KOBOLDS

Found exclusively in and around the nation of Borkondof, Kobolds exist only because races like the Hobgoblins and drow elves allow them too.  Pitiful and weak, the Kobolds perform every task that they are forced to do.  Generations of slavery and mistreatment have led to a culture of beaten and broken creatures.  They are the perfect fodder for experiments and war.  Kobolds breed quickly, offer little resistance to the commands of larger races, and few have any self-motivation.

With tens of thousands upon thousands of Kobolds born every year, there are bound to be some that break the mold.  These few are clearly distinguishable by the lack of scars from being whipped by a master or beaten for sport.  They are smart enough to know how to avoid the larger races’ wrath.  When one of these Kobolds looks for a purpose or a way out, he is left with only two options.  Some learn the secrets of sorcery, or the Way of Blood as the Kobolds call it.  Others tap into an innate link that their race possesses with the race of owlbears.  These Kobolds join as an elite group as a Kobald can find, the Bearbacks, who ride owlbears into combat.  Although these Kobolds can match the power of the larger races, they are few in number. Most choose to fight for their masters instead of against them, simply because it’s easier.
 

APPEARANCE:  Kobolds are small versions of lizardfolk or Troglodytes.  They have purple to black scales, which are thin compared to their larger cousins.  They have no hair.  Females and males are distinguishable by the amount of horns and spikes.  Males have more horns, females more spikes.  They are short, rarely growing to more than three and a half feet tall.  They are not heavy, usually weighing under 30 pounds.  They dress in whatever is given to them by their masters.  Freed Kobolds prefer to wear leathers.  They dislike hats and helmets and any footwear.  Powerful Kobolds are known to wear lots of gold and platinum jewelry.

ALIGNMENT:  Kobolds are beaten and bred into neutrality.  Most slaves become bitter and malicious and evil through their life.  The few that escape the harsh life of slavery usually take on the alignment dominant to the area.  Usually this is Lawful Evil, in Borkondof; Neutral Good, in the Kingdom of Yellowia; or Neutral Neutral, in the Great Forest.

RELIGION:  The Kobolds tend to fall into the worship of Tyrogatore, a neutral deity of Lizardfolk and harsh justice.  Many take to the worship of their owner or master, which in Borkondof is often Corahakar, Sutyr, or Loomashyn.  Freed Kobolds tend to find Habastly.

WHAT MAKES KOBOLDS DIFFERENT: