Kobold

*"Kobolds worship death, and view life not as something to be celebrated, but endured." —Urden Orlov, Chief Anthropologist at Saha'i University*

Kobolds are a rodent-like species of humanoids. Kobolds are most noted for their historical treachery and past brutality. They performed countless atrocities and heinous acts of murder and violence, all in the name of bizarre "gods" from outside the bounds of reality.

Kobolds are part of a rare group of Ijzerians, in that the word "kobold" describes a species, an ethnicity, and a nation-state all at once. Whereas most other species intermingle and socialise outside their homelands, kobolds never did due to their extremely insular and xenophobic spiritual traditions. Kobolds believed their destiny was to dominate and subjugate all lesser peoples of the world, and their definition of "lesser" was quite broad. Kobolds repeatedly committed massively organised crimes, conducted war, and conspired with alien intelligences to bring about the literal end of the world. Ultimately for their numerous and unforgiveable crimes, they were spared extinction and instead exiled to their home city of Ch'Agl. The population of kobolds was reduced from over 200 million people to fewer than 600,000 over the course of 500 years as territory, wealth, privileges and even rights were continually legislated away from them in an attempt to destroy their poisonous perverted culture. Rather than abandon their silent gods, kobolds simply acquiesced to their forcible removal from the general population, and continued their dark plotting, deep in their polluted swamps, waiting for a sign from beyond the stars.

## Biology

Kobolds bear a strong physical resemblance to upright rodents.

On average, they are between 120cm and 160cm tall, but due to their strong connection with unstable magics, kobolds have a sizeable population of their own people who are much shorter and/or much taller than normal.

They are humanoid in that they are intelligent and stand upright - but they cannot interbreed with other intelligent species, only other kobolds.

Kobolds possess a natural resistance to disease and to pollution, although they do have their limits. They can breath otherwise toxic fumes, and can consume otherwise putrid fare.

## Society

Kobold society revolves around their religious traditions, which focus on a pantheon of alien gods known as "The Others".

Organised religion is generally not actively practised throughout Ijzeria since most of its people prefer a more personal relationship with spirituality, but religions and churches do exist and offer structure. However, even these religious organisations do not promote the existence of "gods", and the idea of a "god" is completely foreign to an average Ijzerian. There are spirits, and there are mysteries, but the idea that someone should obey the whims of a being beyond comprehension is unheard of. The koboldic devotion to The Others is yet another wedge that divides the kobold people from their fellow Ijzerians.

Life as a kobold is extremely rigid and authoritarian, yet also very mobile; Every kobold is a member of some caste or another, and each caste plays a specific role in kobold society. Kobolds are assigned castes based on their physical capabilities, and they are never allowed to question authority nor attempt any kind of social climbing or personal growth. Strangely, this doesn't mean kobolds stay in the same careers forever, since kobolds so frequently die or are killed in industrial accidents, and therefore must be replaced. It's not uncommon for a beggar to be pulled off the street and forced to work the sewers at a chemical plant, then a week later be promoted to plant manager because they were the sole survivor of a workplace tragedy. Life goes on, and the great work continues.

## Kobold History

References to rat-like people appear throughout most of world history, but modern kobolds were first recognized in the early 9th century, AU.

During The System's early history, Kobolds were one of the few peoples still subjected to race-based discrimination, though not necessarily from The System itself. This lingering discrimination was partially fuelled by their strange religious traditions, sickening diets, and a common belief that kobolds naturally produced disease from within their bodies.

It is not true that kobolds produce disease, rather, it is simply that kobolds naturally have a much stronger immune system and constitution compared to other species. This means that a kobold could be host to a wide variety of otherwise deadly diseases without showing any symptoms. Before germ theory was widely understood and before important advancements in medicine, exposure to a kobold colony for even a short amount of time would almost certainly lead to infection. Ironically, this perpetuated a cycle whereby kobolds would be denied access to certain social spaces and forced into less desirable living areas; where disease would fester and mutate, thus making kobolds even more dangerous to interact with.

Additionally, kobolds were a very visible minority, and their biology is such that they cannot interbreed with members of other species, leading to a very low rate of mixed families, providing another gap between kobolds and the general population.

Because of these seemingly impassable barriers, kobolds rarely fully participated in society, and often withdrew into their own ghettos and enclaves. Kobold communities often developed xenophobia, and over their history many kobolds would deliberately choose paths that diverged from their neighbours out of fear or spite; a pattern that culminated in the founding of the holy city of Ch'Agl.

Kobolds from around Ijzeria were called to make the pilgrimmage to Ch'Agl, and encouraged to settle there and help build a kobold-exclusive nation-state, where kobolds would be free from discrimination, and outlanders would never dare set foot. Ch'Agl was founded as a theocratic autocracy, and although even ancient Ijzerians realised this was a giant red flag, most citizens were just happy that kobolds had their own home, and that it was very far away.

The holy city grew rapidly, so rapidly that in 2049 when a famine impacted the area, Ch'Agl was forced to request financial and food relief from The System. The famine impacted several countries, and so Ch'Agl was not the only region that was suffering. What food Ch'Agl did receive was unsuitable -the unique dietary requirements of kobolds were not respected (kobolds require high-quality sources of complete protein, such as the flesh of beasts or fish), which led to starvation amongst the general population of the city.

Unable to leave the city due to fear of persecution, and denied life-saving aid by the world government, kobolds sharply twisted their own strange religious practises even further, and reached beyond the stars to touch the minds of alien gods. The power those foreign evils sent back allowed the city of Ch'Agl to overrun and consume the lesser nations which edged it, giving them access to fertile fields, and well-stocked fisheries.

Ostensibly, the religious leaders of Ch'Agl intended only to ensure the survival of their people. However, it was too late; these outer gods, these "Others", had given them something no kobold had ever possessed before - power. This would start the kobold nation on a centuries-long path of death and destruction, as they continually traded their sanity and welfare for ever greater chances at domination and control. Millions of people would die in these pointless, fruitless conflicts, but in the end the kobold nation would be cast down and crumble back into the singular city of Ch'Agl once more. This period is known today as the "kobold terror".

Modern anthropologists often remark on the tragedy of the kobold people; had kobolds been born into the world at a less hostile time in history, or perhaps at least into a more enlightened age, their physical differences would likely have been better understood, and possibly even celebrated. Instead, because of ignorance and political expediency, an entire race of people were subjected to a centuries-long cycle of hate and abuse, and made to feel it was not only their fault, but the natural order of things.

The majority of the measures enacted to deter kobold aggression after the terror are still in place today.

### The Kobold Terror

The modern borders of the kobold home city of Ch'Agl were completed in 2041. The kobolds have lived in near complete isolation since the end of the kobold terror in the year 2893, and so view the outside world not as an adversary or a friend, but a bad dream which they barely recall.

Before that, they were a global menace, continually violating restrictions on national militaries, and instead constantly organizing their society into huge military build-ups which they would unleash upon any nation unlucky enough to border them. This bizarre streak of bloodlust and madness, known as the "kobold terror", stretched on for centuries until a System sponsored crackdown and subsequent invasion.

As the kobolds retreated, they deployed a horrific weapon which failed to detonate properly and rather than repel the invaders, it's believed to have instantly wiped out a million or more kobold peasants in a single murderous blast. The ferocity of the weapon slowed the System's advance, but the subsequent damage to the kobold's own territory would cause widespread famine and disease. The weapon itself, which is only loosely described by recovered kobold texts, is believed to have led to the deaths of upwards of 3.2 million kobolds altogether.

Over the course of a three year long war, which after the initial invasion was mostly just a gigantic clean-up operation, the kobolds were driven deeper and deeper into their home territories until only their holy city of Ch'Agl remained (Ch'Agl was previously abandoned due to it having been poisoned by foul and fiendish experimentation and being made totally unsuitable for life). Regardless of what cruelty this may or may not have been, The System did not relent, and no kobolds were permitted outside the putrid walls of that foul city. Tens of millions of kobolds quickly died from starvation and stress, all the while what remained of the kobold leadership was embroiled in a savage power struggle over who would rule what little remained of their society.

More kobolds died of starvation after being confined to their holy city than throughout the rest of the conflict for any reason. In spite of this, The System would show no mercy, nor would it attempt to bring order to the chaos that consumed them from within. the crimes of koboldkind were too numerous and grievous, it was generally agreed that any semblance of forgiveness was the act of a suicidal fool.

Even long after the kobold terror, kobolds remained the target of what was essentially a slow and protracted genocide. Unlike most humanoids who breed in very low numbers, having one or three children at the most over their lifetimes, kobold females often bore 60 or more children over theirs, birthing litters of 10-12 at once. This dangerous ability to rapidly overpopulate engendered feelings of disgust and-more importantly-fear amongst the other humanoids. Many restrictions which would otherwise have been considered abhorrent or inhumane were foisted upon the kobolds who found their territories stripped away, their property confiscated, and most famously their right to mobility struck down. It is worthy of note, that although all of these restrictions were enacted in response to terrible calamities and mass-murder, they came from a fear of what could happen if a kobold were treated like a person.

#### The Kobold Question

The restrictive measures placed on koboldkind were so effective at disabling the kobold people that in the current year, (8407AU), the population of kobolds is fewer than 250,000 worldwide. Currently, the kobold terror does not occupy a large part of the public consciousness, and the only damage they caused which has not been repaired is that which they currently live with - the poisoning of Ch'Agl.

There have been rumblings among those few who still concern themselves with the plight of koboldkind, that The System should look at reintegrating Ch'Agl and its people back into general society. In spite of their horrific crimes, clearly no kobold alive now was alive then. Surely they can't be punished forever.

In spite of this strong ethical argument, almost nothing has been done in Ijzerian society to deal with a potential kobold resurgence. If their freedoms are restored without taking proper measures, the kobold terror could easily return. Additionally, the kobold priests have not for one instant relented in their assault on reason and good faith. They have continually fanned the flames of hatred and spun deceptions into the withered minds of their corrupted followers. Not only is there reason to hesitate in restoring their freedom, to do so would be to invite ruin.

Overall, the kobold question is one that is hotly debated, although thankfully, it is not very pressing. The kobold priesthood is happy to rule over what tiny shreds remain of their empire without the threat of outsider interference, and The System's conflicting ethical concerns prevent it from taking decisive action. Nobody is seriously looking at answering the kobold question anytime soon, and the sheer length of time since kobolds were permitted to freely leave their city means that kobolds as a nation, species, and culture, have completely left the public consciousness.

## Trivia

* Kobolds are named after the kobolds of germanic folklore.
* Both kobold cards in Hello, World! were illustrated by James Fletcher.
* In germanic folklore, kobolds have many descriptions which are not at all consistent and vary wildly. Kobolds were described as animal-like, as small humans, as balls of fire, and even simply as "invisible". Kobolds in **Key of Ijzeria** take some inspiration from the interpretation of german kobolds as spirits which would haunt underground mines. They would cause cave-ins, pollute water supplies, and trick miners into collecting poisonous metals, rather than copper or silver. These spirits could not be appeased or reasoned with, and would only reward kindness with more poison.
* Ijzerian kobolds were designed to look rodent-like because many rats have natural resistance to disease; since they do not die or suffer from certain maladies, they can carry illness with them for long periods of time and inadvertently infect other organisms. Additionally, rats are often considered disgusting or unsightly by humans, despite being just as deserving of love and respect as any other animal.
* Kobolds are notable for being radically different in terms of physiology from most humanoids.
	+ Intermarriage between a kobold and another humanoid species will not produce offspring. Kobolds can only reproduce with other kobolds.
	+ Kobolds reproduce twenty times faster than average humanoids. An average human might reproduce one or three times over their life, a kobold could theoretically do it a dozen times a year.
	+ Kobolds need to consume animal protein, almost all other humanoids have strictly vegan diets.
	+ Kobold tolerance for disease, pollution, radiation, and magical contamination is much higher than the average humanoid. This makes kobolds carriers for all kinds of disease, and they can be caked in layers of filth and sludge without even noticing. Kobolds are often quite repulsive, for reasons they themselves neither notice nor understand.
* Kobolds were designed for **Key of Ijzeria** in order to highlight the kinds of ethical dilemmas that could still exist in a world that was not at war with itself. Not all conflicts are overtly violent, and not everything is simply good or evil. Sometimes we must ask ourselves hard questions, come to difficult answers, and settle for conclusions that are not good enough, but merely "good enough *for now*".
* Although the kobolds from World of Warcraft and **Key of Ijzeria** are not the same species, Ijzerian kobolds would still prefer that you no take candle.