Pathfinder 1E Paizo, Kobolds, Aliens, and Saw

[Rechan]

Hey Carpe DM! How'd this work out for you?

I'm actually thinking of stealing this idea. Well, not the debter's prison (I'm thinking a real prison).

The only thing I can't think of are good traps the way you discuss them here. Traps are fine, but the "and the way to get out leads to the second part of the trap" is the tricky part.

I'm also thinking of putting some sort of Medium creature in there, something like the queen alien, but not; just a bigger, nastier version that everyone stops and goes "Uh oh" about.

 

[Herobizkit]

While possibly not as lethal, Kobolds who work and fight like ant colonies might be interesting... especially if they have a Hive Mind.

And you know, their Queen will undoubtedly be a Dragon...

 

[Knightfall]

I fully anticipate your kobolds to have murder holes in the ceilings, where they drop jars full of angry snakes or burning oil down on the heads of their enemies. Then later, a trap that sounds like a kobold is moving around in the wall, only to direct everyone's attention to that side so that they can move up from behind.

Another thought, regarding the traps: I imagine kobolds know that there are people with Disable Device on hand. So, they probably have designed a trap under an easily seen/disarmable one. You disarm the top one - which arms or unleashes the one underneath.

You know I read this and immediately thought of an unusual trap idea. A maze trap with shifting floors, murder-holes, and sudden drop-offs. Add several large rolling stones and you'd have a trap similar to those pocket games with small, metal bebees rolling around in them.

 

[subbob]

Other Suggestions

Three Suggestions: Levels, Disease & Party Order

Levels

It's been done before - but worth considering - giving one or more of the kobolds some levels in one or more classes.

In a given colony, there's SOME reason that one of them rises to become the leader over the others. Sometimes it may just be he's the strongest. But that strength may be in possessing powers the others do not have.

Disease & Decay

Since the lair is built of decomposing bodies, ensure you play that up. Perhaps saving throws for nausea in some areas where the decay is worse than others. Maggots and other parasites visibly at work. Maybe you add a chance for disease or could throw in some wicked parasite that would have other effects on the players.

Party Order

You may already do this. Get in the habit of requiring the party to be very descriptive when they are moving through the dungeon or lair. If you use miniatures have them "act out" even notional items like moving from a hallway into an occupied room.

Do this EVERY time they enter a room - not just when there might be a trap. That way they are accustomed to it and do not suspect, "He's asking us who goes in first - there must be a trap"

Why do this? Perhaps you setup a scenario where a door has a remote trigger (a counterweight mechanism) and one of the kobolds has an overwatch position on the entrance. As the 5th of six players moves into the room, he triggers the mechanism, slamming the door shot and leaving the last player alone in the hallway. Out from a secret panel comes a gang of kobolds (or maybe they drop a net on him) and whisk him away.

Now the party has a REAL time pressure to find their lost member.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Kobolds in one game I ran weren't just vaguely related to dragons, they hatched in litters
from unfertilized dragon eggs, and tended to be slavishly devoted to their mother.

So...kind of like Drones from a beehive. Nice!

 

[joela]

Swarm

So...kind of like Drones from a beehive. Nice!

There was a third-party supp that applied a "Swarm" template to Small creatures and I believed it used kobolds as the example.

 

[Set]

To simulate the 'skittering along the walls' notion, I had a kobold lair in an old drow temple, with net like 'webbing' woven all along the walls and ceilings. The kobolds, all skilled in Climb, scuttled along the webbing out of reach and flung various weapons and missiles at the party, with the lowest-ranking warriors being forced to fight on the ground, or even trying to up their status by swinging down and trying for 'swing-by attacks' on their woven ropes. (Those that survive ground combat and / or their attempts at playing Errol Flynn may indeed gain in status, and get to hang out near the ceiling, where it's much safer, next time!)

As they are trained to skitter along the walls and ceiling on their rope network, they can trap the ground with no great effect on their own movements. The simplest 'trap' would be a layer of mucky water that conceals caltrops and / or snares. A snare that drags the victim down into the water and holds him there would be particularly vicious!

Having Darkvision, Kobolds should try their darnedest to keep the party in darkness, striking to sunder / disarm any magical light sources, and flinging globes of black clinging mud at torches or lanterns. The only light would come from the occasional alchemical fire attack, and quickly sputter out, leaving the party trapped in darkness.

Using the WotC website's suggestings for beefing up Kobolds, they could have a 'slight build' feature that allows them to squeeze through special tunnels as if they were size Tiny, so that even Gnomes and Halflings would have trouble following them through their access tunnels. Even without that suggestion, a Kobold Adept with a few ranks of Craft (alchemy) might have developed an alchemically-potent 'grease' that the Kobold skirmishers can use to lube up and temporarily squeeze through Tiny spaces...

Craft (alchemy) could also provide some weak variation on the firewine used by Realms Rashemi berskerkers that allows non-Barbarians to go into a limited form of Rage (only +2 Str and Con?) for a few rounds, and the 'groundpounders' might be given doses of this to make them a bit more dangerous.

One of Kobolds big advantages is their human-level intelligence. Anything we can think of, they can think of.