not common on the ground, so those tribes which have attracted a master grow and flourish, while those who do not are often driven away by towns and adventurers due to their thieving ways.
Fortunately, most kobolds remain at the level of irritants for their entire lives. As they avoid conflict unless defending their hordes, casualties are minimal in most scenarios and many towns return the favor, treating them like a nuisance to be driven from their lands rather than a threat to be eliminated. In some cases, kobolds and townsfolk have approached an uneasy peace, trading goods and services back and forth. Still, deaths do happen on both sides, and should a kobold tribe be driven to violence they quickly become vicious. As such, adventurers are advised to avoid fatal blows when possible, and above all remember that the tribe of the creature before them may someday acquire the services of a very powerful patron, with a very long memory.

Basic Information

Anatomy

A mature Kobold stands 3-4 ft. high on two digitigrade legs, with two arms and a tail extending from the torso, and a draconic head protruding from a thick, stocky neck. Its skin is pebbled and lizardlike, and generally dappled and earth toned, dependent on the environment it lives in. Twin horns protrude from the back of the skull, and horny ridges can run down the length, ending in a third horn at the tip of it's nose. Hands and feet both end in four toed claws, though otherwise humanoid in layout.

Growth Rate & Stages

• Young: Young Kobolds grow from less than 1 ft to 3 ft. tall, and are very flexible with cartilage heavy skeletons. They often race about on all fours, and can squeeze through any opening larger than their heads. Their skin is soft, and slightly lighter, and their horns have not yet grown in.
• Mature: Once a kobold reaches maturity, it can be up to 4ft. tall, with darker leathery skin and a much more sturdy skeleton. It's horns will be up to 6 inches long, with varying amounts of curve dependent on the individual.
• Bonded: When a Kobold bonds to a dragon, its body changes significantly. They will gain a foot of height, coloration will brighten and change to match their master, muscle mass and skin toughness increase, and their eyes develop a luminous glow that they can extinguish at will. It is at this point they also develop their elemental resistance, increased magical capabilities, and in rare occasions, breath weapon.

Ecology and Habitats

Kobolds are a mostly nocturnal species, and prefer dark environments such as caves or burrows. They are capable of adapting to most extremes that the sentient races inhabit, though they do not have any water breathing capability.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Kobolds are mostly carnivores, subsisting on meat when available, and insects and grubs when not. A few fruits are palatable to their system however, but nearly all plants, fungi and many spices are inedible or poisonous to them. Kobolds usually hunt small game through the use of traps, foraging for insects or using offal to create larva pits for later harvesting, though the lucky ones may also keep a small fungi garden if they can locate an edible variety. Food is cooked before consumption, and excess is smoked and stored to last the winter.

Biological Cycle

During the cold months, kobolds without a ready supply of food become lethargic, entering a half hibernating state, only awakening to snack and expel waste until temperatures rise or ample food is available. Due to this, tribes of kobolds will often designate sentries to watch over the tribe, plying them with copious quantities of food to keep their systems from hibernating. These guardians remain near the den until winter passes, ready to drive away any predators or threats that may arrive.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

Sapient: Avg. Int, Above Avg. Wis, Below Avg. Cha

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Kobolds have darkvision and acute directional hearing, giving them excellent perception. However, as a trade off they seem to take longer than most races to learn to identify and respond to speech, and have a sensitivity to bright lights.

Scientific Name

Animalia Cordata Reptillia Creare Draconem Kobold Aedific

Origin/Ancestry

Arctic, Desert, Woodland, Plains, Cave

Lifespan

40-85

Average Height

Male: 3' 4" Female: 3' 11"

Average Weight

75-100 lbs.

Average Physique

Slender