Updating Tuckers Kobolds for 3.5

[Grifthin]

http://www.tuckerskobolds.com/

So from the above link you can see a rather funny story that would be rather amusing to apply to a party with a attitude. According to many forum goers alot of the tactics used here are obsolete (poor kobolds). So what would you guys change Tactics wise so that the Kobolds have a better chance of winning ?

[Dragon Elite]

Ideas:

1) Drop 1 ton of flaming debris on adventurers.
2) Use poisoned arrows.
3) Have traps to slow PCs down, run out, shoot, run back in.
4) Portcullis behind, Portcullis in front, murder holes with acid/magma/arrows coming out on top. Then a kobold archer squad fires into the mess.
5) Have a ballista in the ceiling.(Or two or three.)
6) Shot on the run+boots of speed.

[Strawman]

In D&D, party roles are so important. This makes Divide & Conquer all that much more devastating.

You have a long hallway. Some kobolds are far down the hallway behind some barrels as cover. They attack the players with slings and javelins, or whatever. They may even occasionally set a barrel on fire and roll it towards the party.

This is all meant to get the fighter-types of the party to charge the kobolds. That's when prison style drop-down bars decend from the ceiling and lock into the floor infront of and behind the charging players. The bars should be tough, but not impossible on a nat 20, to bend. If the players that charged forward do not have ranged equipment, the kobolds can take their time.

The players that stayed behind are not safe either. There are secret panels in the walls next to them. Earlier on the kobolds harass the players so that they are less likely to notice the panels. After the party is divided, kobolds come out of the secret panels and attack. No wizard enjoys two kobolds on either side poking him while he's casting spells.

If the players notice the secret panels, they can avoid the whole trap. But they would need to think it's a trap to avoid it. If the players who stayed behind manage to defeat the kobolds coming out of the walls, they can use the secret passage to move to the other side of the bars. There they can disable the bars.

For added insurance that at least some players will stay behind, provide some cover for the players to use thirty feet from the kobolds.

[Dragon Elite]

Rolling boulder down a 200-foot long passageway.
Have a nook large enough for the party to get through on a side.
Have the nook get shut off.
Attack with ranged weapons from behind cover.
Pour acid on them.
Light them on fire.

Dead PC's

[Strawman]

The kobolds have gathered various dead bodies of creatures from all over the dungeon. They've gotten a whole bunch of goblinoid corpses and made several piles of them. They've also gotten the corpse of something larger like an ogre, the corpse being very intact.

There is a large room with two piles of goblinoid corpses. An ogre appears to be sitting still in the shadows of a corner, facing away from the room's entrance. There is one kobold hiding behind the ogre's corpse, making sounds like it is eating. There is a cooking fire between the room's entrance and the ogre's corpse. There are a bunch of kobolds hiding in the two piles of goblinoid corpses.

The kobolds wait until the party tries to suprise attack the ogre. Hopefully the spellcasters will waste some spells on the ogre corpse. When the players begin to approach the ogre corpse, the kobold behind it lobs a bottle of oil onto the cooking fire. After the burst of flame, the kobolds all rush out of the goblinoid corpse piles and attack. The kobold behind the ogre corpse fires ranged attacks using the ogre corpse as cover.

The kobolds could also use ranged attacked from the goblinoid corpse piles, but in that case the players should be able to use a spot check to see the kobolds before they fire.

[Dragon Elite]

Dungeon Plan

Fire grid- This tunnel is 80 feet long and 20 feet wide. There is a grid on the floor. The grid lights itself on fire. Everything is lit on fire, taking 1d6 damage every time you take an action. 10 kobolds attack, firing masterwork crossbows at you.

Acid and arrows- This room is 20x20 feet wide. It has two doors.( Left go to 3, Right go to 4) Ten kobolds fire their crossbows from murder holes in the ceiling. They dump acid on you (1d8 acid damage for 3 rounds)

And so on.

[Strawman]

I think Dragon Elite and I are slowly building up an entire kobold dungeon here.

The winding hallway-

A winding hallway where kobolds use ranged hit and run tactics. The hallway is filled with pressure plate traps that do no activate for light creatures like kobolds, but do activate for creatures as heavy as humans or dwarves.

If the party decides to stop moving and duke it out with the kobolds ranged-style, they jump together on marked pressure plates. Those plates release heavy stone balls from the ceiling, rolling towards the party. The stone balls activate pressure traps and move fast enough to do damage if a player fails their reflex check. As strong character could pick up one of the stone balls and roll it back to the kobolds (Insert bowling joke here).


The rope bridge-

There is a short chasm with a rope bridge. On either side of the bridge there are large stone columns the rope is tied around. The rope is soaked with oil. There is a kobold hiding behind the stone column on the other side. The columns have lit torches attached to their sides, to illuminate the room. Can you guess what happens next?


The mirrored hallway-

There is a standard hallway with archer-holes in the walls for kobolds to shoot at you from. Except the walls are covered with mirrors, and numerous torches make the room ridiculously bright. You have a hard time even noticing the archer-holes until you’re halfway into the room. When the kobolds start firing, the characters can only tell where arrows are coming from by what way the arrows are sticking into their body.

Also, the door to the hallway has mirrors on the side facing the hallway. This makes it difficult to find the door again. The door on the other side of the hallway is the same. Both require a medium difficulty spot check to find.

There are secret entrances to the kobold’s location outside either end of the hallway. The players can use it to circumvent the trap, if they notice the secret entrances. The kobolds use it to go outside the hallway and force the door closed if they see the party trying to leave through one end.


The pit-

When the players enter the room, they are standing on solid metal plate that makes up the room's floor. One the other side of the room kobolds are standing on the other end of the metal plate. There is a pit beneath the player's side of the room, and the kobolds' weight is keeping the plate from tilting into the pit and causing the whole party to fall in. The kobolds wait for the right moment and simaltaneously jump off their end of the plate.

Even if the players escape the pit, the plate is now making a vertical barrier preventing the players from proceeding through that room. They have to go another route, and suffer another kobold ambush.

[Dragon Elite]

We are, aren't we.

The acid fall-
A beautiful waterfall is cascading in front of you. Acid (1d8) is in this waterfall, however, so stepping through it deals damage. Under the waterfall, there is a 10x10x10 foot hole, filled with acid.

The geyser field-
This room feels pleasantly warm and has a slightly reddish hue. If you move more than 10 feet away from the doorway, a geyser pops up and deals 5d4 fire damage.

The spiked fall-
This room has water drifting down giant stairs(5 feet across/down) DC 15 balance check. If you fail, slide down a step and take 3d4 spike damage.


Are illusions allowed?

[Cieyrin]

Why wouldn't Illusions be allowed? Sure, it wouldn't be in the spirit of classic Tucker's Kobolds but modern kobold is definitely more magically inclined and it would be remiss to not make use of what sorcerous power is available to them, whether in making magic traps or making your mechanical traps that much harder to detect. Nothing like a Silent Image of a solid floor over a pit.

Also, all those side tunnels should be kobold size, not human size. Medium critters should have to squeeze to get through those. If we're running w/ Kobolds having Slight Build, as per the RotD web enhancement (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060420a), you could make those tunnels Tiny size and make even those halflings and gnomes have to squeeze to get through and the medium critters even more unable to get out of those traps.

Oh, also on the sorcerous bent, if you run enough kobold sorcerers with magic missiles, color sprays, sleep and grease, provided you can properly screen them or guerilla tactic them, it should make your trap laden complex that much harder.

Finally, have hidden switches to reset traps quickly or set them off on the PCs, as there's nothing worse than letting the invading party rogues pick apart your carefully orchestrated traps. Better to set off that crossbow trap in the rogue's face while he's trying to disable it. Also don't be afraid to set off the big traps if things start to go bad, like taking the key stone from the dam holding that underground river back or taking out the main support column of the main cavern to collapse the ceiling upon the invaders. Yes, you may lose some kobolds but if you're setting those things off, you gotta try to cut your losses at some point.

Them's my 2 coppers. Take as you will.

[Dragon Elite]

Dungeon Plan

Now compiled!

Fire grid- This tunnel is 80 feet long and 20 feet wide. There is a grid on the floor. The grid lights itself on fire. Everything is lit on fire, taking 1d6 damage every time you take an action. 10 kobolds attack, firing masterwork crossbows at you.

Acid and arrows- This room is 20x20 feet wide. It has two doors.( Left go to 3, Right go to 4) Ten kobolds fire their crossbows from murder holes in the ceiling. They dump acid on you (1d8 acid damage for 3 rounds)

The winding hallway-

A winding hallway where kobolds use ranged hit and run tactics. The hallway is filled with pressure plate traps that do no activate for light creatures like kobolds, but do activate for creatures as heavy as humans or dwarves.

If the party decides to stop moving and duke it out with the kobolds ranged-style, they jump together on marked pressure plates. Those plates release heavy stone balls from the ceiling, rolling towards the party. The stone balls activate pressure traps and move fast enough to do damage if a player fails their reflex check. As strong character could pick up one of the stone balls and roll it back to the kobolds (Insert bowling joke here).


The rope bridge-

There is a short chasm with a rope bridge. On either side of the bridge there are large stone columns the rope is tied around. The rope is soaked with oil. There is a kobold hiding behind the stone column on the other side. The columns have lit torches attached to their sides, to illuminate the room. Can you guess what happens next?


The mirrored hallway-

There is a standard hallway with archer-holes in the walls for kobolds to shoot at you from. Except the walls are covered with mirrors, and numerous torches make the room ridiculously bright. You have a hard time even noticing the archer-holes until you’re halfway into the room. When the kobolds start firing, the characters can only tell where arrows are coming from by what way the arrows are sticking into their body.

Also, the door to the hallway has mirrors on the side facing the hallway. This makes it difficult to find the door again. The door on the other side of the hallway is the same. Both require a medium difficulty spot check to find.

There are secret entrances to the kobold’s location outside either end of the hallway. The players can use it to circumvent the trap, if they notice the secret entrances. The kobolds use it to go outside the hallway and force the door closed if they see the party trying to leave through one end.


The pit-

When the players enter the room, they are standing on solid metal plate that makes up the room's floor. One the other side of the room kobolds are standing on the other end of the metal plate. There is a pit beneath the player's side of the room, and the kobolds' weight is keeping the plate from tilting into the pit and causing the whole party to fall in. The kobolds wait for the right moment and simaltaneously jump off their end of the plate.

Even if the players escape the pit, the plate is now making a vertical barrier preventing the players from proceeding through that room. They have to go another route, and suffer another kobold ambush.



The acid fall-
A beautiful waterfall is cascading in front of you. Acid (1d8) is in this waterfall, however, so stepping through it deals damage. Under the waterfall, there is a 10x10x10 foot hole, filled with acid.

The geyser field-
This room feels pleasantly warm and has a slightly reddish hue. If you move more than 10 feet away from the doorway, a geyser pops up and deals 5d4 fire damage.

The spiked fall-
This room has water drifting down 5 giant stairs(5 feet across/down) DC 15 balance check. If you fail, slide down a step and take 3d4 spike damage.


The slide-
There is a slide at a 45 degree angle down it is very slippery (Grease) Three other traps are here. There is a color spray (first two creatures), pendulum (hits 2nd character for 1d10 bludgeoning) and spikes at the end deal 4d6 piercing.

The spike tunnel-
This 200x10x10 has spikes that rise above the ground. Every 2 rounds, the spikes come up and deal 1d6 damage to everyone touching the floor.

Division-
This 20x20 room splits into 4 10x10 rooms. Kobolds come in and attack the players individually.

The Ornate Staff-
A short hallway that has ten flat feet, 5 feet sloping down at a 45 degree angle, and then five flat feet. In the middle of the lower part of the hallway, there is an adventurer’s corpse holding what appears to be an ornate staff. Behind the corpse is a door.

As soon as the adventurers go down the slope, kobolds enter the higher part of the room behind them. Slippery oil is poured down the slope by the kobolds. The kobolds hit the adventurers with ranged attacks from the room’s entrance, using the doorway as partial cover.

If the adventurers try to get up the slope, the slippery oil makes it difficult for them. If the adventurers open the door, they see a wall of stone behind it. If the adventurers pick up the ornate staff, it emits a small spark that ignites the oil. The ornate staff should be a minor magic item that has a couple charges of some low-level electrical spell.

As soon as the players start killing kobolds, or if the players are successfully making it up the slope, the kobolds retreat to either side hallway’s entrance. There, other kobolds have positioned barrels on either side of the entrance, and one barrel right next to it. All the kobolds hide behind the barrels, out of sight. When the adventurers emerge, a kobold launches a flaming arrow at the barrel by the entrance, igniting the oil inside. The rest of the kobolds pull off the tops of the barrels they are hiding behind and poor them towards the adventurers. Some of the barrels were filled with more slippery ignitable oil, the rest were filled acid.

Then the kobolds run, so the adventurers don't even get to kill them if they survive all the traps.

The trap overload hallway-
This 200x15 hall has no kobolds. 10 feet in, there is a 20-foot pit (2d6)DC 16. 25 feet in, 5 darts attack every one (5d4+5)DC 17. 40 feet in, A pendulum swings, hitting every other person in the party(2d8) DC 14. 60 feet in, spikes rise up out of the ground (2d4). 80 feet in, A log swings across the hall(2d8)DC 15. 100 feet in, a spike wall closes for 4 rounds (2d8). 125 feet in, there is burning oil 1d6+2 damage. 175 feet in, two swords swing out, dealing 1d8+5, DC 14.
Please comment/add!

[Dragon Elite]

Anyone have some kobold poisons?

[readsaboutd&d]

In 3.5, we now need countercasters/antimagic fields/intensive action with no time to rest/... to stop casters. And what about something magic and solid + an antimagic field.

[expirement10K14]

I am actually using the kobolds for an epic campaign I am running. They are all between ECL 10-16, and actually killed two of the four ECL 21 PC's in a 8 on 4 fight.

The most important thing is to remember anything is fair game; ledges, murder holes and antimagic fields are key in destroying the party.

[Dragon Elite]

Glad to help.

[Cieyrin]

I think the Rope Bridge should be renamed the Burning Bridge.:smalltongue:

As for the Geyser Field, i don't think it makes sense for the geysers to only go off w/ proximity to them or lack of proximity to the door. They should probably have a set pattern that the kobolds know that they can use to quickly navigate the room that the invading PCs have to figure out or just soak up the damage if they want to continue to make chase.

[Dragon Elite]

I think the Rope Bridge should be renamed the Burning Bridge.:smalltongue:


As for the Geyser Field, i don't think it makes sense for the geysers to only go off w/ proximity to them or lack of proximity to the door. They should probably have a set pattern that the kobolds know that they can use to quickly navigate the room that the invading PCs have to figure out or just soak up the damage if they want to continue to make chase.
Agreed :smalltongue:
The edge of the room is stone, and the geysers are in a checkerboard of 5 foot squares.

[Dragon Elite]

Post more please!

[Jergmo]

Have a disguised pit trap filled with acid filled with giant crocodiles with the Acid subtype!

[Dragon Elite]

I am working on making an add to any encounter for flair list.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Kobold with some means of accessing Arcane Archer? FIghter2/Sorc6/AA2 = AMF's being shot at the party. Good times.

Also, Kobold Warlocks would be pretty nasty as well, since it's all touch attacks. Particularly with things like Nausiating Blast, Hindering Blast (slow), Confusing Blast, and of course Utterdark Blast. Chain for more fun.

[aje8]

You guys definatley need to get anti-magic over this entire dungeon.

Obiously it depends on what level the PCs the kobolds are put against, but at just 5th level, a fly spell gets around the burning bridge, the flippy spiky thing, helps alot against the celing kobolds, defeats the spiked tunnel and the spiked fall...... obsoletes the grease spell..... makes the Wizard at least immune to more than 1/2 this dungeon.

Unless of course, you made the celing like 5 feet above the ground, but then could he not just hover sideways? Also doesn't that obselete the murder holes plan?

By 9th level, the Wizard can mass fly the whole party and just float through the kobold dungeon.

So yeah.... get some anti-magic on this place. Or put some kinda anti-fly spell over the whole thing.

[Dragon Elite]

Agreed. Added anti-magic spell.
Encounters or traps anyone?

[Strawman]

The Ornate Staff-

A short hallway that has ten flat feet, 5 feet sloping down at a 45 degree angle, and then five flat feet. In the middle of the lower part of the hallway, there is an adventurer’s corpse holding what appears to be an ornate staff. Behind the corpse is a door.

As soon as the adventurers go down the slope, kobolds enter the higher part of the room behind them. Slippery oil is poured down the slope by the kobolds. The kobolds hit the adventurers with ranged attacks from the room’s entrance, using the doorway as partial cover.

If the adventurers try to get up the slope, the slippery oil makes it difficult for them. If the adventurers open the door, they see a wall of stone behind it. If the adventurers pick up the ornate staff, it emits a small spark that ignites the oil. The ornate staff should be a minor magic item that has a couple charges of some low-level electrical spell.

As soon as the players start killing kobolds, or if the players are successfully making it up the slope, the kobolds retreat to either side hallway’s entrance. There, other kobolds have positioned barrels on either side of the entrance, and one barrel right next to it. All the kobolds hide behind the barrels, out of sight. When the adventurers emerge, a kobold launches a flaming arrow at the barrel by the entrance, igniting the oil inside. The rest of the kobolds pull off the tops of the barrels they are hiding behind and poor them towards the adventurers. Some of the barrels were filled with more slippery ignitable oil, the rest were filled acid.

Then the kobolds run, so the adventurers don't even get to kill them if they survive all the traps.


Some other ideas-

There could be a part of a dungeon with a large dumb monster that can easily lose track of the characters. Kobolds would use meat to lure the monster towards the adventurers whenever the adventures managed to elude the monster. Killing the kobolds would be a key part of defeating the monster.

Kobolds could also be performing reconnaissance on the party, keeping the boss of a dungeon informed. This would make it so that the boss does not need to have obligatory scrying powers to be prepared.

[Lord Loss]

Get rid of The Anti magic The wizard will feel like a useless hunk of meat, get frustrated, have a bad time. Make it anti-fly or something. Anti magic will just get rid of the fun.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Get rid of The Anti magic The wizard will feel like a useless hunk of meat, get frustrated, have a bad time. Make it anti-fly or something. Anti magic will just get rid of the fun.

That, plus it kills the kobolds' magic too. No kobold sorcerers, no kobold warlocks, no kobold healing, no kobold debuffs. It's much easier to have dedicated kobold counterspellers and dispel traps.

[Jogi]

Get rid of The Anti magic The wizard will feel like a useless hunk of meat, get frustrated, have a bad time. Make it anti-fly or something. Anti magic will just get rid of the fun.

Maybe it doesn't even need to be an anti-fly spell. You guys could create, in key areas of the dungeon, a dispelling passage. Think of it: 5 ft before the spiked pit, in a door way, is a dispell effect. The party wizard flies happily, but then gets disppelled, and is now falling in a spiked pit.

And he can't cast fly forever, can he? And it's not like the kobolds would let them rest or anything right?

[Dragon Elite]

Once the wizard is asleep, arrow barrage. Also, aim for potions on him. :smallamused:

[Strawman]

Okay, I got a plot hook for the Dungeon of Tucker's Kobolds. It should work well in just about any campaign.

Each of the players receive a note, delivered mysteriously. The note reads, "Hello adventurer. I have been hired to kill you. I know you hear that alot, but I'm a professional. My dungeon has adventurer's bones in places I don't even remember building. Here's a map to my dungeon, hope you have fun. I can't wait to hear how you died.

Sincerly, Tucker

P.S. I got your <insert person or item of importance to character>."

[Cieyrin]

Instead of negating specific spells or using antimagic, how about we make this interesting: WILD MAGIC ZONE!:smallbiggrin:

EDIT:
Okay, I got a plot hook for the Dungeon of Tucker's Kobolds. It should work well in just about any campaign.

Each of the players receive a note, delivered mysteriously. The note reads, "Hello adventurer. I have been hired to kill you. I know you hear that alot, but I'm a professional. My dungeon has adventurer's bones in places I don't even remember building. Here's a map to my dungeon, hope you have fun. I can't wait to hear how you died.

Sincerly, Tucker

P.S. I got your <insert person or item of importance to character>."

The problem with this is Tucker was the real world creator of these kobolds, a staff sergeant from Fort Bragg. Putting him in doesn't really make sense at all, as he never was in the campaign the kobolds originated from, he was the DM.

[boomwolf]

Room of elementals
the floor is actually 5 ft. lower the it seems, the "floor" is a cluster of tight earth elementals who are waiting for the squishy guys to each the center before they all start attacking. (ceiling is only 5 ft. higher then the elemental to prevent flying.

Maybe the meanest trap I even invented. it never failed. caused a few TPK's while using generally underpowered guys.

Cieyrin-"Tucker" is the name of the kobold chief. selected for obvious reasons. (at least that's I see it.)

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The problem with this is Tucker was the real world creator of these kobolds, a staff sergeant from Fort Bragg. Putting him in doesn't really make sense at all, as he never was in the campaign the kobolds originated from, he was the DM.

I could see it being fun for the DM, though. The PCs see the note, think "That's...a weird name for a kobold...?", look online after the session to see if it's a reference to something, find that it is a reference to something, read that something, and quake in abject terror until the next session.

:smallbiggrin:

[Dragon Elite]

That would be hilarious. And then, you give them a few rooms of regular kobolds to calm them, then BANG! Tucker's kobold's come.

[Mercenary Pen]

You could also do stuff with poison and treasure. Set up a variety of encounters where the players are convinced to interact with contact poisons because they feel the reward will be worth it...

For extra credit, create your own poisons that don't affect kobolds for whatever reason, then coat all the kobolds magic items in the stuff.

[Dragon Elite]

For extra credit, create your own poisons that don't affect kobolds for whatever reason, then coat all the kobolds magic items in the stuff.


Contact poison+kobolds wearing gloves=poison that doesn't affect kobolds.

[Mercenary Pen]

Contact poison+kobolds wearing gloves=poison that doesn't affect kobolds.

Also, potentially rather obvious. Unless you set things up right, the fact that the kobold is wearing gloves will be an alarm bell to the PC's that something's amiss, simply because most kobolds are unlikely to be wearing gloves (I would assume). I was thinking something that only counted as poisonous to specific creature types or favoured enemy groupings- sort of the same way the chocolate is poisonous to dogs but not humans...

Besides, doing it this way allows you slather the insides of a pair of bracers with CON poison and have nobody suspect a thing right up until the meat-shield or the rogue puts them on. Also, spell-storage items covered in INT poison could be fun.

[quick_comment]

In one room, somewhere, you need no traps, just a dragonwrought loredrake kobold with greater draconic rite of passage.

Also, dont forget that kobolds get slight build now, allowing their tunnels to be even smaller.

[Triaxx]

Great Kobold Cheif Too-Kor. Name solved.

Wanna make it hard for Casters to bork your dungeon? Constrict the corridors. While casting in a constricted corridor, you ALWAYs have to make a concentration check to cast, unless you're a small creature. Give fighters offensive penalties, but defensive bonuses.

[Dragon Elite]

Have a kobold with a level of blackguard and you can not poison yourself accidentally.

And also, what about orange gloves? :smalltongue:

[Dragon Elite]

The "Staircase"
This is an illusion of a staircase. If you step in it, (DC 16 reflex stops) you fall and take 2d6 damage. And you have to climb 20 feet up a half illusory spike wall. Kobolds come from the top of the staircase and pour acid on you (1d8 acid).

[Strawman]

Suspicious things you can put in safe spots just to mess with your players-

Mirrors,
Writing,
A plate with utensils set on either side,
A chair glued to the ceiling,
A painting of one of the players,
A piece of paper spiked into a wall that says "If you're reading this, it's too late to avoid the trap,"
A huge pile of skeleton corpses,
A painting of a player looking at a painting of player,
A large rope, both easily broken and visible, going from one side of the room to another.
Stone rocks arranged in strange positions,
A doorway in the middle of the room that serves no purpose,
Stairs in the middle of the room that serve no purpose,
A skull from each of the core races, positioned one next to the other on the wall.

[Dragon Elite]

Sweet. And then...
Nothing happens. :smallamused:

[Jogi]

Oh man, I can picture the kobolds pouring poison in a pile of golden pieces+treasure, and then hiding in barrels. The PC's come in, get the treasure, and start to feel weak :smallbiggrin:, then kobolds come.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Better yet--every area has a pile of a few skulls/skeletons from common races dressed up to look like trophies on display, and appropriate Knowledge skills will let the PCs identify them. First they see some halfling skeletons, then in the next area they see a bunch of human skeletons, then some dwarves, then a mixed bunch (like an adventuring party) and so on until you get to things like ogres or giants.

Eventually, they reach a region with no skulls, and they feel proud for making it farther than anyone else could. Then, after a few clear areas, they come into a room where some kobold illusionists have created a pile of three balor skulls with a pit fiend's on top....

[Mercenary Pen]

For higher level versions, I can imagine having fun with a dominate person trap. Lower levels might see similar things done with Charm Person traps- with casters a decent way down the hallway using Message to make suggestions like "stab the wizard" or "amazing how cold it is down here, why not warm all your friends up with a fireball at point-blank range."

Iron bars can be added as appropriate to block the advance of the party whilst letting through the message spells.

For a more comprehensive thrashing here, soften them up by spamming touch of idiocy spells by whatever means during the lead-up to this encounter.

[Dragon Elite]

How about a maze of iron bars and murder holes above you?

[Cieyrin]

I still think making the entire dungeon a wild magic zone (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/planes.htm#wildMagic) would do much for this, as it doesn't completely gimp casters of all sorts, casters just have to think more carefully about what they're casting, as their higher level effects are more likely to go completely awry and it's hard to optimize to resist the effect (who seriously has a build that's specifically resistant to wild magic, really? Unless Wild Mage has built in resistance, i'm not seeing it). Plus, given the kobolds have probably been the area for a long while and have inured to the effects somewhat, you could give their casters a bonus feat, such as either of the following:

Resist the Wild
You've spent some time in a wild magic zone and have learned to somewhat overcome the chaos to cast successfully more often.
Prerequisites: Live 3 months in a wild magic zone.
Benefit: You get a +4 bonus on level checks made to overcome a wild magic zone's effect.

Embrace the Wild
You've spent some time in a wild magic zone and have learned that by taking in the chaotic magics, you have more control over the effect they have on your spells.
Prerequisites: Live 3 months in a wild magic zone.
Benefit: You cannot resist the effects of a wild magic zone. However, when you roll on the wild magic table, you may adjust your result up or down one category. For example, if you rolled at 67, you could choose instead of not casting the spell without expending costs to cast normally.
Normal: You can resist the effects of a wild magic zone but what you roll on the wild magic table is the effect you get.

So, either you go the path of boring "I'm more resistant to Wild Magic Zones!" (probably the path taken by clerics of Kurtalmak) or you can choose to have a bit of control on what you get, especially that Spell Enhancer effect on a 99-100. =3

Them's my 2 coppers. Take as you will.

[Dragon Elite]

Great idea, but what about potions?

Potion
{table=head] Roll | Result
1-50 | Nothing, potion works normally
51-75 | Potion does opposite( hurts instead of heals, +10 damage instead of -10, etc)
76-100 | Potion gives no effect.[/table]

[Dragon Elite]

When you rest, The kobolds pour acid or oil on you. If they used oil, they then light you on fire

[Cieyrin]

When you rest, The kobolds pour acid or oil on you. If they used oil, they then light you on fire

Provided the adventurers were dumb enough to not set up watches or didn't try to leave before continuing in, that is. Anybody is gonna take advantage of schmucks who don't guard their buddies while they sleep.

[SartheKobold]

Multi-Person buffs work wonders, as well... Anything to give a big group of little Kobold Archers a +2 on ATK rolls, or a +1 on DMG would go a very long way to enhance the dealiness... Dragon Shaman Aura's are a good way to effect multiple allies at the same time. If they're particularly competant at ending the lives of incoming adventurers, it wouldn't be unreasonable to populate them with a few +1, +2 or Flaming/Shocking/Frost weapons... Not to mention armor and shields...
If cover is sparse, you can have them fight with Roman tactics, in a phalanx. 'Bolds with Tower Shields in the front line, 'Bolds with Longspears a row back jabbing from behind the shield wall, and finally a few rows of archers/slingers to attack from afar. This works especially well if you can find a way to make the front lines somewhat meatier. The slingers can still hock splash weapons... This makes them somewhat susceptable to area spells, but there are several pack-tactics for dealing with casters. Numbers can easily shut down a caster with readied actions to disrupt, and provided the front line is keeping a good defense and the 'enemy' healer is targeted first, you can set it up for a pressure-kill or rout...

[Kami2awa]

In 3.5, we now need countercasters/antimagic fields/intensive action with no time to rest/... to stop casters. And what about something magic and solid + an antimagic field.

At low PC level, AMFs are not needed to debilitate spellcasters. A single kobold with high Dex can dart in and steal spell component pouches or holy symbols. There are lots of ways to break spellcaster concentration (such as having burning oil pouring on your head, for example). Spellcasters need rest to prepare spells and this is easy to prevent by surprise attacks and other distractions. If the kobolds have magic then Silence is a way to really annoy spellcasters (as well as aiding any other sneak tactics). While spellcasters can get round these hazards though the proper feats and planning, they can still make things very difficult indeed.

Reading this thread makes me consider that in normal D&D play, PCs have too much of an easy time, rarely needing to think about tactics beyond "rush in and kill everything". Kobolds are weak monsters of average intelligence (Int 10) and are capable of screwing more powerful characters over relatively easily, given leadership and time to prepare. In the D&D world there are many monster races whose average Int is higher than that of a human genius; fighting such creatures should be really, really hard.

[Grifthin]

Just a little update - I'm going to be using almost all the things discussed here on Thursday night. I'm using the dungeon area's and some scaled up and down areas for the PC's.

Here's a question - what would you say is a appropriate reward in a low magic campaign for taking on such a daunting group of kobolds.

[Cieyrin]

Just a little update - I'm going to be using almost all the things discussed here on Thursday night. I'm using the dungeon area's and some scaled up and down areas for the PC's.

Here's a question - what would you say is a appropriate reward in a low magic campaign for taking on such a daunting group of kobolds.

Kobolds are miners, so if they can clear out the kobolds, they can get access to the mine that they're nesting in. It would explain why they bothered to dig all the little passages and whatnot, which are following mineral veins.

[blackouttwo]

Everyone who's contributed something to this thread wins an internet.

[Set]

Also, potentially rather obvious. Unless you set things up right, the fact that the kobold is wearing gloves will be an alarm bell to the PC's that something's amiss, simply because most kobolds are unlikely to be wearing gloves (I would assume). I was thinking something that only counted as poisonous to specific creature types or favoured enemy groupings- sort of the same way the chocolate is poisonous to dogs but not humans...

Craft up an alchemical itching poison that lowers Dex, but doesn't affect scaled creatures with natural armor +1 or better. (An Ogre, with NA +5, would be affected, a Viper or Kobold with NA +1 or better would be immune.) Instead of causing full-on ability damage, the dex penalty from the 'alchemical itching powder' might fade like nonlethal damage, at 1 pt / 10 minutes, or something.

Definitely seconding the idea of taking advantage of the Kobold's slight build. If using the web supplement, the entire complex can be filled with tiny tunnels, that even gnomes and halflings have to squeeze to get through. Even if not using that supplement, kobold alchemy can again come to the rescue, and unarmored kobolds could be 'lubed up and made able to squeeze through tiny cracks and tunnels to lob attacks at big folk, and then retreat into the cracks to escape counter-attack. (Emerge stealthily on one round using Total Defense, throw an attack (missile, spell, alchemy item) and move back into the crack on the second round.)

The tunnels could also be shot through with murder holes, allowing the kobolds to launch missile weapons, spells and / or alchemical missiles at the party, while remaining behind total cover.

Since the corridor that is big enough for medium-sized creatures is almost entirely for the use by intruders, it can have characteristics that are dangerous to the kobolds themselves, such as being hip-deep in water (fresh, if the kobolds use it as a water-supply, sewage-filled if the kobolds use this 'entrance' as a dump, since they use the tiny tunnels for their own getting in and out, for the most part). The water itself could contain fish, again, if fresh and used by the kobolds, and have caltrops lining the entire bottom (since they don't have to come in that way, and are small enough to swim across without touching the bottom, if they do choose to use that entrance), or, if sewage/waste-water, could even be mildly acidic (1 hp / minute of exposure?) or covered with oily residue that is flammable (1d3 fire damage to anyone with body parts above the water's surface for 1d3 rounds before the oily buildup burns off), once ignited.

If the larger tunnel is used to bring in larger game, etc., a small raft could be used to bring food / supplies / guests across the water safely, pulled by ropes. As there is only 5 ft. of clearance above the water's surface (and perhaps less in some areas), characters 'visiting' the kobolds would have to sit on the raft, as it's pulled across the waters (or, more likely, would be tied up and laid down, as non-kobold 'guests' would probably be brought in only for a specific sacrificial purpose or something...).

Inside the main kobold gathering area, the kobolds might have their young living in warrens that are in higher caverns, dozens of feet above the cave floor, and reached only by a network of ropes and nets strung like crazy artificial spider-webs all throughout the room. A select few 'ropefighters' would be trained to climb and swing around this room with ease, scrambling along the rope-strewn walls and ceiling in the darkness like miniature Aliens, throwing various missile weapons, and cutting loose sections of net or triggering snare-traps to harry intruders.

Since kobolds have Darkvision, they would have few or no light-sources in their lair, and would use ranged disarm or sunder attempts on items that produce light, or target them with wineskin-sized clumps of muck and filth, designed to cover them in black goop, smothering their light. Items that are ranged disarmed (mostly items that glow with magical light and are harder to sunder or extinguish by splashing with goop) would be snatched up by brave kobolds on suicide runs. (Higher ranking kobolds would be survivors of previous such 'redshirt runs' and allowed to throw missiles from safer positions!)

Kobolds are also ideal to add various perks to, similar to what the Races of the Dragon Web Enhancement did. Wyrmkin kobolds might be more intimately connected to a specific chromatic dragon type, and have Energy Resistance 1 / HD vs. their specific matron's energy type (Acid, Cold, Electricity or Fire), and take advantage of that.

Acid resistant nightscale or seascale Wyrmkin might force foes to wade through acidic waters to reach them (being unaffected by the 1 hp / round acid *and* having racial bonuses to Swim checks and breath holding, because of their descent from dragons with a Swim speed and Water Breathing).

Fire resistant bloodscale Wyrmskin might have developed a variation on alchemical fire that they coat on themselves called Fireskin Salve. It causes them to ignite for 1 minute, so that they inflict 1d2 fire damage on a hand to hand attack (or when grappled).

Cold resistant bonescale or icescale Wyrmskin might lair in areas of extreme cold that cause unprotected visitors to take constant nonlethal cold damage, and use watery pools covered in thin layers of ice as traps. If someone doesn't get out of the water fast enough after falling through the ice, a kobold using Alchemical Frost refreezes the water around them, requiring them to break their way free. Even if they get out, their cold-weather-protecting heavy clothing is soaked, and no longer provides any protection. The light kobolds would dash across the thick snow and ice without falling through, while heavier and less-specialized intruders would be moving at half speed, at most, and might require balance checks on slippery areas (the white dragonkin would naturally have a lesser version of icewalking as a racial trait, allowing them to move at full move on snow and ice, and not have to make balance checks on natural ice). Ice collapses would be engineered in some areas, to act like a non-magical Ice Storm spell, while foes who fall on icy or watery areas might be doused with water as a readied action by one kobold, while another follows it up with alchemical frost, to try to 'freeze them to the ground' (Str check to break free and get back up, creating an icy-themed variation of a tanglefoot bag effect). While less sturdy than tiny-sized tunnels through rock, cracks in the ice-walls of such a lair can be used the same way, and ice-themed kobolds might be especially good at burrowing through snow quickly (perhaps even having a burrow speed of 5 ft. through snow only), allowing them to poke their heads up all around a party and unleash surprise attacks from the surrounding snow.

I got nothing for electrically-resistant skyscale Wyrmkin. Silly blighters. It's harder to fill a lair with naturally occuring electricity than it is acid, cold or fire. They probably can burrow through sand as readily as an icescale burrows through snow, and might have alchemical variations on Alchemist's Spark that allows them to conduct electrical attacks (similar the bloodscale Fireskin Salve mentioned above). Heck, they might even have used the Rite of Draconic Passage to all learn Shocking Grasp, which they unleash as surprise attacks, bursting up out of the sand to deliver their touch attacks.
(On the other hand, a wind-swept set of caverns that have a constant static charge built up in the walls, due to the action of wind and sand, could make for a neat electrically-dangerous lair for desert-dwelling skyscales! As people carrying metal weapons & armor move through the lair, naturally occuring static 'traps' could go off, inflicting 1d4 pts of electrical damage. The kobolds know this place intimately, and can both avoid the traps, are somewhat resistant to the effects, and don't carry metal armor and weapons anyway, using stone and bone weapons, and leather, hide and bone armor.)

[Myrmex]

There's a metamagic feat called co-operative spell, and for every additional creature that casts a spell simultaneously with that metamagic, the DC of the spell goes up by one. The number of kobolds that can be fit into a 10x10 room is staggering, especially if they have all imbibed a potion of shrink person.

You could easily have them cast spells that you couldn't make the save against.

[Set]

There's a metamagic feat called co-operative spell, and for every additional creature that casts a spell simultaneously with that metamagic, the DC of the spell goes up by one. The number of kobolds that can be fit into a 10x10 room is staggering, especially if they have all imbibed a potion of shrink person.

You could easily have them cast spells that you couldn't make the save against.

It's a cool idea, but each kobold would have to have Cooperative Spell and one other metamagic feat (to qualify for it), which would make it limited to 3 HD or higher kobolds.

It might be more likely that a special area, perhaps an ancient site of communal faith-based worship, or an arcane academy / ritual room of a long-passed civilization retains an ability like this. The Kobolds have learned of this property, and their highest level spellcaster can gain some bonuses similar to Circle Magic if he casts spells in this room. Every 10 Kobolds who spend 1 hp in blood sacrifice can give him a +1 to caster level, or allow him to ignore 1 level of metamagic, or something.

[Realms of Chaos]

Keyhole kobold
The smallest that a female kobold can be (If I remember properly) is 24 inches tall.
If you use sleight build, that is reduced to 12 inches.
If that kobold is a level 1 fighter (no racial substitution level), you can take dragonwrought kobold and tunnel fighting, meaning that there is almost no penalty for the kobold moving through a 6-inch tunnel.

Generally, as kobolds aren't tall, they don't need passageways conveniantly-sized for medium creatures. Make them small and flying party members stop being a problem.

If a tunnel is small enough, party members won't be able to use their weapons inside of it, meaning they can only get through a porticullus with a strength check.

One-way venom
Level 1 kobolds can take dragonwrought kobold as a feat, meaning that they fear nothing from paralysis. As such, get paralyzing poison (carrion crawler?) and use it without fear.

There is one probelm with tucker's kobolds, however. Even if you put a wild magic zone on the lair (which is somewhat arbitrary), a single successful rope trick spell stops the kobolds from being a threat and removes the constant pressure that they've been putting on the party. Without this element of pressure, the kobolds lose much of their bite.
Instead of arbitrarily making magic wonky in the dungeon, I propose using low ceilings to stop flying and filling the dungeon with anchor mist (from dungeonscape), something that makes more sense and stops most other troublesome effects.
As a note, even with low ceilings, I do know that party members with flight could "crawl" along the ceiling to avoid pressure pads. That is why there are murder holes in the ceiling, from which kobolds drop heavy weights on flying creatures passing over the pressure pad (or dropping them directly onto the pressure pads to set off the trap without party participation).

[Rainbownaga]

Rope trick is easy to counter. When if the PC's get spotted using it, the Kobold's prepare a three-little-pigs by setting up a boiling cauldron underneath the entrance. The fumes and steam prevent the players from seeing out of it. When they exit they get a nice warm bath (add status effects to taste).

Naturally, they can watch the kobolds setting this up, so they can drop out immediately to stop the set up, or have to face a particularly challenging encounter at the start of their next day.

Might i suggest that giving a few rare kobolds 'true seeing' may make the wizzards slightly less broken.

[Amadi]

Obiously it depends on what level the PCs the kobolds are put against, but at just 5th level, a fly spell gets around the burning bridge, the flippy spiky thing, helps alot against the celing kobolds, defeats the spiked tunnel and the spiked fall...... obsoletes the grease spell..... makes the Wizard at least immune to more than 1/2 this dungeon.

Nothing feels good like casting dispel magic on the flying wizard. Nothing.

[Jergmo]

Have level 1 kobold sorcerers lay Grease spells about, and then have others throw alchemist's fire. This can be done anywhere, so it can be better than having these elaborate traps that do the same thing.

Regarding the piles of skeletons/etc.: Have a level 5 or whatever kobold Necromancer cast Skulltrap like crazy. :smallamused:

Edit: Ooh! Or, they could trigger an Explosive Runes spell while simultaneously triggering a mechanism that opens a net from above in a hidden compartment that is filled with Skulltrapped skulls!

[Mercenary Pen]

Kobold Barbarians (inherently illiterate) with Explosive runes daubed over their bodies clothing? What you might call a blade or bang scenario.

EDIT: Forgot the weight restriction for what explosive runes can be cast on...

[TengYt]

A whole bunch of Kobold rogues hiding in murder holes with crossbows. On the surprise round, they all sneak-attackr the party Wizard. Combine this with a trap or two...
Yeah, the Kobolds should definately try and pick off squishier members of the party first. Hidden rogues and Warlocks (touch attacks ftw) are great at this.

[lyko555]

Dear god this page is stickied and my players shall hate you all.

[Set]

Nothing feels good like casting dispel magic on the flying wizard. Nothing.

While this would be hilarious, I've tried to keep my suggestions low-enough level to feel appropriate for Kobold encounters.

Since the kobolds themselves are small (effectively tiny with the Races of the Dragon web enhancement or some alchemical 'lube), and are digging out their lair themselves with their profession (mining) skill, the vast majority of a kobold lair won't have any spaces large enough to get more than three feet off the ground anyway.

For those natural caverns that adjoin the lair, I'd allow for the possibility of Monstrous spiders (hurling webs) or Monstrous centipedes (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8313878609430213933#) lashing out from the walls and ceilings, to annoy anyone who flies away from the relative safety of the group.

The local kobolds might domesticate smaller variations of such creatures (using the spider silk and centipede venom, as well as chitin and meat), while larger ones could return the favor by hunting them as well, when they leave the safety of the tunnels the larger monstrous vermin can't get into. Indeed, the first 'warning' of medium or large Monstrous spiders in the area might be webs hanging from the ceiling (yet again discouraging flight, as a flyer might get tangled up there, far from help, while the spider(s) descend to feed), with small withered bundles containing kobold corpses. Tucker's Kobolds might have their own gauntlet to run, to get in and out of their fortified position...

[Jergmo]

While this would be hilarious, I've tried to keep my suggestions low-enough level to feel appropriate for Kobold encounters.

Since the kobolds themselves are small (effectively tiny with the Races of the Dragon web enhancement or some alchemical 'lube), and are digging out their lair themselves with their profession (mining) skill, the vast majority of a kobold lair won't have any spaces large enough to get more than three feet off the ground anyway.

For those natural caverns that adjoin the lair, I'd allow for the possibility of Monstrous spiders (hurling webs) or Monstrous centipedes (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8313878609430213933#) lashing out from the walls and ceilings, to annoy anyone who flies away from the relative safety of the group.

The local kobolds might domesticate smaller variations of such creatures (using the spider silk and centipede venom, as well as chitin and meat), while larger ones could return the favor by hunting them as well, when they leave the safety of the tunnels the larger monstrous vermin can't get into. Indeed, the first 'warning' of medium or large Monstrous spiders in the area might be webs hanging from the ceiling (yet again discouraging flight, as a flyer might get tangled up there, far from help, while the spider(s) descend to feed), with small withered bundles containing kobold corpses. Tucker's Kobolds might have their own gauntlet to run, to get in and out of their fortified position...

So humans can have a bunch of people with PC classes running around, but kobolds can't? :smallconfused:

Edit: Races of the Dragon has a part detailing kobold warrens, including the distribution of classes/levels among the population based on the warren size.

Example: Kobold den: Average population of 40-160. GP limit: 150
Community modifier of -3
Adept: 1d8+modifier
Barbarian: 1d4+modifier
Bard: 1d6+modifier
Cleric: 3d4+modifier
Druid: 1d3+modifier
Expert: 4d4+modifier
Fighter: 1d8+modifier
Monk: 1d6+modifier
Paladin: 1d3+modifier (not all kobolds are evil, but hey, there's also Tyranny and Slaughter)
Ranger: 2d4+modifier
Rogue: 2d4+modifier
Sorcerer: 4d4+modifier
Warrior: 1d4+modifier
Wizard: 1d4+modifier

So your average kobold Den would have...1 adept, 4 clerics, and 7 sorcerers. (Plus the kobold warren's coordinator/high priest)

[Set]

So humans can have a bunch of people with PC classes running around, but kobolds can't? :smallconfused:

Not at all what I said. Check again.

I said *lower-level*, not non-classed. A kobold warren might have all sorts of members with levels in PC classes like Sorcerer, Rogue, Ranger or Barbarian, but will probably *not* be crawling with members able to Dispel Magic reliably against a flying PC of the appropriate CR to be invading the lair in the first place.

And while there's nothing preventing a high level Kobold spellcaster from living with other kobolds, such as a BBEG I used, the albino 18th level kobold lich Sorcerer named Ghostfather, that's not a 'Tucker's Kobolds' encounter, that's an 18th level lich Sorcerer encounter, with some kobolds in it.

[Realms of Chaos]

I think that we're missing the entire point of tucker's kobolds.

The point has nothing to do with using kobolds to beat up players. If we wanted that, we'd use pun-pun.

It also has nothing to do with high-level spells and insanely-high CR traps. If we wanted that, we'd use Tomb of Horrors.

What made Tucker's Kobolds so fresh and special is that the kobolds were taken directly out of the monster manual, given no extra bonuses (such as levels), and beat the crud out of players using raw tactical smarts.

When trying to remake the experience, we should feel disgusted with ourselves if we even use material from RotD and its web enhancements. This is a raw, tactical exercise.

Someone go and find the GP limit for a maximally sized den of kobolds. That should help alot with this.

[Jergmo]

I think that we're missing the entire point of tucker's kobolds.

The point has nothing to do with using kobolds to beat up players. If we wanted that, we'd use pun-pun.

It also has nothing to do with high-level spells and insanely-high CR traps. If we wanted that, we'd use Tomb of Horrors.

What made Tucker's Kobolds so fresh and special is that the kobolds were taken directly out of the monster manual, given no extra bonuses (such as levels), and beat the crud out of players using raw tactical smarts.

When trying to remake the experience, we should feel disgusted with ourselves if we even use material from RotD and its web enhancements. This is a raw, tactical exercise.

Someone go and find the GP limit for a maximally sized den of kobolds. That should help alot with this.

The problem is, that stuff doesn't fly anymore. 3.5 players will steamroll Tucker's Kobolds if they aren't made into a respectable threat, and besides which, Tucker's Kobolds are a severe underestimation of the resources at the kobolds' disposal.

[Cieyrin]

Someone go and find the GP limit for a maximally sized den of kobolds. That should help alot with this.

A Kobold Labyrinth, which houses 50,000+ kobolds, has a GP Limit of 225,000 gp.