how to flesh out a dragon-wrought Kobold [Archive] - Wizards Community

how to flesh out a dragon-wrought Kobold [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
clanner
03-30-06, 10:39 PM ok, several questions. instead of playing my half dragon (to many modifers even w/level adjustment, plus the feats are very cheap, I.E. dragon breath) I have decided to go with a dragon wrought Kobold, preferably chaotic good or chaotic neutral. I need to know which alignment of more likely, which scale colors I should use and if I'm limited to chromatic or if I can branch out to metallic, and how many locations are there for dragon-wrought Kobolds to be raised in?

thanks,

p.s. most likely going to be a fighter.
clanner
03-31-06, 12:34 AM ok, just came up with an idea. his mother was part of a small group that has been shunned from the village for unknowm (to him) reasons. he was a gift to her from one of the draconic gods (likely Io) before her passing and was reared by the rest of the band (not able to get to a proper area for his hatching) and has fought hard to survive. while out on patrol the rest of his group was attacked by dwarves and all were killed (stereo-typical background that may change)

or: raised by the elders of his clan in the temple. ran away and went from town to town under cloak seeking something he does not yet know (a god, has sent him on a quest for him to learn who he is away from the kobolds)

sorry if these aren't that great, haven't had time to sit down and truly write
Adrian_Crane
03-31-06, 05:28 AM Off the top of my head...how about throwing a monkey wrench at this guy? Have him thirst for power, always scrambling to be first one in the door, the one with the biggest share of everything, etc. In otherwords, a greedy little runt.

Anyways, eventually he gets in over his head. Interrupts a summoning ritual or a powerful spell or some such similar thing because he wants to be part of it. In retribution, the casters lay the smack down on him with various forms of magic, then toss his corpse (so they think) outside the village and forget about him.

Perhaps they were experimenting with summoning dragons or whatnot. Something connected to dragons. At any rate, when he regains consciousness, he's firstly surprised to find himself alive. Then he wonders what they did to his beautiful scales--instead of mud-brown, he now has splotches of color (depending on dragon type). He goes back to the village to cuss them out, and when he gets into the middle of a particularly long string of curses, his breath weapon kicks in and lays waste to the group of casters. Turns out all that dragon-infused arcane magic had a bit of an effect on him.

Anyways, Dragon-blooded = Instant prestige. He gets elevated to village chief for this impressive display, and of course, he basks in all the attention and power. Eventually, however, he realizes that he's top of the heap--he's bored. So he leaves to find greater challenges (and commesurate rewards), and that's when he starts learning that top of the heap in a kobold village doesn't count for much, and that the big mean creatures in the wide world aren't as easy to knock down as a couple of kobold sorcerors.

Best I could come up with on short notice. I don't know if Dragonwraught kobolds even HAVE breath weapons, but if they don't, explain it as a one-time fluke to your DM.
Gopher
04-01-06, 12:09 PM Kobolds are, by nature and tradition, LE. Dragonwrought kobolds are seen as one of the kobolds' greatest assets, and are usually taken to special temples to be raised and brought up in the rich kobold tradition. Keep in mind that kobolds are not evil as in "I'm evil and I kill everything because I'm evil and it's fun." Their tendency to strike their perceived foes pre-emptively is born of a long history of being pushed around and harrassed by other races. Regardless of who started the conflict, kobolds know it's a "kill or be killed" game, and they have no qualms about being the first to kill.

Where I'm trying to go with this is to say that this attitude is pretty much universal throughout all kobold tribes. It would be a pretty uncommon occurrence for any kobold to just spontaneously decide that his tribe is wrong and that the races he's always been taught to hate and kill lest they kill him first are actually right. It would be even more uncommon for a dragonwrought kobold to take this attitude, because particular care is taken to ensure that they are instructed in all of the kobold legends and instilled with the proper kobold mindset.

You want to play a good or neutral dragonwrought? I feel you pain. Here is what I would suggest:

As you have already touched upon, there are some kobold tribes or sects within tribes who worship Io instead of Kurtulmak. These kobolds aren't really frowned upon (it's hard frown upon someone who worships the acknowledged creator of the kobold race), but it certainly isn't common, and other kobolds can't understand why these individuals embrace a message of acceptance. Io is True Neutral, and he urges his followers to accept individuals from all alignments, a "give everyone a chance" type of message. Most kobolds don't really understand this, because for as long as they remember none of the "good" races have ever given them a chance.

So perhaps your family within the tribe has always worshiped Io. These Io worshipers are much more likely to leave the tribe in search of adventure, because a) the don't fit in particularly well with the Kurtulmak worshippers, and b) they want to test their faith and experience the world. A great test of faith for an Io-worshipping kobold is to stand in the presence of a gnome without trying to run it through with a spear. Just hope you're disguised or you know a really understanding gnome, or you may not have a choice.

So worshipping Io is probably your best bet, and as far as I can see it was the clause that Wizards put in RotD to give players the opportunity to escape the evil alignment and even play in a good party. However, if you want to play Good alignment, Io may not be your best bet. His emphasis is on neutrality. That's not to say a Good character couldn't worhip him, but it doesn't really fit his profile well.

If you want to go for good, I would advise something cliché. Somehow, your egg got into the hands of good people before you were born. You were born and raised by another race, and you've never even conversed with another kobold.

If you read the "Day in the Life" passage at the beginning of the kobolds' section in RotD, you will see that dragonwrought eggs are often carried above ground to special temples to be born and raised. Perhaps the party who was taking you to one such temple was ambushed by gnomes and wiped out (your character may or may not know this information). Instead of destroying the egg, one particularly nice and curious gnome wizard decides to keep it and hatch it. It starts out as a science experiment for him: are kobolds evil by nature or is it a flaw in their society? As you grow, he becomes attached to you and spends most of his time with you, becoming a father figure for you. This could create a few interesting adventure hooks. If it fits and you and another player want to work together, maybe this gnome is the party wizard (doesn't have to be a gnome obviously). Also, maybe your character has a deep desire to travel to his homelands someday and try to "talk some sense" into his people.

One of the most important decisions you will have to make before starting this character is whether or not he grew up within a kobold tribe. If he did, his outlook on life will be very different from that of his companions (assuming a party of standard non-monster races). Regardless of whether he has rejected the philosophies of normal kobolds, time spent in the society will influence him profoundly. To fully develop your character, I suggest you read chapter 3 of RotD in its entirety to get a feel of what being a kobold is all about.

Hope some of these ideas help you out. Good luck!
Need_A_Life
04-02-06, 04:46 AM Not being LE makes a challenge... hm...

Well, dragonwrought kobolds are taken to temples in the mountains to be raised, let's say things went downhill from there.

On the way to the temple the three kobolds were attacked (probably by gnomes) and were mortally wounded. You were found soon after by a traveling paladin (the one and only "sworn to peace and poverty"-kind) who decided that leaving an infant to die would be the most evil act of all and took you in.
You were raised in LG ways, but your (black dragon?) blood draws you closer to CE and has left you chaotic neutral.

Just off the top of my head.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
clanner 03-30-06, 10:39 PM	ok, several questions. instead of playing my half dragon (to many modifers even w/level adjustment, plus the feats are very cheap, I.E. dragon breath) I have decided to go with a dragon wrought Kobold, preferably chaotic good or chaotic neutral. I need to know which alignment of more likely, which scale colors I should use and if I'm limited to chromatic or if I can branch out to metallic, and how many locations are there for dragon-wrought Kobolds to be raised in? thanks, p.s. most likely going to be a fighter.
clanner 03-31-06, 12:34 AM	ok, just came up with an idea. his mother was part of a small group that has been shunned from the village for unknowm (to him) reasons. he was a gift to her from one of the draconic gods (likely Io) before her passing and was reared by the rest of the band (not able to get to a proper area for his hatching) and has fought hard to survive. while out on patrol the rest of his group was attacked by dwarves and all were killed (stereo-typical background that may change) or: raised by the elders of his clan in the temple. ran away and went from town to town under cloak seeking something he does not yet know (a god, has sent him on a quest for him to learn who he is away from the kobolds) sorry if these aren't that great, haven't had time to sit down and truly write
Adrian_Crane 03-31-06, 05:28 AM	Off the top of my head...how about throwing a monkey wrench at this guy? Have him thirst for power, always scrambling to be first one in the door, the one with the biggest share of everything, etc. In otherwords, a greedy little runt. Anyways, eventually he gets in over his head. Interrupts a summoning ritual or a powerful spell or some such similar thing because he wants to be part of it. In retribution, the casters lay the smack down on him with various forms of magic, then toss his corpse (so they think) outside the village and forget about him. Perhaps they were experimenting with summoning dragons or whatnot. Something connected to dragons. At any rate, when he regains consciousness, he's firstly surprised to find himself alive. Then he wonders what they did to his beautiful scales--instead of mud-brown, he now has splotches of color (depending on dragon type). He goes back to the village to cuss them out, and when he gets into the middle of a particularly long string of curses, his breath weapon kicks in and lays waste to the group of casters. Turns out all that dragon-infused arcane magic had a bit of an effect on him. Anyways, Dragon-blooded = Instant prestige. He gets elevated to village chief for this impressive display, and of course, he basks in all the attention and power. Eventually, however, he realizes that he's top of the heap--he's bored. So he leaves to find greater challenges (and commesurate rewards), and that's when he starts learning that top of the heap in a kobold village doesn't count for much, and that the big mean creatures in the wide world aren't as easy to knock down as a couple of kobold sorcerors. Best I could come up with on short notice. I don't know if Dragonwraught kobolds even HAVE breath weapons, but if they don't, explain it as a one-time fluke to your DM.
Gopher 04-01-06, 12:09 PM	Kobolds are, by nature and tradition, LE. Dragonwrought kobolds are seen as one of the kobolds' greatest assets, and are usually taken to special temples to be raised and brought up in the rich kobold tradition. Keep in mind that kobolds are not evil as in "I'm evil and I kill everything because I'm evil and it's fun." Their tendency to strike their perceived foes pre-emptively is born of a long history of being pushed around and harrassed by other races. Regardless of who started the conflict, kobolds know it's a "kill or be killed" game, and they have no qualms about being the first to kill. Where I'm trying to go with this is to say that this attitude is pretty much universal throughout all kobold tribes. It would be a pretty uncommon occurrence for any kobold to just spontaneously decide that his tribe is wrong and that the races he's always been taught to hate and kill lest they kill him first are actually right. It would be even more uncommon for a dragonwrought kobold to take this attitude, because particular care is taken to ensure that they are instructed in all of the kobold legends and instilled with the proper kobold mindset. You want to play a good or neutral dragonwrought? I feel you pain. Here is what I would suggest: As you have already touched upon, there are some kobold tribes or sects within tribes who worship Io instead of Kurtulmak. These kobolds aren't really frowned upon (it's hard frown upon someone who worships the acknowledged creator of the kobold race), but it certainly isn't common, and other kobolds can't understand why these individuals embrace a message of acceptance. Io is True Neutral, and he urges his followers to accept individuals from all alignments, a "give everyone a chance" type of message. Most kobolds don't really understand this, because for as long as they remember none of the "good" races have ever given them a chance. So perhaps your family within the tribe has always worshiped Io. These Io worshipers are much more likely to leave the tribe in search of adventure, because a) the don't fit in particularly well with the Kurtulmak worshippers, and b) they want to test their faith and experience the world. A great test of faith for an Io-worshipping kobold is to stand in the presence of a gnome without trying to run it through with a spear. Just hope you're disguised or you know a really understanding gnome, or you may not have a choice. So worshipping Io is probably your best bet, and as far as I can see it was the clause that Wizards put in RotD to give players the opportunity to escape the evil alignment and even play in a good party. However, if you want to play Good alignment, Io may not be your best bet. His emphasis is on neutrality. That's not to say a Good character couldn't worhip him, but it doesn't really fit his profile well. If you want to go for good, I would advise something cliché. Somehow, your egg got into the hands of good people before you were born. You were born and raised by another race, and you've never even conversed with another kobold. If you read the "Day in the Life" passage at the beginning of the kobolds' section in RotD, you will see that dragonwrought eggs are often carried above ground to special temples to be born and raised. Perhaps the party who was taking you to one such temple was ambushed by gnomes and wiped out (your character may or may not know this information). Instead of destroying the egg, one particularly nice and curious gnome wizard decides to keep it and hatch it. It starts out as a science experiment for him: are kobolds evil by nature or is it a flaw in their society? As you grow, he becomes attached to you and spends most of his time with you, becoming a father figure for you. This could create a few interesting adventure hooks. If it fits and you and another player want to work together, maybe this gnome is the party wizard (doesn't have to be a gnome obviously). Also, maybe your character has a deep desire to travel to his homelands someday and try to "talk some sense" into his people. One of the most important decisions you will have to make before starting this character is whether or not he grew up within a kobold tribe. If he did, his outlook on life will be very different from that of his companions (assuming a party of standard non-monster races). Regardless of whether he has rejected the philosophies of normal kobolds, time spent in the society will influence him profoundly. To fully develop your character, I suggest you read chapter 3 of RotD in its entirety to get a feel of what being a kobold is all about. Hope some of these ideas help you out. Good luck!
Need_A_Life 04-02-06, 04:46 AM	Not being LE makes a challenge... hm... Well, dragonwrought kobolds are taken to temples in the mountains to be raised, let's say things went downhill from there. On the way to the temple the three kobolds were attacked (probably by gnomes) and were mortally wounded. You were found soon after by a traveling paladin (the one and only "sworn to peace and poverty"-kind) who decided that leaving an infant to die would be the most evil act of all and took you in. You were raised in LG ways, but your (black dragon?) blood draws you closer to CE and has left you chaotic neutral. Just off the top of my head.