Mearls actually said that the Shifty power is too good, that it might unbalance kobolds.
Kobolds as PCs...Why?!
- Thread starter Tequila Sunrise
- Start date
Obryn
Hero
I would tend to agree with him, but I don't think it's as unbalancing as oversized weapons were for bugbears and minotaurs.
It's the at-will nature of it that makes it crazy. I expect it'll be toned down with a Dragon article, much like the oversized weapons.
-O
roguerouge
First Post
I remember a DM once threw kobolds filled with acid at us. They had 1 HP and exploded when they were hit... for splash damage. Which just set off more of them. Those suicide bomber kobolds pushed us to the edge, man, the very edge.
Reminds me of a module out of Dungeon. For levels 10-12 or something. There was a red dragon living in a giant diamond over a pit of lava...
Anyway, as one of the defenders of his lair he had this tribe of kobolds. He also had a Necklace of Fireballs which he was able to remove each ball from the necklace without it exploding and gave one to each kobold, creating the Kobold Kamimaze Korps.
Draksila
First Post
Back in second edition, I had my opinion of kobolds forcibly altered by the mega-adventure Dragon Mountain. Once I saw what the Monstrous Compendium meant by 'sneaky and clever with a penchant for traps' enforced to make creatures with less than a hit die a challenge for PCs in their teens, I looked at their base Int score and took to heart the idea that they're smart and vicious little critters.
Not long after that, I had an opportunity to play in a friend's game. He used to favor goblin rogues as PCs so, in the spirit of turnaround being fair play, I made a kobold fighter. We rolled random stats (and still do most of the time; 4d6, take the best three, lowest stat rerolled); my little kobold ended up being just a touch smarter than the elven wizard in the party. He was the runt of his tribe, kicked out for letting a human bard escape because he thought her music was pretty, and spent much of his time in a heavy cloak pretending to be a halfling. Nimgal (his name) created the 'rule of Nimi' (when in doubt, go left), used a ring of invisibility and a cheap amulet to con his way into a keep as the 'amulet of Nuuris-Va,' sufficiently impressed a vampire that they came up against to be offered grand master swordsman training from the fang-head, and became the renowned short sword grand master of that particular world by surviving a one-on-one fight with an adult white dragon, sword against tooth. We ended that campaign around 14th level, and though Nimi never made it that far (we used racial level limits, and even with exceptional stats I think he maxed out at 10 or 11.. can't recall), he was still one of the most versatile and survivable members of the party when the curtain closed.
Long story short (too late!), Nimgal was one of the most amusing characters I've ever had and has led to kobolds as PCs being one of the first monster conversions I have looked into in each edition since 2nd.
Not long after that, I had an opportunity to play in a friend's game. He used to favor goblin rogues as PCs so, in the spirit of turnaround being fair play, I made a kobold fighter. We rolled random stats (and still do most of the time; 4d6, take the best three, lowest stat rerolled); my little kobold ended up being just a touch smarter than the elven wizard in the party. He was the runt of his tribe, kicked out for letting a human bard escape because he thought her music was pretty, and spent much of his time in a heavy cloak pretending to be a halfling. Nimgal (his name) created the 'rule of Nimi' (when in doubt, go left), used a ring of invisibility and a cheap amulet to con his way into a keep as the 'amulet of Nuuris-Va,' sufficiently impressed a vampire that they came up against to be offered grand master swordsman training from the fang-head, and became the renowned short sword grand master of that particular world by surviving a one-on-one fight with an adult white dragon, sword against tooth. We ended that campaign around 14th level, and though Nimi never made it that far (we used racial level limits, and even with exceptional stats I think he maxed out at 10 or 11.. can't recall), he was still one of the most versatile and survivable members of the party when the curtain closed.
Long story short (too late!), Nimgal was one of the most amusing characters I've ever had and has led to kobolds as PCs being one of the first monster conversions I have looked into in each edition since 2nd.
roguerouge
First Post
I'll have to ask him. Incidentally, these kamikaze kobolds weren't exactly willing: they were the victims of mad scientist experimentation. Definitely not something that was natural and possible to thrive in the wild.
Admiral Caine
First Post
Even though I think the OP has had his question answered.. and a lot of fine answers they were too..
I think people are always trying to stretch the boundaries of the game in new and interesting ways. Many of us have played for years, and like an imaginative new approach in playing.
The challenge is to have new approach that isn't gonzo or just gratuitous.
I think the underdog feel of kobolds is different while not being gratuitous. You're not ego-stroking yourself by playing a disadvantaged race, but the experience is still significantly different.
Also, because kobolds are disadvantaged, there is a strong incentive for team and cooperative play when everybody is a kobold.
I think people are always trying to stretch the boundaries of the game in new and interesting ways. Many of us have played for years, and like an imaginative new approach in playing.
The challenge is to have new approach that isn't gonzo or just gratuitous.
I think the underdog feel of kobolds is different while not being gratuitous. You're not ego-stroking yourself by playing a disadvantaged race, but the experience is still significantly different.
Also, because kobolds are disadvantaged, there is a strong incentive for team and cooperative play when everybody is a kobold.
Wootz
First Post
What? That's what I just said >_>On the contrary, it's exactly the opposite.
The little guys are not badass. In fact, their lack of badassitude is kind of the point.
(With that said, I think you could credibly argue that the Kobolds at the back of the 4e MM make extremely competent rogues and very solid warlocks. "Shifty" is a superb racial power, and for rogues, it basically means 2 shifts every round.)
-O
Similar Threads
