Kobold

Kobolds are a small humanoid race found across Ahlus.

## Description

### Origins & Biology

Kobolds do not count themselves amongst the Principal Races created by Aita during Aita's Second Gift, the period in which the lands of Ahlus came to be populated by sentient mortal creatures and races. They do, however, find their origin amongst them, instead said to have been created by Vyra the Beguiling One, who took the dragonborn blown from glass by the Dawn Matron, and spun them into something new - something inclined to be far more playful, creative and above all devious. These kobolds she loosed upon the world, acting as the scaled siblings of the halflings and gnomes to which the Goddess of Curiosity also serves as a patron. To this effect, kobolds have a long-standing rivalry with both races, albeit in a manner more akin to squabbling siblings than upfront hostilities, each race vying for the approval and attention of their celestial parent.

Kobolds, like dragonborn, are born from eggs. Unlike dragonborn however, who tend to lay small clutches rarely numbering more than a half-dozen, kobolds are capable of laying in excess of a hundred eggs in a single clutch, but rarely do so more than once during their lifetime. After three months of development within the egg, hatchlings are tiny and vulnerable, but grow quickly. Most kobolds reach their full size by four years, and are considered physically and mentally mature by the age of six years. Although rare in some environs, kobolds have a theoretical lifespan of 120 years, with a few exceptional cases of individuals living in excess of 200, although such numbers are considered an oddity in most cases, for kobolds are particularly prone to accidents stemming from their innate curiosity. In her delight of creating a race dedicated to the ideals of mischief, Vyra likewise created the first kobolds to be naïve and easily deceived, intending them to be a better target for their kins' japes and tricks. Such mindsets are still common to present day, and contribute heavily to the broadly-incorrect assumptions made by some with regard to the personality of all kobold kind.

Kobolds also possess arguably the greatest amount of intraspecies variation of any of the Principal Races or their derivatives, as they readily adapt and change to fit their environment over time. It is said that the original kobolds created by the Secret Sister were all copper of scale, for it was this dragon that the Trickster God Vyra favoured, but shortly after spreading into the wider world they, as all good schemers do, learned to make the most of their surroundings. Over the course of a kobold's life, their scales will start to shift to match the surroundings they reside in, the longer they linger, the more profound the effect. Kobolds residing by or in rivers, lakes and seas tend to develop darker dorsal hues, with lighter bellies, while their tails flatten and claws grow webbed to aid swimming. Those residing in deep forests develop longer claws to aid climbing, and may take on more vibrant colours, or muted greens and browns, depending on the relative temperate or tropicality of their surroundings. Kobolds residing amongst hills and mountains are more likely to be born with wings, whether functional or vestigial, and those that come to reside in the Underdark possess scales of a muted colour palette, with eyes and ears that develop particularly large. In towns and cities, kobolds may come to stand a little taller and stockier than their less metropolitan cousins, as well as being more resistant to the effects of direct sunlight. For kobolds that reside in the lairs of dragons or other powerful creatures, they in time will reflect the characteristics of their host, both in appearance and personality. Arguably most notably however are kobold's ability to readily shift biological sex - if a particular blow is dealt to a tribe that leaves a significant gender imbalance, some members will naturally transition to restore the balance and allow for the continuation of the community without significant disruption.

### Societal Values

Capable of surviving - and more often than not thriving - in near any environment, communities of kobolds reside through the Ahlusian continent and beyond, whether in warrens beneath the frozen tundra of the Hoarfrost Expanse, the mountain caves of the Ironfangs, the gloomy depths of the Cobalt Sea or the city streets of tropical Viridell. Typically, these communities are referred to as Burrows, Tribes or Warrens, and are readily constructed wherever the space exists. In densely-packed cities, limited space for the quickly growing populations of kobolds often forces them to expand out under the city's streets, into sewers, ruins or catacombs, which prompts many to prefer homes outside of civilisation where they are less likely to find quarrel with would-be neighbours.

Composed of a highly complex and intricate maze of tunnels, Kobold Burrows are reflective of their tricksy nature, with dead-ends and hindering traps aplenty throughout. Subterranean living puts kobolds in direct conflicts with burrowing monsters such as *Umber Hulks*, *Bulettes*, *Ankhegs*, *Kruthiks* and other such creatures, and thus Burrows are frequently heavily defended in both their construction, and with dedicated guards utilising a range of crafted weaponry and magical prowess. Particularly well guarded are that of the hatcheries, which are frequently so densely packed with eggs that the concept of parenthood is all but foreign and impossible to enforce. As such, kobolds usually treat all others within their tribe as siblings or cousins, working collectively to serve the community as a whole and unified family. Effective communication between such interwoven groups is critical, and so kobolds raised amongst other kobolds usually speak clearly but very quickly, conveying information rapidly to their peers. Regardless, fierce competition between family members for attention - something particularly prevalent in especially large burrows, often stirs mischief that escalates to violence, as well as encouraging some kobolds to seek out other individuals outside the warren from which to gain approval, something that is known to frequently occur with true dragons of all kinds. For dragons, regardless of origin, kobolds represent an optimal group of servants, aides, minions and companions, their numbers and ingenuity a boon for any lair-dwelling creature.

### Religious Beliefs

For many kobolds, Vyra remains the primary deity of devotion, the race prizing her trickster spirit and delight in the joys brought on from sharing in companionship, exploration and adventure. Predictably, the God of Construction and Innovation, Gaityas is also highly favoured by kobolds that follow the Principal Sixteen, along with Buwello, who revels in the indulgences afforded and provided by one's toils and efforts and Ilemer, who encourages his followers to seize opportunities of numerous kinds whenever and wherever they are presented.

Kobolds are, however, prone to gravitate towards a number of other deities, the vast majority of which have portfolios pertaining to the domain of trickery, including that of the Elder Elemental Eye, the Lord of Nessus, Ophidian and with particular fervency, the Undying Queen, whose teachings stir all the worst things that kobolds may be inclined to be - capricious creators of cruel traps that lust after all manner of treasures to hide within their hidden winding tunnels. Countless kobolds look to the Undying Queen, with many telling tales of their creation being ultimately an act of Tiamat's design, having tricked Vyra into doing the hard work on her behalf. Most novel amongst the religious beliefs of kobolds is the worship of the Queen Beyond The Veil, the supposed Goddess of Dragons who is instead known to many urbanite kobolds as "The Queen Weaving the Veil", a divine entity that seems to combine the teachings of Gaityas, Ilemer and the Undying Queen.

### Talents and Abilities

Despite possessing an aforementioned proclivity towards naïvity, kobolds are themselves fiercely intelligent, which when combined with their impressive dexterity and nigh-unparalleled creativity makes them consummate schemers that excel in professions such as inventing, engineering and construction. First and foremost in the mind of a kobold crafter is that of functionality, with aesthetic considerations much further removed from the priority list - save for those intended to trick, spook or otherwise confuse their target. As such, comparing the artisan competency of kobolds to other races such as dwarves or gnomes is often seen as an insult by the other races, given the "rough-and-ready" appearance of many kobold inventions, even if the performance usually meets - if not succeeds - the effectiveness of the other Principal Races. Kobolds are particularly skilled at creating contraptions of complex and interwoven forms, such as mechanical constructs, or small tinkered devices, pulling on the experiences generated by living in bustling burrows filled with hundreds of other individuals. It is very rare for any given object to have been created by a singular individual within a kobold tribe, instead crafting projects are heavily involved, with dozens of kobolds working in tandem to produce a single spear for instance, with enchantments often added during the crafting process, not after. As such, warrens of kobolds are impressively industrious, capable of matching the productivity of dwarven industrial complexes or gnomish workshops augmented by contraptions or the arcane using nothing more than vast numbers of available eyes, hands and bodies.