Physical Description
Kobolds are small humanoids with a combination of dog and lizard features. They stand between two and three feet tall and generally have slight but muscled builds. Kobold scale coloration can be any color of the rainbow as well as brown, gray, black, or white. Particular tribes have a tendency to share a color or palette of colors. Kobolds have pointed ears like a snow dog, but a kobold’s ears are made of thicker cartilage and covered in scales instead of fur. Similarly, kobold feet have the same shape as a canine’s but are scaly instead of furry. Kobolds have mouths and skulls shaped like a canine’s. This shape allows for strong bites, mostly clear vocalization of other languages, and the distinct barking noise that kobolds use to communicate over long distances.
Culture
To a kobold, the pack comes before all others. Kobolds that are not directly born from sown dragon teeth come from eggs which are laid in communal clutches. This makes it difficult for kobolds to distinguish individual parents. Instead of being raised by their mother and father, kobolds are raised by the whole pack. This gives them strong bonds within their pack and little respect for those that exist outside of this extended family. The pack is first, last, and everything to a kobold.
Kobold packs are organized along multiple hierarchies. Their official leaders are often the strongest, but kobolds also pay respect to the oldest and most knowledgeable among them. Kobolds are able to accept outsiders into their communities, as long as the outsiders respect these hierarchies. Commonly, outsiders are only able to exist within kobold communities by occupying the top spot, a position typically occupied by the dragon progenitor of a tribe.
Kobold dismissal of everything outside of the pack lead to many of their troubles in Cimmeria. As life outside of the pack is worth nothing, kobolds have a tendency to openly steal from other races. If their theft is met with resistance, kobolds will use force or, more often, subterfuge. Retaliatory violence drives kobolds away from other civilizations. In the wild, kobold population expands rapidly due to their high birth rate and rapid maturation. These factors, along with their disregard for nature as “outside of the pack,” lead to kobolds overharvesting their environment. As resources dwindle, the large pack splits and smaller units return close to civilization and the cycle repeats.
Kobolds that interact peacefully with other cultures are often confused by what they see. They are curious about the practices of other cultures. However, discovery of foreign practices often leads to offensive dismissal. Kobolds have an attitude of “that’s interesting but the wrong way to do it” for nearly every social habit that doesn’t match their expectation. This alien reaction, along with most kobolds disregard for property of others, leads to social ostracism within communities that kobolds live in. Additionally, the tendency of wild kobolds towards cannibalism marks them as evil.
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