Kobolds

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[edit] Basic Information

Genre: Monstrous Fantasy Epic
Type: Spring Campaign
System: D&D 3.5
GM: Albert Lin

Protagonists:

Daniel B. as Tricky-Hurt-Stab
Benedict M. as Punches-Back
Abrihette Y. as Smite-The-Evil-Damsels

[edit] What are/is Kobolds?

"A kobold’s scaly skin ranges from dark rusty brown to a rusty black color. It has glowing red eyes. Its tail is nonprehensile. Kobolds wear ragged clothing, favoring red and orange. A kobold is 2 to 2½ feet tall and weighs 35 to 45 pounds. Kobolds speak Draconic with a voice that sounds like that of a yapping dog." -Monster Manual, D&D 3.5

"Abominations. Their vile evil is only matched by their stench. Wiping these creatures off the face of Akkadia is under the providence of The Order- but good citizens such as yourselves can help us in that dream. 5 coppers for each scalp- and three silver for each that you bring in still alive. So say The Nine." -High Praetor Marcus Orellius

"Yip! Run away!" -Standard Kobold Battle-cry

So what are kobolds? Typically, they are these short scaly creatures that many GMs of foregone D&D games tossed at even the lowliest adventurers like peanuts. "Why do we kill them?" ask some heroes (with a moral compass). "Because you detect... evil. Yeeup. And loot. Lots of it" (-GM). And so, many kobolds are slaughtered with comical looks of terror on their faces trying to roll high enough to deal piddling amounts of nothing.

But there were some, some who fought back against the stereotypes and became heroes to be sung at quaint village festivals.

You might be one of those kobolds. Or maybe you're just standard cannon fodder. Or both.

Kobolds is a D&D adventure of kobold protagonists set in the world of Akkadia- where everyone is hostile to varying degrees of unpleasantness toward you (more on that below). If you like epic story-telling, serious role-playing, smart decision-making, wacky combat, and underdogs, than Kobolds is the game for you.

[edit] The World of Akkadia

Much like any other Earth-based fantasy world, Akkadia orbits a sun, which is in turn orbitted by two moons. The world is mostly a desert sea (aptly named The Ocean), where only a semi-continent remains habitable. Rumors tell of a time when there was no Ocean, but you would get stoned for heresy- unless you are a kobold, in which case they'll stone you just because.

The following is the relevant and not-so-relevant things that could come up (or not):

Magic is uncommon and unpredictable in the world. There are few (if any) so-called wizards and mages left in the world. Only The Order mantains a well-organized group. 'Monsters' tend to have innate magics, which humans lack, and some practice it's wilder aspects.

Humans hold the majority of the land under their control and pseudo-humans (anyone not strictly human) fall somewhere between monsters and cripples. Xenophobia is rampant, although whether from The Order's propaganda or from the culture is difficult to judge. Their culture is based loosely on medieval Germany. That's all you should know.

Monsters have generally been pushed out into the dwindling wilderness, and many have long since died out. As such, those of non-human races regard each other with somewhat less hostility than you would find in most settings- although if you think others won't enslave and/or eat you, you wouldn't have lasted this long.

[edit] The Order

Here's an origin story.

It was said that many years ago, there was a Great War between humanity and the monster races. At their darkest hour, nine angels of the One True God descended from the heavens to bring divine succor to humanity. The Nine, as they were called, possessed willing converts and turned the tide of the war. A great battle at the capital city of Stronghold was the turning point in the Great War and the forces of darkness were swept away. A Covenant was formed between the Celestials and humanity, and the Nine stayed on to give tender celestial administration to the New Theocracy of Götterdämmerung.

And so passed nearly two centuries of human progress.

The Order itself is the New Theocracy, which is headed by the Nine and proceeds down to bishops, clergymen, hunters, etc. etc. all the way to choir boys. They are responsible for this new era of peace and for driving the monsters to the shrinking frontiers. They keep a tight handle on the local populace, but considering the alternatives, most are quietly grateful...

[edit] Kobold Society

Here's another origin story.

Once long ago, kobolds were the misbegotten offspring of Gods and creatures of actual worth.

Only kobolds really believe that, as most agree that if that were true, their parents would have strangled the species as a whole at birth. Suffice to say, kobolds have been on the short end of the stick being the weakest, smallest, and not-really-threatening end of the 'monster' spectrum. Even that is under some contension as many believe that they are some kind of dog- the kind that can sometimes walk on two legs, shake your hand, and has a very bad case of mange.

Kobold society itself is nomadic tribal in nature. Permanent habitation is rare as they inevitably get driven out or enslaved by humans, or more often by other monsters. Only their relatively high breeding rates have kept them from dying out, which many believe is their most useful skill.

In actuality, kobolds are highly intelligent and are consumate survivors. Their culture is based around survival- and it is actually quite advanced in that regard. Of all the monster races, they are the farthest from extinction, thriving on the edges of society in their barrows. Heirarchy (for those who care about such things) is a complicated matter between the Chief (male) and Shaman (female). However, they try really hard to work together since most disagreements are usually settled by the entire village getting wiped out.

A few other kobold tidbits-

Kobolds are named by the village shaman. These are usually (but not always) an indication of that kobolds future, like 'Sneaky-Pie-Thief' or 'Will-Be-Chief-One-Day' or 'Dies-Horribly'.
All kobolds worship Mo-Jhaal, the great God of... well, no one really knows. He/she seems entirely laidback for a God, requiring some form of creative entertainment and/or offerings at least once a day by a tribe (or a group, or even say, a 'party'). In exchange, the kobolds get to live, and sometimes fortune turns their way.

[edit] Where our story begins...

Survival is the basic tenant uniting all kobold societies. Yet, how did they come by their reputation of dying in prodigous and comical quantities? Enter 'the Quest'.

Every kobold has a quest, even if they haven't found it yet. Sometimes it's to filch an infinite number of pies. Other time it's to capture the north wind in a bottle on the top of Mount Choonk-Choonk.

For our unsuspecting protagonists, it's the pie. But not just any pie, but the best pie in all the land- Schmidt's Special Meat Pie. Why exactly they all seek to obtain this fabled pie is unknown, but destiny and convenient narration seem to go hand and hand...

[edit] Nitty Gritty System Stuff

Kobolds follows D&D 3.5 rule set, with the following limitations and house rules.

[edit] Classes and Leveling

As there is relatively little magic in the setting, kobolds cannot be wizards, sorcerers, druids, or clerics. While bards are relatively rare, they serve as the Shamans of kobold society (ask me for approval). All other core classes are free game.

Kobold characters will start at level 3 and will level at the end of each session.

Max hitpoints at every level, as you may very well need it.

[edit] Attributes

Everyone starts with a 9 in all their stats. They have 28 ‘points’ to raise them at the following costs.

From 9 to...

10: Costs 1 point

11: Costs 2 point

12: Costs 3 point

13: Costs 4 point

14: Costs 6 points

15: Costs 8 points

16: Costs 10 points

17: Costs 13 points

18: Costs 16 points

Racial bonuses are applied after.

[edit] Kobold Racial Package

These are slightly tweaked for the game world kobolds:

-4 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution.
Small size: +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, -4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits ¾ those of Medium characters.
A kobold’s base land speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision out to 60 feet.
Racial Skills: All kobold character have Craft (trapmaking), Hide, and Move Silently as base skills. If they would have these as base skills already, they get a +2 racial bonus instead.
Racial Feats: A kobold character gains feats according to its character class.
+1 natural armor bonus.
Automatic Languages: Draconic.
Favored Class: Any.
Level adjustment +0.

[edit] Traits

At the beginning of the first session, kobolds will choose traits. Some of these will be kobold names, minor traits (small bonuses), and unique traits.

[edit] Crit Charts

Whenever you roll a natural confirmed critical (20) or failure (1), you roll a d100 for it's effects via a crit chirt. These may range from severing someone's belt (and the resulting hilarity) to impaling someone's heart.

[edit] Hero Points

You will start the game with one Hero Point if you wrote a back-story. Each Hero Point can be spent to do the following:

Roll and add the result of a d6 roll to any skill, save, attack, or damage roll. You must choose to use this before you make that roll.
Re-roll on the critical success or failure chart.
If you are doing something crazy outside the scope of the system (i.e. swinging across chandeliers to attack someone on the other balcony), you may spent a hero point to make it effective if it is cinematically ‘awesome’. I have the final say on it's effects. You cannot do impossible things, just cinematically interesting ones.

If you bring any drinks/snacks to game, you will be rewarded a hero point. This is the only way to gain further Hero Points.