looking for suggestions: kobold villages and koboldbane

[Mapleaxe]

In my current homebrew, I decided to forego the inclusion of an Underdark. It's not that I dislike underdarks (quite the contrary, in fact) but when I start up a homebrew, I tend to select certain classic elements to emphasize or de-emphasize to add flavor and give myself a challenge. So I've taken a few of the classic underdark races out of the caverns and placed them up on the surface with slightly different backstories.

In the case of kobolds, I've made them as forest-dwellers who live in the densest forests; well-shaded on the forest floor beneath thick canopies. Still nasty little trap-makers and occassional miners, it's just that they tend to live above ground now.

In an upcoming adventure, my party is going to be on the trail of some militant cultists when they encounter a kobold village deep in the forest. I'm not exactly sure what a kobold village would look like, though (wigwams, hollow trees, tents, covered pits, etc.), so I'm looking for suggestions.

Additionally, i came up with the idea of locals trying to sell the PCs something called koboldbane which is supposed to repel unwanted kobolds, but I haven't decided what exactly koboldbane is (and if it actually works for that matter), so I thought i'd throw it out for suggestions as well.

 

[Gilladian]

Covered pits sounds particularly kobold-like to me. They could rig "moss roofs" growing on bark to conceal them, or hide them under the eaves of pine-trees, or any number of other ways to conceal them.

Then again, I had a really fun nest of kobolds that laired in a hollow tree. They'd actually drilled a hole between two roots to crawl in and out, and then could also shoot from the top where there was a gap like an owl's hole.

I could easily see different clans using different types of houses. In fact, in an evergreen forest, just lairing under the boughs would be very possible.

 

[divinenathanica]

I like them living in covered pits, it keeps them close to the earth/underground idea, as well as hinting at trap building. I would, however, wonder how the kobolds would keep native animals from crashing into their living rooms.

 

[Gilladian]

Roofs sturdy enough to support the weight of a passing small animal would certainly help, but thorn bushes, pine tree limbs (which tend to sweep down and form hollows between the outer edges and the trunk), careful placement of large rocks, ditches and other obstacles to divert passers-by.

Also, perhaps there are plants that are the opposite of kobold-bane? Plants that other creatures dislike (poison ivy anyone?) that don't bother the kobolds with their scaly hides?

 

[Nifft]

Alternately: kobolds love when large critters fall through their roof, and that's exactly why all their furniture features sharp upward-pointing spikes as key design elements. (Well, maybe not the barstools, but high-backed chairs, tables, bookshelves -- everything is designed to be a trap for lumbering lunchmeat to impale itself upon.)

Cheers, -- N