D&D Race Guide: How to Play a Kobold
Coming from the Monster Manual, you may not think of Kobolds as the adventuring type. But the small dragon descendants can be a great pick.
These small creatures may look like little dragons, but they aren’t known for sharing a dragon’s fierceness or bravery. While Kobolds may have a powerful cry, they are mostly known for being cowardly, foolish, weak, and sometimes eating a baby or two. But with strong social bonds and a few surprising skills, you shouldn’t rule these little guys out next time you’re making a character.
“Some of the smallest draconic creatures in the multiverse, kobolds display their draconic ancestry in the glint of their scales and in their roars. Legends tell of the first kobolds emerging from the Underdark near the lairs of the earliest dragons. In some lands, kobolds serve chromatic or metallic dragons — even worshiping them as divine beings. In other places, kobolds know too well how dangerous those dragons can be and help others defend against draconic destruction.”
Kobold Traits
First appearing as a playable character for 5E in Volo‘s Guide to Monsters, Kobolds are almost immediately written off by the book itself. They’re described by their cowardice and lack of strength, with only their ‘clever hands’ listed among their strengths. Luckily, they come back later with a few more useful attributes. But we’ll get to that in a bit.
Picking one of Volo’s Kobold characters will award you a +2 to Dexterity for your small character, coming in between two and three feet tall. Darkvision gives them a little extra sight in dim light up to 60 feet, and Pack Tactics makes them a good friend to have. But besides that, Kobolds aren’t written to be terribly tempting character choice, if I’m being honest.
They’re immediately described as selfish and often evil, but lawfully so since they rely on their group to back them up. Sunlight Sensitivity gives them disadvantage on perception rolls in lit areas, and an ability called, “Grovel, Cower, and Beg” lets them roll over onto their back and expose their soft belly so pathetically that it gives their allies advantage on attack rolls. I guess the enemies are distracted by their own laughter at your sad, sad character.
Is it sort of funny? Yeah. Would it be fun for a one-shot? Oh yeah, probably. But for a longer game, I’m not sure if Volo’s Kobold was really written to be played.
Variants
A few year’s after Volo’s publication, Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse came back with another take on the player-character Kobold.
Now your Kobold character will get a +2 to any ability score of your choice as well as +1 to a different score, or a +1 to three individual abilities. Size, speed, and Darkvision are all by and large untouched. But there are a few key additions that push Kobolds from ‘a total joke’ to ‘a reasonable party member.’
For starters, they now have their Draconic Cry. With this, they can let out a cry at their enemies as a bonus action, and any enemies within 10 feet will find your allies have advantage against them. It’s similar to the Cowering move of the previous Kobold, but a little less sad and a little more purposeful.
They also now have Kobold Legacy, which gives them one of a few different Kobold-specific skill trees. For example, an especially crafty Kobold would have extra proficiencies, while a character with ‘Defiance’ would have advantage on saving throws, and a ‘Draconic Sorcery’ gives access to sorcerer cantrips as well as an expanded choice of spellcasting abilities to Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma.
Best Classes for Kobolds
I want to say that a Kobold would want to keep some distance and should stick with a magic or ranged class, but their Dragonic Cry can really only be used at short distances. In reality, you want a class that gets right into the action. I think that Fighter and Rogue could both be equally good choices for your character. And with their history of being a little sneaky and in-the-back, Rogue would fit the perceived Kobold personality very well.
Tips & Tricks
When it comes to the 5E Kobold, there are two very different versions you can play. Usually, I’d say that the variant you choose is a matter of personal preference. But in this case, it really is the difference between a fun short-term joke and a reasonably playable character. Know what kind of game you’re getting yourself into, and what kind of character you want to play. There’s nothing wrong with playing a pathetic little guy, and that can be very fun. But if you’ll be committing this character to a long adventure, maybe pick the adventurer.
Have you played a Kobold character? Have you ever played Kobolds Ate My Baby? Do you think you may play a Kobold in the future? Let us know in the comments!
Happy adventuring!
