Need some help with a kobold character [Archive] - Wizards Community

Need some help with a kobold character [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Veton
08-31-03, 02:08 AM Lately, I've been thinking of creating a new character. Nothing's wrong with my current one, but I'd like to try something new. Not to mention, my character has managed to do more then what my DM expected, and thus we have the game on pause while he thinks up more challenges in the plot.

I'd like to create a good (maybe neutral) kobold sorcerer, who keeps his powers hidden from his clan/tribe. He wants to leave, but for some reason he can't. After some situation, he swipes some coins from whereever the tribe keeps their loot, and runs off, trying to make a living doing what he can.

Any advice as to how to roleplay a kobold, or fill the aforementioned plot holes, would be appreciated (maybe I need to come up with a name too :P)
Zoticus
08-31-03, 02:54 AM Kobolds are a fairly savage lot, so i would keep aspects of that in his personality. Perhaps he doesn't eat cooked meat (it ruins the taste). Have him speak in Draconic most of the time. Give him a pet that he loves, but that hates him. It is funny to see a kobold lovingly petting a weasel that is just tearing into his hand with it's teeth. Have him smoke cigars and light them with prestidigitation or pyrotechnics. When he cooks, have him spit into the soup.
Morka
08-31-03, 10:36 AM Have his tribe being slave of some other evil race (orc, giants, lizardfolks...). He realized he had some magical power, but he had to hide it from his masters. One night, he learned a spell that allows him to be release from his chains. He runs. But his captors are running after him. This is when he met the rest of the PC party. He asks them to hide themselves, then he asks for protection.

Kobolds hate gnome, this is a bit like orcs and elves. And kobolds also bark like dogs.
Formerly Wu
09-01-03, 04:31 AM Living in a kobold tribe would be enough to give anyone jitters, even more so if he's hiding something like this guy.

Make him nervous and irritable, liable to snap at people who sneak up on him, snarky and bitter in person. If your campaign allows for cigarettes, have him be a chain smoker. Have the Draconic his tribe speaks be a kind of "ghetto-ized" version, so even those around him who know Draconic can barely understand his slang.
Stigur
09-01-03, 05:17 PM I´m playing a kobold character too:D ! Unfourtunatly, he has a completely different personality so I can´t help you much:( .
Zarffyn
09-01-03, 10:03 PM I love kobolds! I play one as an NPC in my game (anyone remember Meepo from the Sunless Citadel?) as well as a LE kobold in a mid-level evil party campaign. Never have two kobolds been more different. With Meepo he always refers to himself in third person, and has a rather simplistic view of looking at things. His favorite meal is a lightly toasted rat.

Kobolds have become one of my favorite races because, for one, in a standard party or D&D game, they can be challenging to play, because they look, act, speak different, etc.

There's a great d20 source on kobolds, called The Slayer's Guide to Kobolds. It was very helpful in fleshing out my evil kobold, as well we the kobold society I am developing for my campaign.

Someone mentioned that kobolds bark like dogs. I'd like to just clarify that, in case that confuses anyone. Kobolds speak their own dialect of Draconic, which sounds much like the various noises that a dog makes. However, I think it's more complex than that, IMO, because a dog does not have a very varied verbal structure (compared to a cat's, for example), so I think of the language as having subtle inflections.

Oh, and here's a final tip. Kobolds are often considered a mid-day snack.

I highly recommend picking up that d20 book. It's $10-$15, and well worth it. One of my few RPG books that was worth the money. It really details kobolds, physiology, mentality, social structure, even a general idea of kobolds as various classes. Very nice.
Lord Lothar
09-04-03, 11:40 PM or if yer pc is powerful enough, he/she can capture the kobold and have it join your party and you can use it as a npc party member, that you control. it could act like a special familiar to you.

maybe you saved it from a horde of goblins or from a Owlbear that was going to eat it for a snack, and as thanks the kobold joined you with a life of servitude for saving it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Veton 08-31-03, 02:08 AM	Lately, I've been thinking of creating a new character. Nothing's wrong with my current one, but I'd like to try something new. Not to mention, my character has managed to do more then what my DM expected, and thus we have the game on pause while he thinks up more challenges in the plot. I'd like to create a good (maybe neutral) kobold sorcerer, who keeps his powers hidden from his clan/tribe. He wants to leave, but for some reason he can't. After some situation, he swipes some coins from whereever the tribe keeps their loot, and runs off, trying to make a living doing what he can. Any advice as to how to roleplay a kobold, or fill the aforementioned plot holes, would be appreciated (maybe I need to come up with a name too :P)
Zoticus 08-31-03, 02:54 AM	Kobolds are a fairly savage lot, so i would keep aspects of that in his personality. Perhaps he doesn't eat cooked meat (it ruins the taste). Have him speak in Draconic most of the time. Give him a pet that he loves, but that hates him. It is funny to see a kobold lovingly petting a weasel that is just tearing into his hand with it's teeth. Have him smoke cigars and light them with prestidigitation or pyrotechnics. When he cooks, have him spit into the soup.
Morka 08-31-03, 10:36 AM	Have his tribe being slave of some other evil race (orc, giants, lizardfolks...). He realized he had some magical power, but he had to hide it from his masters. One night, he learned a spell that allows him to be release from his chains. He runs. But his captors are running after him. This is when he met the rest of the PC party. He asks them to hide themselves, then he asks for protection. Kobolds hate gnome, this is a bit like orcs and elves. And kobolds also bark like dogs.
Formerly Wu 09-01-03, 04:31 AM	Living in a kobold tribe would be enough to give anyone jitters, even more so if he's hiding something like this guy. Make him nervous and irritable, liable to snap at people who sneak up on him, snarky and bitter in person. If your campaign allows for cigarettes, have him be a chain smoker. Have the Draconic his tribe speaks be a kind of "ghetto-ized" version, so even those around him who know Draconic can barely understand his slang.
Stigur 09-01-03, 05:17 PM	I´m playing a kobold character too:D ! Unfourtunatly, he has a completely different personality so I can´t help you much:( .
Zarffyn 09-01-03, 10:03 PM	I love kobolds! I play one as an NPC in my game (anyone remember Meepo from the Sunless Citadel?) as well as a LE kobold in a mid-level evil party campaign. Never have two kobolds been more different. With Meepo he always refers to himself in third person, and has a rather simplistic view of looking at things. His favorite meal is a lightly toasted rat. Kobolds have become one of my favorite races because, for one, in a standard party or D&D game, they can be challenging to play, because they look, act, speak different, etc. There's a great d20 source on kobolds, called The Slayer's Guide to Kobolds. It was very helpful in fleshing out my evil kobold, as well we the kobold society I am developing for my campaign. Someone mentioned that kobolds bark like dogs. I'd like to just clarify that, in case that confuses anyone. Kobolds speak their own dialect of Draconic, which sounds much like the various noises that a dog makes. However, I think it's more complex than that, IMO, because a dog does not have a very varied verbal structure (compared to a cat's, for example), so I think of the language as having subtle inflections. Oh, and here's a final tip. Kobolds are often considered a mid-day snack. I highly recommend picking up that d20 book. It's $10-$15, and well worth it. One of my few RPG books that was worth the money. It really details kobolds, physiology, mentality, social structure, even a general idea of kobolds as various classes. Very nice.
Lord Lothar 09-04-03, 11:40 PM	or if yer pc is powerful enough, he/she can capture the kobold and have it join your party and you can use it as a npc party member, that you control. it could act like a special familiar to you. maybe you saved it from a horde of goblins or from a Owlbear that was going to eat it for a snack, and as thanks the kobold joined you with a life of servitude for saving it.