Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast

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Kobolds have been in D&D since the beginning, occupying the lowest rung on the Humanoid Power Ladder below goblins. Their name is that of an underground spirit from German folklore but they’re always been quite mundane. Their appearance went from dog-like in the early days to reptilian in 3e, and has stayed that way since. In 4e, they are both in the MM and the MV.

The Lore

Kobolds are small reptilian humanoids who make their homes in underground warrens and worship dragons as if they were gods. They’re rarely on good terms with “civilized” society, which tends to view them as particularly bothersome pests.

Your typical kobold is weak and a bit dim when compared to a human, but collectively they’re quite tenacious and crafty when defending their homes, and have no qualms about engaging in banditry and theft to enrich themselves. That’s what dragons do, and dragons are awesome!

Kobold warrens are maze-like and very cramped for human-sized invaders. They’re also festooned with traps that the inhabitants themselves know how to avoid, and into which they’ll try to lead those invaders. Kobolds will also try to tame some of the local wildlife to help guarding their homes, though they’re not nearly as good as goblins at it. Other times they’ll just allow a larger monster to lair in a section of their warrens they then avoid.

If a dragon lairs close to kobold territory, the little guys will almost certainly form a cult to worship it, particularly if the dragon is chromatic. Many dragons simply ignore the nuisance outside of snack time, but some will attempt to use that cult as a tool to better dominate the region. Kobolds themselves also frequently worship Tiamat, that most awesome of dragons.

The Numbers

Kobolds are Small Natural Humanoids with the Reptile keyword. They have Speed 6 and Darkvision, and a couple of custom signature traits: Shifty allows them to shift as a minor action instead of a move; Trap Sense gives them +2 to defenses against traps. That last one is only present in the MM kobolds. I imagine you can just say kobolds never trigger their own traps instead, which is why the MV dropped it. I’d still give it to playable kobolds.

Power-wise, they cover the first half of the Heroic tier, which means the chosing between kobolds and goblins is mostly a matter of aesthetic preference in 4e. The MV kobolds are a bit more restricted in level, in what seems to be an attempt to restore the power ladder. While the MM versions do suffer from the damage bug, this barely affects them since their level is so low.

Kobold Minion (MM) and Kobold Tunneler (MV)

These are Level 1 Minion Skirmishers, and the ones to reach for if you want to pit the party against a huge mob of weak kobolds. They fight with javelins in melee or at range. They have all the usual kobold signature traits.

Shifty works very well for these kobolds, as a tidal wave of minions can keep moving through the party’s ranks by shifting 2 squares a round, eventually surrounding them all.

The MV version has an additional trait: Narrow Escape, an encounter power which allows them to shift 3 squares if missed by an attack.

Kobold Skirmisher (MM)

These are Level 1 Skirmishers with 27 HP and all kobold common traits. They made quite a splash among players in their first appearance in Keep of the Shadowfell, because 27 HP kobolds were something that went against a lot of people’s conceptions of the monster.

Anyway, kobold skirmishers fight with spears, and gain bonus sneak attack damage if they have combat advantage. They also have a Mob Attack trait that gives them a +1 attack bonus per kobold adjacent to the target. I imagine these skirmishers would mix with that minion horde and benefit from seriously boosted attacks.

Kobold Quickblade (MV)

Another Level 1 Skirmisher, this one has 29 HP and fights with a shortsword. While they’re still Shifty, they also have Fleet Feet which allow them to shift 3 squares as a move action.

Their sword attacks gain +2 damage for each square the kobold has shifted this turn, so they’ll be doing that a lot. You probably want to use these guys instead of the skirmishers from the MM if you’re assembling a small encounter group with no minions.

Kobold Slinger (Both)

Slingers are Level 1 Artillery with 24 HP and all common traits. They fight with daggers in melee, but their slings are definitely the stars of the show here.

Beyond using them for standard ranged attacks with stones or bullets, they carry three Special Shots which are little clay pots full of fun. There are three alternatives, and you can either randomly roll to see what’s inside or choose the effect before attacking.

Special shots do normal damage, and carry one of these three riders:

  • Stinkpots inflict a -2 attack penalty on the target (save ends);

  • Firepots deal a bit of ongoing fire damage (save ends);

  • Gluepots immobilize (save ends).

Both versions of the slinger are pretty much identical aside from damage tweaks and the Trap Sense thing.

Kobold Dragonshield (Both)

Brave, knightly kobolds! These stalwarts are Level 2 Soldiers with 36 HP, wearing scale armor and wielding a shortsword and a shield. They have all common kobold traits.

A dragonshield’s sword attacks mark for a turn. Both versions have a Dragonshield Tactics trait, which allows them to shift 1 square as a reaction when an adjacent enemy shifts away, or when an enemy moves adjacent to them.

The MM version has Mob Attack, but the MV version ditches that in favor of Dirty Tactics (Melee 1 vs. Reflex), an encounter power which does more damage than a basic attack and immobilizes for a turn. On a miss, it still does half damage and slows for a turn. There’s nothing in the dragonshield code of honor that forbids them from headbutting you in the nethers.

Kobold Wyrmpriest (MM)

A kobold spellcaster, who either gets powers from worshipping a dragon (or Tiamat), or who studies arcane magic to look like he does. It’s Level 3 Artillery (leader) with 36 HP.

The wyrmpriest fights with a spear in a pinch, but uses magic most of the time. Its basic ranged attack is an Energy Orb (Ranged 10 vs. Reflex) which does damage of a type based on the dragon it serves. The priest also has a couple of encounter powers:

Incite Faith (close burst 10) gives 5 temporary HP to all kobold allies in range, and allows them to shift 1 square. Dragon Breath (Close Blast 3 vs. Fortitude) deals the same damage type as Energy Orb, half on a miss.

A little less fun than the slinger as far as artillery goes, but mechanically solid.

Kobold Slyblade (MM)

The closest thing you’ll get to an elite kobold warrior, this Level 4 Lurker has 42 HP and all common kobold traits. It fights with paired short swords.

Their swords do extra damage if they have combat advantage, and CA also allows them to make two such attacks. If both hit, the target takes ongoing physical damage (save ends).

Defensively, they can employ a Sly Dodge as a reaction when attacked by a melee or ranged attack. This redirects the damage to an adjacent kobold minion!

This is another case of a lurker that should be a skirmisher, I guess. Its preferred hiding spot is among a huge crowd of minions, which act as a source of CA and as ablative armor.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

The MM has a whole bevy of sample encounters, mostly composed of assorted kobolds. Some of them also feature rats or drakes, giving you an idea of what sort of pet they like to use. One features a young black dragon and three dragonshields, giving you an idea of who likes to use kobolds as pets.

You can’t have D&D without kobolds! However, they’re presently in kind of an interesting situation. Over the past 20 years or so, people have started seeing kobolds in an increasingly sympathetic light, thanks to standout friendly NPCs such as Meepo from the Sunless Citadel or Deekin from Neverwinter Nights. They’ve led other authors and GMs to make kobolds in general more sympathetic.

Some D&D books insist on trying to make them look bad, describing them in terms that would be quite alarming were we talking about real world people. However, even those end up accidentally making them sympathetic! The sample adventure in the 4e DMG is Kobold Hall. The PCs are theoretically supposed to raid said Hall and kill all kobolds inside, due to some vague complaints about them getting in the way of trade. And the kobolds are just… minding their own business. A group of them are even playing ball! I guess the game was supposed to be sinister, using a skull and all, but that fails to come across in the text.

5e books continue this trend, with Volo’s Guide spilling so much vitriol about kobolds that you almost feel compelled to side with them. The presence of this awesome illustration with a bunch of kobolds pranking Elminster just makes it even more compelling.

So by all means bring on the sympathetic, misunderstood kobolds! Who knows, maybe there’s a sizable portion of them out there that lean more towards Bahamut than Tiamat, with dragonshield paladins and such.