Kobolds - B/X Monster Tactics

Kobold Basics

Kobolds are very, very weak individually. Their ½ hit die means that they’ll usually go down in just one hit, and it also gives them the worst possible attack rolls. They have the worst possible saving throws too, saving as normal humans. They attack with weapons, but their damage is pitiful: either 1-4 or by weapon with a -1 penalty. Their speed is 60’ (20’), so they are as slow as PCs in metal armor. They are susceptible to charm person, hold person, and sleep.

 

Kobolds have only three things going for them statistically. First, their AC is equivalent to leather armor. This could be because they wear leather armor or due to their scaly skin. That’s still not great, but we can file it under “at least they aren’t AC 9!”

Second, they have 90' infravision, without the daylight penalties goblins have.

 

Third, they have high numbers appearing, coming in groups of 4-16 in dungeons outside their lairs. Their large numbers mitigate their individual weakness somewhat.

Though they are individually weaker than goblins, dungeon encounters with kobolds can be more dangerous than dungeon encounters with goblins. In the dungeon, kobolds move in groups twice as large as goblin groups. That gives them twice as many attacks, and it also toughens them in some surprising ways. An average goblin has 3.5 hit points, but a pair of average kobolds have 5 between them. A single goblin with 5 hp can still be killed in one hit, but it takes two hits to kill two kobolds, even if they each have but 1 hp.

The combination of their numbers and 1/2 HD also make kobolds surprisingly resilient against sleep spells, compared to goblins. An average goblin encounter group includes five goblins, and a sleep spell will disable them all about 90% of the time. An average kobold encounter group included ten kobolds, and a sleep spell will disable them all only about 44% of the time. This is because 1/2-HD creatures count as 1-HD creatures for the sleep spell. That's not to say you shouldn't go ahead and cast sleep against a kobold group, though. The average casting will eliminate 9 of them, and the tenth one is very likely to surrender or run away, as kobold morale is only 6.

Kobolds are described "small, evil, dog-like men" with "scaly rust-brown skin and no hair." The nature of their "evil" is not well-defined, but we know they hate gnomes, attacking them on sight, and that they steal gnomes' precious gold. Neanderthals hate them, and dwarves speak their language.

In my Blacknight campaign, kobolds are manifestations of hatred for gnomes, and they are inversions of much that is distinctive about gnomes. Gnomes love metalwork and machinery. Kobolds love breaking things. Gnomes mine and hoard gold and gems, delighting in possessing them. Kobolds sabotage mining operations, and they don't even bother to keep the treasure they steal. For kobolds, the point isn't to possess others' treasures. It is to deprive others of them. Instead of hoarding what they steal, kobolds will destroy their loot or hide it somewhere. The point of the hiding, though, isn't to keep the treasure safe from thieves. It is to ensure that whatever they have stolen becomes lost. If someone finds it, all the better; the kobolds can steal it from its new owners too!

Kobolds speak their own language, and they have the usual 20% chance of speaking Common. It makes sense also to give them a 20% chance each of speaking Gnomish and Dwarvish. They might speak goblin, but they can easily communicate with goblins in Chaotic, so that isn't very necessary.

Despite depending on large numbers, kobolds' Chaotic nature means they still prioritize themselves over the group. Their chiefs, and their chiefs' bodyguards, are much tougher than normal kobolds, and that is the only thing that keeps them in charge. Kobolds work in groups, not out of loyalty, but as a necessary means of survival. Kobolds are happy to sell each other out for their own benefit.

Scales, Eggs, and Metabolism

In B/X, kobolds are described as having "scaly skin," but they are also described as dog-like. There is no mention of their being related to dragons or lizard men or troglodytes or anything reptilian. Indeed, they are described as dog-like men, so they are much more likely related to humans and demi-humans than to any other monsters.

In the 1e Monster Manual, kobolds are much more explicitly reptilian. If your kobolds are reptilian, you need to decide whether they are cold-blooded or not. There are some nice possibilities if your kobolds are cold-blooded. First, their cold-bloodedness might make them harder to spot with infravision, and that is a great advantage for subterranean ambushers who are enemies of gnomes (who also have 90' infravision). It would also explain why kobolds are so slow and deal such pitiful damage. Cold-blooded creatures living underground may not be able to get their muscles warm enough to move fast or strike hard.

In my Blacknight campaign, though, kobolds are warm-blooded, and they don't hatch from eggs. They look like hairless humans with chihuahuah heads and eczema. Like the other Chaotic human-like monsters, they need food, water, and sleep, but they don't reproduce biologically. Some are gnomes who become hopelessly corrupted. Some are made by Chaotic magicians or cultists. And some simply happen or appear in areas where there are gnomes or where there are those who hate them.

Encountering Kobolds

Kobold Reactions

Kobolds know they need large numerical advantages to win a fight. They prefer an advantage of at least 4 to 1. If they don't have such an advantage, they will try to avoid fights or escape and return in larger numbers.

If the PCs have any gnomes with them, kobold reactions will be immediately hostile. If numbers are on their side, the kobolds will attack. Otherwise, they will begin work gathering the necessary numbers and setting up an ambush to attack the group later.

If there aren't any gnomes in the group, kobold reactions are normal. Here are some suggestion for reaction roll results:

• Immediate attack. The kobolds take immediate hostile action, but they won't charge a superior force in a more defensible position. They will instead move to set up an ambush (possibly gathering reinforcements first). They may even let enemies pass by them, intending to ambush them when the enemies come back from where they are going.
• Hostile, possible attack. The kobolds make threats and try to get concessions from the PCs. They might issue a warning, and they might preemptively send one or more of their number to alert reinforcements. One possibility is for the kobolds to sound an alarm and warn the PCs that reinforcements are on the way to attack unless the PCs do as they are told.
• Uncertain. The kobolds don't know how much of a threat the PCs are, but they want to find out. When they have a clearer idea whether the party is worth attacking, they will decide whether to attack or to establish a working relationship.
• No attack, leaves or considers offers. The kobolds are afraid of the PCs. They will most likely leave, unless the PCs offer them a good reason to stay. When they leave, they will fall back to join additional kobolds and preparing to defend if attacked.
• Enthusiastic friendship. The kobolds are certain they are outclassed, and so they try to make the best of the situation, even bribing the PCs or offering their services in exchange for safety.

Kobolds in the Dungeon

Kobolds wander in groups of 4-16 on the first level of a dungeon. They might also be found on the second or third level, but only in much greater numbers.

These groups of wandering kobolds are most likely looking for trouble. They may be waiting to ambush enemies, looking for a place to set up an ambush, looking for food, or on a raiding expedition.

A dungeon lair includes 6-60 kobolds. It should be well-hidden, with access to food and water, as well as multiple, hidden ways in and out known only to the kobolds.

Especially in the dungeons, kobolds should always have escape plans. Even in the presence of their chief, the odds are almost even that they will fail a morale check. Their lairs have negligible treasure, so they have little to protect other than their own lives. On the hunt, their strategy is to ambush and overwhelm with numbers, and to leave as quickly as possible. In their lair, their strategy is to get away. When they flee, kobolds are apt to split up and go in several directions, hoping that their pursuers go after others rather than them. 

Apart from hiding their lairs, kobolds will frequently change their ambush locations, not returning to a previously-used site for some time. This makes it harder to catch them; you usually can't just go to the site of a recent ambush and hope to find kobolds waiting there to strike again.

Kobolds in the Wilderness

Kobolds wander the wilderness in groups of 6-60, and their lairs consist of 30-300. As in dungeons, their lairs will be hidden, and they will have escape routes. Wandering groups are engaged in much the same activities as those who wander in dungeons—typically either setting up ambushes or conducting raids against vulnerable targets for the purpose of destroying whatever their targets love.

Even when wandering, kobolds in the wilderness might be carrying Treasure Type J. If they are, it's just the worthless leftovers of whatever their most recent raids have brought them. They are likely not to be carrying actual copper and silver coins, but rather foodstuffs or trade goods of similar value and encumbrance.

In the standard encounter tables, kobolds appear only in the Barren/Hills/Mountains terrain, where they account a little more than 2% of all encounters. Gnomes occur in that terrain as well, and it is likely that any kobolds encountered are at war with them.

Ambushes

Their description says that kobolds often set ambushes, but the B/X rules aren't explicit about how ambushes should work. There are a few schools of thought on this, and I'm just going to describe my favorite.

Unlike bugbears, kobolds don't get a bonus to their chance of surprising enemies. But their 90' infravision will make them hard to sneak up on underground or at night. So, kobolds will set up their ambushes with 90' sight lines, in the dark. Even with only a 2-in-6, the kobolds chance of surprising their targets, their targets have little chance to suprise the kobolds.

Check for surprise as soon as the either the kobolds decide to spring their ambush or the PCs are in a place where they might be able to see the kobolds. When the kobolds spring the ambush will depend on whether they have missile weapons or not.

If the kobold ambushers have missile weapons, they will attack as soon as enemies come within medium range. Otherwise, they will position themselves around corners so that they might be able to surprise enemies who have unwittingly moved to a position 25' away from the waiting monsters.

Kobold Combat

Kobolds are too small for longbows. Their ideal ranged weapon would be the crossbow, whose 80' short range suits the kobolds' 90' infravision and mere 20' of movement. Against melee enemies 80' away, with a speed of 40', the kobolds could get several shots in before the enemies are close enough to attack.

However, I don't give kobolds crossbows. Crossbows are gnomish weapons, and so my kobolds hate them.  For ranged attacks, then, my kobolds have to rely on short bows, slings, spears, or javelins. That means they have to wait let enemies come a little closer before springing their ambushes.

In melee, kobolds will most often use spears, dealing 1d6-1 points of damage when they hit. They despise a toe-to-toe, one-on-one fight, though. They know they need to gang up on targets to have any hope of surviving, much less of actually defeating an enemy. So, they will try to fight only in terrain that allows them gang up on their enemies. They want to draw their enemies through choke points and mob them. For example, kobolds don't want to fight someone standing in a doorway. They want the person to come through the door to a position where at least four kobolds can attack them.

Kobolds will retreat or surrender when their morale breaks. Their first choice is to retreat, with several kobolds going in several different directions if possible. But if their enemies are faster or if they have taken a lot of losses, the kobolds would rather surrender than die. Having surrendered, the kobolds will cooperate with their captors in hopes of being released, and they will certainly run away at the first opportunity.

What about Traps?

As I've said before, kobolds are best used as nuisance monsters, not primary enemies. Their purpose is to enhance the challenge of something else. The "something else" might be another monster population or whatever other challenges are present in the dungeon or wilderness of the adventure. That could be traps, but that's a cliché. Try to make your kobolds more interesting than that.

It isn't easy to do, but you should think about how you can use kobolds to create interesting choices for your players to make. As they pursue their primary goal, the characters should find that there are kobolds demanding their attention and resources. They should get a sense that they have two options.

One is to try to locate and eliminate the source of the problem—the kobold lair. That requires commitment of time and resources, however, which should complicate their accomplishment of their ultimate goal. The players should be able to see how going down the sidetrack of dealing with the kobolds will increase the difficulty of what they are trying to accomplish in their adventure.

Their other option is to ignore the kobold threat, dealing with the kobolds as they encounter them, and staying focused on their final objective. It should be clear to them that this will also make it harder to accomplish their goal. The kobold encounters cost them some hit points and spells, at least, which they might prefer to have available when they reach their objective.

It's up to the players to decide what the best use of their resources will be. Is it more efficient to just eliminate the kobold lair once and for all, or to soak up a few encounters with kobolds in pursuit of their ultimate goal? This is how a nuisance monster can make a game interesting, whether its lair is a deathtrap dungeon or not.