Keywords: Shadowmoor Elemental, Ash demon, Fire demon, Fire elemental
Alignment: Kobold are Dark. Their general outlook means that they are unlikely to become Light, though some few might develop into Neutrality.
Appearance: Kobold, like Hob, typically reflect the common materials of their homes. However, where Hobs are bark, mud, granite and similar stones, as well as moss and other plants material, Kobold are ash, charcoal, onyx and obsidian. This is because of the lands that come from: Ithaca, a land of volcanoes, shadows and fire. A further emulation to this, Kobold, like Hob, are shadowy beings but appear to burn with an inner fire. This fire, whilst warm, is certainly not actually hot and not actually fire. Instead, it appears to be some form of hair but does give the appearance of fire as blood and flames that break the surface of the skin. Some Kobold even glow subtly.
Regions: Kobold are only really common to Ithaca-Under-Shadow.
Society: Kobold can be a little like Trolls. Their sensitivity to the Fae means that they can share life-force as they grow older and some can even develop an innate ability to leech life-force from others. This forces upon the Kobold a kind of paranoia, especially to other Kobold. Many develop social communities as normally expected – except that Kobold have a natural inclination to disobey authority, due to this paranoia. These small communities are thus formed of common interests, not related blood or familial association. Indeed, Kobold Elders encourage conflict, and forms of politeness (such as ‘please’ and ‘thank you’) are seen as a weakness.
Government: Kobold don’t have a formal government of their own – it would difficult to imagine any structure that could hold up to Kobold society and expectations.
Religion: Kobold aren’t much interested in formalised religion, but they are very interested in the ideas and philosophies. Some might follow the Darkened One, some the Witherer. They are also interested in Light gods, but sorely disappointed by the highly structured forms of worship and the lack of challenges within the religion – that and what they consider ‘weaknesses’ in the caring, romanticised imagery of those gods.
Technology: Some Kobold can be amazingly skilled at crafting. Due to their society, however, Kobold aren’t like to make things that others might benefit from. As such, small technological skirmishes are common all over Ithaca and the North. Their adaptive ability to materials means that they actually prefer working with their hands and many have a subtle instinct into how to use materials in crafting. Because of this Kobold workmanship, whilst not being the prettiest of works, tend to be extremely serviceable and quite a few seem to be able to manipulate Fae in ways that normally can’t be normally – scholars suspect that some trained Kobold can subtly alter the flow of Fae in things they touch and work with.
Names: Kobold tend to be full of subtle clicks and hisses and though the language is similar to Dwarrow the strange emphasis on hard consonants makes the language difficult to understand. Thus, Kobold pronunciation is similar to that of Khoisan languages, as do their names: Q!i, !Xho, Ss’Iz!
Languages: Dwarrow (Kobold), Common (Dark).
Ages: Kobold maximum age is around 50 years.
Natural Resistance: Kobold have Level 1 Resist Poison and Disease.
Min Phys Rep: Rags and random assortments of scrap pieces turned into jewellery. Either cover the skin or paint it – it should look like stone with veins of molten lava or ashen with flames where we Humans have hair, or perhaps even like charred bark, dripping with flame. Not all inner Kobold fires are red either – some are green, blue or even yellow, white.
Bonuses: -1 to cost of Physical and Weapons and Armour skills. They have Deflect. They reduce time of timed skills by up to half, and thus have A Focused Mind.
Racial Penalties or Restrictions: Kobold cannot take Spellcraft or Invocation. They may buy the Resist Fae (Solar) from the Troll skills section of the Advanced list. Kobold are restricted technological-wise and all clock-work weaponry must first pass a check by C&C.
