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Fire Giant

2019-09-13T21:29:05Z

2605:E000:7EC5:A000:446:286A:40AA:A372:

'''Fire Giants''' are one of the six "core" breeds of [[Giant]] in the worlds of [[Dungeons & Dragons]]. As their name suggests, they are a borderline [[elemental]] species, heavily associated with volcanoes - and to a lesser extent other areas of extreme heat, such as deserts. This elemental nature shines through in both their immunity to fire and their coloration; they tend to have dark skin on a coffee-to-ashen-purple spectrum and (naturally) bright red hair - assuming it's not on fire.

Like [[Frost Giant]]s, fire giants originate from Norse Mythology, where they were associated with the Realm of Fire, Muspelheim. Unlike their icy kin, fire giants are associated less with [[viking]]s and more with [[dwarves]]; they are an evil race best known for their skills at crafting metal and stone, using their fiery homes to help produce masterworked weapons or armor, and even enchanted gear. They are often even described as having similar bodily proportions to dwarves - you know, except for being 20+ feet tall. In some ways, they are the most civilized of the "usually evil" breeds of giant, although they are still tyrants and slavers whose society can best be described as "cut-throat".

These giants particularly love to enslave [[dwarves]], but find [[azer]]s even more suitable; the fiery dwarf-kin can survive in their volcanic lairs much better.

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons]] [[Category: Pathfinder]] [[Category: Monsters]] [[Category: Giants]]

Giant

2019-09-13T21:24:35Z

2605:E000:7EC5:A000:446:286A:40AA:A372: /* Mythological Giants */

[[Image:Paladin_x_Giant.png|thumb|right]]
In general a guy who is somewhat larger than average by means besides obesity and is stronger than a normal sized human and more dangerous in a scrap, either unarmed or armed with melee weapons. On the same note larger animals are more dangerous individually than smaller animals. Really tall humans that are more than 2 meters tall usually have major health concerns, which get more and more pronounced as height increases. Individuals more than 2.3 meters tall often have to walk with canes. Nevertheless, these fine details of medicine were not well known in the Bronze Age and people loved to embellish and embellish on embellishments in storytelling. As such it is little surprise that '''Giants''', people who are of a much greater scale than normal Humans, are so common in mythology.

==Mythological Giants==
Aside from the [[cyclops|cyclopes]], who're the most famous but also have their own page, Greek mythology featured the Gigantes, a race of giants created by Gaia to try to overthrow the gods, just as the gods had once overthrown the titans. They did pretty well at it for a while, not least because Hera had foreseen that they could only be offed by a mortal and a god each doing a killing blow simultaneously, but Herakles eventually rolled up and helped finish them all off.

Norse giants, meanwhile, are the embodiments of powerful elemental forces. From the frost giants of Niflheim, to the fire giants of Muspelheim, the giants fought, slept with, and occasionally married the Norse pantheon as part of the endless struggle of civilization against nature. Notably, Loki, the trickster, was a giant sworn as Odin's brother and ally. And, of course, all creation ultimately ends in a final mighty battle between giants and gods, Ragnarok, in which the fire giant king Surtr ultimately emerges triumphant and burns all of Yggdrasil to a cinder.

Finally, there are the giants of Medieval Europe. Some were stupid, savage brutes, threats to knightly adventurers because of their incredible strength, while others were sophisticated beings that lived in the clouds, though no less evil. Both liked their human flesh, though the smarter ones cooked it first. These giants also apparently would use human bones to grind their bread.

==Giants in modern fantasy==

===Giants in Warhammer Fantasy===
Giants are featured as twenty-meter tall monsters that are utilized by [[Chaos]], [[Greenskin|Greenskins]], [[Ogre Kingdoms|Ogres]] and some mercenaries as huge beasts of war. The Giants were once a prosperous and enlightened, though hermetic, race known as the Skytitans who kept herds of mammoth and lived in fortress-like peaks located in what is now known as the Ancient Giant Lands. After being invaded and thoroughly ''fucked up'' by Ogres during the War in the Sky, they were reduced to inbred, half-minded simpletons with little desire other than to battle and eat. They can be reasoned with to some extend (usually when alcohol is involved), but they are unpredictable and destructive, so most civilizations drive them back to the mountains and deep forests.

Ingame, they serve as cheap one-model monstrous units for a host of army lists. It may not survive for long due its low armor, but at least it's a servicable [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|distraction]].

===Giants in Game of Thrones===
In [[A Song of Ice and Fire]] and its TV-adaptation, giants are huge, hairy dim-witted hominids about three to four meters tall that live north of the wall. Even then, that's peanuts by the standards of most giants. Notable for actually being biologically feasable, what with their stocky elephantine legs.

===Giants in D&D===
In [[Dungeons and Dragons]] "giant" can designate a subtype of monsters going from [[troll]]s, [[ogre]]s, [[cyclops| cyclopes]] and various [[Oni]] all the way up to the "true" giants. They draw from all of the mythologies above, by designating various types of (Whatever) Giant to split them based on habitat. Certain types of giants live in certain areas or have special abilties. For example, the Forest, Frost, Hill, Jungle, Mountain and Ocean Giants all live from where you expect them to. In some cases this is less clear (Fog, Stone and Sun Giants) or almost impossible to tell (Death and Eldritch Giants). Between the books there are often dozens of different giants available, with 3.5e having a staggering 22 different types of "true" giants and a host of others with the creature type.

The six "classic" flavors of giant (the most common ones, the way there're five "classic" colors of chromatic and metallic dragon each) are, arranged according to size:

* [[Hill Giant]]s; savage, stupid monsters who attack other races to sate their immense appetites. They look like [[Luke|big, fat, filthy humanoids, and wear half-rotten animal skins like cavepeople]]. Basically bigger ogres.
* [[Fire Giants]]; militaristic, heavily-armored soldiers who act kind of like big, evil [[dwarves]], with their mastery of smithwork and penchant for slavery. They tend to have dark skin on a coffee-to-ashen-purple spectrum and (naturally) bright red hair. Completing the dwarf comparison, expect lots of beards, braids, and long, wild haircuts. They tend to wear heavy armor as both military dress and formal wear, again, like dwarves, and fight in well-armed, well-organized armies.
* [[Stone Giant]]s; master artisans who live underground quietly keeping to themselves, and are much faster than they look. They look like they're made out of living stone, and their tough skin gives them natural armor on top of their speed, and many can also catch projectiles out of the air. Despite being somewhat peaceable, they are also rather isolationist, and resent intrusions onto their territory.
* [[Frost Giant]]s; blue-skinned and white-haired Norse-inspired raiders who live in the frozen north, taming huge monsters to accompany them on their quest for plunder. They look like blue-skinned vikings and dress like it too. The most famous frost giant in the ''Forgotten Realms'' is the adventurer known as [[Harshnag the Grim]], who recently enjoyed an extended appearance in ''Storm King's Thunder''.
* [[Cloud Giant]]s; who live in sky-castles, have magical powers, and tend to be witty sophisticates fond of games and art. Notable for their ideological split between those who're neutral good-aligned and those who're neutral evil-aligned. The least visually well-defined of the giants here, while they tend to have pale skin and blue hair, their skin might be blue, might be lavender, might just be white, and they might or might not have fangs. They also generally dress and live well, though, again, there's less cultural unity here than elsewhere.
* [[Storm Giant]]s; benevolent but distant sages who are experts at seeing into the future, and have not only even moar magical powers but the ability to chuck ''bolts of fucking lightning'' at things that annoy them. They can also breathe underwater. Dark blue, purple, or brown-skinned with white hair, might or might not wear armor.

Giants tend to be in the mid to high range of monsters, starting as early as CR 7 for the Hill Giant all the way up to 26 for the Mountain Giant, and that's pre-[[class]] levels. As a general rule, the larger a giant is, the more powerful it is. The exceptions are the fire giants, who are barely smaller than stone giants but right below cloud giants on the heirarchy. Giants are very much a mixed bag, being anywhere on the range from bullies to militant assholes to dicks sitting in the clouds and doing nothing. This can make them decent enemies, aloof sages, or a nice way to make players feel like they're hot shit before delivering the smackdown. Like [[dragon]]s, each of their subraces tends to have a "racial alignment" to them.

They are often of the Large or Huge size categories and are all experts at the art of throwing boulders, which do a shitload of damage thanks to their immense size. Hilariously, this is true even for the otherwise well-armed giants who're masters of fabricating quality weapons, like fire giants. Most settings have them as remnants of an ancient giant empire that has since slipped into sad decline, and they tend to be bitter rivals of dragons. Notably, even when they have ideological/alignment-based disagreements, giants tend to get along ''among themselves'', with bigger giants looking after smaller ones and smaller ones in turn mostly doing what bigger ones say - the [[Forgotten Realms]] codified this into an in-universe code of culture established by said fallen giant empire (here called Ostoria), which was handed down by their divine creator, [[Annam]]. It's called the [[Ordning]], and 5e made it canon to all giants in all settings.

A 5e module, ''Storm King's Thunder'', is heavily giant-centric, and has put them into the spotlight after years in the margins. And, yes, there are examples of [[monstergirls|sexy lady giants]] in all the flavors above. Except maybe Hill. Unless you're into that whole fat-stupid-and-unwashed thing. We're not here to judge.

Whilst the six above get all the press, D&D's origins as a war-game that relied heavily on monster races existing to be different levels of challenge, plus its amalgamation of various real-world mythological lore, has led to "Giant" traditionally being considered its own creature type - akin to [[Undead]], [[Fey]] or [[Goblinoid]]. As such, a ridiculously huge array of giants exist in D&D. Indeed, there was even a short-lived term, "[[Giant-kin]]", which was used for the "closer to human-sized" giants, like [[ogre]]s and [[troll]]s.
* [[Athach]]: Obscure giants originating from the [[Mystara]] setting; resemble deformed hill-giants with tusks, mismatched ears (one huge, one tiny) and a third arm sprouting from the center of their chest.
* [[Beasthead Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these are the smallest of the Athasian giants, but make up for it with powerful [[psionics]] - the only Athasian giant that can use such powers. Evil in nature, they look like giant humans with the head of one of several animals, some of which bestow unique powers; eagle, goat, wolf, id fiend, kirre, or braxat.
* [[B’rohg]]: Four-armed, primitive but neutrally aligned giant-kin indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting.
* [[Crag Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these benevolent giants are only found on the Lonely Butte, near the Last Sea. Presumably descended from [[Storm Giant]]s, they are good by nature, but yearn for revenge upon the Mind Lords who have driven them to a slow, prolonged extinction.
* [[Cyclops]]: One-eyed giant which comes in two varieties; the small, [[ogre]]-like Cyclopskin (7 1/2ft tall) and the enormous (20ft tall) "true" Cyclops.
* [[Desert Giant]]: Can refer to either of two species. The Athasian Desert Giant is one of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting; these are the evil giants indigenous to the Sea of Silt. The "Common" Desert Giant is native to the lands of [[Al-Qadim]], and is the surviving descendants of a fallen giant empire; cursed to ultimately transform into stone, they now exist as oversized tribes of nomadic herdsmen in the deserts of Zakhara.
* [[Dusk Giant]]: Bestial giants whose size and magical abilities change depending on how much flesh they have recently eaten. They get more benefit from eating the flesh of sentient beings. Well fed dusk giants can grow to a maximum of 20 feet tall and starving ones shrink down to minimum of just over 6 feet. They are always surrounded by an aura that darkens bright lights and causes feelings of despair in enemies.
* [[Ettin]]: A two-headed variant of the hill giant, renowned for being ugly, vicious and stupid even by hill giant standards.
* Fhoimorien: A weird, malevolent, mystical giant breed native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. They have an affinity for [[elemental]] magics of earth and air, and can even turn into banks of living mist. Supposedly a Cerillian equivalent to the [[Fomorian]].
* [[Firbolg]]: Giant-kin who resemble oversized [[viking]]s.
* [[Fog Giant]]: A more primal (but not stupid) relative of the Cloud Giant, which favors temperate swamps, marshes, boggy forests, and coastal regions. Distinguishable by its pale, milky-white skin and hair, and their cultural love of wrestling and sports based on throwing stuff.
* [[Fomorian]]: Cave-dwelling, grotesquely ugly giants with a pronounced vicious streak and a love of torture.
* [[Forest Giant]]: One of the breeds of giant native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. Their elemental affinities for wood give these giants wood-like skin, leaflike hair, and root-like digits, making them easily confused for oversized [[treant]]s at a casual glance. Naturally, they seek to protect primeval forests from depredations.
* [[Hephaeston Giant]]: A [[Mystara]]n giant species characterized by its skin of living iron and its natural affinity for blacksmithing. Regarding weaponsmithing as a holy art, they constantly seek out deposits of iron and coal, especially because they must literally smith infants of their race from the purest iron.
* Ice Giant: One of the breeds of giant native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. Essentially a bigger and nastier version of the standard [[Frost Giant]], one distinguished by a thick body sheath of rime and jagged ice shards. More magically adept than frost giants, ice giants have the power to hurl iceballs (a cold-damage counterpart to the famous [[Fireball]]), and possess several potent spell-like abilities.
* [[Jungle Giant]]: A species of carnivorous, voraciously predatory green-skinned [[amazon]] giants native to the tropical jungles of [[Al-Qadim]].
* [[Mountain Giant]]: An even bigger, but somewhat less stupid, variant of the hill giant. Roughly 3/4s of all mountain giants are male, which contributes to their small population.
* [[Plains Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these are the benevolent giants indigenous to the Sea of Silt. Smarter and less malevolent, they are more likely to integrate themselves into mainstream Athasian society.
* [[Reef Giant]]: Sea-dwelling, isolationist giants native to the [[Al-Qadim]] setting.
* [[Shadow Giant]]: Undead giants trapped in the Black, one of the [[plane]]s of [[Dark Sun]]. Can drain life with a touch, but are incredibly vulnerable to pure magical energy, to the point that a wizard can literally hurt them with a touch.
* [[Spacesea Giant]]: Also known as Rover Giants, these are a variant strain of [[Stone Giant]] descended from giants taken prisoner by the [[Neogi]], but who escaped. More intelligent and adept at arcane magic, they are nomadic merchants and explorers who use vessels of magically shaped stone to travel through the crystal spheres.
* [[Verbeeg]]: A giant-kin race who often use their superior brains to enslave and command the bigger but dumber ogres and hill giants.
* [[Voadkyn]]: Also known as Wood Giants, a forest-dwelling giant-kin race who resemble oversized elves.

=== Giants in Pathfinder ===
Giants, being OGL content, are largely the same as their 3.5 counterpart in [[Pathfinder]]. Mechanically however giants have undergone a big change in that they're no longer their own creature type, instead being a subtype of [[humanoid]] and (for [[Oni]]) [[Outsider]]. This means they aren't automatically proficient with all martial weapons (they normally use Pathfinder's increased feat rate to wield them instead) and, more importantly, makes them vulnerable to spells that effect Humanoids. Their low will save and the potency of these spells makes them much weaker against spellcasters that are ready for them.

===The Zentraedi===
A race featured in the anime ''Macross'', and its American, ehem, "adaptation" ''Robotech'', the name is also transliterated as Zentradi, Zjentohlauedy, T'sentrati, or Zentrady (the original Japanese rendering is ゼントラーディ人, or ''Zentorādi-jin''). Serving as a sort of Sci-fi reconstruction of the giant idiom, Zentraedi are a militaristic race of alien humanoid giants created through genetic cloning. In both series, an advanced alien humanoid race creates the Zentraedi to serve as super-soldiers against their enemies. They inevitably rebel and went their own way, as warrior races do. A peculiarity of their genome allows them, with the aid of special equipment, to shrink down to human size and pass as the same species, which for all other intents and [[Heterosexual Sex in the Missionary Position|purposes]], they are.

=== Monster Hunter International ===
Giants are among the monsters considered extinct in modern days. One was seen in the assault on Severny Island and was only humanoid in the vaguest sense of having two legs, two arms and something resembling a head. It took a [[T-72M]] to take down, but may have actually been protecting the island from culists that want to free the ancient evil instead of kill it and not one of the ancient evil's minions. The second RPG also states that frost and fire giants are a problem in the Norse countries. How these two claims reconcile is unknown.

==Monstergirls==
{{Monstergirls}}
Giants as [[monstergirls]] are an established thing, but not from the monster perspective. Macrophilia is a decades old fetish, with films like ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' dating back to 1958. There are no animal parts involved here: all that matters is the largeness, like an inverse [[shortstack]]. [[Amazon]]ian sizes are too small: you're looking at 10' as a bare minimum but can go up to much larger sizes to even ludicrous dimensions. What happens from there differs per subfetish: some of the macrophiles are content with touching and cuddling the bigness while others prefer crushing, vore or more nasty fetishes still. Given their rather niche appeal giants never received much of a unified view like the more human-sized fantasy races; as such they apprear in many different throughout fiction.

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]][[Category:Greek Mythology]][[Category:Giants]]

Kobold

2019-09-13T18:45:03Z

2605:E000:7EC5:A000:446:286A:40AA:A372: /* 5th Edition */

{{Promotions}}
[[File:Kobold commando.jpg|300px|thumb|right|A [[/k/]]obold.]]
'''Kobolds''' are a race of creatures originating from Germanic folklore, where they were [[goblin]]-like malevolent spirits who were believed to haunt mines, occasionally leaving nasty surprises in the form of worthless, poisonous metal - the element we now know as "cobalt". The ore is naturally found as sharp shards, bonded with arsenic oxide. The shards are sharp enough to penetrate boots and feet, hurting miners and making them sick just as if they were poisoned caltrop traps left by kobolds. A "cobalt bomb" is a proposed nuclear weapon designed to poison a large territory with super-radioactive cobalt dust, making the target area uninhabitable for 105 years. The (relatively) short half-life makes it especially deadly, but possible for your great-grandchildren to recover the empty territory. So watch out for "kobold bombs" or "magic missiles".

They shot to fame in /tg/ circles in [[Dungeons & Dragons]] where, ever since the very first edition, they have been small, weak creatures, generally serving in most campaigns as low-level cannon fodder for the adventurers to mow down, much like [[goblins]] and [[orcs]].

Despite being physically weak, however, kobolds are also described as capable trapsmiths, and are known for creating traps to protect their lairs and dungeons (a habit that is usually ignored or underplayed by most [[DM]]s). This habit - combined with a penchant for lethal tunnel design and group tactics - were famously used in the tale of [[Tucker's Kobolds]] to illustrate that kobolds - and, indeed, any intelligent creature - can remain dangerous to high-level adventurers despite being statistically inferior in just about every way.

If played with the intention of being dangerous, kobolds are far and away the hardest throwaway monsters to fight. It could be likened to a sort of sick, hardcore version of Home Alone, with the kobolds taking the part of a severely deranged and sadistic Kevin McCallister and the PCs taking the part of hopelessly underprepared thugs walking into a situation they cannot have possibly foreseen. If treated like cannon fodder, they are the absolute hands-down easiest things in any edition to kill, including [[cat|housecats]] and electric iguanas.

Kobolds are often used as "weakling" monsters in games, particularly video games based on the pen-and-paper variety. Their actual versatility depends on the system, but like D&D runs the gamut of [[Dawww|harmless]] to [[Dwarf Fortress#Cats|devastating in numbers]] to [[Anal circumference|downright impossible]]. They are sometimes portayed as reptilian creatures, sometimes as either wolf/dog-like or [[Warcraft| rat-like]]; D&D has actually been in both camps in different editions, and in fact [[5e]] (presumably as part of its attempt to be the "Greatest Hits" edition) actually decided to split the difference and made them dragonkin with some reptilian and some canine features.

There is a market in [[Dungeons_%26_Dragons_3rd_Edition | 3.5]] for kobold [[PC]]s, since their draconian/reptilian ancestry make them one of the only +0 Level Adjustment races capable of qualifying for much of the additional material in [[splatbook]]s like the Draconomicon and the Book of Dragons. [[Pun-Pun]], for example, is a rather famous [[CharOp]] design that allows a kobold wizard to attain theoretically unlimited abilities and attributes, using material from splatbooks and the [[Forgotten Realms]] [[Dungeons_%26_Dragons_Campaign_Settings | campaign setting]].

While [[4e]] technically does allow for 0LA characters using the "racial features" rules in the Monster Manual, they effectively play like reptilian halflings, which get better bonuses. The lack of splat and reptilian-based bonuses makes them less appealing than 3e, but their inherent trap skills make them excellent [[Bloody Path|rogues]].

5th edition's Volo Guide to Monsters reintroduced them as an option, and while they're not a ''bad'' choice per se (Small, +2 to Dex and Darkvision make Kobolds quite effective rogues), their sensitivity to daylight proves to be a real disadvantage in campaigns that aren't extensive dungeon crawls.

The patron god of the kobolds is [[Kurtulmak]].

Kobolds are very popular with [[Furry|Scalies]].

==The Many Faces of Kobolds==
[[File:Kobold_Art_History.jpg|200px|thumb|right|A basic summary of the kobold look from 1st to 4th edition.]]
D&D Kobolds have undergone a long history of revision. When they first appeared in basic/AD&D 1e, they were considered kin to goblinoids, but also had distinctly beast-man type appearances - of course, these were the days in which [[bullywug]]s and [[gnolls]] were considered humanoids and thus could interbreed with humans, so not that weird. The result was a scaly-skinned rat or dog-like humanoid with small horns and a distinct barking voice. The version first depicted in the [[Monster Manual]] was clearly a scaly dog-man, but versions by other artists were more rat-like.

When AD&D 2e was launched, the first Monstrous Compendium presented an alternative version that was more visibly [[goblin]]-like; a small, ugly but fundamentally man-shaped creature with big, saucer-like eyes, a puggish face and small horns. This version was not very well received, and the artwork quickly went back to the more rodent-like visages of editions past. The iconic depiction of this was by [[Tony DiTerlizzi]], in the AD&D Monstrous Manual.

Finally, in 3rd edition, kobolds became stunted, draconic humanoids; little reptile men with dragon-like snouts and stubby horns, and this interpretation, which made them claim kinship to true dragons, became their iconic face for all editions afterwards. Even Pathfinder reused this. The 5th edition version somewhat combined the reptilian and canine features, keeping them little reptile men with stubby horns on their heads, but giving them a more canine head with a black dog-like nose at the end of their snout, as well as a pair of longer horns that somewhat resemble dog ears at a glance.

Because the "dragonbolds" or "lizardbolds" are so associated with D&D, when kobolds reappear in other media, their appearance often changes. Because the goblinoid form is too confusing, most kobolds tend to be either [[ratfolk]] or dog-people. [[Warcraft]] has long used the ratfolk interpretation, with its kobolds being humanoid rats who are obsessed with finding candles to help them in their eternal mining. In Japanese media, kobolds as digging dog-people as popular for much the same reason why pig-men [[orc]]s are popular: [[Old School Roleplaying]] [[neckbeard]]s have a huge influence on /tg/ related animes & mangas, and they retain fond memories of the original quasi-dog-like appearance of kobolds from AD&D 2e. This is why, for example, Polt of [[Life With Monstergirls]] appears as a dog-girl.

{{clear}}

==D&D Stats==
Kobolds have long been one of the playable monstrous races of Dungeons & Dragons, although their precise mechanical crunch has been... kind of hit and miss. Pathfinder and 5th edition's versions in particular have often been angrily derided for actually being weaker than [[Goblin]]s, who are supposed to be on roughly the same level of inferiority on the totem pole.

===BECMI===
Kobolds were amongst the many "humanoid" races to debut in the [[Known World Gazetteers|Known World Gazetteer #10: The Orcs of Thar]], alongside [[orc]]s, [[goblinoid]]s, [[ogre]]s, [[troll]]s and [[gnoll]]s.

::Kobold Ability Modifiers: -4 Strength, +3 Dexterity
::Note: Like all Humanoids from "The Orcs of Thar", a Kobold has racial ability score caps of 18 in all scores bar [[Intelligence]] and [[Wisdom]], which are capped at 16.
::Note: Like all Humanoids from "The Orcs of Thar", a Kobold determines its [[Charisma]] score for interacting with [[human]]s and [[demihuman]]s by dividing its Charisma score by 3 (rounding down) and subtacting the result from 9.
::Kobold Natural Armor Class: 7
::Can become [[Shaman]]s (6th level) and [[Wokani]] (4th level).

{| class=wikitable
!Kobold's's level || XP Required || Kobold's hit dice
|-
|0||0||1d4
|-
|1||500X||2d4
|-
|2||1,000||3d4
|-
|3||2,000||4d4
|-
|4||4,000||5d4
|-
|5||8,000||6d4
|-
|6||16,000||7d4
|-
|7||30,000||8d4
|-
|8||60,000||9d4
|-
|9||120,000||+2 Hit Points
|-
|Subsequent||100,000||+2 Hit Points
|}

===AD&D/2nd Edition===
From the Complete Book of Humanoids. Before these, kobold PC rules (alongside [[xvart]], [[goblin]] and [[orc] rules) had appeared for AD&D 1e in the article "Hey, Wanna Be a Kobold?" by Joseph Clay in [[Dragon Magazine]] #141 (January 1989).

::Ability Score Modifiers: -1 Strength, -1 Constitution
::Altered Ability Scores: Minimum Dexterity and Constitution of 4, Maximum Strength of 15, Maximum Constitution of 16, Maximum Intelligence of 17, Maximum Charisma of 14
::Class & Level Restrictions: Fighter (8), Cleric (9), Shaman (7), Witch Doctor (7), Thief (12)
::Size: Small
::Special Advantages: Infravision 60 feet, Intelligent or Powerful creatures will attack a kobold last unless it is obviously a threat
::Special Disadvantages: Light Aversion (-1 penalty to attack rolls in equivalent of direct sunlight), gnomes receive a +1 to attack rolls against kobolds
::Weapon Proficiencies: Club (spiked), hand axe, javelin, short sword, spear
::Non-Weapon Proficiencies: Animal noise, animal training (giant weasel), animal training (wild boar), begging, close-quarter fighting, danger sense, fast-talking, gem cutting, hiding, looting, mining, set snares, wild fighting

===3rd Edition===
From Races of the Dragon.

*Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Dexterity, -4 Strength, -2 Constitution
*Size: Small
*Type: Humanoid (Dragonblood, Reptilian)
*Base Speed 30 feet
::This is faster than almost any other Small humanoid can get, making kobolds actually better for certain mobility builds than gnomes or halflings can ever be.
*Darkvision 60 ft.
*+1 natural bonus to AC
*+2 racial bonus to Craft (Trapmaking), Profession (Miner) and Search checks; Craft (trapmaking) is always considered a class skill.
::Later on in Chapter 6: Character Options, the skill listing for Profession says that kobolds also get some unusual perks to use Profession (miner). One kobold counts as a Medium creature to determine how much digging it can do, and up to 4 of the Small-sized fuckers can fit into a single square at one time. That means that they can actually dig four times as fast as dwarves and certain other underground races. In the book, it actually says that dwarves respect their mining skills.
*Light Sensitivity: Dazzled when exposed to bright sunlight or a daylight spell (which can be negated by buying some goggle-shades later on in the same book)
*Favored Class: Sorcerer

Additionally, Races of the Dragon has the Draconic Rite of Passage, where allows kobolds to endure a 9-day fasting, the permanent loss of 1 hp, and sacrifice a 100 gp gem to gain any 1st-level spell as a spell-like ability, usable once a day.

It should be noted that these basic stats were still considered a little weak compared to other races, so a web enhancement for Races of the Dragon beefed them up a tiny bit. While this didn't really make them all that "powerful", the update did actually make them a very interesting race. The additional abilities are:
* Natural Weapons: It's just a little 2 claws / 1 bite set that does 1d3 for them all, but it does mean a kobold is never unarmed, as well as explaining how they are so fucking ridiculous at digging.
* Slight Build: The opposite of the goliath advantage, you get to count as one size category smaller when it's advantageous, such as for size modifiers or when squeezing through a tight space.
* Weapon Proficiency/Familiarity: Kobolds get Martial Weapon Proficiency in light pick and heavy pick (kind of the way elves and others get bonus profs), and treat greatpicks from that web supplement as martial instead of exotic.
* Kobold cleric domain: Gives the cleric trapfinding, adds Disable Device and Search to class skills, gives some pretty fucking spiffy domain spells.
* The Greater Draconic Rite of Passage: This awesome addition allows a kobold sorcerer who already did the lesser Draconic Rite of Passage to get a free fucking level of sorcerer that doesn't alter their ECL or anything. No shit; all you have to do is another 9-day fast, give up 3 hp permanently (which is the only reason you might hesitate to do it), and a 1,000 gp gem. Enjoy being overpowered, you asshole...
* Draconic Reservoir feat: Your SLA from Draconic Rite of Passage is now 3/day instead of 1/day. Make it count.

====Why D&D 3.5 Kobolds Kick Ass====
It may not seem like it, but despite what a bunch of dipshts may say, 3.5 was the time when kobolds ascend to godlike fucking power.

First and foremost, this was the era of [[Pun-Pun]], the kobold who literally broke the 3.5 game. Sure, it took some pretty strange rules interpretations, and sure they found a few ways to counter this threat. But Pun-Pun was there before a lot of other builds, and he remains a bit of a benchmark for how far you can munchkin the shit out of 3.5.

Okay, sure, Pun-Pun is excessive. Let's look at some other aspects of kobold greatness from this era.

Remember all those bonus skills and little trick abilities? How kobolds can apparently dig through a mountain faster than that chump John Henry (look it up, you illiterate fuckwits), and lay out enough traps to make the Tomb of Horrors look like a fucking carnival ride?

Now go back and look a the overpoweredness of the Leadership feat for giving you literally an extra guy to play. Make all your followers kobold experts and warriors, and make that cohort a kobold artificer. As you go on adventures, collecting huge piles of fabulous treasure, your little minions are busy as fucking bees, crafting you an immense stronghold and dungeon to protect you and your buddies' swag between adventures, filled with traps of every kind. Your kobold artificer makes it worse: you bring him spare magic loot to break down for XP to manufacture even better stuff, some of which goes into the home base to protect it. Meanwhile, your little expert guys are busy just manufacturing better weapons and armor, and manufacturing so many ways they can take shots at invaders that even if the DM wanted to, he'd probably have to concede that short of some asshole wizard just teleporting into the place, your base isn't going to be taken by anything less than a kingdom's entire armed forces converging on the place. The best part? Kobolds in warm climates actually eat less. No shit; long as the average temp is above 40 degrees Fahrenheit (fuck you, Celsius), your kobold minions only have to eat every three or four days. (FYI, they also eat goddamn anything. Vermin, animals, other humanoids, some of that beholder meat you left after blowing one up, whatever can go into the pot and cooked into something edible gets eaten.)

Lastly, kobolds basically outsmarted their enemies. They know they are small and weak and can't do much about it. They're good at mining and trapmaking, though, so what other creature could use a legion of little minions who do nothing but dig out precious minerals and make traps to defend it all day? Fucking dragons, of course. Right there in Races of the Dragon, there's a blue dragon who actually tells her hatchlings that only kobolds are more reliable than family and the most diehard friends. Because kobolds don't sit on their treasure; they hand it over to a neighborhood dragon and ask for nothing but protection and a little help with enemies once in a while. For a dragon, the return on that investment is just too good: fabulous wealth, dozens of lethal traps to help protect it, and a nice little army of sneaky, smart little ranged attackers who won't hesitate to pin-cushion intruders with dozens of crossbow bolts. For the most part, everyone wins in that arrangement.

Kobolds may not be as elegant as elves, as sturdy as dwarves, or have the adaptability of humans. What they have is moxie and the smarts to play up their strengths, making them the "underdogs" you can't help but root for a little bit.

===Pathfinder===
In addition to appearing in the Advanced Race Guide and Inner Sea Races, Kobolds got their own mini-booklet specifically aimed at Kobolds of Golarion, with a bunch of new traits - including special "bonus" traits based on what color their scales were.

::Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Dexterity, -4 Strength, -2 Constitution
::Size: Small
::Type: Humanoid (Reptilian)
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision 60 feet
::Armor: +1 natural armor
::Crafty: +2 racial bonus to Craft (Traps), Perception, and Profession (Miner), Craft (Traps) and Stealth are always Class Skills
::Weakness: Light Sensitivity

''Alternate Racial Traits:''
* '''Beast Bond:''' Replace '''Crafty''' with +2 racial bonus to Handle Animal and Ride checks, with Handle Animal and Ride always being Class Skills.
* '''Dragon-Scaled:''' Replace '''Armor''' with Resistance 5 to either Acid, Cold, Electricity or Fire Damage.
* '''Gliding Wings:''' Replace '''Crafty''' with the ability to Glide; when falling, a kobold can make a DC 15 Fly check to land without injury as if using the ''Feather Fall'' spell, and if it succeeds on this check, can then make a second DC 15 Fly check to move 5 feet laterally for every 20 feet fallen.
* '''Jester:''' Replace '''Crafty''' with +2 racial bonus to Diplomacy and Perform checks, with Diplomacy and Perform always being Class Skills.
* '''Dayrider:''' Downgrades a kobold's Darkvision to Low-Light Vision, but removes its Light Sensitivity.
* '''Dragonmaw:''' Replaces '''Armor''' with a D4 damage bite attack that can also deal a bonus +1d6 fire/acid/cold/lightning damage (chosen and set at character creation) 1/day.
* '''Echo Whistler:''' Replaces '''Crafty''' with the ability to try and make a Bluff check with just a bit of vocal mimicry 3/day, gaining a +2 bonus to the check in any place that would generate an echo.
* '''Frightener:''' Replaces '''Armor''' with a +1 DC boost to any Fear spell that the kobold casts.
* '''Prehensile Tail:''' Replaces '''Armor''' with a +2 bonus to Acrobatics & Climb checks and the ability to draw a hidden weapon as a move action.
* '''Secret Strider:''' Replaces '''Crafty''' with the ability to, twice per day, enter a super-sneaky mode for 1 minute. During this time, the kobold leaves no trail when moving through natural surroundings, increasing the DC of Survival checks to track it by +10.
* '''Shoulder To Shoulder:''' Replaces '''Crafty''' with a +1 bonus to Aid Another checks, the ability to occupy the same space as another Small creature without penalty, and the ability to gain a +1 AC bonus when sharing a space with another kobold with this trait.
* '''Spellcaster Sneak:''' Replaces '''Crafty''' with a +2 bonus to Stealth checks. A kobold spellcaster with this trait can also freely apply Silent Spell to a spell 1/day.
* '''Wild Forest Kobold:''' Replaces ''Crafty'' with a +2 bonus to Perception and Survival checks. Additionally, Stealth and Survival are always class skills for this kobold.
* '''Wyrmcrowned:''' Replaces ''Crafty'' with a +2 bonus to either Diplomacy or Intimidate and the ability to count the chosen skill as always being a class skill.

===4th Edition===
In this edition, kobolds received their first writeup in the Monster Manual 1.
::Ability Score Modifier: +2 Dexterity +2 Constitution,
::Size: Small
::Vision: Normal
::Speed: 6 squares
::Skill Bonus: +2 Stealth, +2 Thievery
::Trap Sense: +2 to all defenses against traps
::Racial Power - Shifty: At-Will power. You can spend a minor action to Shift 1 square

They later got beefed up in the Dungeon Survival Guide. This gave them the Reptile type, traded Stealth bonus for Dungeoneering, gave them Darkvision, let them swap their Dex boost for +2 Charisma instead, and replaced Shifty with Shifty Manuever, an Encounter power that lets the kobold and all allies within Close Burst 2 shift 1 square as a free action.

It also gave them five new racial utility powers; Flee! (level 2 Daily; kobold and all allies in Close Burst 2 get +2 to all defenses for 1 turn and shift their full speed), Load Slingpot (level 2 Encounter; kobold with a sling can fling a randomly enchanted projectile that will either give the target a turn-long attack penalty, set the target on fire, or immobilize them for a turn), Tunnel Scuttle (level 6 Encounter; free move action that can go up walls and through tight spaces without issue), Frantic Shift (level 10 Encounter; shift 1 square as a minor action, recharges if you get Bloodied) and Trap-Gang Method (level 10 At-Will; if you take trap/hazard damage with a non-minion creature adjacent to you, you can shift over half the damage you take to that creature).

On top of that, it also provided them with five empowering feats; Dragon's Indomitability (roll two dice and choose the result you want when saving vs. Fear and Stun), Kobold in a Corner (+1 per tier bonus damage against creatures that have combat advantage against you), and Shiftier Maneuver (when you use Shifty Maneuver, one target can shift +2 extra squares) for every'bold, Trapbuster (roll two dice and pick your preference when making Perception checks to detect traps, you don't ever trigger a trap if you fail a Thievery check to disable it) for those with training in Thievery, and Eldritch Momentum (if you move at least 3 squares away from where you started your turn, you gain combat advantage against all creatures under your Warlock's Curse until the end of your next turn) for the kobold [[warlock]].

Truly, 4th edition was a glorious time to play a kobold.

===5th Edition===
[[File:Looting_Kobolds.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Kobolds are a bit more silly in 5e.]]
From Volo's Guide to Monsters.

::Ability Score Modifier: +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength
::Size: Small
::Speed: 30 feet
::Darkvision
::Grovel: Once per encounter, can use an action on your turn to beg, plead, snivel and otherwise humiliate yourself; until the end of your next turn, all of your allies gain Advantage on attack rolls made against enemies within 10 feet of you and who can see your pathetic display.
::Pack Tactics: If at least one non-incapacitated ally is within 5 feet of a creature you are attacking, you gain Advantage on attack rolls against that creature.
::Sunlight Sensitivity: You suffer Disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks made when you or your target are in direct sunlight.

The Grovel power is ridiculously useful, allowing you to grant Advantage to ALL attack rolls made by ALL your allies against a sizable number of enemies. That said, it's also the source of a great deal of [[skub]]; those who like their kobolds to be viewed as "truly pathetic" feel it's fitting, whilst players who want to play a kobold in order to fight ''against'' the perception of kobolds as weak, cowardly, stupid cannon fodder find it infuriating, because it's a racial trait that goes directly against their character plan AND it means you're inherently contributing less to the party. In fairness, it can easily be reskinned into a more heroic or warlike act, a comedy skit if you're going for something goofier, or even an elaborate and [[Pun-Pun|truly cunning]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XfkZlcG8KU| deception.]

Likewise, the Pack Tactics power is seen as extremely powerful. This is offset by your Sunlight Sensitivity, meaning that you yourself are less able to contribute in a fight. Especially since, being Small and having a Strength penalty, you're not likely to be in melee range in the first place, as you're far better suited for a bow-based [[rogue]]/[[ranger]] or a spellcaster.

In a nutshell, the 5e Kobold looks like an attempt at directly converting the 5e Monster Manual version into a PC race, for good or ill.

{{D&D1e-Races}}
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{{Pathfinder-Races}}

==Cutebolds==
[[File:Cutebold adventure party.gif|250px|thumb|right|Aw, they think they're people!]]
Cutebolds are like Kobolds only incredibly cute.

They are pitiful and childish in everything they do, and are innocent enough to not know how to procreate. All they know is that rubbing their noses gives them a guilty pleasure. They are no less "harmless" when played properly, though. They tend toward the dog-like for extra D'aww.

This interpretation of the Kobold is thought to have been inspired by their depiction in [[Dwarf Fortress]], where they steal your supplies, but seem to do it in the most endearingly stupid manner possible.

Cutebold stats:
: +2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Int
: Charm person once per day as a spell like ability
: Low light vision and scent

==Kobold Commandos==
A popular way to portray kobolds in a more contemporary fashion, kobold commandos portray kobolds as being part of the military, especially special forces. Other anons point out that the fact that they don't hold up in a one-on-on fight with other low level monsters, attack in large numbers and from ambush, have a predisposition towards traps and dig big underground tunnels, they're kind of like the Viet Cong. This probably rooted in the old story about [[Tucker's Kobolds]] and there are similarity into the two depictions. Of the various 'cannon fodder' enemies, Kobolds seem like the most organized, and with that organization a DM has a lot of leeway to look into all the ways one can use fortifications to fuck with an attacker, and turn them onto unsuspecting players.

==Kobold Models==
Despite being a part of D&D since the very beginning, kobold tabletop models are rather rare. For the longest time, [[Reaper Miniatures]] has been pretty much the ''only'' company that made them in squad/mob size numbers, and even then the sculpts... aren't that spectacular. However, as of May 2017 Westfalia Miniatures has Kickstarted their new tabletop wargame Strongsword, and included with it are models (damn good ones, too) for an entire kobold army! What's more, in the Strongsword lore the little bastards apparently cause enough mayhem to be responsible for a conflict called (I shit you not) the [[Tucker's Kobolds|''Kobold Wars'']].

==Monstergirls==
{{Monstergirls}}
[[File:MGE Kobold.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The MGE Kobold, one of the two most iconic depictions of the kobold as a cute doggie-girl.]]
[[File:Koboldette.jpg|thumb|300px|left|The basic approach the West takes to sexy kobolds.]]

Given the popularity of kobolds, there are also a lot of people who like them In That Way. The two most popular kobold monstergirl depictions are the dogbold and the little dragonbold: Goblinoid kobolds are pretty much immune to this treatment, mostly because at that point you just end up with a monstergirl [[goblin]] and maybe a few special kinks, at which point you're usually asking yourself "why is this not just called a goblin?".

Dogbolds are mostly seen in Japanese media like [[Life With Monstergirls]] and the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]], where they are humanoid dogs to some degree. In the former they have small snouts instead of noses, fur covering their bodies and [[Power_Fist|massive hands]]. Polt is the only kobold seen so far, the owner of a gym and creator of the "kobolds are all hyperactive dogs who'll drag you along if you take them for walkies" stereotype. In the latter they are humans with dog-like disposion; submissive, eager to please, excitable and won't stop doing something until you tell them to.

In the west, meanwhile, the small dragon type kobold is massive bait for the [[furry]] subgroup known as scalies: those with an interested in scaled rather than furred animals. Dragons are by far the most popular animal in the group, which kobolds are a smaller version of. Humanization is rarely done because that would ruin their small dragon appeal. While in some cases they are drawn with humanoid penises or breasts, often they are depicted as they are in the books (except, you know, naked). This includes very minute sexual dimorphism, meaning that any kobold could be a [[trap]]. Often included is them having a cloaca, meaning that their pelvic region is reduced to a single nondescript opening that they piss, jizz, and crap out of (....hot?). These kobolds are often portrayed with wide, egg-laying hips in order to give them some [[shortstack]] appeal.

{{clear}}

===Canonical Kobold Deviance===
In what has to be the weirdest of coincidences, ever since kobolds got their [[dragon]]-linked makeover in 3rd edition, there's been some really weird sexual elements snuck into their lore, although what that element is depends on the edition.

[[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition]]: [[Races of X|Races of the Dragon]] states that kobolds go into heat and are compelled to breed, like animals, but they're also sapient beings, so they also form permanent pair-bondings. They reconcile these different facts with the statement that extra-marital sex and breeding is considered "no biggie" in kobold society, because the urge hits when it hits, and they can't control themselves when it happens, so there's no point getting jealous about it.

[[Pathfinder]]: Kobolds of [[Golarion]] has become somewhat memetically infamous for its presentation of kobold biology. Classic Monsters Revisited also established kobolds as being super-breeders, with females producing eggs throughout their lives and producing bigger and bigger clutches as they get older.

[[Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition]]: The Dungeon Survival Handbook states that kobolds worship [[dragon]]s to the extent of willing committing suicide by feeding themselves to hungry dragons because they view it was a way to transcend their kobold natures and become one with their devourer. While they are not stated to get any ''sexual'' pleasure from this act of getting eaten, you just know that pointing as much out will fall on deaf ears with many voraphiles.

[[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]]: Volo's Guide to Monsters states that, like certain frogs and fish, kobolds are environmentally triggered gender-benders, switching between male and female in response to the overabundance of one gender in order to facilitate breeding. So theoretically, if you want kobolds, you just stick two kobolds in a cage and it doesn't matter what sexes they started out as, they'll become a breeding pair and start making eggs soon enough.

==Gallery==
===Cutebolds===
<center>
<gallery>
File:Koboldthief.png
File:Id give you the moon.gif
File:Grifli.gif|There's no word in kobold for "[[just as planned|keikaku]]".
File:Koboldhouse.gif|[[Kobold Camp]] now with 3D rendering.
File:Loveakobold.gif|Love can bloom under a battlefield.
Image:Cutebold_fantasies.jpg|Someone's got a widdle crush!
File:CuteboldMindflayer.jpg|No one messes with a [[Illithid|Mindflayer]]
</gallery>
</center>

===D&D Kobolds through the ages===
<center>
<gallery>
Image:Original_Kobold.png|The very first kobold in D&D, the foundation of them all.
Image:Goblinoid_Kobold.jpg|The one time when "goblin" and "kobold" became interchangeable.
Image:DiTerlizzi_Kobold.jpg|The iconic AD&D Kobold artwork; you can actually see similarities to 3e if you squint.
Image:3e_Kobold.jpg|The definitive species change-over.
Image:4e_Kobolds.jpg
Image:4e_Kobolds_2.jpg
Image:5e_Kobold.jpg|New swolbolds, the pinnacle of kobold design!
Image:Pathfinder_Kobold.jpg|Pathfinder did buff kobolds first.
Image:Pathfinder_Kobold_Warrior.jpg
Image:Pathfinder_Kobold_Shaman.jpg
</gallery>
</center>

===Western-style Monstergirls===
<center>
<gallery>
Image:Koboldette_2.jpg|Now in flat-chested variety.
Image:Kobold_Maiden.jpg
Image:Kobold_Maiden_2.jpg
Image:Embarrassed_Kobold.png|Some kobold-gals are very shy about being approached by human adventurers.
Image:Presenting_Kobold.png|Others, not so much.
Image:Then_and_now_1.png|Kobolds have changed a lot over the years.
Image:Nubile_Kobold_Savage.jpg
Image:Kobold_Worker.png
Image:Kobold_Traveler.jpg
Image:Kobold_Warrior.jpg
Image:Kobold_Dancer.png
Image:Kobold_White_Mage.jpg
Image:Kobold_Wizard_1.png
Image:Kobold_Wizard_2.jpg
File:Feathered Aztec Kobold Spirit Shaman.png
</gallery>
</center>

==See also==
*[[Tucker's Kobolds]]
*[[Kobold Camp]]
*[[Kobolds Ate My Baby!]]
*[[Unified Setting/Kobolds]]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80BWVkKd_Cw The cutebold theme]

[[Category:Dragons]]