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Reading Topic: Cruelty and Kobolds
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Jagged
Warrior-poet
Posts: 290
Location: Calgary, Canada
Joined Date: September 28 2003, 16:29
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It's odd that with over a thousand views, this post has had less than fifty replies. If you're a DM with a good idea on how to use goblins or kobolds, please share wo that we can all have fun with it (at least all the DMs can have fun with it)! 
Kobold warrens in a swamp are really scary. Some tunnels will be fully submerged, others only partially, and others completely dry. Kobolds may not mind water, but they won't like being wet all the time, so they'll use the dry tunnels for most things. But if PCs come crawling through, they collapse the dry tunnels ('cause they'll just dig them out later) and force the PCs through the submerged ones. Now, about those pirhanas...
In this case, they might have found killer seaweed or kelp which wraps around the PCs and drags them down to drown. Or they may have discovered that they were near to an abondoned temple to a necromantic god, and used the altar there to animate the skeletons of poor adventurers who came before, and stationed those skeletons underwater.
The kobolds then plug the tunnels with thick wooden grates, mounted with three foot spikes, and have guards with spears there. If the PCs have spent enough time underwater, they'll need to pass the spikes (or maybe it's a chained alligator) to get to the grate to get air, and when they do so, the kobolds spike 'em with spears. Now if a couple of these passageways lead to dead ends, and the PCs trigger traps which collapse the tunnel enterance while they are under water (or maybe there's a lever, which might drain the ater, but really collapses the enterance), these ways might really be 'dead' ends... Maybe the kobolds have discovered an underground lake swarming with bloodbloaters (MM2). A couple of slick chutes leading to the lake, and kobold archers on a far away shore with bows... The PCs will need a light, and once they get one, the kobolds fill them full of arrows while the bloodbloaters have dinner. And if they've strung a net from wall to wall, or a couple nets, the PCs will have a hard time getting through, but the arrows won't!
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With an host of furious fancies,
Whereof I am commander,
With a burning spear, and a horse of air,
To the wilderness I wander.
By a knight of ghosts and shadows,
I summoned am to tourney
Ten leagues past the wide world's end.
Me think it is no journey.
- Tom O' Bedlam's Song
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08-01-06 13:36:35 |
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Jagged
Warrior-poet
Posts: 290
Location: Calgary, Canada
Joined Date: September 28 2003, 16:29
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I'm also not fond of the idea of dwarven slaves. Dwarves tend to have this nature innate to them which says, "I'll die first. Or you'll die first. One or the other." Without magical coercion (and we all know how well that works on dwarves), its not gonna happen. Maybe to a dragon, but certainly not to kobolds.
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_________________________
With an host of furious fancies,
Whereof I am commander,
With a burning spear, and a horse of air,
To the wilderness I wander.
By a knight of ghosts and shadows,
I summoned am to tourney
Ten leagues past the wide world's end.
Me think it is no journey.
- Tom O' Bedlam's Song
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08-01-06 13:42:06 |
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ChaosOverfiend
Big fat scary monster commonly known as ME
Posts: 151
Location: luton england
Joined Date: February 3 2003, 20:40
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Quote:Posted by Jagged
It's odd that with over a thousand views, this post has had less than fifty replies. If you're a DM with a good idea on how to use goblins or kobolds, please share wo that we can all have fun with it (at least all the DMs can have fun with it)!
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this may be because some of the viewers do not have truely memorable stories of intelligent low CR enemies. I personally am not overly fond of 1st-4th levels as i have run so many short campaigns that i rarely see farther than that. i have viewed this site many times for ideas for a campaign i am going to start writing soon.
the only memorable kobold story i have is the party were hunting down the kidnappers of this particular noble. there were 3 races commanded by a powerful mage. kobolds, orcs and hobgoblins. they each went a seperate way to each other. the party decided to track the kobolds. about 3 days of traling overground they come across the rear guard of 6 kobolds. party was 2nd level and suffered the worst rolls i have ever seen. the kobolds almost killed them. 2 on each of the party members. very wounded they finally defeat the rear guard. the next day they reach the main force that are camped within a clearing in a forest. maybe 70-100 kobolds. after the previous performance the party was some what worried. the kobolds however started arguing amongst themselves and a fight between them broke out approx half on each side ala LOTR. the party took offence to this. if anyone was going to mass slaughter kobolds it was going to be them. later on the party found out that they had tracked the wrong enemy. they wanted the orcs.
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In the beginning there was nothing.
Then it exploded
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam :
( I have a catapult. Give me all the money, or I will fling an enormous rock at your head.)
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08-02-06 02:34:30 |
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Adamantrue
You can't make this blank, can you?
Posts: 118
Location:
Joined Date: September 11 2004, 13:57
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Ever wonder how easy it is to tell kobolds apart? I had a small group of kobolds called the "Flame Brothers", rumored to be two powerful sorcerers, known for teleportation & fire-based spells.
As my PCs found out, they were actually five lower-level kobold rogue/sorcerers that all dressed the same, and had similar spell lists. Main tactic was to cast Invisibility, and another one pops up from his hiding spot playing his part (with a sneak attack here and there). Two even had Beneign Transposition, so there really was some teleporting happening. Add in Healing potions and other buffs to get them back in shape while they were invisible/hiding, and they really did seem like two potent spellcasters...that didn't cast any spells higher than 2nd, for some reason.
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10-12-06 11:31:01 |
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Earendil sonof Beren
The Highly Flammable Champion of Good
Posts: 504
Location: New York City
Joined Date: May 6 2004, 14:10
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That's awesome! I'm so going to steal that!
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"Keep back 200 ft."
Whaddya mean I got set on fire AGAIN?! Why doesn't anyone else burst into flames whenever they roll a 1?!
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10-15-06 01:28:59 |
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Adamantrue
You can't make this blank, can you?
Posts: 118
Location:
Joined Date: September 11 2004, 13:57
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Go for it
Quote:Originally posted by Earendil sonof Beren
That's awesome! I'm so going to steal that!
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Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
I went with:
-5 levels sorcerer, 1 level rogue.
-All had Invisibility and Burning Hands, and usually Scorching Ray (fun with Sneak Attacks) or Flaming Sphere
-Most had the feat Sudden Silent Spell (Complete Arcane, or Miniatures Handbook)
-Stock them with plenty of potions or wands, according to what's appropriate for their levels (you'd be surprised, especially if you reduce the charges/cost of the wands)
-Max out with Move Silent & Hide as best as you can, and make them familiar with the area.
-For added fun, find the spell Benign Transposition (Miniatures Handbook, Spell Compendium)
-Depending on how you generate ability scores, this idea could work better with goblins, but all should have their ability scores in the same ranges (I ran with a set of "twins", and a set of "triplets", from the same family)
Have fun with it.
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10-15-06 13:30:47 |
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davebster
Babe in the Wood
Posts: 2
Location: vancouver, BC
Joined Date: January 10 2008, 03:38
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Traps
In my kobold lair as a mean trap in a 5 foot wide passage. I put 2 stone fall traps one at the frount of the party and one behind. Then simply sound the alarm and flood the area between the 2 large bricks. The PCs will probley drown or at least lose their armour. If the PCs leave to get new stuff well, do it again. If they go on than have war hounds or arrow traps. (mabey for 3.5) Another good one is have a tanglefoot bag or bags drop on the party than call the koblods, close in the walls, war dogs, rolling stones the like.
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-davebster
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01-09-08 23:11:58 |
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Doom in a Bottle
Babe in the Wood
Posts: 1
Location: UK
Joined Date: November 29 2009, 23:15
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One of my fondest Dming memories was my kobold dungeon, the actual cave was a huge trap with the real living quarters some distance away only accessable by several secret doors.
I found sometimes obvious traps are the most effective, I had a side room with an (intially) shoddy wooden door (DC15 to open) and a dagger trap in the handle. Behind this was a a five foot gap then a second door of better quality with a more deadly trap attached. and so on for another 4 times with a deadly smoke trap in the middle gap.
This opened into a large 30ft by 50ft room with a chest at the end and obvious holes in the walls which were also spikey.
The chest was filled with brown mold, and if anything weighting more than a gold coin entered the room spears attached to ropes would fire from both sides.
If a spear on each side hit the target I applied extra rending as they were pulled apart else they were dragged towards the wall unless they passed a strength check.
Now with this kind of room the classic way to solve it is either. 1) fly, or 2) pull the chest forward with rope.
The chest was on a catapult trap which would activate if the chest was moved flinging it towards the doorway.. now if anyone can remember the nasty growing effect fire has on brown mold and the fact the party is carrying torches in a pitch black dungeon not to mention 200lb of iron flying through the air.
In practice the party after falling for a few other traps (the half orc barbarian almost got eaten by a gelatinous cube in a half flooded room.) they attempted to pick their way through the doors. By the fourth door which was stone they were convinced they had found the main lair enterence and wouldn't give in despite some heavy damage from a swinging scythe trap. At the last door they cut it down and declare they were tumbing into the room before I described it, the party ninja was badly injured as he was caught by spears on both sides, the rogue was quickly caught and impaled on the north wall (where he started to disarm that section of the trap and shortly after the rest of the room) the barbarian was very lucky but took some damage running to the chest. Unfortantly he had light cast on his battle axe so the brown mold did little.
However this room was the downfall of my dungeon as behind the chest the party elf found th small secret viewing port which the druid then wildshaped into a tiny viper to crawl through into the secret tunnels beyond.
It was a great ending through after looting the kobold armory undetected and capturing the guard barracks they demanded to speak with the kobold tribe leaders. After alot of roleplaying, defeating an cockatrice and offering aid to the tribe they succeeeded on a DC40 diplomacy check to convince the 70 strong tribe to ally and trade with the local village they had been stealing sheep from.
The pary then procceed to further aid and bolster the kobold tribe with the party rogue telling them how he disable the traps, the fighter forging them weapons, the ninja teching a few martial arts (he had taken leadership and wanted a kobold ninja companion), the druid casting growth spells on their mushroom crops and the bard throwing a party.
The only problem they had was the barbarian had buggered a kobold a few sessions earlier (don't ask) and it got revenge later castrating him in his sleep and then ate them as it ran away from him. XD
Just goes to show how far a mutual hatred of gnomes can bring people together.
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11-29-09 18:47:56 |
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