Generations/Lore/Races/Kobolds

Race

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Attribute Ranges

• Body: Pitiful to Below Average (1-4)
• Mind: Pitiful to Above Average (1-6)
• Spirit: Pitiful to Average (1-5)

Abilities

• Armored Skin: Kobolds have surprisingly tough scales that can protect them from slashing and bludgeoning attacks decently, though their underbellies are much softer, more comparable to human skin in durability.
• Infravision: Kobolds have the ability to see in the infrared spectrum (heat).
• Sharp Teeth: Kobolds have sharp, serrated teeth that line their mouth like a monitor lizard.
• Winged Flight: Some kobolds are born with wings similar to those of a heraldic dragon. This is a rare, recessive mutation, but is highly selected for among kobold society.

Biology

Kobolds are short, reptilian lessor humanoids descended from dragonkin stock

Appearance

• Height: Kobolds are generally short, but can grow to taller sizes than goblins. Kobolds average between 2'9" and 3'6". A particularly tall kobold can reach as tall as 4'.
• Weight: Kobolds have a similar weight as humans of their same height and build would have.
• Build: Kobolds have a slender build, wiry due to their fairly fast metabolism. The only place that fat is found in abundance is their tails. On rare occasions, usually depending on food availability and quality, a kobold can become muscular, with winged individuals showing a surprising trend of being able to grow muscular, but there are no records of fat kobolds, though some have especially thick, heavy tails.
• Bust: Female and hermaphroditic kobolds do not have breasts.
• Penis: Male and hermaphroditic kobolds have a broad spectrum of penis sizes, but generally er on the smaller side. Like all dragons, their penises are retractable and armored with a pointed head and a ridge of smooth knobs along the top. Males have larger penises than hermaphroditic on average. Kobold penises can be as small as 1" to as long as 5", though winged individuals may have penises of 6-8".
• Skin: Kobolds have pink, black, or white skin under scales that tend towards red, brown, and black, but may also be green, blue, gray, white, copper, silver, or gold depending on environment.
• Hair: Kobolds do not grow hair.
• Eyes: Kobolds have slitted, serpent-like eyes. They are generally shades of yellow, green, red or black.
• Other details: In place of head hair, some kobolds may grow feathers. Kobolds also have horns on their heads, but these are too small to be used as weapons. Winged individuals often have larger horns but they are generally not sharp enough/shaped wrong to be used as weapons.

Genders

Like dragons, kobolds can be either male or female.

• In the absence of an appropriate mate, kobolds can switch genders over the course of a year. The kobold can halt the transformation of genders halfway through to become hermaphroditic.
  • Kobolds only do this in desperation in order to self-impregnate.
  • The hermaphroditic gender is unstable, requiring a great deal of effort to maintain. For this reason kobolds change to female as soon as they have successfully self-impregnated.
    • On freak occasions, the transition to/from the hermaphroditic gender can go wrong and the kobold is stuck as a hermaphrodite. Only 1 in every 500,000 kobolds are at risk of this accident occurring to them. Only 5% of such instances are fertile, and only 1% of that are capable of both impregnation and being impregnated.

Reproduction

Kobolds reproduce sexually.

• Kobolds can cross with any being capable of sexual reproduction.
  • Kobolds cross particularly well with dragonkin. Any dragonkin-kobold hybrid is 25% more likely to be born winged.
    • Otherwise, kobolds only have a 5% chance of being born with dragon wings. As a recessive gene, most winged kobolds born are male.
• Kobolds are egg layers.
• When another kobold can't be found, a kobold can self-impregnate.
• Kobolds take a 8 months to lay their eggs. There are generally 10 to 30 eggs in a clutch.
• Kobolds take between 4-6 months to hatch.
• Pure kobold communities do not practice parental care.
  • The eggs are laid in a communal nest and they and the young are tended to by "brooders." As such, kobolds generally do not know who their parents are.

Age

Kobolds age slower than humans but still faster than most other humanoid races.

• Kobold ages can be calculated by multiplying the age of their physical appearance were they human by 2.5.
• A kobold that is entering adolescence would be around 25-30 years old.
• Kobolds rarely live to old age because of their lifestyle. Kobolds that live long enough to die of old age usually die in their early 200s. Winged kobolds tend to live longer and are known to live upwards of 300.

Diet

Like dragons, kobolds are carnivores.

• Kobolds will eat just about any kind of meat.
• Kobolds prefer not to eat other dragonkin if it can be helped.

Other Considerations

• Kobold parts are often sold as dragon parts on the black market.

Spirituality

Worship

Kobolds traditionally practice worship of dragons rather than gods, and as such largely did not participate in the god war.

• Some kobolds worshiped dragon gods of other pantheons.
• About 15% of kobolds still worship dragon gods openly and 10% do so in secret.

Afterlife

Much like dragons, kobolds have no afterlife.

Other Considerations

There is speculation, and is a popular belief among kobolds, that kobolds were created by dragons as slaves, servants, and worshipers.

Magic and Technology

Magic

Kobolds are among the least magical of dragonkin, but do still have some capacity for magic.

• Kobolds have a difficult time with learned magics, but do show more capacity for it than goblinkin.
• All kobolds have the potential for sorcery, although winged kobolds have a 25% easier time at it.
• Most normal kobolds instead learn shamanism.

Technology

Kobolds understand technology much more than they do magic, but not by much.

• While considered primitive, kobolds are accomplished opportunists. They are just as likely to have guns and bombs as they are to have axes and bows.
• Most kobold technology is stolen from other cultures, but kobolds do possess some understanding and craft for innovation.
  • In particular, they show a great gift for trapmaking. Traps keep their homes safe as well as provide food, and as such kobolds are deceptively creative when it comes to traps.

Culture

Kobolds are in many ways to dragonkin as goblins are to other races: they have a high mortality and birth rate, and their culture's main focus is survival. However, they are not as "savage" as goblins typically are and do show some capacity to function in other societies.

Taboos

While often stereotyped as "dragon goblins," kobolds do not show the taboo-less lifestyle goblins often live.

• Greatest above all else is that dragons are not to be slighted. Even if by accident, a kobold's first instinct upon angering a dragon is to beg for its life. It is not unheard of for other kobolds in its community to throw the accused at the dragon's feet as a sacrifice for their survival.
  • Dragons are tantamount to gods in kobold eyes, and as such they would never intentionally slight a dragon. The only exception is if they were commanded to by another dragon, and even then they would only do so after great internal conflict.
• Kobolds have no taboos against nudity.
• Kobolds do not have any incest taboos to speak of, due to the fact that kobolds do not know who their parents are and are not raised by them.
• Kobolds have strong taboos against underage sex before puberty. After puberty, when they leave a brooder's care, they're fair game.
• Kobolds do not have any strict taboos against homosexuality but usually only engage in such relationships for pleasure.
• Kobolds have no bestiality taboo, but generally do not engage in bestiality and see it as a pointless act.
• Kobolds have VERY strong taboos against associating with dwarves and gnomes beyond the capacity which it is necessary to kill them.
  • Kobolds often come into conflict with dwarves due to liking the mines they make as homes. Dwarves generally see kobolds as pests as a result.
  • Kobolds have a strong hatred of gnomes, although exactly why is unclear. Gnomes have tried to study this phenomena, but naturally are met with resistance and hostility.

Residence

Kobolds generally reside in caves, mines, or volcanos, but surface communities are not unheard of.

• Kobold tribes can be anywhere from a dozen to hundreds of individuals, depending on space and availability of food.
• Kobolds are known to reside close to dragons whenever possible, if not in the dragon's lair then on the outskirts to feast on its scraps.

Other Considerations

• Much like goblins, kobolds are often seen as canon fodder for more powerful draconic races.
• Kobolds are famously cowardly and are generally quick to beg when faced with any adversity.