Welp, like the title says.
I would just like to find a GM willing to run Rise of the Runelords for a team of kobolds. I don't know how effective it would be, but it would certainly be fun to have a band of the little buggers running around saving the world (or trying to, anyways).
Sooo... yeah!
What are your expectations from this?
A. Townspeople are racist towards kobolds, but are willing to give them a chance before resorting to "shoot on sight". (Especially when they establish that they are heroes)
B. Townspeople treat kobolds basically the same way they treat gnomes or half-orcs, with some distrust, but not open animosity. Some townsfolk even pity them.
C. Townspeople hate kobolds no matter what. Team Kobold would need dramatic restructuring to the AP to allow them to progress through without coming into direct contact with regular townspeople as much as possible.
I've ran RotR before but much of it expects that the group is on good terms with Sandpoint early on, as many of the plot hooks rely on local law enforcement coming to the heroic team for help or advice.
An all-goblin team would fit much better. I suppose you could swap out all of the goblins in the AP for kobolds and have a similar effect, but there is already rationale for the goblins to get involved in the adventure. Sort of an "an enemy of my enemy is my friend" kind of deal. I also am not as familiar with kobolds in golarion lore, I don't believe they are as crazy and chaotic as goblins.
Wouldn't an all-Goblin team fit much, much worse? The people of Sandpoint *hate* goblins, and with good reason: they are under constant attack from the local Goblin tribe. In fact, that's literally the first combat encounter.
On the other hand, Kobolds aren't particularly common on the Lost Coast, or even Varisia in general. A group of traveling kobolds might reasonably be treated with suspicion, but not outright hatred, assuming they behave themselves.
Of slightly greater concern is that kobolds are (mechanically speaking) one of the worst races in Pathfinder, and RotRL really doesn't pull any punches once you hit the Skinsaw Murders, and it only gets worse from there. The Hook Mountain Massacre would be a challenge for any small-sized party, but for kobolds, it could easily be a bloodbath.
You would need to dramatically restructure things, yeah, but it would feel less forced than a kobold team.
The goblins in RotR are pretty much being dominated by Nualia and her company. She's actively using them as sacrifices to Lamashtu, and has kicked out large numbers of them from their own stronghold to fend for themselves in the thistle maze. Goblins that disagree are getting tossed into the bunyip pit. There's a pretty long blurb from the goblin druid (whose name escapes me right now...gogmurt??) about how he is very disgruntled and could be persuaded into defecting to the heroes' side, or at least willingly give up a lot of information.
So if I did an all-goblin team I'd probably run the attack on Sandpoint from the goblin's side, with the "heroes" actively participating as villains. Then I'd have the goblins run with Tsuto to do his deal with his dad and Ameiko, and probably defect at that moment, and fight Tsuto and save Ameiko. From there onwards the goal would be to liberate Thistletop from Nualia's tyranny, and the AP would run similarly as written.
The roughest part would be tying in the second book (which assumes active involvement with the local law enforcement), as well as figuring out hooks to keep goblin attention on the big plot at hand even when they're not being dominated.
The easiest way, if not a bit ham-fisted, would be to work out some sort of truce between the gobbos and the longshanks, possibly starting from saving Ameiko.
My main issues with kobolds are, as stated, they're rare in Varisia. I don't know enough about kobolds to know if they'd be attacked on sight, though from a brief run-through of Monsters Revisited, they seem fairly vile. And also ego-centric, which would lead me to question why the kobolds would help the big people instead of letting them die, because they just deserve it for being so weak. I suppose only having 4 kobolds in the area might keep people from feeling too threatened though.
I'd also be worried about the difficulty level of the AP. 25 pt buy maybe?
Kobolds don't like goblins, based on my reading. They think the little buggers are pests, who just blindly stumble into their homes and ruin their carefully made traps and defenses. The "enemy of my enemy is my friend" rationale would suit them a little better, I think. I've always thought that a small tribe of them living close to Sandpoint would appreciate the town, because it makes them a target for goblin activities and keeps them out of their home. But if a big mass of them are starting to gather up, they might reconsider things.
As for Sandpoint, if the goblins attacked during the festival, and a band of kobolds jumped in and drove them off, I'd think the townsfolk, while leery about them, would be cool if they stuck around a little (and some of the more trusting members- Ameiko, maybe? -might offer them lodging or services while in town). So long as they control themselves, which they can do. They're mostly Lawful Evil or Lawful Neutral, so if they wanted to plan something, it would be carefully crafted, planned out, and on the sly. I believe the general consensus (at least, what seems logical, anyways) is that if kobolds are nearby and they aren't bothering anyone outright, they aren't worth going after, because that will just incite them and be more trouble than it's worth.
But I can see kobolds wanting to try to play hero, especially if they play it smart. After all, heroes get rewards for their bravery, right? And kobolds like getting rewards, especially if it's shiny. If kobolds discover that being brave and slaying their foes gets them respect and stuff from bigger races, they might consider it a bit more.
