Kobs & Gobs: Folklore Populating the Monster Manual

I thought about how folklore helped create the initial monster list for early D&D, and how these critters have evolved over 40+ years many many editions of the game. The kobold is a great example, going from a non-described sub-goblin to a little dog-man to tiny cousins of dragons. I created a kobold-cousin inspired by Welsh legends, the cave-dwelling coblynau for my new 5E adventure.



You can read the article on my website. Thoughts?

Jamie Chambers
Signal Fire Studios LLC

Great article, enough background to inspire - without overwhelming. I remember undertaking a similar path in 2nd Edition when I read about the German kobold tradition (the beneficial miner helpers):

I removed the "evil" from them and made them just primitive tribal types that primarily live underground. Occasionally they'll live near human settlements, and will go through garbage dumps looking for materials/resources to repurpose. Some consider them a nuisance and some consider them beneficial. Scrappers and tinkers will often pay them to go scrounging for example. I did the same with goblins too - some can be beneficial and helpful, others can be evil and cruel. They are fay descended and tend to be refugees from the sidhe - mortal creatures purged from the underhill where the fey courts hold their fetes. Most humans take pity on them.

Why all the work? I was inspired by the blue book Creative Campaigning and the adventure it has in there about noble goblins. I started researching goblins, elves, kobolds, will-o-wisp etc. Fun stuff and my local library had great materials on European mythology.

Later editions of D&D have retconned kobolds into reptiles,

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Retconned? They went from undescribed in OD&D to scaly egg-layers, with no other stops on the way. References:

1). Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual, 1977, p.57.

"If 200 or more kobolds are encountered in their lair there will be the following additional creatures there: 5-20 guards (as bodyguards above), females equal to 50% of the total number, young equal to 10% of the total number, and 30-300 eggs."

"The hide of kobolds runs from very dark rusty brown to a rusty black. They have no hair."

(Also see the kobold artwork on pp. 57 & 58, which clearly shows scales.)

2). Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set, 1981 (Moldvay), p.B37

"They have scaly rust-brown skin and no hair."

3). Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set, 1983 (Mentzer), Dungeon Masters Rulebook, p.32

"They have scaly, rust-brown skin and no hair."

4). Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monstrous Compendium Volume 1, Kobold page

"Barely clearing three feet in height, kobolds have scaly hides that range from very dark rusty brown to a rusty black."

"In a lair there will be 5-20 (5d4) bodyguards, females equal to 50% of the males, young equal to 10% of the males and 30-300 (3d10x10) eggs."

5). Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia, p.187

"They have scaly, rust-brown skin no hair."

6). Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monstrous Manual, p.214

"Barely clearing three feet in height, kobolds have scaly hides that range from very dark rusty brown to a rusty black."

"In a lair there will be 5-20 (5d4) bodyguards, females equal to 50% of the males, young equal to 10% of the males and 30-300 (3d10x10) eggs."