Kobold as Viable PC Race?

[sukael]

i think i'm starting to get the kobold-loving sickness. what makes them so great?

One word: Deekin.

 

[Darklone]

Deekin is just a Meepo clone. Meepo is mucho more fun. Used him several time to scare/annoy/flatter my PCs and other DMs I play with used him too.

Meepo rules!

 

[lukelightning]

The MM version is not bad at all.

One thing you left out was the "light sensitivity" which could be problematic. Of course most people just ignore that, DMs and players alike. Same thing with orcs; I've never had a DM remember that the orcs should get penalties for attacking us in broad daylight.

 

[SorvahrSpahr]

I just read about the little guy, and I already love him lol

 

[Klaus]

The MM version is not bad at all.

+2 Dex
+1 Natural armor
+1 AC and +1 to hit from small size
(for those counting, that's +3 AC right there)

Throw in:
No movement penalty from small size
Darkvision
Favored Class: Sorcerer

Throw in:
-4 Strength (-2 to melee attacks and to damage, plus reduced carrying capacity, beyond the Small-size reduction)
-2 Con (-1 hp/level)
Light Sensitivity.


All in all, the kobold is cool (I'm dying to play a dragonwrought one) if you keep in mind its strngths and weaknesses. A kobold will never be a damage-dealing monster. The best you can hope is to not have a damage penalty (putting a 14 to Str and get a 10 out of it) and focus either on ranged attacks of Weapon Finesse. Rogues, Scouts, Dread Commandos, Ninja, Highland Stalkers and other classes that add to damage are a boon to them.

 

[Felon]

Throw in:
-4 Strength (-2 to melee attacks and to damage, plus reduced carrying capacity, beyond the Small-size reduction)
-2 Con (-1 hp/level)
Light Sensitivity.

Well, I did actually address the Str and Con penalties. Even throwing in the light sensitivity, I don't see a kobold being a worse sorcerer than any race out of the PHB, and he's a decent for "expert" classes as well.

Heck, given the choice, I'd take darkvision + light sensitivity over either normal vision or low-light vision for a rogue/scout type.

 

[MarkB]

One thing you left out was the "light sensitivity" which could be problematic. Of course most people just ignore that, DMs and players alike. Same thing with orcs; I've never had a DM remember that the orcs should get penalties for attacking us in broad daylight.

The Dazzled condition is hardly a massive impediment to combat ability, and there's a ridiculously cheap item in Races of the Dragon - sundark goggles - that eliminates the problem at the cost of minor penalties to a couple of skill checks.

I've had great fun playing a kobold dragon shaman in an unfortunately short-lived online campaign. His natural draconic heritage gave him access to some neat feats from Races of the Dragon, with breath-weapon channeling feats being particularly nice, and arming him with a longspear gave him the extra reach to participate in melee combat from behind the front line, backing up the melee specialists with his auras.

 

[satori01]

A -4 Str Penalty on top of a low Str score can easily spell the doom of a character. In my own campaign a player had a Faen Sprite Magister from AE. For the sake of brevity the race allowed him to fly, and be tiny sized. He had a Str of 4.

Now as a spellcaster he figured his Str score would never come into play.... of course when around 8th level the Inn the party was staying at was attacked by Shadows and Shadow Dancers he was regretting his decision.

Shadows are not that uncommon of a monster, and a Kobold's natural armor is not going to mean jack against them. Likewise anything that does Str damage, be it poison, spell etc is going to more than likely incapacitate them.

On the melee side it is even worse. The net is full of stories of small rogues eaten in grapple checks with large monsters...a Kobold Rogue is even at a worse advantage than a Halfling or Gnome. Light Sensitivity might not be the most egregious penalty..but it is still something you have to spend resources to correct, and there are plenty of spells out there that effect creatures w/ Light Sensitivity.

I would much rather play a Dwarven Rogue to get Darkvision than a Kobold.

 

[Machiavelli]

I'm liking the Venerable Dragonwrought kobold with epic feats.
Smells like bleu, only a bit stronger.

 

[Darklone]

satori01: A similar faen was grappled IMC by a human fighter... with one hand