These miniscule people resemble anthropomorphic lizards with hints of both dragon and dog in their features. Their scales are typically russet, burnt orange, or brown, and may have spots or stripes of a color reminiscent of their dragon ancestry. Their eyes are large and catlike, and they sport a pair of short horns and sometimes dragon-like crests or frills.
The kobolds’ small size, yappy voices, and often weird behavior—they frequently act like a cross between a stereotypically proud dragon and a small, rambunctious dog—causes people to treat them as annoying pests at best. Kobolds are used to being given the short end of the stick and as a result usually assume the worst of everyone they meet.
A common kobold religion says that they are the creation of a deity known as the Trapping God (itself the spawn of one of the great dragon-gods). This god took dragon’s eggs and changed them in an attempt to create better dragonborn. Kobolds tell this story with unmitigated pride, for to them this means they are both directly descended from the greatest of dragons and were handcrafted by the gods to be the best of all creatures made from dragons. Dragons and dragonborn alike who know this myth usually draw a different conclusion from it. They also recognize that kobolds make good allies and servitors. This has led to some powerful interspecies alliances, but also to the kobolds being exploited by them—especially since kobolds often view dragons as being godlike and thus willing to do anything they say.
Characters with the kobold heritage share a variety of traits in common with each other:
Age. Kobolds reach adulthood at the age of 6. They can live to be nearly 120 years old, although most succumb to predators or the environment long before that.
Size. Kobolds typically stand about two and a half feet tall (0.76 meters) and weigh about 30 pounds (15 kg). Your size is Small.
Speed. Kobolds are small but they move quickly. Your speed is 30 feet. In addition, kobolds are good tunnellers. You have a burrow speed of 10 feet and can burrow through nonmagical earth, soil, sand, mud, ice, or snow.
Famine-Resistance. Kobolds are both very small and have a reptilian biology that allows them to go without eating. You only need to eat one Supply every two days instead of a Supply each day.
Darkvision. Kobolds are native to underground areas, and while bright light unnerves and upsets them, especially sudden flares of bright light, it doesn’t actually harm them. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Since kobolds are so small and fragile individually, they must work together, so kobolds all contribute their varied talents to the entire group. In addition to the traits granted by your kobold heritage, choose one of the following gifts:
You have a particularly strong connection to your draconic ancestors. Your scales probably are entirely colored like that of your dragon ancestor, rather than just having colorful spots or stripes, and you likely have horns and a crest that closely resemble your dragon ancestor. Kobolds with this gift gain the following traits:
Draconic Resistance. You have resistance to damage from one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison.
Dragon Magic. You know one cantrip of your choice from the sorcerer spell list. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma (your choice) is your spellcasting ability for it.
The Trapping God is said to dwell inside an infinite maze filled with ingenious traps both mundane and magical. Whether this is true or not, many kobolds are particularly adept at the traps and tricks they need to survive. Kobolds with this gift gain the following traits:
Clever Fingers, Clever Mind. You gain an expertise die in your choice of Engineering or Sleight of Hand. Additionally, you can always use Intelligence to make Engineering and Survival checks.
Labyrinthine Recall. You gain an expertise die on Intelligence checks made to recall your path or to orient yourself.
Some kobolds are born with leathery wings. They can’t use these wings to soar like eagles, but they’re good at fluttering around like bats. Kobolds with this gift gain the following traits:
Flight. You have a flying speed of 30 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor. Whenever you spend two consecutive rounds airborne without landing, you gain a level of fatigue. Any fatigue gained in this way is removed upon finishing a short or long rest. Your flying speed increases by 5 feet when you reach 5th level (to 35 feet), 11th level (to 40 feet), and at 17th level (to 45 feet).
Scamper. You have a climb speed equal to your walking speed.
When you reach 10th level, your draconic nature shines through. Choose one of the following paragon gifts:
Dragonbreath. You gain that most iconic of dragon features: a breath weapon. Choose the type of damage dealt by your breath from among the following list: acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, poison, psychic, radiant, or thunder. If you had previously chosen the Dragon-Blooded gift, you don’t need to pick a breath weapon that matches your damage resistance. Additionally, choose between a 30-foot line that is 5 feet wide or a 15-foot cone for the area that your breath weapon affects.
Each creature in the breath’s area must make a saving throw using Dexterity (for acid, fire, force, or lightning damage), Wisdom (for psychic damage), or Constitution (for cold, necrotic, poison, radiant, or thunder damage). The DC for this saving throw is 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 4d4 damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. The damage increases to 5d4 at 14th level and 6d4 at 18th level.
You can replace one of your attacks with this breath weapon.
After you use your dragonbreath, you can’t use it again until you complete a short or long rest.
Dragon Scales. Your scales become thicker and tougher and may even change color and shape to be more dragon-like. You gain a +1 bonus to your AC. Additionally, you gain proficiency in your choice of Strength or Constitution saving throws.
Roar! By using your action to let loose a fearsome roar, you unnerve enemies that are close by and bolster your friends. Until the end of your next turn, all allies that can hear you gain an expertise die on the next ability check or attack roll they make, and all enemies are rattled. Once you use this ability, you can’t do so again until you complete a short or long rest.
Kobolds are common creatures, found almost anywhere—especially underfoot. They’re often found in unpleasant places, such as badlands and marshes, having been pushed there by larger creatures. However, they also live in other heritages’ cities, often in ghettos, the city’s sewers, or in other out of-the-way places, usually without the city builder’s knowledge, where they perform the underappreciated task of keeping the vermin population down as well—to a kobold, a rat or a roach is a snack. Kobolds have learned to hide, and to hide well. Where other people have learned to tame the world around them, kobolds have learned how to survive everything that’s thrown their way.
While you can choose any culture for your kobold character, the following cultures are linked closely with this: dragoncult, dragonbound, tyrannized, undercity.