Princes Turned Paupers…

Though the Burgunn word “kobold” means goblin, this race is as far from the goblins as the Rinn are. The Kobold race originated from a time long ago. Before the Terrans populated their worlds, before the Rinn’s Wanderers started seeding Pathways, before the Burgunns had their beloved Builder, the Kobolds ruled a planet. An advanced species of draconic humanoids, they were uncontested as they built expansive cities.

This period of prosperity was brought down by a fairly standard means, invasion. Many large reptilian monstrosities came from the sky, sowing chaos and death where their shadows fell… or so the ancient stories go. What is known is that the Kobolds were forced underground to survive. Over the course of centuries the Kobolds lost their wings and most of their height in order to adapt to the cramped conditions of their refuges. They also became very xenophobic, hating non-Kobold life forms for their bitter loss of grandeur. When the Wanderers came through they found a silent planet of ruins… with a seething mass of brutal fallen demi-gods beneath. The newly formed Pathways were not discovered by Kobolds until after the Wanderers left. Kobolds had never lost their arcane and technical aptitudes, so they quickly mastered the Pathways and headed out from their ravaged world, always wondering where exactly their ancestor’s adversary had gone to...

Upon arriving on new planets the xenophobic mindset of the Kobolds led to the collapse of communication between colonies and a tendency to stay apart from other societies. This lack of collectivity tends to insure that no two Kobold tribes are the same. Those who put up with a Kobold’s suspicious demeanor can very well get them to drop their barriers and mature. Those who vindicate the belief that outsiders are evil will find themselves facing a diminished but still potent elder race.

Most Kobolds stand between 3 to 4 feet tall. They have scaled skin of various colors, tails, and clawed hands. However variety exists on this template. Many Kobolds are taller with more refined features. Their voices have gone from angry high-pitched yips to deep growls and hisses. There are even rumors of tall Kobolds achieving near their ancient forms, vestigial wins and regal manner setting them apart from the others. They are warm-blooded creatures who give birth via eggs in clutches. They defy reptile or mammalian descriptions, leading researchers to believe they are placed more in saurian or even “draconic” type sets. They are organized in a tribal hierarchy with different bloodline “houses” competing with one another for the position of King. Most still prefer caves for shelter, but the more “evolved” ones have returned to the surface or even to the trees in a sort of aerie.

In combat Kobolds try to weaken an opponent with ingenious traps and fortifications. When pressed into actual combat they ambush and then unleash their mystical powers and seek out an enemy’s weak point… usually their back right behind the heart or lung.

Stats:

• 1/8th less HP (rounded up)
• -1 Damage with melee (minimum of 1 damage)
• -1 to Mystic Prereqs and none taggable skills, I.E. Detect Powers
• -1 to first two levels of each technical skill
• Special Skill: Cunning, Cost 8, See Backstab but doesn’t count towards prereqs that depend on that skill.

Make Up Requirements:

• “scales” of makeup, preferably red.
• Tail of varying size, preferably of your scale color.
• (Optional) sharp teeth, prosthetic
• (Optional) vestigial reptilian wings, prosthetic

Race Opinions

• Burgunn: They think they’ve conquered all, and have nothing but glory ahead of them. All that can be robbed from you with the coming of the night, and for the Burgunns, the sun is about to disappear below the horizon.
• Technoids: Lackeys of the Burgunns. Their inability to merge science and the mystical will forever keep them from attaining true glory. Then again, maybe that will keep them safe…
• Orcs: Hold on a second, the security board tells me we caught yet another one in one of our traps, I’ll let the cook know…
• Furries: Simply disgusting, with so much hair, and they prattle on and on. One does have to admire such a diverse race that can hold itself together though… something we once knew how to do…
• Mutants: As degenerate as our mutated mammal cousins, fire is too good for them, but I’d hate to waste anything stronger on such filth.
• Onarl: More than one Kobold aerie has been shared in the forests of the Onarl. We can find mutually beneficial situations.
• Rinn: They suffer from the inverse of the Technoid’s curse, but not their Wanderer brethren. Oh, for just a few minutes to speak to one of them…
• Terrans: For the loss of their home world, we feel their pain. But what kind of morons destroys it themselves?