Str:-4 Dex:+4 Con:-- Int:+2 Wis:-- Cha:-2 Luc:--
Favoured Classes: Rogue, Mage
 
  In ancient gnomish legends, a 'kobold' is a demon of the mines; a creature who poisons wells, snuffs out lantern flames, kidnaps children and pricks captured maidens with a thousand pins. In this particular case, the legend is completely true. Kobolds are the darkling counterpoint to gnomes, the corrupted form of that race. For countless millenia the two races have waged an underground war unseen by human eyes -- for as sociable as the gnomes are, they do not discuss this particular topic, and the kobolds themselves shy away from human sight and daylight alike.
  Revelling in sabotage, trickery and guerilla warfare, kobolds are far more dangerous than most major powers give them credit for -- and that's exactly how they prefer it remain. Physically, they are small, dog-like creatures, but possess scales instead of fur. They are weak but very nimble, and have sharp claws and gleaming red eyes. Their overall racial alignment tendancies are toward chaos and evil.
  Kobold adventurers are most often those that have grown tired of the sheer pettyness and malicious immaturity of their own society. Whether good or evil, they have higher ambitions than collapsing mines, stealing tools and curdling milk for the simple spite of such acts.

 KOBOLD RACIAL SKILLS
   Kobolds rely heavily on their skills, using cunning, ingenuity and treachery to fell their enemies. They receive Climb, Find Weakness, Hide, Mining, Poison Use and Handle Device as racial skills.

 KOBOLD RACIAL TRAITS
   * -4 Strength, -2 Charisma -- Kobolds are simply weak and cowardly creatures; they inherently possess neither force of body nor force of personality, and are well-known for fleeing from any encounter they cannot overcome through trickery.
   * +4 Dexterity -- Kobolds are agile for their size, with a cautious gate and the ability to strike with surprising speed and accuracy in a fight.
   * +2 Intelligence -- Kobolds are crafty and cunning, well given to planning and mental challenges.
   * Small -- Kobolds are considered to be Small creatures, which gives them certain mechanical advantages and weaknesses. They cannot wield Large weapons and must used two hands to wield a Medium weapon, they have a 10% penalty to hit points and their carrying capacity is 3/4ths that of a Medium-size creature. However, they receive a +2 size bonus to DC and to all attack rolls, and their smaller stature lets them navigate tunnels that a human could never fit into.
   * Racial Weapons -- Most kobolds gain some experience with weapons that highlight trickery and cunning. The whip is favoured for its ability to disarm opponents that rely on weapons and the bolas are used to incapacitate foes so that they can be dispatched later. Kobolds proficient with the Flexible or Simple weapon groups are automatically proficient with the whip, and those who are proficient with Thrown weapons are automatically proficient with bolas.
   * Darkvision -- Like the majority of the races who dwell underground, kobolds possess darkvision to a range of 60 feet (6 squares).
   * Trapcraft -- Kobolds know and understand traps, snares and mechanical dangers better than members of any other race -- and they have no aversion to using this knowledge maliciously. They gain a +4 racial bonus to the Handle Device skill, and this bonus counts as if it were actual skill ranks for determining the level of any traps that they set.
   * Flawless Dodge -- Kobold wardancing is a sight to behold, as the tiny creatures skitter, jump and even climb along their enemies' bodies in order to evade blows. The effect is not unlike a panicked cat -- but cats are not nearly as agile as a terrified kobold. In game terms, a kobold character can activate this special ability once per day to automatically evade up to three plus their primary Dexterity modifier attacks that would have otherwise hit them -- though no amount of skittering saves them from a foe's flat-out lucky strike, and an attack roll of a natural 20 always connects. If they deactivate it before all the attacks are expended, they may activate it again later to evade the remaining number of attacks.
   * Poison Immunity -- Repeated experimentation and exposure, combined with their natural reptilian physiology, has made kobolds immune to the effects of all non-magical toxins.
   * Evasion -- Kobolds are agile creatures with good instincts and peerless reflexes. They receive three levels of the Evasion ability when they reach 3rd character level. What this means is that they gain Evasion (as a rogue or monk), and if they have rogue or monk levels, they will gain Improved Evasion three levels sooner than they normally would; for example, a kobold monk gains Improved Evasion at 6th level.
   * Devious Feats -- Kobolds receive the Close-Quarters Fighting, Dirty Fighting and Weapon Finesse feats for free at 1st level. Despite their weak bodies, kobolds can be dangerous opponents if they are allowed to plan and choose the battle.
   * Swarm -- Like goblins, kobolds excel at overwhelming stronger foes by sheer force of numbers alone. For each non-hostile Small creature they have within one square of them, they receive a +1 swarm bonus to all attack and damage rolls, and a +1 bonus to Defense.
   * Natural Weapons -- Kobolds have needle-sharp teeth and claws. They may claw for 1d4 points of damage twice, and bite for 1d6 points of damage. Because of their natural attacks, kobolds are never considered unarmed for the purposes of provoking attacks of opportunity.
   * Verminfriend -- Kobolds have a strong natural affinity for insects and insectile creatures. Vermin of animal intelligence and no outside motive will generally not be hostile to kobolds, and kobolds can train and befriend them just as other races do domestic animals. This ability functions identically to the Animal Empathy skill, but affects vermin instead of animals and uses the kobold's character level in place of the skill rating.
   Insects are also the only non-kobold creatures known to elicit feelings of compassion and friendship from the typical kobold.
  * Starting Equipment -- Kobolds start with a small backpack, cured meat, potions of dimension door, a whip, bolas, a random defensive item and some poison; some may also have a pickaxe.

 KOBOLD SUBRACES (Unimplemented)
   Alone among the major races of Theyra, the kobolds have no specific ethnic divisions or racial strands. The uniformity of their race, even across the vast geographical divides of continents, is a matter of much speculation to gnome sages.