Rethinking the roles of Goblins, Orcs, Kobolds and so on

[Xarlen]

You apparently don't know Kobolds.

Kobolds do not get into melee. No. They make traps, unload spells, and snipe, doing the Gurella Warfare type thing. They'll attack, but Careful, Cautious. A kobold in melee is a Dead kobold.

 

[Dave Blewer]

A kobold in melee is a Dead kobold.

Unless it is a Kobold with levels of Fighter, Ranger or (shudder) barbarian... In that case it has an advantage over its non hard scaly skinned opponents

 

[Xarlen]

Well, yes, a tricked out kobold can do some damage. But, they're as common as Halfling Fighters, Barbarians and Paladins.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

So kobolds are into guerilla warfare, and they're communist.


My next kobold character is gonna be named Charlie

 

[Xarlen]

Meepo, that's horrible.

 

[Mobius]

Its always been my opinion that the 'weaker' races like kobolds weren't given enough intelligence to make decent foes. If you stood 3' tall and weren't all that strong, would you wade in against a well-armored foe twice your height? I am a physically small man at 5'5", and I would *never* go toe to toe with a steroid monkey twice my size. That is what God invented brains for - to know when to run and when to fight from a position of advantage.

To me, that is what kobolds are. I would give them more or less a nomadic lifestyle, with homes that can be taken down quickly and transported easily so that when the inevitable happens, they can pack up to a better place. Give them poisons and traps, ambushes, feints, etc. so that they can avoid direct combat if possible. In the event that this is unavoidable, they should have tons of missle weapons and very effective mass weapons like spears or pikes. Smart humanoids should show evolutions in their technology and tactics to compensate for their deficiencies, after all.

 

[Utrecht]

." I've always felt that kobolds make the perfect communists

Actually, I have felt this way about the Dwarves. In the same campaign with the Ottoman Hobgoblins, I had a nation-state of Dwarves that rebelled against the "divine-right" mandate typical of Dwarven kingdoms and formed a workers paradise.

Socially, the rest of the continent was not ready for this - in fact they had a hard time dealling with this departure of divine recognition - making the dwarves great villians/victims.

 

[Dareoon Dalandrove]

good idea. i like seeing stuff like this done. Instead of a random encounter they are something more. this is exactly why i like King Obould many arrows. not a push over orc.

 

[Xarlen]

Its always been my opinion that the 'weaker' races like kobolds weren't given enough intelligence to make decent foes.

Intelligence? They have a 10 Int, just like your average human.

Orcs, on the other hand...

 

[Bran Blackbyrd]

i, personally, would be entertained by breaking up gnolls in to subcategories based on different canids.

wolf, coyote, dingo, poodle, st.bernard...

Actually in my campaign it goes like this;

The Gnolls are descended from two different races, an ancient race of humanoid felines (thought to be extinct) and an almost as ancient race of humanoid canines. They are brutal, aggressive and evil. The gnolls don't like their canine father race, but they absolutely loathed their feline ancestors. Gnolls are the reason that the feline race is thought to be extinct.

The canine race is still around and their appearance can vary, depending on clan and bloodline. Some may look more lupine, whereas another may have the coat and coloration of a husky, or even coyotes, dingos, etc. They have a shamanistic culture, reminiscent of Native Americans. They tend to be nomadic, though settling in an area and erecting structures of a more permanent nature is not unheard of.

Goblins are evil, they hide from man in caves during the day and come out at night to plague small villages and remote farms. They have enslaved the kobolds, and keep their numbers down to prevent an uprising.

Kobolds are natural sorcerers, which makes them both a valuable asset, and a dangerous liability to the goblins. Just as evil as the goblins when their subjugation began, it has yet to be seen if the kobolds would change their ways if freed. They call themselves the Gifted Ones.

Orcs were evil long ago, but the majority of their gods were destroyed during the Exile. This caused their whole way of life to change. The orcs are good mostly, but have never forgotten the violence that permeated every aspect of their ancestors lives. They have migrated away from civilized land to the Black Desert, as an act of penance, for the acts of those that came before them. Secluded in the black sands of the, once actively volcanic, wasteland, they test their resolve in an almost monastic fashion, and wait until the time when they can rejoin the rest of the world. The orcs avoid the violence once perpetrated by their race, but are even now provoked into defending themselves against the attacks of the lizardfolk, with whom they compete for shelter and water.

Drow elves are unknown to humanity and to most elves. It was during The Purge when demihuman races were being slaughtered en masse that a little-known elven goddess intervened on the behalf of a group of pure-hearted elves and the Drow came into being. She marked them as she was marked, forever setting them apart.
There are only a few groups of Drow in the world. The largest group tends towards Japanese architecture. They wear little unless among strangers, usually loose robes; sandals when convenient, boots when not.

Anyway, that's enough from my world. I will say, though, that around the village of Windhaven is a creature the locals call Black Shuck. A dog the with flaming eyes that means death for the man who's unlucky enough to cross it's path. So it's best to keep your eyes open.

EDIT - Bah, I'll add some more.

I've downplayed the "tech" aspect of the gnomes in favor of a Greco-Roman feel, technologically and societally. This makes them fairly advanced overall, without making them little medieval scientists. They live on a warm island continent, mostly. They are democratic, seafaring, and considering their global position, isolationist by circumstance.
The only area in which their reputation for tinkering comes through is in shipbuilding. The gnomes build ships of all sizes, from fast ships with complicated rigging, to large ships capable of moving quarried stone with ease. All of these ships are complex and well crafted. It's no surprise that they are also consumate sailors.

Bugbears exist, but they are uncommon, and are not known by that name. They have greyish skin with red body hair. There is a particularly nasty one known locally as "The Gumbaroo".