By Alan McCoy from Dungeons & Dragons: Fundamentals
How to build challenging encounters against a Kobold
Note: This has been prepared utilizing only the 5E Core Rules. The Kobold can be found in the Monster Manual page 195.
Long considered the very weakest of the humanoid creatures against which the adventuring community must contest, there is more to the Kobold that is normally considered.
Individually, Kobolds are small reptilian humanoids that worship powerful creatures such as dragons as if they were demigods; serving as minions and toadies. They typically display fear and cowardice. Much of the time this is real, in others it is subterfuge.
There is little doubt that somewhere in ancient ancestry there is a common progenitor for both dragons and kobolds. The relationship is so distant as to be unrecognized by dragons, yet it boasted of by the Kobold. What is known is that like dragons, kobolds are egg layers. While all Kobolds have vestigial wings, basically buds on their backs, there are rare Kobolds whose wings develop and enable them to fly. Finally, Kobolds, like dragons have an instinctual need to horde wealth, though their hordes tend to be trinkets and smallcoin.
More often Kobolds can be found infesting the forgotten places, abandoned tombs, ruined and abandoned dungeons or small cave complexes where they labor to survive and to gather treasures. It is rare to find young Kobolds in the lair, though often many eggs are found. Kobolds mature very quickly, going from shell to adult in a matter of months.
In numbers, and they are rarely alone, especially inside a lair in which they have had the chance to prepare, the Kobold becomes far more formidable.
The primary strength of the Kobold is their ability to tunnel and build. Their lairs consist of low tunnels through which they move easily and that hamper the movement of larger individuals. Kobolds also riddle their lairs with traps, using anything they can find in their local environment that might be dangerous.
Winged Kobolds are the elite of the Kobold Warriors, airborne, they scout the area at night, landing and sabotaging the supplies of any band that comes close to the primary kobold lair. Their objective is to turn the intruders back or at least weaken them.
Kobolds are Lawful Evil in Alignment.
Step 1) Let’s Review what we know about Kobolds
Kobolds have a very high dexterity; in all other ways they are physically and mentally unimpressive.
Kobolds can speak Common and Draconic.
Kobolds have Darkvision (60 feet) and normal sight, passive perception 8
Kobolds are sensitive to Sunlight and will not willingly attack in daylight.
Kobolds use Pack Tactics.
While Kobolds are listed as using Daggers and Slings, any simple finesse weapons will do.
Kobolds can create some very damaging traps or of weaponizing the landscape to assist them.
Step 2) Determine the probable Strategy.
Kobold strategy is simple, keep intruders out of the lair, driving them away if possible. Failing that, allow long enough for the mothers and eggs to escape. Secondary considerations include recovering as much of the tribe’s horde as possible.
To accomplish this goal, the kobolds will utilize traps and subterfuge to confuse, damage and delay a serious assault on their lair. Individual Kobold lives do not matter, it is the survival of the tribe that is their overriding goal.
Step 3) Determine Tactics
Kobolds keep an active patrol on their lair, groups of three to five individuals whose job it is to warn of the approach of intruders. As Kobolds have no skill with stealth, they must rely on cover and concealment to avoid exposure. Kobolds have weak eyes in direct sunlight, so they set up their watch posts inside shaded areas. This happens to be the areas that men are most likely to utilize as trails, so it works out.
Once an intruder has been detected, the Kobolds will utilize their Darkvision to come close to the encampment and do their best to sabotage equipment. Ruined rations, flasks of lamp oil replaced with or diluted with water, salt added to waterskins, are some, but certainly not all of the available ‘dirty tricks’ these creatures will use.
Once an intruder is entered the lair, all bets are off. The traps come into play. Tunnels dug to allow the kobolds to fire captured crossbows, tripwires that release lamp oil that can be ignited, tripwires that dump harvested carrion crawler venom upon the victim. Worst yet, Green slime bombs that will physically dissolve the flesh of the victim. Then there are the physical traps, deadfalls, pits, counterweights. A captured dwarven battle-axe can be set to drop and sever a head or a hand.
Kobolds have been known to keep pets that they can utilize on intruders. Giant Rats, Carrion Crawlers, Giant Centipedes to name a few. They have even been known to cultivate Swarms of normal creatures, usually stinging insects, to use if the need arises. (Beehives, wasp nests etc.)
Kobolds are mean and nasty and will utilize any tactic necessary to ensure the survival of the tribe.
Step 4) DM Tips and Observations
Most DMs utilize these creatures as a ‘get your feet wet’ monster for low level adventurers to begin with and gain some combat experience. If that is your intention, please do not utilize the above tactics. The harassment tactics outlined above makes these otherwise very weak creatures formidable.
I will be uploading a file to the group files section entitled ‘Tucker’s Kobolds’ available for free from WotC. It is a reprint of an article from Dragon 127 of the same name. I suggest that you read it for further inspiration.