Quintessential Kobold - Any reviews?
- Thread starter redkobold
- Start date
I have it, but I got so busy with other writing that I haven't written a full review yet.
I have quite a few Quint books but none of the racial ones so I can't compare this one to, say, Quintessential Elf or Quintessential Dwarf.
The book's author takes what I thought was a unique approach (and I'm really sorry I can't remember the author's name - I'm at work right now). Anyway, he created four (maybe five?) different Kobold "clans", each with slightly different racial modifiers and a unique outlook on the kobold's relationship to dragons. There's a lot of neat "fluff" story stuff in here about how the different clans came to be and their relation to each other, etc.
Coming out of that, then, the racial concepts each speak back to one of the clans. You can be any concept with any clan, really, but there are some more natural match-ups.
There's all the regular stuff in here - PrCs, Feats, etc. Tricks of the Trade included some unique ways that Kobolds use different types of skills and also included kobold combat tactics - basically, ways that smaller races work together to defeat larger enemies. I think that's the chapter it was in - that stuff might actually have been in a separate chapter.
Tools of the Trade included a lot of unique items made from dragons which I thought was fun. There's some other things in there, too, but I can't remember them all right now.
Let's see - I think it basically ends with kobold lairs or that kind of thing. Let me dig through my CDs here and see if I have my copy of the PDF here with me and I'll post more later - or feel free to ask specific questions and I'll try to answer them for you.
I have quite a few Quint books but none of the racial ones so I can't compare this one to, say, Quintessential Elf or Quintessential Dwarf.
The book's author takes what I thought was a unique approach (and I'm really sorry I can't remember the author's name - I'm at work right now). Anyway, he created four (maybe five?) different Kobold "clans", each with slightly different racial modifiers and a unique outlook on the kobold's relationship to dragons. There's a lot of neat "fluff" story stuff in here about how the different clans came to be and their relation to each other, etc.
Coming out of that, then, the racial concepts each speak back to one of the clans. You can be any concept with any clan, really, but there are some more natural match-ups.
There's all the regular stuff in here - PrCs, Feats, etc. Tricks of the Trade included some unique ways that Kobolds use different types of skills and also included kobold combat tactics - basically, ways that smaller races work together to defeat larger enemies. I think that's the chapter it was in - that stuff might actually have been in a separate chapter.
Tools of the Trade included a lot of unique items made from dragons which I thought was fun. There's some other things in there, too, but I can't remember them all right now.
Let's see - I think it basically ends with kobold lairs or that kind of thing. Let me dig through my CDs here and see if I have my copy of the PDF here with me and I'll post more later - or feel free to ask specific questions and I'll try to answer them for you.
Ankh-Morpork Guard
First Post
Ooooh, sounds cool. More Kobold books are ALWAYS a good thing. Maybe WotC will ditch any race books after Codex Anathema and just go with what we REALLY want...Koboldomicon 
Yair
Community Supporter
I personally wasn't overly thrilled with the "four-draconic-paths" idea, but it is original and sort of hangs things together. I don't really remember much else from the book, except that I bought it to toughen and diversify some kobolds I was having as main antagonists, and found out I ain't gonna use any of it 
But I can't properly review it, that's all just what I remember at 03:00 AM. Hmm. I think I'll go to sleep now. Maybe I'll remember more in the morning.
But I can't properly review it, that's all just what I remember at 03:00 AM. Hmm. I think I'll go to sleep now. Maybe I'll remember more in the morning.
Mark Plemmons
Explorer
If you're looking for a great book on the smaller races, I just HAVE to plug Friend and Foe: the Gnomes and Kobolds of Tellene. You can easily import it to another setting if you're not playing in Tellene.
There's even a 1 MB PDF preview here
Some of the ENWorld reviewers got copies of this at GenCon, so we should see some reviews in the near future.
There's even a 1 MB PDF preview here
Some of the ENWorld reviewers got copies of this at GenCon, so we should see some reviews in the near future.
I really like how Friend or Foe goes into the attitudes and lifestyles of the Kobolds. It makes there race/tribe/empire/whatever seem much less 2 dimensional. There is some crunch, but it adds to understanding their 'ecology' (set the wayback machine) rather than just adding stat blocks.
I am starting a campaign, but will have the PC's run into kobolds *after* they get higher level. They will need to be higher level to deal with the various plot twists and dilemmas. (higher being 5ish, not 15ish)
I am starting a campaign, but will have the PC's run into kobolds *after* they get higher level. They will need to be higher level to deal with the various plot twists and dilemmas. (higher being 5ish, not 15ish)
Mouseferatu
Hero
[pimpage]
If you're looking for more on kobolds, see if you can't find The Hero Snare from the late and lamented MonkeyGod Enterprises. (I think you can still order it through their site.) It'll require a little conversion, since it's 3.0, but it really shouldn't require much.
It's a module, not a sourcebook, but I designed it to showcase kobolds' strengths. It's a module for 7th-level characters, yet only a few of the kobolds have class levels. It showcases what they can really do with a complex designed to play to their abilities. Even if you don't use it as written, I think it'll inspire a great many ideas. I think "dastardly" is the best word I've heard applied to it.
[end pimpage]
If you're looking for more on kobolds, see if you can't find The Hero Snare from the late and lamented MonkeyGod Enterprises. (I think you can still order it through their site.) It'll require a little conversion, since it's 3.0, but it really shouldn't require much.
It's a module, not a sourcebook, but I designed it to showcase kobolds' strengths. It's a module for 7th-level characters, yet only a few of the kobolds have class levels. It showcases what they can really do with a complex designed to play to their abilities. Even if you don't use it as written, I think it'll inspire a great many ideas. I think "dastardly" is the best word I've heard applied to it.
[end pimpage]
JoeGKushner
Adventurer
And see, this is where I think Mongoose is screwing up. Sure, I understand why they don't send preview copies of physical products, but if it's a PDF only product, we have a PDF reviewer and I'm sure John Cooper, whose reviewers started with Mongoose products, would be right up there alley. Gotta get the word of mouth out man!
JoeGKushner
Adventurer
Mark Plemmons said:
Very soon at that! I like that it's a dual book in hardcover format at that. I hate it when companies try to push a race so much they just start 'fluffing up' everything about the race. Not a lot of that in there.
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