Ways to Make Kobolds Challenging

[trentonjoe]

Okay, so it's been awhile. I logged on today for the first time in a couple of years today and saw the 4e rumours, jeepers! It seems like yesterday I was convinced that some English punk was gonna ruin Eric Noah's website (I was wrong)......

Anywho, preface over. Here's my question:

Several years ago, there was a great thread on how to make one HD monsters challanging to mid level PCs. I think I remember alot of it but I was wondering if:

1. Someone could find the thread (it has to be 3-4 years old)
2. Other someones could make suggestions on how to make a 7th ranger curse the day he stormed the Kobold lair.

Thanks in advance and if this belongs in a different forum, I apologize!

 

[IamTheTest]

Give them class levels.

 

[shilsen]

Is the ranger alone? If so, that makes things a LOT easier

 

[trentonjoe]

I think I remember alot of it but I was wondering if:


2. Other someones could make suggestions on how to make a 7th ranger curse the day he stormed the Kobold lair.

Okay, I think I have the easy ones:

attacking behind cover
nets
poison
caltrops
aid another
touch attacks
class levels
etc.

I guess I am looking for clever traps, scenarios, attacks, etc. to challenge a 7th level party.

 

[Emongnome]

As someone said before, class levels work great. Maybe have a bunch of 3rd level rogue kobolds swarm the party (getting flanking, especially) while several more 3rd level fighter kobolds fire into melee from high above and with cover. Yeah, seems backwards, but the fighter levels are to get to PBS, Precise Shot, then Coordinated Shot (Heroes of Battle, I believe. Removes targets' cover bonus due to allies in the way). Not much, but it's something. You could also have lots of floor traps all over the lair that trigger for anybody that weighs more than a kobold.

Edit: Maybe have a high-level cleric kobold that keeps casting cure light wounds, mass for the kobolds in melee.

 

[wayne62682]

Kobolds? That's easy. Make them all Pun-Pun

... what? Someone had to say it!

 

[ThirdWizard]

Kobolds, like fish, grow to indeterminate size. Now, most adventurers are not aware of this. Heck, most kobolds aren't aware of this. The reason is that rarely do kobolds live long enough for this size increase to be visible! You see, given enough time, a kobold will grow to Medium, Large, Huge, and even larger sizes, but it takes a long time in kobold years for this to happen. Sages who have studied such things debate the issue endlessly, but it thought to be approximately three times the kobold race's normal life expectancy, or 6 years before they become Medium creatures.

The Medium kobold is a sight to behold, but is usually confused with some type of Lizardfolk by most adventurers. Usually these kobolds are trapped or otherwise separated from normal adventuring locations, usually by cave ins with only fungus to survive on. There has been one case of a kobold that got lost in a cavern emerging at the immense size of 70 feet long. It was promptly killed by an 8th level adventurer who swore he killed the tarraque. Said adventurer was subsequently eaten by a Hill Giant, his last words being "You don't look so big anymore, squirt!"

When encountering these grown kobolds, be wary. They have increased strength and reach, and their traps are generally much much larger. Sometimes the large traps are too unwieldly to be effective or a dead givaway (in the case of a rope-around-the-foot trap or a giant bucket full of acid over a door). However, do be wary of 200 foot pits that they are fond of digging.

More information can be found by consulting your local informed Sage.

 

[Chimera]

In a lair, it's easy. Traps. You keep throwing them at the player until he cries Uncle.

Outside the lair, it's a combination of Numbers and Levels. Oh, you don't have to give them that many levels, just numbers.

In the second session of my current campaign (only 5 sessions in), the Psion temporarily disdained cover while a dozen Kobolds came down the hill and the rest of the group hid behind the barricade they'd put up. A shower of rocks at +3 to hit later and he was diving behind cover with 1 or 2 hp remaining. Whoops.

And that's the thing to remember. "Hey, they're only +1 to hit with their spears and they go down in one hit!" Yeah, but they're +3 with the slings and they live a lot longer when they don't close. Let the ones with levels close. Let the rest "cast" their hail storm spell (so to speak) at the party. Back 'em up with a Sorcerer or two (Ray of Enfeeblement anyone?) and you've got great Koboldy goodness.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

1) Class levels. Rogue and ranger (with their enemy types all being PC races) are especially fitting for kobolds and potentially NASTY.

2) Make the complex kobold-sized except for a larger path for prisoners that coincidentally goes through murder holes, past arrow slits and enough traps to make Grimtooth say "enough" before dead-ending in a room with only kobold-sized exits. A bent-double ranger with boiling water being poured on him through murder holes above him should really start thinking about crawling away as fast as he can go. (And then, of course, he sees the dire weasel slip into the corridor, blocking his path ...)

3) The Koboldnomicon! (I always wanted to be able to pimp a book I contributed to ...)

 

[igavskoga]

I seem to be one of the few to remember the old days (back when they were canine and not reptilian, mutter) when Kobolds used to love to swarm, I tend to like to let them grapple onto a PC (removing the size penalties to give them a chance or something similar to improved grab might work) or give them group fighting bonuses/feats. Get one on each limb and one on the torso all stabbing at him with daggers. Fun times. I also enjoy adding a kobold's weight to the PC's encumberance at that point.

In 2nd Edition, lo many years ago, my group lived in fear of the small Kobold Brute Squad that they could never seem to kill. They were a bunch of PC Class'd kobolds. Good stuff.

Traps are the classic way, Kobolds are at their best in their lair, fighting from positions that are difficult to reach.