KotS Minion Mess-up? (Mild Spoilers)

[Bigassgeek]

The Kobold Minions in the first encounter have a slightly different stat block than the ones in the later encounters. On page 16, the stat blocks states that the kobold minion gets a -2 penalty to defenses when not adjacent to another kobold minion. The kobold minion stat blocks on pages 26 and 28 don't list that penalty, but they do mention a Trap Sense ability not present in the page 16 stat block.

Are these two different flavors of Kobold Minions, or is there a stat block error? If the latter, which stat block is correct?

 

[Bigassgeek]

Are there any other examples of creatures with the same name having different stat blocks?

 

[jelmore]

I think one of the things we're going to see in 4E is that stat blocks in pregenerated adventures are meant to reflect the state of an NPC or monster in a given encounter, and not simply an instance of a Kobold Minion. Stats in sourcebooks (such as the MM) will be "generic" examples.

So the Kobold Minions on page 16 have different stats than the Kobold Minions on page 26 and 28 because they're different kobolds with different armor, weapons, and "abilities".

I like it because it keeps players on their toes. Just because they've memorized the section on Orcs doesn't mean they're going to be ready for the Orc Trapper's "Snare the Prey" ability, where they throw a net over a PC and immobilize them for a round. (I expect DDI will have articles on quickly customizing monsters, if those rules aren't present in the MM.)

So in answer to your question, play the Kobolds as written for the sections they appear in; or, mix 'em up if you don't mind the extra bookkeeping.