Have an upcoming game involving kobolds and looking for some good, low-level builds. PCs are level 1. I'm really bad at low levels and usually end up copping out and just picking/re-skinning monsters, so this time I'm looking for some builds to pep up kobolds for interesting encounters.
Rules: heroic array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8), race must be kobold. So far here's what I came up with:
XP 400
Kobold Ranger 3
LE Small humanoid (reptilian)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +5
DEFENSE
AC 20, touch 15, flat-footed 16(+4 armor, +4 Dex, +1 natural, +1 size)
hp 27 (3d10+6)
Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +1
Weaknesses light sensitivity
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee spear +1 (1d6–1/x3)
Ranged +1 light crossbow +9 (1d6 +6)
STATISTICS
Str 9, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 8
Base Atk +3; CMB +1; CMD 11
Feats Deadly Aim, Endurance, Focused Shot, Point Blank Shot
Skills Climb +5, Craft (trapmaking) +10, Handle Animal +4, Knowledge: Dungeoneering +8, Perception +8, Ride +10, Stealth +10, Survival +6; Racial Modifiers +2 Craft (trapmaking), +2 Perception, +2 Profession (miner)
Languages Common, Draconic, Undercommon
Gear +1 light crossbow, masterwork studded leather armor, buckler, spear, 10 crossbow bolts, other gear
SQ crafty, favored enemy: humanoid (dwarf), favored terrain: underground, track, wild empathy
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Crafty (Ex)
Craft (trapmaking) and Stealth are always class skills for a kobold.
Favored Enemy (Ex)
At 1st level, a ranger selects a creature type from the ranger favored enemies table. He gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against creatures of his selected type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against them. A ranger may make Knowledge skill checks untrained when attempting to identify these creatures.
At 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th level), the ranger may select an additional favored enemy. In addition, at each such interval, the bonus against any one favored enemy (including the one just selected, if so desired) increases by +2.
If the ranger chooses humanoids or outsiders as a favored enemy, he must also choose an associated subtype, as indicated on the table below. (Note that there are other types of humanoid to choose from—those called out specifically on the table below are merely the most common.) If a specific creature falls into more than one category of favored enemy, the ranger's bonuses do not stack; he simply uses whichever bonus is higher.
Favored Terrain (Ex)
At 3rd level, a ranger may select a type of terrain from Table: Ranger Favored Terrains. The ranger gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival skill checks when he is in this terrain. A ranger traveling through his favored terrain normally leaves no trail and cannot be tracked (though he may leave a trail if he so chooses).
At 8th level and every five levels thereafter, the ranger may select an additional favored terrain. In addition, at each such interval, the skill bonus and initiative bonus in any one favored terrain (including the one just selected, if so desired), increases by +2.
If a specific terrain falls into more than one category of favored terrain, the ranger's bonuses do not stack; he simply uses whichever bonus is higher.
Track (Ex)
A ranger adds half his level (minimum 1) to Survival skill checks made to follow tracks.
Wild Empathy (Ex)
A ranger can improve the initial attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person (see Using Skills). The ranger rolls 1d20 and adds his ranger level and his Charisma bonus to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.
To use wild empathy, the ranger and the animal must be within 30 feet of one another under normal visibility conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute, but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.
The ranger can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but he takes a –4 penalty on the check.
Kind of boring, I know. If anyone has any advice I'd gladly take it. Thanks for any help you can offer.
That guy is mad strong to put against some lvl 1 players, even if they optimize.
Is he the boss battle?
I actually love using racial archetypes for my NPCs, and used the Swarm Fighter for my own kobolds.
mook kobold #1
LE small humanoid (reptillian)
Swarm Fighter 1
Init +3; darkvision 60 ft. Perception +3
HP 7
AC 16; Touch 13; Flat Footed 13; (2 Armor +3 DEX +1 Natural)
Fort +3; Ref +3; Will +1
Speed 30
melee light pick +4 (d3-1)
melee spear +0 (d6-1)
STR 9 DEX 17 CON 12 INT 10 WIS 12 CHA 8
BAB +1; CMB +0; CMD 13
Mobility; Weapon Finesse
Climb +2; Perception +3; Craft (traps) +2; Acrobatics +8; Stealth +7
leather armor; light pick
mook kobold #2
LE small humanoid (reptillian)
Swarm Fighter 1
Init +3; darkvision 60 ft. Perception +3
HP 7
AC 16; Touch 13; Flat Footed 13; (2 Armor +3 DEX +1 Natural)
Fort +3; Ref +3; Will +1
Speed 30
ranged sling +4 (d3)
special attack: smoke pellet, ranged touch attack DC 13 Fort negates, failure means the target is nauseated for 1 round.
STR 9 DEX 17 CON 12 INT 10 WIS 12 CHA 8
BAB +1; CMB +0; CMD 13
Mobility; Point Blank Shot
Climb +2; Perception +3; Craft (traps) +2; Acrobatics +8; Stealth +7
leather armor; sling, smoke pellets (4)
Tactics usually include having 2 or more of the ranged kobolds attack an enemy to stun them and then have your melee kobolds swarm in and attack by flanking.
Have an upcoming game involving kobolds and looking for some good, low-level builds. PCs are level 1. I'm really bad at low levels and usually end up copping out and just picking/re-skinning monsters, so this time I'm looking for some builds to pep up kobolds for interesting encounters.
Rules: heroic array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8), race must be kobold. So far here's what I came up with:
** spoiler omitted **...
The Pullstinger here is CR 2 (kobolds only get a -1 CR mod if they only have NPC levels)
@ all: thanks very much for these builds!
@ D-Muir: thanks for hipping me to the fact that kobolds only get -1 CR on NPC builds. I obviously had myself convinced otherwise.
If anyone has more ideas, I'm all ears.
More concept and less crunch:
The Possessed
They keep her locked up in a sealed-off part of their lair; she's ancient, and people say she's been possessed by a dragon ancestor. At night her true form can be seen, but during daylight she's a monster.
A synthesist 3, taking the biped form with a draconic appearance, evolution points spent in improved natural armor and similar things, spells fitting for a dragon of the chosen kind (if she's possessed by a blue dragon, things like shocking grasp?) etc.
More concept and less crunch:
The Possessed
They keep her locked up in a sealed-off part of their lair; she's ancient, and people say she's been possessed by a dragon ancestor. At night her true form can be seen, but during daylight she's a monster.A synthesist 3, taking the biped form with a draconic appearance, evolution points spent in improved natural armor and similar things, spells fitting for a dragon of the chosen kind (if she's possessed by a blue dragon, things like shocking grasp?) etc.
Wow. That's awesome! I never looked at the synthesist before. Thanks I-beam!
Have you looked at Crown of the Kobold King module (or its follow-up module Return of the Kobold King)? Both are great.
I modified them somewhat to include a kobold alchemist (forget the level, maybe level 3) as well as a kobold summoner (with a black dragon-like eidolon). I don't have their stats handy, sorry.
The kobold summoner was a very tough opponent on a low-level party (pit spells took a couple of players out of the fight and a hasted eidolon would have ripped the remaining PCs up if they hadn't decided to "kite it" right off the bat, saved their bacon that did). Good luck! Kobolds are fun opponents.
Here's an NPC sheet for the synthesist. Made it 4th level but focused on defenses, also having nearly no gear; I feel this is a better approach for a single target encounter than making it 3rd level and offensively focused (where it'll either be a walkover or insta-PC-death depending on rolls). It came out too strong for a 1st level party, clearly; synthesists are kind of hard to gauge before you make them. The defenses are quite insane. It could be good as an encounter at late 2nd or early 3rd level though.
It could be lowered to a 3rd level synth but I feel that it'll lose a lot of the draconic feeling if you did that. It will _feel_ a lot weaker, even though it still might be nearly as strong, since you have to drop some of the evolutions that make it feel extra dangerous (reach for example).
The Possessed
They keep her locked up in a sealed-off part of their lair; she's ancient, and people say she's been possessed by a dragon ancestor. At night her true form can be seen, but during daylight she's a monster.
She's larger than any other kobold - around 6 feet tall with a long, slender neck and tail, and two undersized wings protruding from her back. Her skin is covered in thick, deep blue scales and her head is dominated by a large, toothed mouth. She growls constantly, with an almost electric fizz. Around her neck there seems to be something hanging in a chain; it looks like a horn.
Her lair is a section of two high and narrow caves that intersect like an X; she mostly keeps to the higher parts, sleeping on the ledges of the rough cave wall.
She is very wary of everyone, and has a very short temper, but is not automatically hostile to people entering. It would not be impossible to talk to her, provided one has something she is interested in.
XP 600
Kobold Synthesist 4
LE Medium humanoid/outsider (reptilian)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +7
DEFENSE
AC 20, touch 18, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +6 natural, +2 shield)
hp 47 (4d6+8+3d10+6)
Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +6
Weaknesses light sensitivity
Special defenses: +2 vs Sleep & Paralysis. Electricity resist 5, evasion, gliding wings
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee Bite +6 (1d6+3, reach) and 2 claws +6 (1d6+3)
Ranged Acid Splash +5 (1d3)
Special attacks:
Breath Weapon 1/day; Line of electricity 30 ft, 2d6 damage, Ref DC16 for half.
Spells known (DC13+Level)
0 - Acid Splash, Arcane Mark, Daze, Detect Magic, Mage Hand, Resistance
1 (4/day) - Alarm, Protection from Good, Ventriloquism, Unseen Servant
2 (2/day) - Detect Thoughts, Levitate
STATISTICS
Str 17, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 15
Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD 18
Feats Draconic Aspect, Draconic Breath
Skills Acrobatics +5, Fly +8, Climb +6, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (History) +6, Linguistics +6, Perception +7, Sense Motive +12, Spellcraft +6, Stealth +7
Languages Common, Draconic, Undercommon, Auran, Infernal
Evolutions: Bite, Improved Natural Armor, Ability Increase (Con), Reach (bite), Skilled (Sense Motive), low-light vision
Gear Dragon Horn
SQ gliding wings, dragon scaled, wyrmcrowned, shielded meld
Since I'm quite obsessed with custom and odd loot, I had to put something in. It could be just sold, or it could be a plot hook for the future, or a nice trophy:
Go my son, with my blessing. When you fear for your life, sound your sister and I will come for her brother.
Sounding the horn gives a weird, tingling sensation, almost like an electrical current through the user's face. The horn detects as faintly magic, but if there are specific powers to it they can't be identified.
The horn can be sold to collectors for around five hundred gold coins on the open market.
Did you have a look at the pregens for We be Goblins? You can download the whole bunch following the link right above the line reading Product availability.
Ruyan.
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A rat-mounted tunnel blocker:
XP 100
Kobold warrior 1
LE Small humanoid (reptilian)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +5
DEFENSE
AC 23, touch 15, flat-footed 19 (+7 armor, +4 Dex, +1 natural, +1 size)
hp 6 (1d10+1)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +1
Resist Fire 5, Fort save vs poison +2
Weaknesses light sensitivity
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee spear +1 (1d6–1/x3)
Ranged sling +4 (1d3-1); Fire Bomb shot +5 (1d3 Fire)
STATISTICS
Str 9, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +1; CMB –1; CMD 13
Traits: Beast Bond, Dragon-Scaled (Red), Firebug, Resilient
Feats Draconic Aspect (Red)
Skills Handle Animal +4, Perception +5, Ride +2; Racial Modifiers +2 Handle Animal, +2 Ride
Languages Draconic
Gear chain shirt, heavy wooden shield, spear, 10 Fire Bomb shot (+1 Fire damage)
XP 200
N Medium animal
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +4
DEFENSE
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+2 armor, +2 Dex, +3 natural, +1 size)
hp 6 (1d8+2)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +1
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee bite +2 (1d6 +2 plus disease)
Special Attacks disease
STATISTICS
Str 14, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 4
Base Atk +0; CMB 0; CMD 12 (16 vs. trip)
Feats Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Climb +11, Perception +4, Stealth +11, Swim +11; Racial Modifiers uses Dex to modify Climb and Swim
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Disease (Ex)
Filth fever: Bite—injury; save Fort DC 12; onset 1d3 days; frequency 1/day; effect 1d3 Dex damage and 1d3 Con damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Fire Bomb shot is just simply normal sling bullets that add a +1 fire damage to them. I'm making a GM fiat to allow Firebug to work with this ammo, which explains the entry. Hopefully everything else is correct on this guy.
More ideas:
XP 100
Kobold warrior 1
LE Small humanoid (reptilian)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
DEFENSE
AC 20, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+7 armor, +2 Dex, +1 size)
hp 5 (1d10)
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +0
Weaknesses light sensitivity
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee bite +3 (1d4-1) or shortsword +3 (1d4 -1/19-20 x2), or shortsword +3 (1d4 -1) and bite -1 (1d4 -1)
Ranged sling +3 (1d3-1)
Special Attack +1d6 electricity w/bite 1/day
STATISTICS
Str 9, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 8
Base Atk +1; CMB –1; CMD 11
Traits: Dragonmaw, Shoulder to Shoulder
Feats Weapon Finesse
Skills Craft: trapmaking +3, Perception +4
Languages Draconic
Gear chain shirt, heavy wooden shield, shortsword, sling, 20 sling bullets
Basically these are the minion mooks scattered around the lair in various places. Their job is to plug holes and act in tandem w/one another or bigger elite type kobolds to grant Aid Another bonuses. These guys are like draconic goblins; oversized heads on scrawny bodies that are ALL mouth.
XP 600
Kobold magus 2
LE Medium humanoid (reptilian)
Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +8
DEFENSE
AC 22, touch 11, flat-footed 21 (+7 armor, +1 Dex, +4 natural)
hp 18 (2d8+4)
Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +4
Resist Electricity 5
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee longsword +3 (1d8 +2/19-20 x2); or Arcane +1 longsword +4 (1d8 +3/19-20 x2); or Arcane Shocking Grasp Spellstrike +1 longsword +4 (1d8 +3 plus 2d6 Electricity/19-20 x2)
Ranged javelin +2 (1d6 +2)
Spells Prepared (CL 2; Concentration +3)
Level 1 Chill Touch, Mirror Strike, Shocking Grasp
Level 0 Arclight, Daze, Light, Mage Hand
STATISTICS
Str 15, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 8
Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 14
Traits: Beast Bond, Day Rider, Dragon-Scaled (Blue), Vigilant (+2 Perception), Reactionary
Feats Draconic Aspect (Blue)
Skills Handle Animal +4, Knowledge: Arcane +6, Perception +8, Ride +2; Racial Modifiers +2 Handle Animal, +2 Ride
Languages Common, Draconic
SQ Arcane Pool 2, Spell Combat, Spell Strike
Gear chainshirt, heavy steel shield, masterwork longsword, spellbook (see below), x2 javelins, 1 scroll: vanish,
Spellbook
Level 1 Chill Touch, Enlarge Person, Mirror Strike, Shocking Grasp, Shock Shield, Vanish
Level 0 All Magus cantrips plus Arclight (exactly the same as Ray of Frost, only electricity)
These elite creatures have the Simple: Giant template applied. They are hulking blue-scaled brutes that stand sentry over important locales in the lair. When accompanied by the regular lightning guards, these dudes time their attacks so that while the mooks use Aid Another they make a single, devastating attack, preferably with Chill Touch or Shocking Grasp added.