Kobold

Kobolds are aggressive, xenophobic, yet industrious small humanoid creatures. They are noted for their skill at building traps and preparing ambushes. Kobolds are distantly related to dragons and urds and are often found serving the former as minions.

Appearance
A kobold stands between 2' and 2'6" (60cm – 75cm) tall, weighing 35 to 45 pounds (16 – 20kg). They have scaly reptilian skin between reddish brown and black in colour, with red eyes. Small white or tan horns protrude from their head, and they have rat-like tails. Kobolds smell of wet dog and stagnant water. They like to wear red or orange garments, which are usually ragged.

Society
Kobolds live in the dark, ideally underground or thick forest, in tribal societies. They are omnivorous, eating plants and animals, but will not refuse to eat intelligent creatures if the opportunity presents itself. They possess darkvision and are particularly sensitive to bright light.

Kobolds speak a version of draconic, with a yipping accent. Some can also speak undercommon. They hold a hatred for nearly all other humanoid races and enjoy killing and torturing them, in particular brownies, gnomes, pixies and sprites. They will plan and dig mines industriously, while laying cruel traps for interlopers, preferring an ambush to direct confrontation. If they must confront an enemy, they will try to overwhelm foes with sheer numbers. Among the monstrous humanoids, they are known for cunning plans, unlike many they also share those plans among the tribe. General plans and goals are common knowledge, and detailed plans are shared with all who ask to allow them to work fruitfully for the good of the tribe. Their society is influenced by their lawful evil alignment.

At some point in time, kobolds learned to domesticate dire weasels to serve them as guards and hunters. This resulted in lycanthropic kobold dire weasels. Around one in ten thousand kobolds is a natural lycanthrope in this manner.

Religion
The main deity of the kobolds is Kurtulmak, the god of war and mining, who hates all living things besides kobolds. The other main god worshipped by the kobolds is Gaknulak, the god of protection, stealth, trickery, and traps. A lesser-known Kobold demigod is Dakarnok.

Ecology
Kobolds have specialized laborers, yet the majority of kobolds are miners. Kobolds prefer exile to execution, and in some disputes, kobolds will split tribes in order to spread their kind over a larger region. Kobolds are also extremely fecund egg-layers, having the highest birth rate among humanoids, and mature quickly, in 6 years. They often lay eggs in a common nest, with specialized foster parents to watch over the eggs and wyrmlings.

They can live up to 135 years.

Combat
Kobolds use their cunning and sheer weight of numbers to defeat enemies. They prefer to lay traps or ambushes, and will only engage a foe directly after he has been weakened. If their numbers are diminished such that they have less than a two-to-one advantage, the group will usually flee. Kobold traps include spike pits, tripwires, flaming oil and poisonous vermin. They dislike gnomes to such an extent that they will attack on sight.

Kobolds will usually loot what treasure they can carry from their defeated enemies, who are usually killed. Occasionally kobolds will enslave their foes, who then might be sold on, unless they are gnomes, which kobolds will always kill, but never eat.

Notable Kobolds

 * Deekin Scalesinger is a kobold bard who is a NPC minion found in several of the expansions to Neverwinter Nights. He appears as a shopkeeper in Neverwinter Nights 2 as well.

Discrepancy
Page 57 of the Monster Manual (1977) states that kobolds can speak goblin and orcish, and page 214 of the Monstrous Manual supports this claim, but no mention of this is made on pages 161-162 of the Monster Manual 3.5.