Kobolds¶
Kobold communities, called legions, are found in every biome and across the timescape. Gravitating toward powerful allies and defensible locations, kobolds are equally common in walled cities, secluded temples, subterranean tunnel-mazes, and dragon lairs. Most legions strive to be good neighbors or to go entirely unnoticed, but when a community falls under the sway of a malevolent wyrm or power-hungry kobold centurion, they can pose a significant threat.
Defensive Masters¶
In a world filled with bigger, hungrier creatures, kobolds survived by becoming experts in collective defense. Kobold shield tactics are legendary, with every warrior carrying a shield into battle and soldiers defending each other in tightly choreographed formations. More than a tool, a kobold's shield is a symbol of their commitment to defending their legion, and they decorate these treasured possessions with battle trophies and illustrations of great deeds.
Kobold legionaries might join worthy adventurers as retainers, lending their defensive prowess to their new allies as they ko-boldly go where no kobold has gone before.
Unconventional Tactics¶
Relentless innovators, kobolds can easily outsmart anyone who doesn't take them seriously. Their foes haven't experienced a true kobold battle until they survive exploding javelins or flaming nets. Kobold homes are protected with deadly hazards and ambush points. In open warfare, legions deploy iron dragons and flaming spike pit traps (see the Dynamic Terrain section).
Tiny Dragons¶
Most kobolds believe their ancestors were created by powerful dragons—and with sharp, angular features and prominent dorsal crests, they certainly look the part! Newborn kobolds have brilliant, pearlescent scales, but as kobolds age, their scales dim and mottle. Owing to a deep magical connection, a legion that lives in the domain of a dragon adopts the color of that dragon's scales over several generations.
Domain Expansion¶
When kobolds settle into the domain of a dragon, they grow more like that dragon in other ways than just coloration. Some groups worship the dragon as a god. Others revere them as an ancestor or a leader, or admire them like a really, REALLY big sibling. This manifests as a desire to understand the dragon's affinity so as to embody it. Kobolds see themselves as an extension of the domain, working with and for it. Meteor kobolds, for example, rely more on hanging traps. Bloodthirsty omen kobolds deny themselves material pleasures and might end up wasting away into little more than skeletons. It has been speculated that kobolds living in a domain influence the strength of the dragon's hold on the territory.
Kobold and Dragon Symbiosis¶
Most dragons are solitary creatures, but kobolds living in a dragon's domain provide both parties with clear benefits. A dragon can establish their domain over an area in half the time if they allow kobolds to settle in the area as well. Meanwhile, a kobold who spends 1 week or more living in the domain of a dragon becomes immune to the hazardous and negative effects of that domain. The kobold's physical appearance might also change the longer they stay in the area.
Terrain Mastery¶
The kobolds' affinity for their terrain, creative tactics, group defenses, and innovative spirit gives a kobold legion mastery of the area in which they live. Though they employ traps and tricks of their own creation, kobolds also know the ins and outs of nature's traps. For example, a sagittarion might shoot at a nearby hive of angry bees instead of their opponent. If your kobold opponents retreat over desert sands or a frozen lake, don't give chase. They likely know something you don't about these terrain hazards.
Cute Pets¶
The gummy brick is a deadly ooze—a monster shaped of acidic goo and driven by endless hunger. But when properly trained, kobolds find these mindless predators good company. They also love the company of shieldscale drangolins—draconic pangolins—who they train to dig residential tunnel networks, neutralize enemy fortifications, and burrow up into the center of an enemy camp with a dozen kobold minions at their side.
Kobold Languages¶
Most kobolds speak Kethaic and can understand Caelian.
Kobold Adeptus
- Shocking BoltMain actionSignature
- Arcane TelumManeuver3 Malice
- Shield? Shield!Trait
Kobold Artifex
- Chain HookMain actionSignature
- Activate TrapManeuver
- Shield? Shield!Trait
Kobold Centurion
- PilumMain actionSignature
- Concentrate All Fire on That Hero!Maneuver
- Testudo!Triggered action
- End EffectTrait
- Firetail PilumVillain Action 1
- Boom Pilum!Villain Action 2
- Are You Not Entertained?!Villain Action 3
- Shield? Shield!Trait
Kobold Legionary
- GladiusMain actionSignature
- Shield BashManeuver
- Shield? Shield!Trait
Kobold Princeps
- HastaMain actionSignature
- Shield? Shield!Trait
Kobold Sagittarion
- Composite BowMain actionSignature
- Shield? Shield!Trait
Kobold Signifer
- SignumMain actionSignature
- Glory to the LegionManeuver5 Malice
- Shield? Shield!Trait
- Upholding High StandardsTrait
Kobold Tiro
- PugioMain actionSignature
- Shield? Shield!Trait
Kobold Veles
- PiliumMain actionSignature
- Shield? Shield!Trait
Kobold Venator
- Dolabra and NetMain actionSignature
- Lost in the CrowdTrait
- Not What I SeemTrait
- Shield? Shield!Trait