And this is the first edition kobold "racial gazetteer", a sort of guidebook to kobolds as they exist in Malebolge. Please, try not to freak out about things too much. But, at the same time, I am open to people pointing out aspects I missed, or which contradicted themselves. This is being done in the open because I want to refine my ideas and make them work as best I can.
Kobolds
Who Are They?
Cursed by the Black Dawn, ashamed of their inability to live up to a glorious legacy that exists only in their own minds, the kobolds are the corrupted children of the mighty and arrogant dragons that once wheeled across the sky of Eden. Obsessed with reclaiming their ancestral glory, kobolds are notorious for their willingness to achieve their goals, no matter the cost to others or even themselves.
Physiology
Kobolds are a diminutive race of reptilian humanoids, standing between 2'6" and 4'2" tall and typically weighing 35 to 50 pounds on average. Females are usually larger than males, as is common for reptiles.
Kobold heads consist of lizard-like skulls with blunt, rounded snouts capable of remarkably human-like expressions. They have two eyes consisting of a colored iris and a vertical slit pupil, a long, dextrous tongue with a forked tip, and a mouth filled with sharp, carnivorous teeth; predominantly needle-like canines, with specialized pre-molars and molars at the back, allowing them some omnivorous tendencies in their diet.
Kobolds all bear horns on their skulls, which can be white, tan or black in color; the precise number and shape of these horns is rather randomized, but does tend to run in familial lines. These horns may consist of paired rows rising from the top of the skull (the mark of a male kobold) or a singular row that runs down the spine (which is only found on females).
In typical reptilian fashion, kobolds hear through small earholes hidden against the back of their necks. Some kobold family lines may have mutations that augment their ability to hear, from fin-like crests that help funnel sound to strangely dog or rabbit-like flexible ears.
Like the dragons they descend from, kobolds bear hides covered in tough, flexible, tightly meshed scales. The precise coloration varies widely from individual to individual, but on the whole they tend towards red, brown, gray, blue and green. Kobolds usually bear very distinct markings on their hides, patternings of spots, stripes, splotches, socks, masks, muzles and even underbellies, usually based on shifts in tone. Kobolds with patches of brighter colors like purple, yellow or orange are rare, with metallic colored kobolds being rarest of all.
A kobold's hands consist of three fingers and an opposable thumb, all sporting claw-like nails, whilst its digitigrade legs end in reptilian paws consisting of three large toes and a smaller dewclaw higher up the foot towards the ankle.
The tails of these beings are rat-like in shape, being long, slender appendages that are highly flexible. Kobolds are adept at concealing their facial expressions, but their emotions tend to leak through in the motions of their tail, an easy tell for the rare soul adept in their way.
To the eyes of mammalians, kobolds can look rather androgynous; their petite frames, wide hips, slender limbs, large eyes, short statures and generally lithe builds all give them a "cute" or "feminine" air to the untrained eye. This gender confusion is only furthered by two distinct peculiarities of kobold physiology.
The first is the most startling; kobolds are a quasi-hermaphroditic species, in that although they do have recognizable male and female genders, peculiarities in their anatomies allow females to impregnate and males to become pregnant, should a kobold so desire. This trait undoubtedly stems from their draconic ancestors, who were well-documented for being hermaphroditic. This is in part why dragons were so solitary and never established any sort of community; any individual dragon could either mate and then focus on raising its own clutch, or simply forsake mating and self-fertilize, meaning the race never had to learn to work or live together longer than was required to engage in a sexual union.
The second is less explainable. Essentially, if a kobold eats sufficiently to build up excess fat reserves, it stores the bulk of the fat into two protrusions on the upper torso, which look remarkably like humanoid breasts. That this happens to both sexes possibly has something to do with the aforementioned quasi-hermaphrodite satus, but why it happens in the first place is a mystery. Depending on the tribe a kobold hails from, such growth may be seen as either desirable, showcasing the kobold's status and strength, or as undesirable, either for being a mockery of the kobold form or signifying laziness.
Personality
Intensity is perhaps the single-most defining trait of the typical kobold. These reptilian beings are definitely not slow and sleepy, the way some may think of lizards. Kobolds feel emotions passionately, and are by their natures a very driven people.
The typical kobold is fierce, stubborn, impulsive, and proud. An average kobold has a very strong sense of self-identity, quick to take offense at perceived mockery and slow to admit failure or weakness. It is common knowledge that the greatest weakness of kobolds is the struggle between their emotions and their logic; a kobold may be aware that she is small and weak compared to even a dwarf, but her stubborn pride may compel her to engage in foolish actions all the same, simply because she can't stand to be seen as inferior.
Well-aware of this, kobold tribes place a great deal of emphasis on training kobolds to control themselves. In a world where their bodies are a weakness, they must learn to compensate by mastering their minds.
This does give kobolds a reputation for being somewhat unstable, as their natural passion results in a lot of emotions being repressed until, inevitably, something explodes.
Kobolds also have a very strong possessive streak. Although this is usually considered to be mere avarice, in truth, a kobold's natural inclination is to define things as either "mine" or "not mine". MY food, MY weapon, MY tribe, MY children... What the item actually is doesn't matter; so long as the kobold can define it as belonging to him, then he will be fiercely protective of it.
As kobolds are also a naturally vengeful species, with a strong instinctive urging to enact retribution for slights, then this possessiveness can be dangerous to others.
However, it also makes kobolds extremely loyal to those they bond with. Kobolds will never betray their kith and kin, and expect the same sort of loyalty in return. Few things more readily incense a kobold as a traitor.
Of course, all of this means that kobolds can easily fall into cruelty and abusive behaviors born of their arrogance. A kobold who considers herself superior to others can easily let the power go to her head, becoming the worst kind of petty tyrant. Of course, kobolds will not stand to be abused or dominated, and the fate of those who try such things on their fellows is execution or exile.
Courtship
Kobold tribes do not usually place any sorts of limitations on when or how a kobold may choose a mate. Although the tribes do usually expect kobolds couples to produce offspring, their unusual physiology means that this is hardly a great issue, and as a result, kobolds do not have any taboos against same-sex pairings.
In most kobold tribes, kobolds mate opportunistically; a kobold who proves him or herself strong and desireable in some fashion earns the attracted interest of others, who seek to bear (or, more rarely, father) the successful kobold's young. These couplings usually only last a short time and end after one or both parties lose sexual interest, with any resultant progeny being reared by the mother.
This does not mean long-lasting bonds are unheard of. In many tribes, kobolds of particularly high status will assemble harems who eagerly share physical pleasure with their "alpha" in exchange for food, comfort and protection. And, of course, the highly individualistic kobolds may form more stable unions, usually due to political reasons or shared interests; these can vary from forming small networks of sexual partners that intersect with each other to lifelong monogamous unions, especially in those tribes that live closer to more monogamous cultures.
Kobolds are an ovoviparous race with a particularly unusual reproductive strategy. A pregnant kobold conceives a clutch of, on average, 2 to 6 eggs (half that for males), but this number can increase quite markedly; kobolds actually get increasingly fecund as they age or are fed especially well. These eggs develop to the point they are ready to be laid after a period of two weeks - but, kobolds can consciously delay laying their eggs up until they actually hatch, which takes approximately seven months after conception.
This means breeding requires a certain level of risk balancing for the gravid kobold, as retaining the eggs in the womb brings both advantages, such as keeping the eggs properly heated and protected from parasites, and disadvantages, in the form of encumbering the expectant mother.
Most kobold tribes have a communal hatchery where kobolds can lay their eggs and return to their usual lives until their hatchlings are ready to be raised. On the rare cases a kobold doesn't have a hatchery, it typically establishes a burrow to lay its eggs in, protecting it with an arsenal of traps that seems paranoid even to other kobolds.
Culture
Kobold culture falls into roughly two camps; the "traditionalist" faction, which has become increasingly uncommon over the generations, and the "modernist" faction.
At their hearts, both kobold factions are similar, focusing on the survival of the kobold species and banding together in large tribal groups for safety and support.
Traditionalist kobolds are driven by their obsession with their draconic ancestry. Almost invariably led by powerful fleshcrafting kobold mages or the rare dragon-touched kobold warlord, these tribes are determined to undo the curse of the Black Dawn that turned them into kobolds. Such tribes are notedly xenophobic, at best regarding other races with arrogant dismissal as their inferiors, at worst actively seeking to conquer or slaughter them.
At the same time, they are among the most progressive of kobold tribes, as they constantly seek new ways to elevate and transcend their present state. This means they are the most active in seeking out and reclaiming ruins, creating new magics or redisocvering lost ones, and similar feats of advancement.
Such progressiveness, however, is usually fuelled by a sociopathic disregard for the lives of individual tribemembers. The Tribe is portrayed as all the kobold should care about, with individual lives being insignificant in comparison. These are the kobold tribes who pioneered the dubious "art" of experimenting upon adult and unhatched kobolds, creating the Dragonborn - but also producing the various drakes that now roam the land and prey upon all humanoids indiscriminately.
This willingness to experiment on their own people has led to the traditionalist camp waning, although some stubborn tribes still cling to the old ways, and it sporadically receives revival when kobolds find themselves particularly hard-pressed by their neighbors.
The modernists, by comparison, have mostly forsaken their draconic past; whatever their ancestors were, it is the present that matters. Kobolds are who they are, and they should take pride in themselves.
Consequently, modernist tribes tend to be the most friendly towards outsiders - for a given value of friendly. So long as they are treated with respect, they will extend the same courtesy, focusing on simply trying to build up their culture based on their own strengths.
Irregardless of faction, certain traits remain true of kobolds throughout the known world.
Kobolds are avid artists, particularly favoring sculpture, kinetic artwork, and scrimshander. Most kobolds learn to whittle or carve, and idly work on wood, stone, bone, teeth, shells or other such mediums to create personal decorations and tokens for themselves when not busy with the usual tasks.
Although it's true that kobolds make predominant use of snares and traps to catch meat for their tribes, hunting is also an entertainment for the tribe in and of itself. Kobolds, however, pragmatically aim to either kill their quarry with projectiles or to chase it into traps that either kill or immobilize the prey so it can be safely dispatched. They consider antics such as trying to spear boars to death in close combat as foolishness of the utmost degree; a successful hunter returns with food and without injuries.
Kobolds are surprisingly adept at training beasts, and usually keep a variety of creatures near their lairs in order to suit a variety of roles. Although this also tends to serve a practical purpose - giant badgers make excellent tunnel-diggers and giant weasels make skilled hunting beasts, for example - the simple truth of the matter is that kobolds actively enjoy the company and loyalty of trained animals.
Kobolds typically dine communally, with designated cooks preparing meals that are shared in central safe areas. Only the most elite members of a kobold tribe dine alone, and meal time is generally considered a time to relax, talk, enjoy leisure activity and even make advances on potential mates.
Although they are not great fans of intoxicants, their alchemical interests means that many kobold tribes do produce brewed liquors, either for trade or their own use. Their usual environments mean that most kobold alchohols are based on fruit and fungus, rather than grains.
Mead is perhaps the most favored alcohol for kobolds who dwell in forests. Not only is it energizing and tasty, but the bees can make formidable defenders for the tribe's settlement. As a matter of fact, kobolds will attempt to brew mead from any poisonous insect that produces sufficiently sweet "honey", including wasps and ants. Consequently, kobold mead is not recommended for the inexperienced drinker.
Kobolds are opportunistic feeders, consuming whatever they can manage to reliably get. By preference, their diet is predominantly carnivorous, supplemented with root vegetables, nuts, fruits and berries; even settled kobolds rarely grow grains or cereal crops. Although kobolds readily hunt small to medium game when possible, the bulk of their protein comes from rodents and invertebrates. All kobold communities have worm-farms and rat-farms that provide the bulk of the meat that the tribe consumes.
Settlements
Kobold settlements are tpyically established in areas where kobolds feel comfortable; mountain caves, dense and tangled forests, ruined cities and underground tunnels like old mines are the usual dwellings of choice for kobolds.
Wherever they dwell, though, kobolds build firs and foremost for defense. Natural terrain that provides protection is carefully charted, integrated and enhanced before the kobolds begin bolstering their lair with ring after ring of traps. Establishing and maintaining traps is considered not just one of the most essential duties in the tribe's lair, but an artform in its own right, and kobolds can win great status on the inventiveness, efficiency and sheer viciousness of their additions to the home's defenses.
Almost as important as the traps are the escape routes. Kobold settlements are invariably filled with concealed routes that allow the inhabitants to outflank or escape from would-be intruders, making them nightmares to beseige.
Aside from traps, priority is given to the chambers most useful to the tribe as a whole; a collective eating/sleeping hall, storage chambers, a communal hatchery, etcetera. Once these essentials are in place, comfort is generally left to the discretion of individual kobolds - a kobold who wants more privacy than a patch of warm earth in the main hall to curl up on is given a pick and a shovel and then told "start digging".
More respected members of the kobold tribe might be able to entice, coax or demand that others build lairs for them, but the truth is that such a privilege is rarely invoked. Kobold possessiveness and desire for privacy most strongly manifests itself when establishing a personal den, and the typical kobold considers establishing its own nest to be a personal right, allowing them to make sure everything is perfectly to heir taste.
Allowing another kobold to share their den is a great indication of trust and respect amongst kobolds, and usually only seen amongst mated pairs. Even when traveling with members of other species, kobolds prefer to sleep apart from the rest of the group - if they must share a room with another companion, the kobold will usually wedge itself into the darkest, "safest" nook, such as partially behind a cupboard or under a bed, so it has some measure of privacy. Openly sleeping where the rest of the party can see it, or doing something like huddling together for warmth, is done only when absolutely necessary, or if the kobold truly trusts its companion(s).
Although some kobold tribes are semi-nomadic, settling in one place only long enough to stripmine it all of its valuable resources and then moving on when it's exhausted, most tribes prefer to permanently settle down. It's simply far more work to properly build up a region to kobold tastes than is generally worth it. That is not to say that they won't retreat from their land if pushed hard enough, just that the kobolds will do everything in their power to make life a misery for those pushing them out.
Adventurers
Despite their reputation for xenophobia and arrogance, kobold adventurers are relatively common. Many are champions, emissaries or otherwise agents of their tribe, setting out to complete some task that will bring salvation or glory to their people. Others are exiles, seeking to build personal power, seek revenge, or just find a new tribe to belong to. Kobolds motivated by genuine curiosity about the outside world are something of a minority, but still far from uncommon.
In general, kobold adventurers gravitate towards classes where their stature will be less of a disadvantage, with a preference towards focusing their skills on stealth and magic. But the Malebolge is a wide world and kobold heroes can come in many guises.
Barbarians: These are, without a doubt, the rarest of all kobold adventurers. Although the kobold passion makes battle-rage an easy emotion for them to grasp, kobolds are well aware that their short statures make them less than suited for this bluntly offensive class. Those kobolds who do become barbarians are almost always Berserkers, having a level of pent-up fury that their culture simply cannot help them control. Though still a tiny minority in comparison, Battleragers are the next most common form of kobold barbarian, essentially representing berserkers whose tribes sought to make them into living suicide weapons rather than exiling them for their frenzy. Totem Warriors are the rarest of the rare, but also more respected, as those kobolds who can form spirit-pacts are usually best able to control their emotions and are seen more as warrior-warlocks than "real" barbarians.
Bards: Although other races may stereotype kobolds as humorless, they actually produce a great many bards, who often serve both as workforce leaders, lorekeepers and entertainers. Because of their role in the tribe, the majority of kobold bards are either loremasters (Collge or Lore) or jesters (College of Satire) - the former keep the histories of their tribe and typically adventure to chart the progress of their people across many different regions, whilst the latter are entertainers who amuse with savage wits, ribald humor and physical buffoonery. The more combat-related forms of bard, such as skalds (College of Valor) and blades (College of Swords) are far less commmon, as most bards are considered too valuable to get into the fray. Such a bard most likely trained under an outsider bard allowed into a kobold tribe's stronghold, or was even adopted by a traveling skald/blade - on the other hand, a few kobold bards who survived the destruction of their tribe turn to mastering weapons in order to better defend themselves as they travel across the wasteland.
Fighters: Although certainly more common than barbarians, kobold fighters are still an uncommon sight, because kobolds are well aware that their physique makes them unsuited for straightforward combat. Other kobolds respect a kobold fighter, but also hold them slightly at bay, certain that a fighter's destiny is to die. This conviction means that kobold fighters tend to, stereotypically, either be grimly stoic self-sacrificers or else hedonists who seek to cram in a full life with the expectation that they may die any day. Of the various subclasses of fighter, no particular variety is especially prominent, though Champions are a definite rarity, as they are seen as most strongly playing against type - Scouts, perhaps, may be most common of the kobold fighters. Perhaps the most surprising thing to outsiders is that kobolds have a comparatively strong tradition of Cavaliers, who typically ride giant versions of lizards, amphibians, vermin or burrowing or cave-dwelling mammals like weasels, bats or badgers.
Monks: Kobolds do not have a well-developed monastic tradition, making monks a rarity, but they do have both a strong racial belief in self-sufficiency and inner strength, combined with combat training, that makes monks possible. Kobold monks, however, are more individualistic champions, focused on harnessing and refining their inner strength and tapping into their true potential, making them surprisingly emotional and materialistic compared to the stereotypically chaste, controlled and spiritual monk. All forms of monk are seen amongst kobolds, but there is definitely a slight bias towards the Ways of Five Elements, Shadows, and Long Death.
Rangers: More common than fighters, but less so than rogues, kobold rangers tend to make up the elite of kobold hunters and warriors. They are vastly more likely to favor the archery and defense fighting styles than the duelist and dual-wielding styles, but otherwise, all three conclaves of ranger can be found amongst kobolds. There is a definite preference towards the Beastmaster, with boars, giant badgers and giant weasels being most common; DMs are encourage to discuss the environment that a kobold beastmaster hailed from and consider alternative animal companions.
Rogues: The most iconic of all kobold classes, most kobold "warriors" are actually members of this class, learning to use stealth and precision to compensate for their diminutive stature and lackluster reach. Because of their tribal culture, Thieves are the least common of all kobold rogues, and usually only develop amongst kobolds who spend a lot of time working around other races. Inquisitives are, likewise, a fairly rare class, for similar reasons. In contrast, Assassins are the most common of all kobold rogues, given their focus on using the class to refine their skills at killing. Arcane Tricksters are less common than Assassins, but considered equally respectable to kobolds.
Sorcerers: Most prized of all spellcasters for their symbolic ties to the inherently magical nature of dragons, it is obvious enough that most kobold sorcerers wield the internal magics of their people. Though Dragon Blood sorcerers are the most cherished and respected in traditionalist tribes, Kobold Blood sorcerers outnumber them in both camps and are more respected by the modernists. Whilst those are the two most common origins, other kinds of sorcerer are certainly possible; virtually every elemental magic can potentially manifest itself, from stormsouls, icehearts and flamebreaths to earthbones, greenbloods and rothearts. Only Wild Magic sorcerers are particularly rare amongst kobold sorcerers, and they also the only sorcerers to be distrusted and shunned by their people. Traditionalists look on Wild Mages with scorn, unable to control their "glorious birthright". Modernists simply tend to push their Wild Mages to the outskirts of the tribe, under the not-unreasonable excuse that someone whose powers can go so drastically out of control is not safe to be around.
Warlocks: What might surprise many to know is that warlocks make up a distinct minority amongst the spellcasting ranks of the kobolds. Both traditionalists and modernists regard the practice as suspiciously close to servitude, something that their pride rebels against. Kobold warlocks usually view their pacts as a case of mutual benefit, or even of themselves being the dominant party - whether this is true or not. There are no particular biases towards or against any of the various patrons.
Wizards: Although not held in the same respect as sorcerers due to having to study their magic rather than relying on what is in the blood, wizards are still greatly favored by kobolds for their power, which is not dependent on the body. Wizards often rise to lead kobold tribes - but are also often expelled as a result of political strife. All of the various Traditions are practiced by kobolds, although Transmuters are especially predominant amongst the traditionalist kobold tribes.
Mystics: Slightly rarer than sorcerers, mystics are a source of great pride to kobolds, for they truly emphasise the potential power of mind and soul over flesh and bone. Though this means that most kobold mystics belong to the Order of the Awakened, a significant minority instead focuses on the Order of the Immortal. The philosophical similarities between the two means that Immortal mystics often multiclass as monks, particularly in the Five Elements, Sun Soul and Open Hand styles.
