Kobold

Kobolds revere dragons and dragonborn, and the small reptilian creatures are skilled trapmakers.

Basics
Kobolds mainly live as servants in the Arkoshian empire, they revere dragons and dragonborn as gods. Their spare frames and stooped postures don’t inspire fear in others, which suits kobolds just fine. They would rather look nonthreatening but not quite vulnerable. A few brave kobolds emulate their honored dragons. They put on a little muscle, raise their snouts high, and roar with a ferocity no one would expect such weak-looking creatures to muster.     Kobolds’ long muzzles are lined with tiny teeth and lolling tongues similar to those of a dragon or crocodile. Their slitted eyes are usually red, gold, or yellow. Small horns angle backward from a kobold’s brow, and bony barbs stud its forearms to its elbows. Its fingers end in stubby talons, as do its long toes. Fine scales cover a kobold’s body, usually some shade of green. Brown, red, and orange scales appear among particular tribes, as do mottled hides of several colors.     Their reptilian anatomy hides kobolds’ physical expressiveness from other races. Their facial construction lacks the anatomy to display the same range of emotions as other humanoids. Kobolds who need to deal with warmbloods develop broad arm and head gestures to convey how they feel.     Since kobolds have to make do with what they scavenge, clothing is limited and functional. A loincloth serves the least among them, while warriors cobble together armor from scraps they harvest from the dead. Crude weaponry suffices until they can steal something better.     Kobolds grow quickly. They can walk and talk within hours after hatching and reach their full height after about a year. Kobolds can live longer than a century, though very few make it through their first decade.

Kobolds overrun dungeons and caverns, relying on vast numbers and wicked traps to make up for their deficiencies in size and strength. Their ability to survive among the bigger and tougher monsters of the world shows just how well their tactics have worked.     Kobolds gather in large tribes, reproducing quickly to replenish their numbers. Group pressure and the dictates of charismatic leaders compel all members in the community to work together toward whatever ends they need to survive. No matter what an individual kobold feels or believes, the community expects obedience, and every kobold in the tribe tries to behave in the expected way. Some kobolds have good hearts, but their chieftains believe only ruthlessness will keep the tribe strong. Thus most kobold tribes commit evil acts, or at least self-serving ones.