Description
Kobolds are weak, craven, and seethe with a festering resentment for the rest of the world, especially members of races that seem stronger, smarter, or superior to them in any way. They proudly claim kinship to dragons, but beneath all the bluster, the comparison to their glorious cousins leaves kobolds with a profound sense of inadequacy. Though they are hardworking, clever, and blessed with a natural talent for mechanical devices and mining, they spend their days nursing grudges and hatreds instead of celebrating their own gifts. Kobold tactics specialize in traps and ambushes, but kobolds enjoy anything that allows them to harm others without putting themselves at risk. Often, they seek to capture rather than to kill, taking out their frustrations on the helpless victims they drag back to their claustrophobic lairs.
Standard Racial Traits
Reptilian
Kobolds are humanoids with the reptilian subtype.
Darkvision
Kobolds can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
Armor
Kobolds have a +1 natural armor bonus.
Crafty
Kobolds gain a +2 racial bonus on Craft (trapmaking), Perception, and Profession (miner) checks. Craft (traps) and Stealth are always class skills for a kobold.
Weakness
Light sensitivity.
Alternate Racial Traits
Beast Bond
Some kobolds have a talent for training animals and beasts to help them both on and off the battlefield. Kobolds with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Handle Animal and Ride checks. Handle Animal and Ride are always class skills for them. This racial trait replaces crafty.
Dragon-Scaled
Some kobolds are hatched with scales of such vivid color that their connection to a particular sort of chromatic dragon seems undeniable. Whether this coloration is just a quirk of a stray egg or a trait shared by all the members of a tribe, these kobolds gain a resistance that makes them especially suited to work alongside dragons matching the color of the kobold's scales. Black-scaled and green-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain acid resistance 5. Blue-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain electricity resistance 5. Red-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain fire resistance 5. White-scaled kobolds with this racial trait gain cold resistance 5. This racial trait replaces the armor racial trait.
Gliding Wings
Some kobolds are born with wings that, while too weak for actual flying, do allow them to fall at a very slow and safe pace. A kobold with wings can use them to glide. It can make a DC 15 Fly check to fall safely from any height without taking falling damage, as if using feather fall. When falling safely, it may make an additional DC 15 Fly check to glide, moving 5 feet laterally for every 20 feet it falls. This racial trait replaces crafty.
Jester
Some kobolds swallow their pride and survive by groveling, placating, and amusing the powerful. Kobolds with this racial trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Perform checks. Diplomacy and Perform are always class skills for them. This racial trait replaces crafty.