Kobolds are weak, craven, and seethe with a festering resentment for the rest of the world, especially members of races that seem stronger, smarter, or superior to them in any way. They proudly claim kinship to dragons, but beneath all the bluster, the comparison to their glorious cousins leaves kobolds with a profound sense of inadequacy. Though they are hardworking, clever, and blessed with a natural talent for mechanical devices and mining, they spend their days nursing grudges and hatreds instead of celebrating their own gifts. Kobold tactics specialize in traps and ambushes, but kobolds enjoy anything that allows them to harm others without putting themselves at risk. Often, they seek to capture rather than to kill, taking out their frustrations on the helpless victims they drag back to their claustrophobic lairs.
Description
Physical Description
Kobolds are small, bipedal reptilian humanoids. Most stand around 3 feet tall and weigh about 35 pounds. They have powerful jaws for creatures of their size and noticeable claws on their hands and feet. Often kobolds' faces are curiously devoid of expression, as they favor showing their emotions by simply swishing their tails. Kobolds' thick hides vary in color, and most have scales that match the hue of one of the varieties of chromatic dragons, with red scales being predominant. A few kobolds, however, have more exotic colors such as orange or yellow, which in some tribes raises or lowers an individual's status in the eyes of his fellows.
Society
Kobolds thrive in cramped quarters far from the light of the sun. Most live in vast warrens deep beneath the earth, but a few instead prefer to make their homes beneath tangles of overgrown trees and brush. Saving their malice for other races, most kobolds get along well with their own kind. While squabbles and feuds do occur, the elders who rule kobold communities tend to settle such conflicts swiftly. Kobolds delight in taking slaves, relishing the chance to torment and humiliate them. They are also cowardly and practical, and often end up bowing to more powerful beings. If these creatures are of another humanoid race, kobolds often scheme to free themselves from subjugation as soon as possible. If the overlord is a powerful draconic or monstrous creature, however, kobolds see no shame in submission, and often shower adoration on their new leader. This is especially true if the kobolds serve a true dragon, who they tend to worship outright.
Relations
Kobolds often seethe with hatred and jealousy, but their innate caution ensures that they only act on these impulses when they have the upper hand. If unable to safely indulge their urge to physically harm and degrade members of other races, they resort to careful insults and "practical jokes" instead.
They consider both dwarves and elves to be deadly rivals. Kobolds fear the brute power of half-orcs and resent humans for the dominant status that race enjoys. They believe half-elves blend the best qualities of both parent races, which strikes kobolds as fundamentally unfair. Kobolds believe halflings, small in stature, make wonderful slaves and targets for kobold rage and practical jokes. When the gnomes first arrived in the mortal realm, kobolds saw them as perfect victims. This sparked waves of retaliation and reprisal that have echoed on down through the centuries and earned the kobolds' permanent enmity.
Alignment and Religion
Kobolds readily knuckle under to superior force but rarely stop scheming to gain an edge over their oppressors. Most kobolds are lawful evil, though some, more concerned with procedure than their own personal advantage, become lawful neutral instead. In addition to these deities, kobolds, supremely opportunistic, also sometimes worship nearby monsters as a way of placating them or earning their favor.
Adventurers
Kobolds rarely leave their cozy warrens by their own choice. Most of those who set out on adventures are the last of their tribe, and such individuals often settle down again as soon as they find another kobold community willing to take them in. Kobolds who cannot rein in, or at least conceal, their spiteful and malicious natures have great difficulty surviving in the larger world.
Male Names
Draahzin, Eadoo, Ipmeerk, Jamada, Kib, Makroo, Olp, Yraalik, Zornesk.
Female Names
Adriaak, Harkail, Neeral, Ozula, Poro, Saassraa, Tarka.
Kobold Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, -4 Strength, -2 Constitution
Kobolds are fast but weak.
Reptilian
Kobolds are humanoids with the reptilian subtype.
Small
Kobolds are Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty on their combat maneuver checks and to Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Kobolds have a base speed of 30 feet.
Kobolds can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
Armor
Kobolds have a +1 natural armor bonus.
Kobolds gain a +2 racial bonus on Craft (trapmaking), Perception, and Profession (miner) checks. Craft (traps) and Stealth are always class skills for a kobold.
Kobolds begin play speaking only Draconic. Kobolds with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Common, Dwarven, Gnome, and Undercommon.
Alternate Racial Traits
The following racial traits may be selected instead of existing kobold racial traits. Consult your GM before selecting any of these new options.
Some kobolds have a talent for training animals and beasts to help them both on and off the battlefield. Kobolds with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Handle Animal and Ride checks. Handle Animal and Ride are always class skills for them. This racial trait replaces crafty.
Some kobolds are hatched with scales of such vivid color that their connection to a particular sort of chromatic dragon seems undeniable. Whether this coloration is just a quirk of a stray egg or a trait shared by all the members of a tribe, these kobolds gain a resistance that makes them especially suited to work alongside dragons matching the color of the kobold's scales. Black-scaled and green-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain acid resistance 5. Blue-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain electricity resistance 5. Red-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain fire resistance 5. White-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain cold resistance 5. This racial trait replaces the armor racial trait.
Some kobolds are born with wings that, while too weak for actual flying, do allow them to fall at a very slow and safe pace. A kobold with wings can use them to glide. It can make a DC 15 Fly check to fall safely from any height without taking falling damage, as if using feather fall. When falling safely, it may make an additional DC 15 Fly check to glide, moving 5 feet laterally for every 20 feet it falls. This racial trait replaces crafty.
Some kobolds swallow their pride and survive by groveling, placating, and amusing the powerful. Kobolds with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Perform checks. Diplomacy and Perform are always class skills for them. This racial trait replaces crafty.
Favored Class Options
The following options are available to all kobolds who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.
Add +1/2 to the number of bombs per day the alchemist can create.
Bard
Treat the bard's level as +1/2 level higher for the purpose of determining the effect of the fascinate bardic performance.
Add 5 feet (up to 15 feet maximum) to the cavalier's mount's speed when it uses the charge or withdraw action.
Add +1 to channel energy damage dealt to creatures denied their Dexterity bonus to AC (whether or not the creature has a Dexterity bonus to AC).
Add +1/2 to the druid's wild empathy bonus.
Add +1/2 to damage rolls the fighter makes with weapon attacks against an opponent he is flanking or an opponent that is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC.
Add +1/4 to the dodge bonus to AC granted by the nimble class feature (maximum +4).
Add a +1/2 bonus on concentration checks made to cast defensively.
Monk
Add +1/3 to the monk's AC bonus class ability.
Add +1/4 to the armor or natural armor bonus granted by oracle spells she casts on herself.
Add +1/4 to the number of opponents the ranger may select when using hunter's bond to grant a bonus to allies. All selected creatures must be of the same type.
Add +1/2 to the rogue's trap sense bonus to AC.
Choose acid, cold, electricity, or fire damage. Add +1/2 point of the chosen energy damage to spells that deal the chosen energy damage cast by the sorcerer.
Add +1/4 to the summoner's shield ally bonus (maximum +2).
Add +5 feet to the distance at which her familiar grants the Alertness feat (maximum +20 feet).
Racial Archetypes and Bloodlines
The following racial archetype and racial bloodline are available to kobolds.
Bushwhacker (Gunslinger)
The bushwhacker specializes in the art of the ambush. For her, gunplay works best when it comes from a concealed position and is directed against a target that falls with the very first volley and is dead before the smoke clears. A bushwhacker has the following class features.
At 1st level, at the start of each day, a bushwhacker gains grit points equal to her Wisdom modifier – 1 (minimum of 1). In addition to all the ways any gunslinger can regain grit, a bushwhacker who reduces a helpless or unaware opponent to 0 hit points or fewer also regains 1 grit point. This expands the way in which the bushwhacker gains grit points, so a bushwhacker who gains grit points in this way only gains 1 grit point for reducing a helpless or unaware opponent, not 2 grit points. This otherwise works like the gunslinger's grit ability and alters that ability.
A bushwhacker replaces some of her deeds with the following deeds. This ability otherwise works like the gunslinger's deed ability and alters that ability.
Shifty Shot (Ex)At 3rd level, a bushwhacker with at least 1 grit point deals 1d6 points of extra damage when using her firearm to attack opponents denied their Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not). Except for the requirement that she must use a firearm and must have at least 1 grit point to use it, this deed otherwise works identically to a rogue's sneak attack class feature (including the requirement that she must be within 30 feet of her target to deal this extra damage), and stacks with the sneak shot ability (see below) and sneak attack. This deed replaces the utility shot deed.
Long Range Shifty Shot (Ex): At 7th level, a bushwhacker can double the range at which she deals extra damage from a sneak attack or shifty shot (from 30 feet to 60 feet) with a firearm by spending 1 grit point. When she spends this grit point, she must still have at least 1 grit point left to deal extra damage from shifty shot if she is using this deed. This deed replaces the targeting deed.
At 4th level and every four levels thereafter, a bushwhacker deals 1d6 points of extra damage when using a firearm to attack opponents who are unable to properly defend themselves. Unlike with the shifty shot ability, she deals this extra damage regardless of whether or not she has any grit points when making the attack. Except for the requirement that she makes a firearm attack, this works identically to a rogue's sneak attack class feature. This extra damage stacks with sneak attack and the damage from shifty shot. This ability replaces the bonus feats the gunslinger gains at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level.
While many kobold sorcerers tout their purely draconic bloodline, over generations of eldritch training, some such spellcasters have created a bloodline that, while tinged with some draconic magic, is the embodiment of the race's virtue distilled into arcane form. Many practitioners of this bloodline go on to lead powerful kobold tribes.
Class Skill
Bonus Spells
alarm (3rd), create pit (5th), explosive runes (7th), dragon's breath (9th), transmute rock to mud (11th), guards and wards (13th), delayed blast fireball (15th), form of the dragon III (17th), imprisonment (19th).
Alertness, Combat Casting, Defensive Combat Training, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Silent Spell.
Bloodline Arcana
Whenever you cast a spell against a creature that is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC, increase that spell's DC by +2.
Like all kobolds, you have a natural talent for ambushing, creating traps, and mining. As your power increases, you discover ever more useful ways to blend your magic with these instinctive talents.
Trap Rune (Sp)At 1st level, as a standard action, you can sketch a single, nearly invisible magical rune on any 5-foot-square solid surface. When you create a rune, pick one of the following energy types: acid, cold, electricity, or fire. While the rune is active, the next creature other than you who steps on or touches the rune's area causes the rune to explode. The rune's explosion deals a number of points of energy damage equal to 1d8 + 1 per sorcerer level you possess to anything in its square. A Reflex saving throw halves the damage (DC 10 + 1/2 your sorcerer level + your Charisma modifier). The rune is considered a magical trap for the purpose of perceiving it or disabling it. The DC for both Perception and Disable Device checks is the same as the Reflex saving throw to halve the damage. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. Each rune lasts for 24 hours or until discharged.
Trap Sense (Ex): At 3rd level, you develop a sixth sense that helps you avoid traps. You gain a +2 bonus on Perception checks made to notice traps. You also gain a +1 bonus on Reflex saves to avoid traps and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps. These bonuses increase by +1 at 7th level and for every four sorcerer levels you gain thereafter (to a maximum of +5 at 19th level). This bonus stacks with that provided by a rogue's trap sense and similar abilities.
Arcane Ambush (Su): At 9th level, as a swift action, you can expend a spell slot in order to grant you and your allies a bonus on attack and damage rolls. This bonus lasts 1 round, is equal to the level of the spell expended, and only applies to opponents your allies are flanking or opponents denied their Dexterity bonus against your allies. You grant this bonus to yourself plus up to one ally for every four sorcerer levels you possess (to a maximum of five allies at 20th level). The allies must be within 30 feet of you and you must have line of effect to each affected ally.
Earth Glide (Su): At 15th level, you gain the earth glide universal monster ability with a speed equal to your base speed. This does not give you the ability to breathe while passing through earth, so you must hold your breath or use some alternate method to breathe while using this ability.
Nimble Walker (Su): At 20th level, you gain a +5 racial bonus on Reflex saving throws and on Acrobatics checks made to move through a creature's threatened area or through its space. You also gain the ability to breathe while passing through earth using your earth glide ability.
New Racial Rules
The following options are available to kobolds. At the GM's discretion, other appropriate races may make use of some of these new rules.