Kobold Small-unit tactics

[interwyrm]

Dangit, Haakon1 beat me to it. Kobolds are basically VC with scales.
Here is one thing I want to say, though. Kobolds should almost always start with 4 warrior levels as the base. That leaves them as a CR 1 creature with 4 HD. That also means that they have a good reason for having a lot of wealth. Pooled resources. Rogue 1 is cool and all but +4 to attack, better saves, another feat, and 3 times the HP(6-7 versus 18). They also qualify for martial prestige classes a lot quicker.
If you give them a level of Fighter on top of that they are only CR 2(4 NPC levels -3 for base CR, +1 from the Fighter level) and with ranged attacks they will be +4 from Dexterity(15+1+2 Racial), +4 from Warrior levels, +1 from small size, +1 from masterwork weapons. +10 attack before flanking, higher ground, feats, etc. With bows they could be pretty scary considering that they are such a low CR you can use a real boatload of them and with things like Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot and the like they could be quite the handful. Or put Rogue 1 on for the skilled hit and runners. That should really scare the players. They're getting mobbed by lowly kobolds and not one shotting them. The kobolds attack them two or even three times. They'd have nearly 30 HP if you ran them like this!

NO! Says I.

Kobolds are supposed to be squishy. That's the driving reason for them to have tactics. Giving them multiple class levels removes the challenge as a DM. I'd say give non-leader kobolds 1 class level max, or just leave them as they are in the MM entry.

Can't hit the players' ACs? That's what the 'aid another' action is for. Make an attack against AC 10 to give +2 to another's attack. This is especially useful when combined with reach weapons and huge numbers. 20 kobolds can attack a single square at once if 12 are using reach weapons. Spears are simple weapons. Consider using the swarmfighting feat as well. The problem with fitting so many kobolds in a small area is the possible area attacks, or great cleaves.

Also, kobolds move as fast as the players (except for barbarians and monks). Another option is to have them fire and move each round. It will get very frustrating for the players, however.

If you want Real Classed Cheese (tm), give each kobold a level of sorcerer. If you have 10 kobolds per player, that's 10d4+10 damage per player, per round.

In other words, don't do it.

 

[Dei]

Remember, the point is to challenge the players, not kill them. It's easy to TPK a party of level 4 PCs with kobolds, even without class levels however that is not what he's after. Besides which, if he equips and stats each kobold as has been suggested the PCs are going to have trouble fighting them 4 on 4, let alone 4 on 14. Besides which, equipping an army of even as few as a hundred kobolds with scale mail, tower shields and all the other equipement mentioned here would be monumentally expensive (trust me, I tried it once with a human militia). If you look at medieval europe in every army you'd have perhaps a tenth, if that, of the soldiers with this type of equipment and those were the ones rich enough to get it for themselves. The rest who couldn't afford their own equipment would be given a pointy piece of metal, some padded leather and a shield if they were lucky. The archers wouldn't even have that unless they managed to scrounge it from a battlefield.

They've been compared to the VC, your average VC had an AK, a thin, mass-produced uniform, a tin helmet, maybe a flash bang or other grenade and that's it. Their special forces would have side-arms, MGs, etc and this is reflected in what the OP described. The officers and special forces he mentioned will have scale mail, tower shields, etc, the rest, leather, shortsword, spear and shield, and that's just because they're family. I think what you described initially sounds like a good plan. Modelling their tactics on the VC is sound though, hit and run, tunnels, attrition strategies, all very kobold and should be more than enough to keep the PCs on their toes.

 

[Fieari]

I wouldn't say EVERY Kobold should have a level of sorc... but I find that 20% works as a good round number. 8 kobold war1, 2 sor1s. Give them magic missile and a utility spell each. Ventriloquism works well, as does silent image (remember, no saving throw on illusions until there's been some sort of direct interaction with that illusion, or if there's a reason to suspect). Animate rope would have some very helpful uses in squad tactics, and grease is a spell to fear.

Actually, I'd say make 20% of kobolds have a PC class level of some sort, even if not sorcs. Like bards, or rogues.

Because you expect a large group of kobolds, that +1 to hit goes around quite well, especially with aid another, as suggested above (which I -highly- recommend the use of, in combination with cover and other tactics already mentioned). Level 1 bards can get ghost sound, flare (or daze, against lower level parties), and others. Message is good for coordinating attacks and calling for reinforcements, or alerting nearby patrols to set up quick defenses and plan ambushes. And if that ambush includes a rogue, then with a bunch of aid anothers, kobolds can coordinate to get a sneak attack in... preferably from range with a crossbow, behind cover.

 

[Bert the Ogre]

1) 1st level kobold vs. 2) 3rd level half-orc rogues...

Macaulay Culkin vs. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, Home Alone 1&2... Small and weak and not particularily well educated doesn't mean stupid and a pushover. The fact that kobolds ARE small and weak means that they will have to work together and develop tactics to ensure their survival.

Far too many DMs use the "Turns, hisses, throws javalin, dies horribly. He has 2d4 cp and 1d6 sp in a pouch at his waist..." approach to kobolds. Tactics and strategy makes them more interesting to go up against than the easily slaughtered two javelin chucking kobolds of the Basic Set.

Oh, I went with 3rd level half-orc rogues to reflect their careers... Not too bright, housebreakers, and able to take quite a beating... Can someone estimate how many hp of subdual damage Harry and Marv took in either movie?

 

[Olaf the Stout]

When in doubt remember Tucker's kobolds.

Listen to Simm for he speaks the truth.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Moonstone Spider]

How much could one reasonably expect these traps to cost? I was under the impression DnD made traps ridiculously expensive for their effects. It'd be silly for this huddling shivering group of ten kobolds to have half a million GP worth of traps.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

How much could one reasonably expect these traps to cost? I was under the impression DnD made traps ridiculously expensive for their effects. It'd be silly for this huddling shivering group of ten kobolds to have half a million GP worth of traps.

Personally I think that some of the costing for the low-tech traps are ridiculous. How much money does it cost to build a pit trap? Nothing as long as you have enough time and labour. At least that's how I rule it. Provided that they have been in the one lair for long enough, kobolds should have put numerous low-tech traps in place.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Lidgar]

FWIW, here are some stats I have used before for grunts, elites, and spawn (old format!):

Kobold Archers (War1)
Small Humanoid (Reptilian)
Hit Dice: 1d8 (3 hp each)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 15 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +1 natural, +2 leather), touch 12, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/–4
Attack: Short sword +1 melee (1d4–1/19-20) or longbow +4 ranged (1d6-1/x3)
Full Attack: Short sword +1 melee (1d4–1/19-20) or longbow +4 ranged (1d6-1/x3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: —
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., light sensitivity
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +1, Will –1
Abilities: Str 9, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 8
Skills: Craft (trapmaking) +2, Hide +6, Listen +0, Move Silently +1, Profession (miner) +2, Search +2, Spot +0
Feats: Weapon Focus (longbow)
Challenge Rating: 1/4
Alignment: Lawful evil

Kobold Foot
Small Humanoid (Reptilian)
Hit Dice: 1d8 (5 hp each)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +1 natural, +3 studded leather, +2 heavy wooden shield), touch 12, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/–4
Attack: Trident +2 melee (1d6–1) or longsword +1 melee (1d6-1/19-20) or trident +4 ranged (1d6-1)
Full Attack: Trident +2 melee (1d6–1) or longsword +1 melee (1d6-1/19-20) or trident +4 ranged (1d6-1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: —
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., light sensitivity
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +1, Will –1
Abilities: Str 9, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 8
Skills: Craft (trapmaking) +2, Hide +4, Listen +0, Move Silently -1, Profession (miner) +2, Search +2, Spot +0
Feats: Weapon Focus (trident)
Challenge Rating: 1/4
Alignment: Lawful evil

Kobold Elite
Small Humanoid (Reptilian)
Hit Dice: 1d8+1 (6 hp each)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 20 ft.
Armor Class: 21 (+1 size, +2 Dex, +1 natural, +5 chainmail, +2 heavy steel shield), touch 13, flat-footed 19
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/–4
Attack: Light flail +2 melee (1d6) or light crossbow +5 ranged (1d6/19-20)
Full Attack: Light flail +2 melee (1d6) or light crossbow +5 ranged (1d6/19-20)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: —
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., light sensitivity
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +2, Will –1
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 8
Skills: Craft (trapmaking) +2, Hide -1, Listen +0, Move Silently -3, Profession (miner) +2, Search +2, Spot –1
Feats: Weapon Focus (crossbow)
Challenge Rating: 1/3
Alignment: Lawful evil

Kobold Dragonkin (black)
Small Dragon
Hit Dice: 1d10+1 (6 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20 ft.
Armor Class: 22 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +5 natural, +5 chain mail), touch 12, flat-footed 21
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+0
Attack: Longsword +5 melee (1d6+3)
Full Attack: Longsword +5 melee (1d6+3) and claw +3 melee (1d3+3) and bite +3 melee (1d4+1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Breath weapon
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., light sensitivity, low light vision, immunity to sleep and paralysis effects, immune to acid.
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +0
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Craft (trapmaking) +2, Hide +3, Listen +0, Move Silently +3, Profession (miner) +2, Search +2, Spot +0
Feats: Multiattack
Challenge Rating: 3
Alignment: Lawful evil
Breath Weapon: Usable once per day. A half-dragon’s breath weapon deals 6d8 points of damage (60-foot line of acid). A successful Reflex save (DC 10) reduces damage by half.
Possessions: longsword, chain mail, gold pendant (10 gp).

 

[satori01]

Why are kobolds always made into friggin tactical geniuses?

Two words for you....Tucker's Kobolds. Back in the eighties the editor of Dragon, Roger Moore, wrote an editorial about a dungeon his friend, Tucker, used to run when he was in the Army. As this was first edition, big, massive, cold war military industrial style complex dungeons were the rage.
True to form, this one was supposed to get progressively harder the farther down one went, with canon fodder on the first levels, and big flaming demons on the lower levels.

Problem was, Tucker's Kobolds were especially devious : murder holes, tiny side tunnels that only Kobolds could fit into for ambushes and quick escapes, flaming oil and whole scale killing of horses, donkeys, and henchman. The Kobolds were so bad, that these mid level adventurers felt compelled to commando dash through the upper levels and jump into a large shaft to bypass the evil that were scaly dog like humanoids.

A very funny read, I recommend it highly. I also recommend every DM run some monsters like Tuckers Kobolds, low in personal power, but high in mendacity. I also recommend every player experience something like Tucker's Kobolds, frustratingly fun.

Tucker's Kobolds even has its own wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucker's_kobolds

 

[Mishihari Lord]

My favorite ever thread on rpg.net was on this very topic. Here's the link: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=139661&highlight=small+unit+tactics

The best part was Random Goblin teaching us how to apply modern small-unit tactics to kobold attacks. I was going to copy & paste that part to this thread, but I'm not sure if it's legal. Just check it out.